First flourless chocolate cake

My first attempt at baking a flourless chocolate cake - Damien Pignolet's.

I think I like Rick Steins Sunken Chocolate cake better....but I'm not sure!

Eve’s Chocolate Cake

Recipe by Damien Pignolet from Short Orders

Ingredients

12 eggs, separated

360 g best quality cooking bitter

chocolate

30 g soft unsalted butter

30 g caster sugar

cocoa powder or grated chocolate

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150C.

2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water off

the heat.

3. Beat in the butter and sugar and the yolks,

beaten for a few minutes.

4. Stiffly beat the egg whites, beat a quarter of

this mass into the chocolate base and fold in the

remaining whites.

5. Pour two thirds into the cake tin and put the

remaining mixture in the fridge covered with

plastic film.

6. Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes.

7. When the cake feels firm and springy, remove

from the oven.

8. Turn it out upside down onto a serving platter

and remove the spring form tin.

9. Allow the chocolate cake to cool for at least one

hour. The centre should fall in.

10. Fill this space with the cold remaining mixture,

dust with cocoa or chocolate and serve with

whipped cream.

Notes & Tips

For 8-10 serves you will need a 26-28 cm spring

form cake tin, which should be greased and lined

with greaseproof paper or ‘Bakewell’

Serves 8 to 10

Fine Fish Indeed - Part 2

The blue glass tumblers were a 'cooling' and calming touch to this seafood restaurant, which has a takeaway arm downstairs.

I thought the red canvas pouch containing Sonoma grain bread was a nice touch - cute.

I was too full to eat dessert, but J & J indulged. I was amused by the panacotta as the basil seeds looked like tiny sea creatures....

Warm Chocolate Tart

salted peanut, strawberries, ricotta

Coconut Panna Cotta

mango, kaffir lime, basil seeds

Fine Fish

75 Grosvenor Lane

Neutral Bay NSW 2089

(02) 9908 4448

http://www.finefish.com.au/

Fine Fish Indeed - Part 1

Some friends and I dined at Fine Fish in Neutral Bay last night. It had been recommended by a few people we know.

For a tucked away restaurant in a local area it was pretty impressive - the ambience, the service and the food. The company goes without saying. : )

Only one of us had entree:

Char Grilled King Prawn Salad nham jim, green papaya, coconut, pomelo

Mains:

Crispy Skin Toothfish

prawn, asian greens, rice dumplings, sour plum vinaigrette

Crumbed Eastern School Whiting

brinjal pickle, yellow lentil purée

Oven Baked Ocean Trout

sumac, tahini yoghurt, walnuts, sesame leaf

Green Beans

confit garlic, eschallots

Special request of Hand Cut Chips (versus side of french fries)

A Hat for Cyril

A bunch of us put in for a new hat for Cyril - to replace the crumpled old beige cap he wears to church. He has been attending Cammeray Anglican Church evening service for years before I started 5 years ago.

CP and I chose the hat and agreed it's not too casual and not too trendy. We didn't go with a full brimmed hat so he can drive in his car (yes, he still drives) with it on.

We are having a party for him this Sunday.

Happy 90th Birthday Cyril!