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Go Figure!
Date: Jul. 28th 2008
Category: Italian Sweets, Cakes, Cheesecakes, Cupcakes and Muffins, Pies and Tarts, Magazine Mondays
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Go figure!
For this week’s edition of Magazine Mondays, I’m featuring a recipe that I came this close to dumping in the food waste bin.
When I bought the 2007 April/May issue of Taste Italia, I immediately bookmarked a recipe for Apricot Almond Shortbread (Frollino di albicocca e mandorla).
For starters, the title is slightly misleading. This dessert is a cross between a cake and a pie of sorts. While the photo was very enticing, I disliked the recipe almost as soon as I started making it. To begin with, there are a lot of steps and I found the directions a bit confusing.
The worst part of the recipe for me was the topping, which was disastrous. The topping is a meringue of sorts that you spread on the dessert after baking it a for a bit. You then put it back in the oven to bake the topping. My topping spread all over the place and it just came out of the oven looking like a disaster.
After letting it cool, I took a long look at my creation and thought, “There is no way I can serve this to anyone.” I almost threw it out but then remembered that there were quite a bit of almonds, egg whites and fresh apricots in there and tossing it didn’t seem very cost-effective.
So I let it cook completely, did some damage control to the topping and filled in the top with apricot jam.
Feeling somewhat better, I brought the dessert into work on the same day that I brought in the Peach and Almond Tart from a few weeks ago. I expected everyone to like the peach tart much better but in one of those strange twists, it seemed most people actually preferred the apricot dessert.
Go figure!
To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever be making this one again, but it just goes to show, you never really do know how a dessert may turn out.
Have a great week everyone!
Ciao!
Note: Click here for the recipe for the Apricot Almond Shortbread. This week, I’m joined in my Magazine Mondays post by Oakley Rhodes of the blog Lemonbasil with her gorgeous White Chocolate Panna Cotta with Dark Chocolate Sauce.
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August 2010
Pestos, Tapenades, and Spreads: 40 Simple Recipes for Delicious Toppings, Sauces & Dips
Time to put all those herbs in the garden to good use! I’m loving this book!
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07/28/08 at 6:44 pm
Great save! It’s often the case that the things you compensate for being not-so-great end up being the best loved by the critics. I DO love apricots though. I’m sure it tasted great! I wonder why someone chose to call this shortbread, though…
07/28/08 at 6:57 pm
This is a really good lesson, because, yeah, we never really know, do we? But, it really shows how experienced a baker you are because you knew how to fix this and make it edible and appetizing - also a great lesson.
I kinda bailed on MM today - too hot to bake/cook and I’m not really in the mood. Hopefully I’ll have something new for next week.
07/28/08 at 7:32 pm
what a great way to save a dessert!
07/28/08 at 7:59 pm
Looks great! You did a good job recovering the top. I find that sometimes my least favorite or my biggest blunders are my families favorites. I agree…go figure!
07/28/08 at 11:17 pm
Bummer that it did not turn out the way you wanted. But you did great damage control.
07/28/08 at 11:25 pm
A pity… Such things can happen, but it is always very annoying!
Cheers,
Rosa
07/28/08 at 11:27 pm
Put enough apricots or apricot jam on anything and it is pretty edible:)))) One of my favorite fruits.
07/29/08 at 6:09 am
You know, your description of this sounds reallly delicious, especially the additions you made. You don’t mention what YOU thought of the taste, but if you say you won’t be making it again, I guess you didn’t like it that much.
07/29/08 at 8:12 am
Don’t dump THAT gorgeous dessert out, Ivonne!! I’ll take it!! :0D
07/29/08 at 8:42 am
It’s the mark of a well-seasoned baker if you are able to improvise when things go wrong. It looks great!
07/29/08 at 9:53 am
Ooh, see, I think I would have gone for this tart as well. The meringue type topping sounds all wrong, but your rescue sounds like divine inspiration. I’m sure the cake would thank you if it could.
07/29/08 at 11:09 am
that still looks gorgeous. One of our traditional cakes is made the same way i.e. by applying a decorating layer of ground almonds and egg whites on the cooked cake. Perhaps the mixture was a bit too liquidy or maybe the oven wasn’t heated enough. that is the way they usually do it. I love your blog
07/29/08 at 11:16 am
Glad you were able to salvage the dessert and everyone liked it.
Paz
07/29/08 at 6:29 pm
A great lesson and frankly the finished product after alterations looks totally desirable. Did I hear you say you took it to work???
07/29/08 at 10:07 pm
This is often called the Delizia cake with that almond macaroon topping. I adore that. It looked great.
09/15/08 at 7:20 pm
[…] been over a month since my last Magazine Mondays post. Hard to believe but […]
10/3/08 at 1:10 pm
hi. i just found your blog and i think it is beautiful. I hope you don’t mind me linking it to my blog? do tell me if you do. thanks!
09/1/09 at 1:55 am
Can’t wait tasting it. Looks so awesome.