Panna Cotta

Well, these aren't exactly the long awaited pictures of my Panna Cotta, but they are pictures from when I made it about a week ago. I went up to my grandmother's house last weekend and together we made this delightfully creamy and light, yet rich dessert. Panna Cotta is an italian dessert, much like France's Creme Brulee, or Spain's Flan, though it contains no eggs. I think that custards are one of the finest desserts. Panna Cotta is rich enough that a little will suffice and so a nice ramekin size is perfect. This Panna Cotta we served with a warm strawberry coulis, though it is also quite nice with fresh peaches and blueberries. I think that by far this dessert has been my favourite one I've made this summer. It is always just so cool and creamy.

The Last Cake

Well. Last night was the very last night of m last cake decorating class. I have now spent 3 months of my life learning to decorate cakes, and what is the result? Ta da! One day I may be able to make truly lovely wedding cakes, or something like that. I think I've made a good start, and I've certainly learned a lot this summer. The top layer is a yellow cake with a cream cheese frosting filling, and then the bottom is a spice cake with the same cream cheesy filling. Now to find time and occasions to practice my skills...

Thai Desserts

I realized on Wednesday that I haven't cooked anything new in several weeks and decided today that it was time to remedy that. I have long enjoyed Thai food, perhaps because my dad made it a lot growing up, and so today I decided to experiment with a Thai dessert that I first tasted a few months ago. Sticky rice with mangoes is a delightful treat in Thailand and it is a delightful treat at my house. It turned out quite spectacularly and I already am looking forward to making it again. This dessert is ridiculously easy to make. You make rice, and boil some coconut milk with a little sugar and mix the two together. Let it sit, serve with some mangoes, and some additional coconut milk. It is a sweet yet refreshing dessert. I'm sure it's especially nice on a hot night, though I can't say for sure since we're having lovely cool weather this weekend. With luck it will turn out as well next time I make it. And maybe that time I can procure some nice Filipino mangoes.

Cake Number 5

Well, last night was the 1st time that I have ever worked with Fondant. Fondant is not as hard as people make it seem. Certainly I imagine that the horror stories are true, but still, it wasn't that bad. Now of course it still took me three tries to get it on my cake, but hopefully next time will be better. The bow is actually quite easy to make, but I got rather impatient and didn't wait long enough for the bows to dry, hence the flatness... I used butterscotch pudding for the filling in between my two very flat layers. It turned out pretty tasty.