Author Archive
Ricotta Pound Cake from Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano
**NOTE THIS CONTEST HAS ENDED.**
Welcome to Day 3 of the Dolce Italiano Contest in which you can win a free, personalized, signed copy of Dolce Italiano, the newly-released, highly-acclaimed Italian dessert cookbook by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef of Mario Batali’s Babbo Ristorante Enoteca in New York City.
You can read more about the contest in this post of mine and also over at Shelley’s At Home in Rome, home of the event, but here’s the gist: Shelley, Sara, Ilva, Jenn, and I are going to be posting recipes from the book over the next two weeks.
In order to be entered into the drawing for the free, personalized, signed copy of Dolce Italiano, you need to comment on the recipe posts; you can comment on all 10 over the next two weeks to maximize your chances of winning.
All comments must be posted by 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday, December 7th, 2007 to be entered.
So, after you leave me a note here, if you haven’t commented on Sara’s Mosaic Biscotti from Monday or Ilva’s Chocolate Kisses from yesterday, do go over and comment.
When collaborating, we had to figure out which days we would all post our recipes. I, of course, requested Wednesdays to keep the What’s Cooking Wednesday theme alive and also to enrich the WCW collection with some delicious Dolce Italiano recipes.
Now to the recipe.
I’m a cake and cookie girl, so it’s not surprising that the first dessert I’ve chosen is in one of those food groups–namely the Ricotta Pound Cake.
I love any kind of cake and I also love ricotta, so I had a pretty good idea I’d enjoy this too.
“Enjoy” doesn’t do this justice.
I *love* this cake. LOVE THIS CAKE.
The ricotta gives an extra kick to the normally tame (I didn’t say boring–did you hear boring?) pound cake as well as an awful lot of moisture. I love how the outside is nice and crunchy but inside it’s actually almost wet. This is without a doubt one of the best cakes I’ve ever made or eaten.
And as Gina wrote in the book, it *is* even better the next day–that just didn’t seem possible after I took my first bite nearly fresh out of the oven. I really have to learn to trust the experts.
Ah, and another bonus? It goes great with espresso!
Ricotta Pound Cake
(condensed from Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano)
1 1/2 c cake flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 c unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c fresh whole-milk ricotta
1 1/2 c granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 vanilla bean
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Confectioner’s sugar for dusting
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) and place rack in center.
2. Grease and flour 9-inch loaf pan.
3. In medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, cream together butter, ricotta, and sugar until smooth and light.
5. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping sides of bowl after each addition.
6. If you have a vanilla bean (I didn’t), split it lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the blunt side of a small knife, then beat them into the batter along with the vanilla extract. I just used another teaspoon of vanilla extract.
7. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients to combine them, scrape down sides of the bowl, and beat the batter for 30 seconds on medium.
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth top with a spatula. Tap pan on counter a few times to remove air pockets.
9. Put cake in oven and let bake for 15 minutes, then turn 180 degrees to ensure even browning. Lower the temperature to 325°F (160°C) and let bake until cake springs back when lightly touched, the sides of the cake have pulled away from the sides of the pan, and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 25 minutes more.
For some reason, mine took another 35 minutes, so do keep a close eye on it. Perhaps it had to do with the water content of the ricotta I used versus what Gina uses? Experts?
10. Allow cake to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert it on wire rack to cool completely. Mine came right out of the pan like no other loaf I’ve made before–the browned outside is key here. Dust with confectioner’s sugar before serving.
As Gina says, flavor is best the next day, and I have to agree. Leftover cake can be stored for up to three days so long as it’s wrapped in plastic.
Buon appetito!
Today I’m thankful for:
Ricotta Pound Cake of course! YUM!
Finding Fall in Southern Italy
I grew up in the mountains of Pennsylvania, so finding fall was as easy as walking out the front door anytime after late September (and sometimes even before). From the unmistakable chill in the air to the red, orange, yellow, and brown leaves hanging onto the trees for as long as they could keep their grip, fall always found me.
Here in southern Italy, it’s not so easy. Yes, our temps get cooler and some trees even manage to lose their leaves, but you have to pay attention. You have to really look; blink and you’ll miss it. Fall can easily pass you by–and that would be tragic for me as it’s my favorite season.
Fall here, though, isn’t all about things dying as there’s a lot of new growth too. I mentioned the citrus fruits the other day, but there are also some flowers who are just making their appearance as well.
So while I miss fall from back home, I have an all new fall to appreciate here. I found her yesterday.
And she sure is pretty.
Today I’m thankful for: Please see above photos.
Dolce Italiano Contest with Gina DePalma
If you also read Shelley’s At Home in Rome (and if you don’t, why don’t you?!), you probably already know this, but just in case, I’m letting you in on the big news:
We’re having a contest! And it involves desserts! And books!
Brainstormed and organized by Shelley, the Dolce Italiano Contest centers on the book by the same name by Gina DePalma, Executive Pastry Chef at Mario Batali’s famous New York City restaurant Babbo.
And this is no ordinary cookbook. It’s getting rave reviews all over the place and has been named the 3rd best Cooking, Food, & Wine book of 2007 on Amazon.com and one of Publishers Weekly’s best books of the year (Lifestyle).
So now, Shelley, three other bloggers that you know and love, and I are getting together to help one of you win your very own signed copy!
Starting today and for the next two weeks (Monday-Friday), one of us will feature a recipe from Dolce Italiano. If you leave a comment on a post, you’re entered to win the book. Only one comment per post counts toward the drawing, but if you comment on each of the 10 posts, that gives you 10 chances to win.
Comments on all 10 posts will be accepted for the drawing up until 11:59 PST on Friday, December 7.
And you and your family can have a very lovely holiday season with all these delicious Italian desserts.
So where do you need to go? Here’s the schedule:
Mondays: Sara’s Ms Adventures in Italy
Tuesdays: Ilva’s Lucullian Delights
Wednesdays: Right here baby!
Thursdays: Shelley’s At Home in Rome
Fridays: Jenn’s The Leftover Queen
Since it’s Monday, you need to head on over to Ms Adventures in Italy and see what Sara has made just for you today. And comment! Don’t forget to comment!
Please note that comments on this post (that you’re reading right now), although sincerely appreciated, do not count as entries in the contest; only comments on recipe posts will be entered into the drawing.
Also check out Shelley’s three-part interview with Ms DePalma here, here, and here.
Today I’m thankful for:
The opportunity to be a part of the Dolce Italiano Contest. I cannot say enough good things about this book. Yes, there are recipes for cookies, cakes, spoon desserts, tarts, ice creams, sorbets, semifreddos, fried treats, dishes with fruit, celebratory desserts, and savory goodies–but there’s also a whole lot of information on Italian baking in general, techniques, equipment, ingredients, and more.
Goodness my grandmother would’ve loved this. She *loved* Molto Mario.
If you’re a foodie, this is a book you’ll want to get all floury and sugary during the day and then curl up with at night. It’s an awesome gift for anyone who loves baking, so whether you win one or not, I highly recommend picking up a copy.
little weaners
Ladies and gentlemen, we have weaning!
The puppies are already 5 weeks old! Can you believe it?
They actually started the Big Wean five days ago and *all* took to it immediately. They still want their doggie mamma, of course, but now they also yipyipyip for me when I come into the room.
Ain’t nothing like puppy yips.
Today I’m thankful for:
Everything going smoothly so far with the puppies. I had read all the scary stuff about what *could* go wrong, and I have to admit I was more than a bit nervous when it all started really happening.
As neither P nor I have ever done this before, I count us very lucky that the first five weeks have fallen into place nearly by themselves.
It’s a lot of work to be sure, but the excited cries when they see me, those adorable eyes staring up at me, the puppy growls and barks while playing with one another, the quiet moments of fuzzy belly-stroking–they make it more than worth it.
————
[tags]puppies, weaning puppies, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks[/tags]
blogging for kiva
I’ve been tagged again, but don’t groan–it’s not a meme! No, this time Dee of The Mundane & The Profound has come up with a great way to encourage other bloggers to talk a bit about
an amazing organization that allows anyone to help entrepreneurs around the world over the Internet through a concept called microfinance.
Here is a description from Kiva’s website:
Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
It’s that easy! You go to Kiva.org and look around at the projects that need funding. You can loan as little as $25 through PayPal and then, if you like, become a part of the project you’ve supported by keeping track of its progress.
Kiva was started by Matt and Jessica Flannery after working in East Africa as newlyweds; they saw East Africans around them achieving such great things with so little money that they had visions of all that could be accomplished with just a bit more funding.
And since its humble beginnings a few years ago, Kiva has raise a bit more than a bit more funding–$10 million in loans has been distributed, and 99.7% of that has already been paid back.
The impact of this money, though, is surely immeasurable.
And giving money isn’t the only way you can help out, so do check out the Kiva website for more opportunities–both jobs and volunteer positions are available.
I just love Dee’s idea of tagging to spread the word about charities and other good works, so stay tuned for my own tag–I already have a great organization in mind. But for now I encourage any of you that love the idea of Kiva to blog about it too.
If you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged.
Today I’m thankful for:
Everyone who supports those who need it, whether it’s financially, emotionally, or otherwise. We *all* have something that someone else needs, even though sometimes it takes a little thinking and/or soul-searching to figure out what it might be.
I’m so thankful that there are people in the world who recognize this and give what they can, and I’m not talking about the rich and famous, although obviously their efforts are appreciated as well. I’m talking about everyday folks like you and me who are able to step out of our own worries and see that there are plenty of people who are worse off–and then take the initiative to do something about it.
Makes you have faith in humanity, you know?
—————
[tags]kiva, microfinance, charity, nablopomo, 30 days of thanks[/tags]
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
