Nancy Reagan would have thrown herself from a tall building rather than let a crumb of this intense chocolate and prune d’Agen cake pass her lips. Just the sight of such a calorific sin would cause her to spin on her heels and elegantly jack knife out of the window, performing the only sort swallow that would save her from a fate worse than fatness. One of you out there recommended that I read David Leibovitz’s Paris blog and in following your advice I stumbled across a cool writer and this cake. It has to be said that this is not a “cakey” cake. Children will grimace after the first mouthful as they would on mistaking a single malt for a soft drink, so the cake is safe from under age marauders. David Leibovitz suggests that the prunes, which are an intrinsic part of this recipe, should be marinated in whichever alcohol floats your boat but opines the idea of marinating them in black tea which option I took. 
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It definitely wouldn’t have been safe from me!
I would have guessed that:)
Like 🙂
You would:)
I talked my school into allowing me to make home made wine when I was 8. I gave my teacher a bottle and drank the rest. Both my teacher and the school loved the idea! That wouldn’t happen today 😉
That is brilliant. Can you imagine wine making and appreciation on the syllabus?
Yummm. So glad you shared the recipe and the photo. I love David’s blog too.
He’s a really interesting man and a great guide to good eating in Paris.
As I in No Way suffer from the former First Lady’s neurosis (I have my own, thanks!), I’ll take a larger slice….
I love David’ books and blog…his Chocolate Idiot Cake is Required Holiday Eating around here
I have to try the Chocolate Idiot Cake….I’ll track the recipe down.
it’s on the blog somewhere…
Sometimes I need the marauding under agers to save me from my own chocolate gluttony, I have no will power or finess to share when chocolate is involved.
Seems like the swallow dive is in order or just swallow the chocolate:)
Ha, can’t remember the last time I heard a good NR joke. Reminds me of childhood. Just say no to chocolate.
We’ll never run out of NR and RR jokes:)
I would rather have cake every night than be thin!
Nancy would have her fingers in her ears going la-la-la-la-la-la:)
Well to begin, if the Reagans were against something, it’s pretty much a given that I’d be in favor of it. And if it’s a Leibovitz recipe, I’m going to like it — a lot. Add your recommendation and this is a recipe I’m going to try, though I think I’ll go the cherry route. It’s cherry season here.
That’s a smart move, John. I might make it again with cherries – maybe black morello cherries.
Nancy Reagan’s loss…what a divine looking cake, and the cherries sound like a great idea, too!
Nancy certainly lost it:)
🙂
Intrigued by this recipe when first I read it – and I love John’s idea of the cherries! Actually this recipe sounds like an amazing jumping off point for several seasonal substitutions. (I’m thinking apricots would be wonderful too.)
Roger, here’s the link for the (flour-less) (4 ingredient) Idiot Cake by David Lebovitz:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/01/shf-27-chocolat-1/#
Thanks so much for the recipe – it’s filed:)
Apricots and chocolate can be delicious. I think the fruit alcohols like Framboise, Quetsch, Poire William and the like, would work very well in this recipe:)
Rich and thin are good, but chocolate wins hands down any day! I am SOOO going to make this…
I just had a slice with a glass of red wine.Excellent combination:)
I will have to compare this chocolate cake with one that I found from Diane von Fürstenberg’s personal chef that I clipped from a magazine a few years ago.
That is a truly unusual source for a recipe:)
Well.. there you go, I didn’t know that about Nancy! I love this recipe, it’s so versatile.. the possibilities are endless.. but then that would require more than a thin slice, I guess:)
It was all too much for Nancy:)
😀
It really sounds good!!! Thanks for recipe.
Enjoy:)
I love chocolate!! But I guess it would be safe from me nowdays with this horrible hot weather..This does not stop me from getting my daily dose of Chocolate Gelato!!!!!.
I love good ice cream:)
I recommend you read david’s book too – it’s very funny. No alcohol for the prunes?? The photo has me wishing I could have a slice of that cake.
I’m certainly going to read more of David’s stuff:)
Since my e-miail problems, I seem to have missed a few posts. Hopefully unsubscribing and resubscribing should sort things! I am not a huge chocolate fan, when when the craving strikes, this is exactly the sort of thing I would want to eat!
Glad to see you’re back on line:)