feast day

Being brought a cup of tea in bed is simply the most luxurious thing.

I no longer do a slow waking procedure in the morning - tea in bed listening to John Humphreys harangue some soul on the radio - although I must have done in the past. Anyway, I took the day off for birthday reasons and very much enjoyed the leisurely morning slot, followed by a breakfast of cherries (picked the day before from my sister's tree) and a plain slab of sponge cake - made by my mother for my nephew's birthday.

Thence to the rose garden in Regent's Park to meet HG for a cheesecake-off. She made the chocolate version, and I the plain vanilla. I baked mine the day before so it would be maximally delicious, but I must admit that hers was the finer example. Exquisite is how I would describe it, if pressed. The crumb of the base was just so; the centre that perfect firmness of something like semi-soft butter, on which the retreating knife leaves a small swirl. The first time HG and I made chocolate cheesecake it was with frowns of disbelief, however I must urge you to try it: it retains that slight sour note you hope for, and somehow fails to taste chocolate-ey - instead becoming transcribed into, I fancy, a flavour-cousin of chocolate.

HG let on that, having always used Green and Black's, she had converted to the Divine dark chocolate (and in this instance to Lindt), for the slightly less gritty texture. I completely concur. I also moved away from G&B, towards Lindt, and thence to any old supermarket chocolate with 70% or more cocoa solids. For this cheesecake, or brownies, I would use the better chocolate too, though.

Anyway, for the first time ever, water from the water bath Houdini-ed into my foil-wrapped tin and the base became soggy. I was making two cakes at the same time, in different sized tins, with the result that the tall one I took my nephew was undercooked, and the HG version was rather shorter and a smidge overcooked. I was disappointed, but no one else seemed to know what I was grousing about.

Dear, dear: I meant this post to be about the wonderful chateaubriand the gent treated me to that evening, but I have written too much already. Both cheesecake recipes are found in Nigella Lawson's 'How to be a Domestic Goddess', with the amendment on HG's part of doubling the biscuit base quantities for the chocolate version.