Lemon Meringue Chocolate Cake

 This past weekend was a weekend filled with indulgences. First, and foremost comes this cake - this decadent cake with its three separate layers of goodness: a delicious brownie-like chocolate cake whose centre is scooped out and filled with tangy homemade lemon curd that is then topped with meringue icing. Can you think of a more decadent dessert? This recipe was one of my favourite finds from the 10th anniversary edition of Donna Hay's magazine .

Valentine's Day Brownies

I didn't grow up celebrating Valentine's day. Should I even attempt the stereotypical sentence that Paris is romantic every day of the year and that we don't need a special day to celebrate love? I wouldn't dare. But the truth is, it's not a day of the year we that we're particularly attached to in France. Or at least not a day that really marked my young teenage years. I see a lot more marketing around the holiday when I go back to France now, but while I was in high school I saw it as a North American celebration that you really only understand from cheesy American movies.

Now that I live on this side of the world, I've got to admit, I have a love/hate relationship with it. Yes, it really is a consumer-driven holiday. The cards, the chocolate, the teddy bears, the teddy bears made of chocolate, the hearts, the flowers - is that really what we are waiting to receive? That part isn't really enticing to me in any way. However, the love part I'm all for. Although I don't believe in set days to remember to show affection, I will never say no to an added day of the year that's about a little bit of giddiness.

To mark the occasion, I've got an an easy update on a classic. Deliciously sweet brownies, all-dressed up for Valentine's Day! I like to use the Baked brownies (my all-time favourite!), cut the cooled brownies with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and add a few decorative Smarties.