Cooking
There aren't many things that'll get me out of bed early on a Sunday morning. Especially a Sunday morning after a late Saturday night watching a box office-shattering film which subsequently left me too wired to sleep.
And yet, with considerably less sleep than I'd planned, I was up & surprisingly awake that morning...with a strong Central Perk-sized mug of Irish tea...getting out eggs and flour and and pistachios & firing up Skype.
Because one of those few reasons to give up my (much-needed) beauty sleep is a scheduled viral baking session with my Bakeanista pals.
The plan: bake and decorate a Cassata; a wonderful cake filled with a chocolate & pistachio ricotta mixture, and iced and decorated...well, that part's up for discussion.
Most of the 'gang' was there, and there was much chatting and laughing and baking. Every now and again, you find a group of people you know you can truly be yourself around. These guys? Oh...if Skype had a ratings system, well; let's just say it's better they don't.
But with Lisa, Chris, Helen, Ben, Ivonne, John, Kelly, Marce, and Mary baking...and chatting...freely, you're guaranteed a fun time.
A few Bakeanistas had to skip the bake-fest, but were definitely with us in spirit (and possibly felt a burning sensation about the ears throughout the day): Sara, Tanna & Laura , you gals were missed.
The cake was to be liberally brushed with rum. Even though I was intending to give the cake to my father-in-law for his birthday, I had to change that. Even if I did drink, I just can't do rum.
So, I used a blood orange syrup which, along with the chocolate/pistachio/ricotta/orange zest filing, gave the cake a funky four-colored look.
Instead of the meringue-based frosting, I used Helen's recipe for stable-ized whipped cream, and decorated it simply with whole pistachios.
I haven't gotten a review yet, but I think it turned out pretty good. But a day spent with friends? A perfect ten.
You're invited to celebrate Blog Party's 3rd anniversary! Make this a fantastic party...there's just a few more days to get your your Blogger's Choice RSVP's to thehappysorceress at gmail dot com; no later than THIS Thursday, 24 July. Hope to see you there!
Tagged with: Food and Drink + Cake + Baking + Bakeanistass + Cassata + Eggs + Pistachios + Ricotta + Chocolate + Frosting
- Shf 4 – Pistachio Gelato
Pistachios are fairly new to me. My first pistachio purchase was a mere two months ago when I bought a one pound bag of shelled pistachios in order to make Holiday Biscotti for IMBB 10. While I enjoyed the biscotti, I was frustrated that I couldn’t...
- Post-oscar Decadence
Of all the nominations, I've only seen...two?...of the films. Ratatouille and Michael Clayton. Which is probably a higher number than past years. We decided to have a sort of 'decadence' dinner. Nothing too fancy, just foods we really enjoy....
- Happy Birthday
Yesterday was Matt's birthday. It's a milestone, which he's not too happy about. We're having an official 'to-do' later this month, but of course the three of us had to celebrate. There were cool gifts, and Matt had exactly...
- Retro Dessert: Layers Of Caramel-y Goodness
My first effort from the fabulous Retro Baking; Caramel Cake Retro Baking is published by Collector's Press, and is just one book in their wonderful 'retro' line (do check them out). Thanks to my recent acquisition of Retro Baking and Retro...
- How To Celebrate With Chocolate Cake(s)
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Pistachio Petit Four Cake - for my 31st. birthday .flickr-photo { border: solid...
Cooking
The Bakeanistas: Four Colors of Cassata
There aren't many things that'll get me out of bed early on a Sunday morning. Especially a Sunday morning after a late Saturday night watching a box office-shattering film which subsequently left me too wired to sleep.
And yet, with considerably less sleep than I'd planned, I was up & surprisingly awake that morning...with a strong Central Perk-sized mug of Irish tea...getting out eggs and flour and and pistachios & firing up Skype.
Because one of those few reasons to give up my (much-needed) beauty sleep is a scheduled viral baking session with my Bakeanista pals.
The plan: bake and decorate a Cassata; a wonderful cake filled with a chocolate & pistachio ricotta mixture, and iced and decorated...well, that part's up for discussion.
Most of the 'gang' was there, and there was much chatting and laughing and baking. Every now and again, you find a group of people you know you can truly be yourself around. These guys? Oh...if Skype had a ratings system, well; let's just say it's better they don't.
But with Lisa, Chris, Helen, Ben, Ivonne, John, Kelly, Marce, and Mary baking...and chatting...freely, you're guaranteed a fun time.
A few Bakeanistas had to skip the bake-fest, but were definitely with us in spirit (and possibly felt a burning sensation about the ears throughout the day): Sara, Tanna & Laura , you gals were missed.
The cake was to be liberally brushed with rum. Even though I was intending to give the cake to my father-in-law for his birthday, I had to change that. Even if I did drink, I just can't do rum.
So, I used a blood orange syrup which, along with the chocolate/pistachio/ricotta/orange zest filing, gave the cake a funky four-colored look.
Instead of the meringue-based frosting, I used Helen's recipe for stable-ized whipped cream, and decorated it simply with whole pistachios.
I haven't gotten a review yet, but I think it turned out pretty good. But a day spent with friends? A perfect ten.
You're invited to celebrate Blog Party's 3rd anniversary! Make this a fantastic party...there's just a few more days to get your your Blogger's Choice RSVP's to thehappysorceress at gmail dot com; no later than THIS Thursday, 24 July. Hope to see you there!
Tagged with: Food and Drink + Cake + Baking + Bakeanistass + Cassata + Eggs + Pistachios + Ricotta + Chocolate + Frosting
- Shf 4 – Pistachio Gelato
Pistachios are fairly new to me. My first pistachio purchase was a mere two months ago when I bought a one pound bag of shelled pistachios in order to make Holiday Biscotti for IMBB 10. While I enjoyed the biscotti, I was frustrated that I couldn’t...
- Post-oscar Decadence
Of all the nominations, I've only seen...two?...of the films. Ratatouille and Michael Clayton. Which is probably a higher number than past years. We decided to have a sort of 'decadence' dinner. Nothing too fancy, just foods we really enjoy....
- Happy Birthday
Yesterday was Matt's birthday. It's a milestone, which he's not too happy about. We're having an official 'to-do' later this month, but of course the three of us had to celebrate. There were cool gifts, and Matt had exactly...
- Retro Dessert: Layers Of Caramel-y Goodness
My first effort from the fabulous Retro Baking; Caramel Cake Retro Baking is published by Collector's Press, and is just one book in their wonderful 'retro' line (do check them out). Thanks to my recent acquisition of Retro Baking and Retro...
- How To Celebrate With Chocolate Cake(s)
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Pistachio Petit Four Cake - for my 31st. birthday .flickr-photo { border: solid...