Ah, I spent perhaps a little too much time in the kitchen and was cramming toward the end of Internal Medicine. That procrastination, plus having a windfall of new research projects, led to a lower than what I wanted score for my national Internal Medicine exam (and no I'm not being perfectionist).
The most agonizing part of grades is that the exam score comes out in 2 days, but you have to wait a whole entire MONTH before receiving your overall grade since evaluations count for a whopping 70%.
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I love everything about rotations .... except the feeling of being constantly evaluated. In any rotation, your teams' opinions of you determine your score. The Internal Medicine rotation, more than any other rotation so far, truly depends on team dynamics.
And there were definitely a few cases where I or my classmates had to watch our toes. Hearing everyone's stories (and experiencing for myself) how to work with all types of, er, interesting people was definitely a good life lesson on managing conflicts and personality clashes.
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Funny how nervous you get when the stakes are raised. Knowing this was my future specialty and well aware this was unfortunately my lowest exam score by far, I endured an agonizing 4 week wait as my evaluations trickled in - I don't think I've ever been so scared to see my grade.
Fortunately, it all worked out and I was happy with my final grade. Phew!
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So, here is a gorgeous Lemon, Ricotta and Almond Flourless Cake adapted from Cakelets and Doilies. This is such an elegant dessert and reminds me of snooty high society ladies back then sipping tea and eating cakes.
Of course, these upper class women were probably evaluated and critiqued too if they wore an unfashionable dress or weren't knowledgeable enough on the latest gossip or had an almond from their cake stuck in their teeth. And their careers (ie political rise and marriage) probably depended just as much, or not more, on their superiors' evaluations. Talk about high stakes!
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Well, I wolfed down my lemon cake shamelessly. Even though I'm going to be evaluated for the rest of my work life, at least I can eat all the cake I want at home in my pajamas judgement free.
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Ingredients
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup castor/superfine sugar (ie ground granulated sugar)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup lemon zest
4 eggs, separated and at room temperature (easier to separate eggs when cold)
2 1/2 cups ground almonds
Packed 1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese, not fat free
Flaked almonds and confectioner's sugar, to decorate
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch round cake pan.
Beat the butter, 1/2 cup caster sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, then gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until fully combined. Add the almond meal and beat to combine. Fold ricotta through the almond meal mixture.
Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a hand-held electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites mixture and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently and gradually fold the egg whites into the cake mixture.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and top cake with almond flakes. Bake for 1 hour or until a knife just comes clean, but do not overbake. I put foil on after 30 min to prevent the edges from browning too quickly; another option is a water bath. Let cool completely in the cake tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve.
The most agonizing part of grades is that the exam score comes out in 2 days, but you have to wait a whole entire MONTH before receiving your overall grade since evaluations count for a whopping 70%.
And there were definitely a few cases where I or my classmates had to watch our toes. Hearing everyone's stories (and experiencing for myself) how to work with all types of, er, interesting people was definitely a good life lesson on managing conflicts and personality clashes.
Fortunately, it all worked out and I was happy with my final grade. Phew!
Of course, these upper class women were probably evaluated and critiqued too if they wore an unfashionable dress or weren't knowledgeable enough on the latest gossip or had an almond from their cake stuck in their teeth. And their careers (ie political rise and marriage) probably depended just as much, or not more, on their superiors' evaluations. Talk about high stakes!
1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup castor/superfine sugar (ie ground granulated sugar)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup lemon zest
4 eggs, separated and at room temperature (easier to separate eggs when cold)
2 1/2 cups ground almonds
Packed 1 1/4 cup ricotta cheese, not fat free
Flaked almonds and confectioner's sugar, to decorate
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch round cake pan.
Beat the butter, 1/2 cup caster sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Scrap down the sides of the bowl, then gradually add the egg yolks, one at a time, continuing to beat until fully combined. Add the almond meal and beat to combine. Fold ricotta through the almond meal mixture.
Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl with a hand-held electric mixer until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining sugar to the egg whites mixture and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gently and gradually fold the egg whites into the cake mixture.
Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and top cake with almond flakes. Bake for 1 hour or until a knife just comes clean, but do not overbake. I put foil on after 30 min to prevent the edges from browning too quickly; another option is a water bath. Let cool completely in the cake tin. Dust with icing sugar to serve.
