Mother's Day in Paris - My "Moelleux au Chocolat"

Well, last Sunday (May 29th) was Mother's Day in France. By mere coincidence, my nephew who lives in Germany, his girl-friend and a friend had come to visit us, so I was particularly spoiled! Because of some long family history, this boy, now a young man, grew up partly under my care, so it made me very happy to have him home on Sunday....

Then, I felt tempted to say "nothing special" but no...Thank you God, for giving me this "nothing special"...my husband getting up early, and hearing him say: "I'm going to buy two baguettes"....full of enthusiasm, and returning with this beautiful bouquet, chosen by my daughters...(I had not noticed they had also left...we were so many at home that morning, and I was busy talking with my guests....)

My girls chose these roses, called "Tango", in honor of their Argentinian mother...Oh! I wish you could smell the perfume....

and then they gave me this beautiful "tablier", and I DID feel like a queen the whole day....

plus, this bottle of Miss Dior Chérie...It's incredible how girls pay attention to all the things you say, even in passing by...They heard me saying how much I loved this perfume, even if it is a bit "girly", with its scents of caramelized popcorn, mandarine... but I like it!

They heard me singing the song like in the commercial. Do they show it around the world or is it only here, in France? Watch it here..I love it!

My teenage son contributed to the present "donating" from his "pocket money", but his sisters complained that he had not given as much...(boys will be boys...)

My husband prepared his specialty: home-made pasta with pesto sauce !!! 

and I made this cake, that has become sort of my signature cake, as you must have noticed if you follow my posts regularly...Here, it is a "moelleux au chocolat" (molten chocolate cake) with the mirror glaze, explained by me in a previous post. There are some macaron figurines for decoration...

I served it with some "crème anglaise" just in case, we were "running short of  calories"....Some French champagne, some Italian espressos, lots of anecdotes, laughter, boisterous family we are...!! (we can't deny our Spanish/Italian ancestry)

Late in the afternoon, our visitors left, I sorted out everything, and then, lay on my couch, to watch a movie: one of those melodramas in Victorian England, Pride & Prejudice type...Keira Knightley, those movies that my husband loathes!!! but he did not complain this time (it was Mother's day after all!...but he silently glided his way to his bedroom to watch a rugby match...it was drizzling in Paris...

And then, I looked away from the TV set, to see the table, the flowers, my daughter's cotton jacket resting carelesly on the back of a chair, and I felt very fortunate...everything has been so simple and yet so joyous...

I decided to take a picture, to capture the moment...maybe in some years, when the kids grow up and leave home, I will cherish this photograph of one Mother's day, in Paris, when I was the Queen for one day...with my cloud of scent, Miss Dior Chérie, and my roses "Tango".

For the recipe, please go here....



Moelleux au Chocolat


 * dark chocolate (minimum 55% cacao), 200gr
 * butter, 200gr
 * icing sugar, 60gr
 * granulated sugar, 60gr
 * eggs, 5
 * cornstarch, 40gr
 * salt, a pinch

Pre-heat the oven 180°C. Butter a 18/20/22cm ring mold. Wrap the bottom in aluminum foil. Place it on a baking sheet. Chop the chocolate coarsely. Add the butter in pieces. Melt in a "bain Marie". Combine well. Pass the mixture to a stand mixer. Incorporate the sugars and salt. Then, add the eggs, one by one, whisking constantly. Finally, by hand, fold in the sifted  cornstarch. Pour immediately in the ring mold. Bake for 22'/ 24'. Let it cool before removing from the mold. If you are going to glaze it, it is better to refrigerate it for at least 12 hours.