Anyone have some champagne left? How about a sword laying around?

Excellent. Let’s get that bottle opened.

Serve that sworded champers with a slice of this rich chocolate cake. I love the way the blueberries look (and taste) with the chocolate. Unexpected combination that is just divine.

Flourless Chocolate Cake With Blueberries

Ingredients:

200g good-quality (75%-cocoa) dark chocolate, chopped
90g butter
2 tablespoons strongly brewed black coffee
55g (1/4 cup caster) (granulated) sugar
2 eggs
150g (1 cup) ground almonds
handful of blueberries
1 oz chocolate, melted
cocoa powder for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/350℉. Grease and line base and sides of an 18cm (7 inch) springform cake pan. (I only have a 23cm (9 inch) springform pan. It worked fine, but gave me a thinner cake, of course)

2. Combine butter and chocolate in a heatproof, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute, until almost smooth.

3. Use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and eggs until pale and fluffy.

4. Gently fold the melted chocolate and ground almonds into the egg mixture. Pour into prepared pan.

5. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

6. Scatter blueberries over cake.

7. Melt 1 oz chocolate and drizzle over blueberries. Dust with cocoa and serve.

Serves 8

Recipe from Olive Magazine

Auld Lang Syne.

It’s more than a confusing song sung around the New Year.

Auld Lang Syne is a band out of western New York State that plays some of the most haunting and fragile songs you might hear.

Where My Fortune Lies is up there as one of my favorite songs of all time.

The first sound of the guitar, then the intense vocals of Timothy Dick…you know this is going to be good. Even after a few thousand listens.

“And if I’ve wasted all these years
Now you’re gone I’m living each day in tears”

So good. Sad. So good in its sadness.
Auld Lang Syne-Where My Fortune Lies

Check out Auld Lang Syne on Myspace, Facebook and buy the band’s music here.

Cheers!