If you can’t go to Paris, eat chocolate mousse

The first time I went to Paris, I got off the train at Gare de Lyon. I walked out and was welcomed by a spectacular array of oysters. And a spectacular array of palaces. It was love at first sight.

Other visits have followed. Also this time, I was bewitched.

Paris is tiring. Among my memories of it, endless walks, cycles and metro stairways play a considerable role, without counting the miles you can walk inside museums. I’ve always known this, but somehow left it in the back of my mind: I was always fit and well, apart from that night spent with food poisoning after eating the aforementioned oysters. I’ll spare you the details, but I had a really rough time. As you may remember, I spent quite a while without walking lately. I’m not back to my usual shape yet, but in Paris for the first time I tested myself and had the impression  I could make it.

I had a lot of fun, actually.

Not exactly pretty

Often to obtain outstanding results you need to make a considerable amount of effort. In cooking, especially at home, this is not necessarily true – there are so many corners you can cut shamelessly and without anyone noticing. However there are a few occasions where a lot of work is involved. A lot of concentration, organisation, preparation, and dishes to be washed. Some recipes are not worth it, some of them are. This cake is definitely one of them flavourwise. If you want to try it, be prepared for a lot of work – nothing difficult, but there is a lot of work, and it takes longer than most other cakes.

On the other hand a lot of home cooks will know that often you can get a very high ‘wow’ factor, leaving people to think you are a culinary genius, with relatively little effort, presentation wise. Of this particular recipe, maybe you can get something that looks ok – I did not succeed this time – but this will never look as good as it tastes. It looks like basically any cake does, not very fancy. I tried baking it in cupcakes, the lazy girl’s trick to a fancy dessert, but some of the moisture was gone, so I ‘d advise you against it. From a commitment point of view, this is a ‘special occasion’ cake, but it does not look like one. It may not look like much. But let your guests taste it – you’ll have all the wow factor you may want and even some more. By the way, for added chic factor, it is a recipe by Pierre Hermé.