# ChocoLaLaLa

Okay. I will admit that this cake may be a bit more of a challenge for you. But be bold in the kitchen! This cake is truly worthy of any fancy film party, birthday, or special occasion. This is the cake, in fact, that brought Balthus and me to France (by hot air balloon) when we won a US cake competition.

You can follow the magical exploits and recipes of Chef Randall and his Púca/Cat in Grand Seigneur magazine, and sometime soon in book form - The New Adventures of Chef & Chat! Balthus and I tell our story, illustrated by artist Nicolas Cherati. For a cake to serve

10 - 12 chocolate lovers

• 100 g/ 3 ounces dark chocolate,

broken into pieces

• 250 g toasted pecans

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa

powder

• 75 g / 3/8 cup sugar

• 3 whole eggs

• 2 extra egg whites Mix chocolate, pecans, salt, cocoa powder and sugar in food processor. Pulse to make crumbs. Add whole eggs, one at a time. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into the batter. Pour into 9 inch/22 cm removable bottom cake pan.

Bake at 150 C/ 300 F until a pick comes clean, about 25 minutes.

Cool completely before turning out of pan. The cake will be about 2.5 cm / 1 inch high.

Carefully split cake into two layers. It is fragile. Use another flat cake pan bottom if you have one to remove the top layer of cake. Place the cake layer on a serving plate. Sprinkle with one tablespoon whisky. Spread with one third of the buttercream. Sprinkle the second cake layer with one tablespoon of whisky, then gently turn it on top of the first layer. Spread the top and sides with the remaining buttercream.