Sonja (All Hers)

We've had such a great week ... Sonja's been staying with us!! We love her and want her to stay (read: she may be the next Prisoner of the North).

This is our cinema house set-up - - the most comfy video watching experience ever.

Maggie's heading the Keep the SONja in DawSONja Campaign.

























I'd love to be in a position to offer her a guest room, private bath and little studio space (a la le Petit Trianon ..or maybe more like a shithole Hoolie Shack given our locale).

















Chocolate Cloud Cake
for Sonja because ch. cake is her fave, and for (the absent) Janice, because in 2008 she's developing a sweet tooth.

A cinch to make, super quick, and flourless. The sort that sinks damply on cooling, the fallen centre filled cloudily with softly whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder.
(from Nigella Lawson)

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids
half cup unsalted butter, softened=
6 eggs: 2 whole, 4 separated
three-quarters cup superfine sugar
9 inch springform cake pan or a bundt pan
for topping:
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
half teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Butter and flour the pan.

Melt the chocolate either in a double boiler or gently on the stove, and then let the butter melt in the warm chocolate.

Beat the 2 whole eggs and 4 egg yolks with 1/3 cup of the sugar, then gently add the chocolate mixture. In another bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites until foamy, then gradually add the remaining sugar and whisk until the whites are holding their shape but are not too stiff. Lighten the chocolate mixture with a dollop of egg whites, and then fold in the rest of the whites.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is risen and cracked and the centre is no longer wobbly. Cool the cake in its pan on a wire rack; the middle will sink as it cools.

When you are ready to eat, place the still pan-bound cake on a cake stand or plate for serving and carefully remove the cake from its pan. Don't worry about cracks or rough edges: it's the crater look we're going for here. Whip the cream until it's soft and then add the vanilla and continue whisking until the cream is firm but not stiff. Fill the crater of the cake with the whipped cream, easing it out gently towards the edges of the cake, and dust the top lightly with cocoa powder shaken through a tea-strainer.