Apricot and chocolate cake. Not precisely a Halloween party

Halloween is here again. 

It feels like yesterday when my kids and I were doing "trick and treat" in Manila, all dressed up, and sweating like chickens, in synthetic Halloween costumes. We lived the experience with lots of enthusiasm, although by the third week of October, after so many parties, we were over it. And then, Christmas sales started - although some shops already displayed Santa Klaus and Christmas trees in September.

To our large repertory of  Spanish and Australian traditions, the McCaffrey Tolmos family endorses new costumes from the countries where we live. Whether we believe in them or not, we learn to respect them by being actively part of them.

Lima celebrates Halloween, but it is nothing compared to Manila. It could pass without being noticed, really, except for some street decorations and a couple of invitations we have received to children's parties. This year, Aurelia wanted to be Dracula and Gabriel, Superman. Juanan was still happy with his biberon or baby drinking bottle, so I saved money with him. 

At home, we decided to do something new. Instead of having a party we cut, emptied and shaped three "American" pumpkins, as they are called here. And when I say "we", I mean Samuel and Hugo, wonderful handyman who work at the residence. The kids lasted two minutes and got bored. 

By the third morning, a black layer of disgusting mould covered the inside base of the pumpkins. Three disappointed people were having breakfast that morning, Aurelia, Gabriel and me -  my plans of making a delicious soup with them were ruined.

Two days ago, the same day my kids and I enjoyed our first Halloween party in Lima, around 150 Australian and Peruvian business men and women from the Australia Peru Chamber of Commerce were invited to my house, for a different type of party, and not precisely wearing costumes of witches and skeletors. 

It was a "Welcoming cocktail in honour of the new Australian Ambassador in Peru" and we were hosting it at the residence. It was our first official event of many to come during this posting.

When Aurelia came back from school that afternoon, she saw a big black tent covering most of the garden. She was very animated because she believed it was an outdoor entertainment carp for a Halloween party. The black colour confused her a bit.

When the evening started, around 6.45 pm, Nick quickly went downstairs to greet the first guests, who didn't know he just finished reading the book Room on the broom, by Julia Donaldson, to our three year old son Gabriel. As I came into Gab's room, holding Juanan in my arms, only his soft grey elephant was resting on his pillow. Oh, no! He went to the cocktail party! I said loudly and with concern. I rushed downstairs, jumping the stairs from two in two. Juanan had a great time bouncing in my arms and giggled all the way to the reception area.

For the first five minutes of the event, and not longer than that, Nick had to shake hands with guests while a little monkey, Gabriel, was grabbing one of his legs, and a fairy princess next to him, Aurelia, who decided to wear a sparkling blue dress all fancy for the special occasion to which she was not invited. Not far, I was in my jeans with baby Juanan, drinking his milk bottle.

It was a relaxed scene from the new Australian Ambassador and his young  family. As good as it gets, but we disappeared fast. I had to grab the children to their bedrooms before any possible meltdown - it wouldn't be fun for anybody, I assure you. They kept calling papa! papa! from the stairs. It was all confusing for them. So I decided it was better to show them a bit of the event from upstairs, instead of useless explanations.

We went to terrace of Aurelia's room, the four of us. With their faces between the metal bars, they spied, with two little eyes...women with colourful make up in high heels and beautiful dresses, men in dark suits and matching ties; people chatting and smiling; business cards being swapped; glasses of wine being filled up; finger food on the table. The kids also listened some of the music and their dad talking on the microphone. He was giving a speech.

Who is all this people, mum? why is papa talking? Aurelia and Gab interrogated me.
They are here because it is part of papa's work, I simplified.

They went to sleep later than usual as they continued coming to my room to play the game "I spy", expecting that those funny looking papas and mamas went home.

Aurelia and Gab didn't understand what their father was doing that night, for the same reason they don't see why we move countries and schools, but this is part of the diplomatic life.

And who knows, maybe one day in the future, Aurelia, Gabriel or Juanan will be the Nick they saw that night.

Dried apricot, almonds and chocolate moist cake

This cake was based on Annie Bell's "chocolate and apricot cake" but I made a few adjustments using almond meal and wholemeal and quinoa flour mixed together. Otherwise, you can substitute this mixture for 200g of almond flour. I baked it in a square cake tin and served it as brownies, but it is ten times healthier and lighter, unless you want to decorate it with chocolate ganache.

• 225g dried apricots
• 7cm cinnamon stick
• finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 6 medium eggs
• 100g wholemeal flour plus two tablespoons of quinoa flour
• 100g almond meal (we grounded whole almonds in the food processor)
• 25g cocoa powder, sifted (I used unsweetened organic cacao, absolutely delicious in Peru)
• 200g brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Place the apricots, cinnamon stick, lemon zest and juice and 200ml water in a small saucepan. Bring to boil and then simmer over a low heat for about 20 minutes or until they have absorbed all the liquid. remove the cinnamon stick and puree the apricots in a food processor. Transfer the puree to a bowl and leave to cool.
2. Preheat the oven to 190C.
3. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, and then fold in the ground almonds, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and apricot puree.
4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared buttered tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 50 minutes