Happy New Year from the bakery! Villa Fortuna is on the bookshelves but we still have many desserts on the bakery shelves! Of course we won't close because my addictive sweet tooth cares very little for New Year's resolutions and friends love to sit down with a strong cup of coffee and sweet.   

This little recipe featured in the novel, comes from my mother's side of the family.  It is TO DIE for.  It's sort of like creamy, almond ice cream - but only better, and if I can make it, anyone can. It's that easy. 

I just finished the last one, but unfortunately DH and I fought over it and I had to split it with him.

 

Biscuit Tortoni

3 egg whites
¾ cup sugar
1 ½ cup heavy cream
¾ tsp. vanilla
¼ cup blanched almonds
1 ¾ tsp. almond extract
6 maraschino cherries

Let egg whites stand at room temperature for one hour. Mix ¾ cups sugar with ¼ cup of water, bring to boil. Continue boiling to thick syrup consistency.

Beat egg whites at high speed until stiff peaks form. Pour hot syrup in thin stream into egg whites as you continue to beat until very stiff. Cover and refrigerate for half hour. (Even if it doesn't stiffen, continue beating the recipe will still come out great.)

Toast blanched almonds then chop fine. Place in small bowl and add 1½ tsp. almond extract. Whip cream with vanilla and remaining ½ tsp. almond extract until stiff. Fold into egg white mixture. Spoon into aluminum foil cups, top with almonds and ½ cherry on top. Cover and freeze. 

Buon appetito!

Dancing & Baking Toward December!

Command Central in the Gardiner Kitchen

Music Mom & I baked to:

Getting Ready to Ship to Cat's Peeps

Counting Down to Bake Swap

Cat Says: Benvenute Sweet Friends!

If you found your way here, you're one of two things: excited to get wrists deep in flour or just plain curious - and hungry!

Keeping with author, Cat Gardiner's tradition of "blogging with books," she's created a special treat for her readers. Inspired by dear friends on Facebook and her own character, Elizabeth Clemente Fairchild in the upcoming novel Villa Fortuna, a bake swap is rising!

Here's how it will work:

• Most important: Security for our swapping participants. Participants must and I repeat must, be either a friend of Cat's or Vanity & Pride Press Facebook or P&P Goodreads Groups. Follower of her author blog or a member of DarcyandLizzy.com. Or an established (known) member of the JAFF community.

• Sign up for participation - Name, Country or USA State of Residence and email address. Provide to Cat any photo you would like to use to represent yourself (true, avatar, comic, etc.) and a little note about you and why you love to bake. catgardiner@gmail.com

• You will be matched with another participant close in proximity, provided an email address to contact your baking buddy, introduce yourself, talk JAFF or whatever, and exchange addresses.

• Bake your favorite, preferably something from your country that could be shipped easily to your baking buddy with recipe.

• Don't forget to take a snapshot of your finished delectable sweet and send it to Cat with the recipe.  It will be posted here for all our readers to experiment with and enjoy.

• Check back to your post because you never know who has questions about the recipe, any tricks to make it as yummy as it looks.

• And most importantly, stop by your baking buddy's recipe post and send them your love and gratitude for adding some sweetness into your life!

• If you don't want to swap, that's okay, too.  Just email me your name, country of recipe's origin, and with the recipe a piccie of your finished dolcini.

• But what if you DO want to swap and can't bake for beans? Let me know and I'll match you with someone of the same mind. You can send specialty store bought. :) 

• And that's it.  Sound fun?  Want to participate? Entries will be taken the first and second weeks of November so that that the bake off can commence and wrap up by Villa Fortuna's book launch on December 1st!