Another sunny weekend and another weekend filled with lots of fun, love, giggles and family. The weekend started on Friday with a visit to Stephen and Rieanna’s for curry, a lovely walk with the dog on Saturday followed by a lazy afternoon cuddled up with Hubby watching movies and then Sunday we had a gorgeous family Sunday Lunch with Simon, Jodie and Dan. The weather was so lovely that we sat outside and I managed to get sunburnt !!! What was needed to make everything perfect was a stunning dessert and this ultimate one bowl chocolate dessert cake fitted the bill nicely.

Hubby cooked another of his amazing roasts and I made the dessert, a naughty but very simple Donna Hay recipe.

This is a very dense, rich and grown up dessert, just perfect for a dinner party, I served it with some sweetened whipped double cream and some lovely fresh berries. As the berries are not in season just yet and not at their sweetest, I made a very simple sugar syrup just to bring them to life and garnished with scented Geranium leaves. If I was serving this for an evening dinner party I would of served it with an espresso and a shot of Limoncello.

So its the end of the Easter holidays, the sun is out and everyone has returned to work, school and college, so we are back into routine, but looking forward to next weekend as more entertaining is on the agenda.

Bon appetito

Chocolate Dessert Cake

125g butter, chopped
375g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
175g brown sugar
35g plain flour, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
120g ground almonds
5 egg
cocoa, for dusting

Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F).

Place the butter and chocolate in a bowl and either microwave in short bursts until melted or melt in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

Add the sugar, flour, milk and almond meal and mix to combine.

Add the eggs and mix well.

Pour mixture into a greased 22cm round springform tin lined with non-stick baking paper.

Cover the tin with aluminium foil and bake for 40 minutes.

Uncover and cool in the tin.

Dust with cocoa and serve with cream and berries.



Fresh Berries & Sugar Syrup
Mixture of berries of your choice
480 ml water
100 grams granulated white sugar
1 vanilla pod
1 tablespoon Limoncello, Kirsch, or brandy, or to taste (optional) I used Chambord, a gorgeous Raspberry Liqueur

Place the water, sugar, and vanilla bean in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let boil two minutes then remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature, then remove the vanilla bean (set it aside) and add  your chosen alcohol to the cooled syrup.