Valentine's Day in Gaia's kitchen  Impress your loved one this
Valentine's Day with a homemade chocolate and pear cake  What
better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with chocolate.
Rich in the chemical phenylethylamine, which also occurs
naturally in the brain and is associated with the euphoric
feelings of falling in love, it's not surprising that chocolate
has won itself a reputation as an aphrodisiac.  Its mother
plant, the cacao tree, was named theobroma - the food of the
gods - by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus. It had great
ceremonial importance to the Aztecs and the Maya people who used
it mixed it with chilli and other spices and offer it to the
gods. It was also used to anoint newborn babies, so is truly
evocative of the new beginnings we all hope for on Valentine's
Day.  Chocolate and pear cake with truffle icing A very
luxurious cake. I used to make it as one deeper cake, but have
recently taken to baking it two sandwich tins and gluing it
together with a thin layer of jam - this ensures a