Remember my blog goals? Well, for the month of January I was supposed to try a new recipe and you may be wondering why I never wrote about it. The truth is, it turned out a bit disappointing. I was hoping I’d have time to try another recipe before the end of the month, but I didn’t. So, let me tell you about that flourless chocolate cake I made following a recipe from the Art & Soul of Baking:

The idea of this cake intrigued me, as it only called for four ingredients: chocolate, eggs, sugar and butter. It was easy to whip up, and right out of the oven it was delicious – warm with a light and crispy outer crust and soft chocolately center. David and I kept nibbling at the side of the pan while we were making dinner. But by the time we each had a slice for dessert, the crust had softened, the cake had deflated, and it was just kind of… meh. I’m not sure why. Did the moisture from boiling the pasta we had for dinner seep into it and ruin the texture? That’s my best guess. Also, despite being in a generously buttered, non-stick spring-form pan, the cake stuck. It was not pretty, so there went the presentation, too.

To make matters worse, to accompany the cake, I tried making a creme anglais. I followed the directions perfectly, and when it reached the required 175 degrees I pulled it off the heat. I turned around to add more ice cubes to the already prepared water bath and when I picked up the saucepan it was too late – I had pulled it off the heat, but not far enough and so part of it overcooked. Sigh. So, there you have it, a disappointing start to the recipe portion of my goals, since even the photos didn’t come out very good. *shrugs*

Thankfully, there’s always next time. 🙂