We don't need bad weather or a virus to mess up our holidays, we are pretty capable of doing that all on our own, but just because we've had to spend them all alone, it doesn't mean we can't have a good time. Back in December, His Madness renamed Christmas, The Yule Fortnight because during the pandemic we needed more than twelve days to party. So two weeks ago, when Easter rolled around, we decided to dedicate the rest of the month (and probably May) to a celebration of Spring. It's not like there's much else to do! Since nearly all of the chocolate left by Easter Bunny is gone, Ivy decided a fancy dessert was just the thing to keep the party going . . . and she knew where to look for a recipe!
In a cookbook! Yes, Ivy chose to go old school and follow a recipe on a page that doesn't disappear or have annoying pop-up ads. Not that technology isn't wonderful, I don't know if I ever would have learned to cook if Julia Child had never made cooking shows and public television station hadn't decided to air the reruns. Getting a meal on the table was just another household chore to me until she came along and made it look like fun! Anyway, for something special, complicated, time-consuming but always worth the effort, a great recipe can usually be found in her cookbooks. Not surprisingly, they're all still easily available online, even for kindle, ha!
Ivy decided to make the Los Gatos Gateau from Julia Child and Company. She started on this epic journey one evening by soaking the apricots overnight in vermouth. The next day she simmered them with cinnamon and orange zest before whizzing it into a puree in the blender. At this point she realized a cup and a half of nuts needed to be toasted and then ground, so there wouldn't be time to finish it that afternoon.
On day two (or is it three now?) Ivy had been wise enough to get an early start and got to work on producing those daunting meringue layers.
Using a pastry bag to pipe on the meringue mixture probably would've produced a more uniform look but to quote Julia Child herself, "The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you've got to have a what-the-hell-attitude." Okay, guess they're just fine!
It's basically layers of meringue separated by buttercream frosting (probably to waterproof the meringue) and apricot puree. Then the whole thing gets covered in frosting and the sides are coated with slivered almonds. Definitely not a health conscience choice, ha!
His Madness was happy to finish what was left of the apricot filling.
Finally, it's finished. So how can Ivy possibly top this effort? She came across a few interesting possibilities while searching for Julia's quote, maybe she will try Matcha Tiramisu or a Forest Moss Cake next.
In the meantime we will enjoy the Los Gatos Gateau.
It may have taken a little longer to make than expected but it was worth it.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope everyone is having a great weekend!
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