chocolate cake

Before heading to Napa for our bike tour last week, we had some fellow cyclists (Dave, Ashley, and Rob) over for a carb filled dinner (the guys were gearing up for the 100 mile tour, while Ashley and I were slightly less ambitious, at 65 and 35 miles, respectively). I had planned well ahead of time for spinach lasagna to be the main course, but as of the day of, I still hadn't landed on a dessert. I turned to where I typically do in situations like this - 101 cookbooks.

A quick scan of the desserts and I had it narrowed down to two: the chocolate oblivion truffle torte and basic chocolate cake. In the end, it came down to time (or lack thereof), so I went with the simpler sounding recipe - the basic chocolate cake. 

I followed the recipe exactly, so I'll direct you to the link above rather than repeat it here. I love the fact that it uses natural sweeteners instead of refined sugar. The coconut milk also gives it a dense, rich texture. 

In place of the frosting, I served the cake topped with fresh strawberries and heavy cream whipped with melted chocolate. Heidi's note is spot on - after spending some time in the fridge, the cake becomes even more truffle-like than it begins. Delicious!