Flourless cake always in fashion

How fitting that Valentine's Day comes in blustery, wintery February, the dreariest part of winter, just as we're reaching the end of our patience with the weather and dreaming of warmth and chocolate ... lots of chocolate.

I never met a chocolate dessert that I wouldn't try, although I do have my favorites.

Chemically speaking, chocolate contains the same "drug" our bodies produce when we first fall in love -- and who wouldn't like that feeling all the time?

I am enchanted by the color, aroma, texture and versatility of all chocolate, but deep, dark bittersweet is my favorite.

I admit that I don't really like mixing fruits such as raspberry or orange with it. I like my fruit flavors to be clear and my chocolate pure. Call me old-fashioned.

But add coffee or espresso to the mix and we're taking chocolate to new heights.

I began my career in food by making a flourless chocolate cake, maybe the first one ever written about by Craig Claiborne in the New York Times Magazine in 1980.

At the time, I couldn't imagine such a thing. No flour? Unheard of.

But it launched my dessert business that I ran for 11 years, which led me to feeding people today at my restaurant Ina's. Hooray for chocolate!

Here is a wonderful and easy flourless chocolate cake that you can add to your repertoire. Enjoy.

Ina Pinkney is the chef and owner of Ina's, 1235 W. Randolph.