Celebration Cakes

Last week, before I left for Palm Desert, I made these "celebration cakes" (so I called them) for J to celebrate the one-year anniversary of his accident. They were certainly a labor of love!

The recipe is another from Cooking Light, and involved unsweetened chocolate and cocoa, and a meringue of egg whites and cream of tartar (I do not like cream of tartar, so I didn't want to buy it and substituted with a pinch of cinnamon.) 

I must admit, the egg whites, which were such a pain to sort, made for a rich, egg-y flavor that was outstanding. Overall, I'd have cooked this a bit less, but otherwise this is just about as perfect as cake comes. I will also add fresh strawberries or raspberries next time. A lot of work (a LOT of dishes) but worth it for celebrations!

Look at the gooey inside texture. It was like souffle meets lava cake!