It was back in 2002, if I recall correctly, that Chris came home from work one evening with a Diablo Cake from the Brulee Patisserie. I can't remember if I was thrilled that he came bearing dessert or annoyed that he spent a lot of money on a cake. It could have gone either way. It turned out to be the most delicious cake that I have ever eaten, so it all turned out okay. I've spent the past seven years trying to figure out what flavours it was that made the cake so fabulous. I did manage to do a little detective work - I know that Rosemary, the chef, used a flourless chocolate cake for the base, and at least one of the fillings was whipped ganache, and it was topped with a ganache-based chocolate glaze. I actually have her recipe for plain chocolate versions of all three. Chris requested a Diablo Cake to celebrate his 39th birthday, and even though I wasn't sure if he was serious, I took up the challenge. My best guess about what elevated this cake above ordinary chocolate was copious amounts of cinnamon and maybe a bit of cayenne. I finished up my version yesterday, and it's not as good at the cake at Brulee (which I've blogged about an embarrassing number of times), but it's still a pretty tasty rendition. I have some ideas on how to tweak the recipe for next time, if there is a next time ...
The other cool thing about today was that Chris decided that his birthday was a good reason to give his day job the shaft and take a guided tour of Bangkok's Chinatown with me. It was supposed to be a "historical" tour, but I have to say that what I learned was a different history than what I was expecting. Our guide took us to a coffee shop where men has been gathering to talk about work/life/etc. for the past eighty years. We ate lunch at a noodle joint that had been around for sixty years. We enjoyed bowls of a warm ginger broth with crunchy bits of deep-fried bread and tofu floating in it (sadly, my camera battery died, so I have no photos of any of this). Seeing as BKK is home to about three thousand Buddhist temples, we also visited a few of them, and our guide tried his best to contrast the Chinese variation of Buddhism to the type of Buddhism that prevails in Thailand. It was a very hot but fun day, but I finally got to ride in a tuk-tuk, and our guide from the Smiling Albino was a very gracious host.
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