a grown-up dinner party
October 15, 2009 § 11 Comments
I decided to finally take my last step into adulthood by having real grown-ups over, for a real dinner party. Frankly, I was surprised it took me so long – I’m well into my twenties, I love to feed people, so why don’t I host stylish and well-executed dinners? Then, five days before the event itself, I realized that I still don’t own any chairs. Thus illustrating one of the many reasons why I do not fall into the category of real grown-ups.
After briefly considering and discarding cardboard boxes as a valid seating option, I turned to Craigslist to save the day. My efforts were somewhat hampered by the fact that I also don’t own a car and can’t go anywhere far away, but eventually chairs were identified and secured, setting the stage for the perfect dinner party. And then I also bought a tablecloth! I am so very classy.
The most important thing though, was of course the food. I settled on what is probably the perfect dinner party dessert: a nearly flourless chocolate cake. It’s simple and stunning, but it’s also best if made a day ahead, saving the mad dash that occurs on the day of. Now, I wasn’t exactly organized to make this ahead of time, but it is theoretically possible. As for the recipe: I’m actually not generally a fan of flourless chocolate cakes, as they’re pretty intense, but this was definitely a good one. The single tablespoon of flour makes it less overwhelmingly dense, but it’s still rich and decadent. Plus, when my friend took his first bite, he started doing a little happy dance – generally a good sign.
Nearly Flourless Chocolate Cake – from Rachel Eats
- 200g butter
- 200g very good quality dark chocolate, chopped
- 250g granulated sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8-inch round cake tin with baking parchment and butter the parchment.
In microwave, melt butter and chocolate. Let cool for a few minutes. Scrape the butter and chocolate into a larger bowl and stir in the sugar.
In separate small bowl, lightly beat one egg and then add it to the other ingredients and stir thoroughly. Again in the separate bowl beat another egg, add it to the mixture and stir in. Repeat until you have added all five eggs. Stir in the flour.
Scrape the mixture into the lined tin. Bake just until the top is dry and cracking, but the centre of the cake still wobbles slightly, about 25 minutes. Keep a close eye after 20 minutes and be careful not to overbake.
Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin, about 2 hours. Gently invert it on to a wire tray and then revert it on to the serving plate. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.
one cake two cake 
Yum! This looks like the perfect dessert for a dinner party… delicious, impressive, not too fussy, and chocolatey.
Thanks for sharing the recipe (and congrats on pulling off your first big grownup dinner party). 🙂
looks pretty perfect. I havn’t made it for a while so this is the nudge I need.
I made this last night. It was perfect, but I made a few adjustments:
I swapped the chocolate for some maple syrup, and the flour for some bread, and the sugar for some milk. Basically, I made French Toast, but I did like your suggestion of using eggs! Very astute.
Just kidding. I love flourless chocolate cake. Yum yum yum. So delicious. I am no baker, but I think I might make this this weekend. And then eat it. All. Maybe I’ll give the roommates a piece as well! If they’re nice.
I’d say that dense lovely cake is a pretty grown-up dessert!
Congrats on your successful party!
this looks just delicious. But then again, I am a chocoholic…and this would just taste great right now.
congrats on the party! It sounds lovely 🙂
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Just tried this. Substituted one of the eggs with a banana, added some vanilla. Came out great.
Thanks everyone! It was a lot of fun.
Amelie – that sounds really interesting, maybe I’ll try that too!
Now that I’ve bought a dozen chairs, only to be able to host dinner parties, I hardly ever get around to it! Isn’t that just typical? But when I finally do, I imagine this would be the perfect way to end it! 🙂
Nice photos of the dinner party, may be it will be beatiful party.
I appreciate, lead to I found just what I used to be having a look for.
You have ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you
man. Have a nice day. Bye