It is about Fascism and Communism in 20th Century Europe, a part of history that I know a little about, but was interested to learn more. So I did enjoy that part of the story. I also liked the fact that the characters in the novel while complex were still sympathetic and likeable. Don't you find that in much of modern literature many of the characters are truly repellent, mentioning no names... (The Slap!)?.
However, while we all found the book enjoyable, for some reason the story didn't stay with us, it had no real impact. We marked it an average of 7.5, with those who had just finished it giving an 8 and those of us who had read it a few weeks before scoring 7.
We found that our discussion of the book wasn't the the most vociferous we have had, as we all pretty much agreed on everything, but, of course, we didn't sit in silence as the wine was flowing.
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So now the cake! Well there is no mention of any cake in the novel at all, can you believe it? What are these writers thinking off? The title refers to the saying 'you can't make an omelet without breaking eggs'. So I googled omelet cake and they were all savoury, which may have been nice but you can't beat something sweet..
Then I remembered one year when I was a child and my Mum made me a special Easter treat.
So last Thursday I arrived at my friends house with a basket full of eggs.
They were very intrigued, and, when the eggs were turned upside down....they were full of ganache. My fellow book clubers also wondered how I just happened to have a nest lying about...well, who hasn't?
You can blow the eggs but I just chopped off the end with a knife so there were no tell-tale holes on top. I also washed the shells in soapy water and then sterilised the insides with boiling water.
I make my ganache by using equal weight of chocolate (no more than 51% cocoa or it separates) to cream, ie.100g chocolate, 100ml cream. Boil the cream and then add the broken up chocolate, stir and then beat until the chocolate has melted and the ganache is glossy. Pour or spoon the ganache into the eggs and place in the fridge to harden.
These would make cute Easter gifts, especially if you can find a handy nest to display them in.
These would make cute Easter gifts, especially if you can find a handy nest to display them in.
xxx
