Dessert. It's the new dinner.

This morning we made Tropical Yogurt Ice. We've been waiting all week for the mangoes to ripen, and today they were calling us.

Cut up 2 bananas and 2 mangoes and place in blender. Add 2 cups of plain yogurt, 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar, and juice from half a lemon. Blend up good and place in a shallow container that has a tight fitting lid. Place in freezer. After three hours stir it up to break up the ice crystals, and return to freezer. After another three hours stir again and return to freezer until ready to eat. You will need to let it sit out for a bit to scoop it easy and enjoy!

Before we left this morning, I asked my sous chef to pick out something to make for dinner. He picked a chocolate cake recipe. I asked him to add the sprinkles, and silly me, didn't pay much attention. We got sprinkles alright!

Little Chocolate Cake

2 squares (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sour milk (place 1 tsp white vinegar in your measuring cup and fill with milk)

Stir the chocolate (chop it into smaller pieces first) and hot water until blended. Cool mixture. Add in sugar shortening egg and vanilla - mix well. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to the chocolate - alternating with the milk. Pour into a greased 8" square baking pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Cool and top with frosting:

In a saucepan, mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/3 cup milk, 2 squares (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate (melted) 2 tablespoons shortening, 1 tablespoon light corn syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Over medium heat, and stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil and boil for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and place the pan into a larger pan or bowl of ice water. Mix for 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons butter or margarine and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Continue mixing for up to 10 minutes.

The frosting will become very gooey - almost caramel like. I don't normally go to such lengths for frosting but this one is worth it!

Put the cake together with the Tropical Yogurt Ice and you have a match made in heaven!

(We did actually consume a real dinner, which even involved salad, so it completely justifies consuming a plateful of goods!)

The chef says, "It's fifty-thousand and nine thousand thumbs up!"