The post- and pre-game wrap-up

I'm ending my contract at Mackenzie today, a week earlier than I was originally scheduled for. The big project that the other contractors and I were hired on for went to press last week, and this week has been an exercise in finding enough interesting stuff on the internet to keep me awake, whiling away the hours. Understandably, my manager has asked all of us if we'd be willing to end our contracts early. This is generally a good thing to do, as it shows clients that you don't want to waste their money. To the best of my knowledge, I'm the only one out of the five of us who has agreed to do so.

As part of an ongoing tradition of mine, I've baked something for my co-workers as a way of expressing my gratitude. This Chowhound discussion of the best flourless chocolate cake recipe seemed like a good fit, as one of the other contractors here is gluten-intolerant. I decided to adapt Martha Stewart's Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe so that the dairy-intolerant among us (i.e., I) would have the opportunity to try it out as well. I baked a small sample in a ramekin last night to try it out, and am pleased with the results. It's chocolate-y, without seeming too much like ganache, apparently a common complaint for flourless chocolate cakes. Also, the interior is moist and spongy. The texture is surprisingly cake-y, without being heavy. The cake top is fascinatingly crispy, I wish all cakes had this top.

While it's possible that I might be returning to Mackenzie for the year-end version of the project, next September, I think it's safe to say that I'll have other things to concern me for the interim version, which wraps in April. Still, it never hurts to leave a good impression at a place you enjoy working at.

In the meantime, my December looks like it will mark a return to the gift-wrapping gig for charity which I undertook two years ago. It was a great job, and I'm very much looking forward to returning to it. My first day is — get this — next Monday.