Happy Homecoming

We flew home on Valentine's Day, savoring a lovely 17-day stay in Hawaii, and landed at 9:30pm, jet lagged, suffering from Fanny Fatigue and minus our suitcases. It seems the airline forgot to put ours aboard, despite our very early arrival at the airport. They discovered their mistake while we were in the air and were already paging us to make apologies as we walked into baggage claim. Since we don't wear any of our Hawaii clothes in chilly northern California, the only disappointment was that our prezzies for our friends and neighbors would be delayed with the bags.

So, we headed home without luggage - which, by the way, is a really good way to travel! Unencumbered is nice - and came through the door to find an ecstatic Cora to greet us and this from Cousin Jan.

It's a birthday cake for me, a single slender layer of dark chocolate cake sprinkled with nuts inside and covered with the richest, most decadent dark chocolate frosting it has ever been my sinful pleasure to wallow in. It's not too sweet but, honey, is it ever rich!

I thought the presentation was inspired, too, don't you? Along with Cora's madly wagging tail, it made for a very happy homecoming.

CHOCOLATE IMPERIAL CAKE

4 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate chopped into little pieces (the better the chocolate, the better the cake)

2/3 cup Sugar

1Grated rind of one orange

2 TBSP Grand Marnier or other orange liquor

3 – extra large Eggs

6 oz Ground walnuts (or almonds? - just an idea)

4 oz. Butter

Melt the butter and sugar in a sauce pan at a low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the chocolate to the melted butter and sugar stirring until the chocolate is melted. Add the orange rind, the liquor and the eggs one at a time. Stir until well combined then mix in the nuts.

Butter, flour and place a parchment paper on the bottom of a cake pan, pouring the batter into the pan. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. This cake should be a little fudgey in the middle

Frost with the chocolate glaze.

CHOCOLATE GLAZE

This recipe makes enough to cover a 10-12 inch torte.

1/2 cup sugar

6 oz. heavy whipping cream

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chopped into little pieces (Scharffenberger chocolate)

2 oz butter chopped into little pieces (use real butter of high quality)

2 TBSP Light corn syrup

Heat cream and sugar whisking to dissolve sugar. Then heat until very warm but not hot. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate whisking until chocolate is melted. Then add butter and corn syrup whisking until smooth.

Place your cake (chocolate imperial) upside down on a cardboard circle, making sure the circle is smaller than the cake. Place this onto a rack on a sheet pan then slowly pour the glaze over the entire cake, letting it run off the sides of the cake. It should have a wonderful shine to it. Make sure the entire cake has the glaze on it, and sometimes you will have to use a spoon to scoop up some of the glaze that has come off into sheet pan to put on the sides of the cake.