Spumoni Frozen Gelato Cake Adventure

September 09, 2022 by Alyssa D in dessert

In what now feels like a remarkably cool childhood experience, my folks and I discovered that the Italian proprietor of a local motel made delicious small-batch gelato during the summers.

For a limited time, she’d take orders at a lower-level window and hand us full containers that we brought over to Yiayia’s to share. This was the first time we heard about spumoni: a delectable combination of dark chocolate, pistachio, and cherry gelato.

With summer supposedly winding down here, I decided to try creating the perfect spumoni cake at home. Big changes are ahead for us, which is why there’s been a brief hiatus from culinary adventures. But the idea of crafting an epic frozen boozy dessert — no cooking required — filled me with excitement.

Maple Buttercream Adventure

February 04, 2022 by Alyssa D in dessert

Editor’s note: This is the post I planned to publish before the Marshall Fire swept through our neighborhood in Louisville, Colorado, on December 30, 2021.

I needed a little victory, a small win, a bright spot in what now feels like a never-ending pandemic grind.

Most folks we know burned out many months ago and have been mentally trudging along the highway to get to the nearest town ever since. We keep looking for that light in the window.

For a brief moment, maple provided respite.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting Adventure

September 18, 2020 by Alyssa D in dessert

I was too young to fully understand the dessert in my hand. This was decades ago, in early Before Times, when an aptly-named bakery called Patisserie used to occupy a prime spot on Main Street in my hometown. Sometimes, after elementary school let out, Mom and I would walk over.

My favorite dessert from the case was kind of insane: two meringue discs bonded together with rich chocolate buttercream, and then a coating of the same buttercream along the edge rolled in chocolate sprinkles. Oh, yes.

Patisserie is long gone, but that particular sweet stuck in my memory. Despite visiting bakeries all over, I’d never found anything exactly like that meringue concoction. Now, this girl is no stranger to chocolate buttercream. Yet none of it recalled that delightful dessert of yore until a serendipitous recipe tweak.