Imagine a big triple layer fudge cake with fluffy milk chocolate icing oozing out in between the layers. The perfect sweet confection in taste and form. Your mouth waters as you slice in to it.  You just know it will be perfectly moist, rich, decadent. The first bite sends you into ecstasy, the second is even better. The rich texture of a crumbly moist cake with smooth icing. It’s all you can do to hold on to your table manners. You’re tempted to loose your cool and dive in with a fork in each hand. It’s so good you don’t want to share. You eat the whole thing in record time.

Wait a minute, put  down the fork and step away from the cake……..

Sometimes that cake looks great, but then you taste it and it’s just ….okay. This could easily turn out to be one of those store bought-pretty on the outside-weak flavor-bad texture-cakes.

Plus–Chocolate cake is okay–in moderation. In large amounts it’s bad for you health, it makes your ass big and it has no real nutritional value. It’s nice to admire but as a steady diet, not so good.  You feel guilty after you indulge, which is about as much fun as folding laundry. Add to that the fact that chocolate cake isn’t picky about who it hangs out with. How many chocolate cakes have you seen surrounded by tarts, muffins, cookies and the occasioning piece of pie? Now after you’ve indulged you feel guilty and stupid.

I’ve seen quite a few pieces of chocolate cake and had my moments of temptation. There’s one recipe I have a hard time staying away from in particular. I’m getting better at walking away from the bakery and into the grocery store where they have a wider variety of things to satisfy. I’m not wasting empty calories on things that are bad for me anymore!

I often think about the cake- but I’m going to save myself for a big juicy steak dinner with mushrooms,  a baked potato, a bottle of wine, flowers and maybe a truffle or two—-you know, the whole meal not just desert!