when there's a storm, eat cake

First lightening & thunder just struck. The kitten is terrified. The older cats don't care, they've seen this all before. It is quite odd having this type of storm, considering it's Feb.17th in Upstate NY. At 11am the skies grew black. Half an hour ago husband called from Selkirk, 35 minutes southwest, to say they had rolling thunder and high winds. It has arrived, but now the speakers on the computer are broadcasting fuzzy static. There's no streaming radio going on, no audio cd in the drive. But it's hissing at me anyway. Maybe it's got something to do with the mouse...

When I went to the cupboard, yes THE cupboard, to get out the pound of chocolate I needed for a flourless chocolate cake recipe, a shower of little white paper bits came down. The exact size a mouse mouth makes when chewing through a bag to get at it's contents. The pasta flour was the victim, but the little devil did not get through to the plastic bag inside the paper. Lucky me. I think he's longing for the Crisco. There is no evidence that Tiggr has found him (or his accomplices) in the basement, I ask him all the time and he just meows at me. I wish I could speak his cat dialect a bit better. I am counting on the trap to do it's job.

Here's the recipe for the flourless chocolate cake. I have three, but this is by far the easiest. And it's a giant chocolate fix, especially for those who like bitter. Try it still warm. Texture is hard to describe. I used eggs from my neighbor's yard (con permiso, of course).

Flourless Chocolate Cake serves 10

16 oz best quality semisweet chocolate

10 tbsp unsalted butter

5 xlg eggs

Set oven 375°. Line bottom 8-10" springform pan w parchment. Grease inside. Chop choc. Cut up butter. Put both in double boiler, melt, stir lots, til smooth. Remove from heat. Beat eggs & a pinch salt in mixer til tripled in volume, 8-10min. Gently fold choc into egg til complete incorporated. Pour in pan. Bake 20min. Center will be little soft. Remove from oven. Let cool 30+min before cutting. Center may sink a bit as cools. Can refrig up to 2 days (sit at room temp 1hr b4 serving).