The other night we built a fire in the backyard, we toasted marshmallows coated in nutella (Malcolm’s idea) and then we brought out the instruments. I played ukulele, Malcolm played his real guitar, and Isaac played his toy guitar. Malcolm knows three or four chords, I can play a few chords, but I can’t remember which ones they are, and Isaac knows no chords and his guitar is untunable. What a cacophony!! The neighbors love us! Isaac wrote a little song, and this is how it goes…

I can play guitar like a rock star
I can play guitar like a rock star
Nobody does it like me

I can tie my shoe just how I do
I can tie my shoe just how I do
Nobody does it like me

I can hit things physically Like I’m in misery
I can hit things physically like I’m in misery
Nobody does it like me

I can find a word
like I have 25 birds on my shoulder…

WAIT! WHAT? Twenty-five birds on your shoulder? What? Why? At that point I interrupted his song because I was so taken with the idea of Isaac with twenty-five birds on his shoulder that I wanted to hear more about it. Why were they there? What did it mean? But I couldn’t get him to clarify, and he had already taken himself to the bridge and beyond and there wasn’t any going back. Well! First of all, it’s true, nobody ties shoes like Isaac. Nobody. Second of all, how nice is it to hear your son write a song about being good at things? It’s a confident song. It’s good to hear. So I sit here with twenty-five birds on my shoulder, writing this to tell you about today’s Sunday interactive playlist. It’s songs about being good at things. They can be vaguely boastful bragging songs, of course, but extra points for songs about being good at specific things.

This was a good cake! It was too good! It was almost like fudge. It has no flour, so it’s dense and soft, but it does have pecans, coconut and chocolate. It has chocolate on top, too, which gives it a bit of crunch, and makes it like a big soft chocolate bar. It was very very easy to make, I did it almost all in the old food processor, which seems to be my new cake-baking technique.

Here’s a link to that playlist. I need some help with this one! I’m drawing a blank. Add your own, or leave a song in the comments and I’ll add it through the week.

3 eggs, separated
1 cup brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1 T maple syrup
1 cup toasted pecan pieces
1 1/4 cup sweetened flaked coconut
6 T soft butter
1/4 t salt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chocolate chips, plus about 1/3 cup for the top

Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly butter a cake pan.

Whip the egg whites until very stiff and then set them aside.

Meanwhile, in a food processor, whip the egg yolks until frothy and pale. Add the brown sugar and process again, add the vanilla and maple and process some more. Add the pecans and coconut, and process until very nearly smooth. A little texture is okay, but you don’t want big pieces of anything. Add the butter and salt and process again. Add the milk and process again. Add the chocolate chips and process briefly until some of the chips are broken down completely, but some remain fairly intact. Spoon in a big dollop of egg whites to lighten the batter, and then gently fold in the rest.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is fairly firm and has holes in it like a pancake when it’s done. It will be soft, but it should spring back when you touch it lightly. Spread the 1/3 cup chocolate chips over the top, turn the oven off, and put the cake back in. When the chips are melted, use a knife to spread them over the top of the cake.

Allow the cake to cool. It would be nice served with fruit and a little whipped cream!