Unexpected

A friend of mine is celiac, and it can be hard to find food that she can safely eat.  When I invited her to yesterday's chocolate party, I promised that there would be something for her.  So, I set about making my flourless chocolate cake, which I have long considered to be fail-safe.  

This cake is baked in a bath in the slow cooker for two hours.  When it comes out, it's still liquid, and it goes into the fridge for 12+ hours to set.  Last night, I mixed everything up, put it in the slow cooker and then turned it on.  I remember seeing the lid steam up from the heat shortly after that.  Then I went to the store, and took the dogs for a walk.  After an hour and a half, I kept catching myself trying to turn off the slow cooker.  I know I stopped myself at least three times, thinking there was time left.  15 minutes before the time was up, I sat down to watch tv and promptly blanked everything out.  An hour and half later, I jumped up and ran to turn off the slow cooker.... which was unplugged and completely cold.

I know I plugged it in, but have no idea when I turned it off.  And, since the cake is usually liquid after having been in the slow cooker anyway, I had no way to tell if it was cooked.  I put it in the fridge and hoped for the best, but of course, it was still liquid in the morning.  So, I put it in the slow cooker for another hour (turned on) and then moved it to the fridge to set.  An hour before the party, it still had a pudding consistency, so I poured it into a bowl and called it chocolate sauce.

While some of the girls cut up the fruit, three of us made crepes.  When we were ready, we all had crepes with vanilla custard and fresh fruit filling, drizzled in "chocolate" sauce.  It turns out, that was one of the biggest hits of the party.







ps - I like to use parties as an excuse to buy flowers.  Long stem roses were on sale, so I bought a mixed bunch and chopped them down.

Aren't they pretty?