as some of you already know, i’ve been kind of into cooking and baking and dreaming of putting up a low-key quaint little resto in an obscure part of the city… so during weekends, i try to whip up yet another dessert in my checklist of selected goodies from my grandmother’s italian cookbook (and sadly, that’s where most of my money goes to, these things aren’t cheap you know). so last night i tried making a cassata, a three layered cake (or was it ice cream in a baking pan?) and the only thing in my to-make/bake list that's closest to chocolate mousse which my friend from work had suggested before.

so anyway, here’s how it looks from the book:
and here’s how mine looks:
bummer, right? i left it in the freezer overnight and when i woke up in the morning, i wasn't even that excited about it, cos i kind of knew that it wouldn’t be as good as how it should’ve been. maybe because i didn’t really painstakingly follow every procedure in the cookbook? like that time where i chose to beat the mixture instead of just stir, or when i said “tama na yan” when i should’ve continued beating "until firm peaks form”. but i guess the major mistake i made was using an improvised “pan” instead of the required deep 8” pan since we don’t really have a pan that’s deep enough to contain the 3 layers of this fattening dessert. so like my failed past first-time attempts, it didn’t exactly turn out good. but oh well. we move along, as the song goes. i’ll probably try making this dessert again because, well for one, i love cherries and almonds. but perhaps when i finally have a decent pan and a heavy-duty mixer. oh by the way, some of the credit goes to raymund, who helped me prepare this dessert (he made a “retaining wall” for our improvised pan) even if it took us near midnight to finish. =D

well, that’s all. too bad for my guinea pigs though - i decided not to bring any at all as i don't think it will reach you guys whole. i'll just make something that doesn't melt next time. =D SONA tomorrow, just imagine how long it'd take me to get to makati. goodness.