alanamoana
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Posts posted by alanamoana
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if your chocolate was too cool (but still in temper) it wouldn't be warm enough to melt/adhere to the cocoa butter spray you first put on the mold. at least, this is the case with transfer sheets and i'm pretty sure it would be the same for colored cocoa butter in molds.
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thanks Kerry, I think I'm going to go ahead and get it...because I need to spend some money
for anyone in the States who wants to get it, Kerekes has it for $230ish. while I know that chefrubber has it for $225, they charge shipping and Kerekes doesn't. so no tax, no shipping makes it cheaper for me.
I think the exchange rate is still unfavorable (plus shipping) enough to avoid getting it from Kerry's source.
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they also make silicon molds specifically for ganache, but those would be enrobed chocolates.
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So after all the discussion about anhydrous butter, Kerry...have you actually tried any recipes from the book and how do you like it so far? I'm thinking of buying it and would love any critique you might have to offer.
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Actually, it is very common to make souffles ahead of time and keep them in the fridge before baking off.
Unfortunately, I don't have any recipes off hand. I would try epicurious or foodtv, but I'm sure another member has experience with this.
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it's an expensive book, is it with the asking price?
I think there is another thread on this book. But, in general, these books are very expensive because they have a limited audience. Whether it is worth the asking price is dependent on each individual purchaser. Knowing that the information is available from knowledgeable people is worth quite a bit to me...add to that the aesthetic qualities of these books in their great photographs, etc. well, then it is worth the premium. Another plus is that this book is bilingual. Many of the other texts (PH10, etc.) are French only. Granted, some of the translations leave a lot to be desired, but the recipes are usually easy to figure out.
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keeping the airbrush and stuff in a barely warm oven is also a good trick if you're starting and stopping a lot. just to keep everything flowing nicely.
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i also don't think there's a need to store the extra batter in the fridge, this might be a problem with temperature change from fridge to oven.
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I think all of the suggestions have been great so far. While I don't think you need to cater to each and every ethnicity that arrives to order a meal, customizing certain things to be more acceptable to something other than an American palate is definitely at good thing.
Regarding the pain au raisin, there are some amazing old school things you can do with a brioche or lightly sweetened enriched dough that aren't too sweet and could add a lot of variety to your bread/pastry basket. Keep a bunch of streusel on hand, roll out the dough and fold in almond paste, streusel, jams, etc. The cutting and shaping are what make them fun and different. Use your imagination.
Petit fours don't always have to be almond paste based cake covered in fondant. Think of little things like palmiers, mini financiers, etc. that you can have the basics for in the freezer (don't know what your storage situation is like) and then throw together whenever. Don't sneeze at madeleines (you can use a financier batter for making madeleine shaped cakes, much better than actual madeleines in my opinion), they're great little "cookie" treats, especially when done in a mini pan.
And I'll echo the less sweet sentiment. I worked at a "fusion" restaurant and tried to make the desserts match the savory menu in intent and it was hard but fun. Using Pichet's book as a jumping off point, I think is great. If the fruit is of questionable quality, make desserts that incorporate cooked fruit, chutneys, etc.
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if you're interested in baking and pastry, check out the french pastry school in chicago (clicky here for web page). they offer classes throughout the year in any of a number of subjects and they run three full days. often, they'll have guest chefs teaching the classes and while they'll take anyone who is willing to pay (often around $900 per class), they are geared toward people with some experience.
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Thanks, I had a look at the Chef Rubber site. They don't have any information on shipping (which maybe they only reveal once you have registered and are well on your way to checking out an item).. which is annoying. Is Chef Rubber reliable?
Chef Rubber has always been very reliable for me. The only problem with them is there shipping rates are way out of proportion to what you order. I'm sure they have some automated system set up but what it saves them in having to calculate realistic rates is sucked hard from the customer's pocket. We're talking things like $35 shipping on a $50 order (that weighs less than 5 lbs.). So, even though they usually have what I need at as good or better a price than most other places I very rarely use them. Only when I can't find what I need anywhere else.
I agree that their rates are pretty ridiculous, especially for what they're selling, but are the rates for you worse because you're in Canada?
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Both sources are good and reliable. Both carry technical and professional books. The prices at both places can be both good and sometimes overpriced (depending on the book). Your best bet is to shop around to more than one place:
Chef Rubber
CHIPS Books
JB Prince
Kitchen Arts and Letters (no web ordering, only fax or phone, but have good selection...prices not too good, but reputable)
I'm pretty sure there are another one or two sites that I go to regularly, but I can't think of them now.
Depending on the language, FNAC (a French website) sometimes has some books at a reasonable price (not now because of exchange rate for US purchasers)
ecookbooks.com is great, but doesn't usually carry the foreign titles or technical books that the other sources carry.
edited to add: noticed that you're in Australia and if you're used to paying a premium for shipping and it is worth it to you, then any of the sites listed are probably okay as long as they ship int'l.
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I applaud your interest and dedication. If you want good information on a broad subject range, I would recommend the Michel Suas book. I would also suggest you get the new book "Frozen Desserts" by CIA/Francisco Migoya. This concentrates on ice creams and other frozen desserts with beautiful photos of plated desserts made with the frozen confections.
I wouldn't necessarily go for the Friberg books unless you just want a collection of recipes. There isn't a whole lot of discussion on theory/method included.
The Gisslen book is also good, but pretty basic. Depending on your skill level it might be too basic, while at the same time being all encompassing. I like Gisslen's approach on some things and the newest edition has great photos of many of the production steps which is always good to have.
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The most delicious pie known to this man, Huckleberry Pie-
absolutely perfect!!!
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could also be the thickness of the chocolate shells. sometimes, if the shells are too thin there's just not enough mass for the shrinking to pull them away from the sides enough. also, with all the polishing, there's actually static to take into consideration.
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they make these really cute heart cookies decorated with the name of your significant other on them for oktoberfest...you could do mini ones (these are as big as the horses that pull the beer!) and that would be cute...but more petit four than dessert.
there's also baumkuchen which always looks better than it tastes to me
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Callebaut also has the same information on their website specific to their chocolate.
E. Guittard chocolates don't have that information on their products, but I've used their stuff for years and find it is very versatile when it comes to baking, confectionery, etc. Works well for dipping and molding. Of course, these things might vary depending on your environment and methods, but in any case you can always adjust by adding cocoa butter to your chocolate to thin it down if it is too viscous. Don't know what to do if it is too thin...maybe wait until it is more crystallized/cool to work with?
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i might make some "dummy" chocolates (solid chocolate, no filling but decorated like your normal chocolates) which you can display with descriptions of each one.
that way, you can display only the chocolate flavors that you have in stock. if someone wants a taste, you can always get some out for them to taste.
of course, you can have a little brochure made up with photos and descriptions as well (a menu, so to speak) that people can use to choose their chocolates from.
i don't really love the idea of constantly moving the chocolates in and out of the refrigerator. while i'm pretty sure you're using a chocolate refrigerator (or one set to chocolate storing temperatures), all of that in and out can confuse your first-in-first-out order as well as encourage condensation and spoilage.
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can't be daisies?
they seem to be very common
also, tropical flowers.
it's a little too late to custom order, but can you find a sunflower rubber stamp? if you have colored cocoa butter and acetate, you can make your own transfer sheets.
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clicky here for link to thread on ganache
the excel spreadsheet is linked in the first post
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Thank you so much for the advice. I went ahead and cooked it a couple of hours ahead of time and then warmed up the slices as recommended by Marlene and JField. I wasn't happy with my results: clickety but it didn't have anything to do with this issue. I think that I just saturated the thing with butter and maybe next time I'll use more layers of phyllo.
Hey Kim,
I took a look at your picture, it doesn't look bad, but here are a couple of ideas:
1) oven temp...start very hot, which will get the moisture in the butter to turn to steam and cause expansion between the layers before it evaporates. this will give you a nice crisp texture on your phyllo. you can then turn the oven down to finish baking all the way through. if it looks like it is getting too dark on the bottom, just double pan
2) you don't have to butter between EACH sheet of phyllo. we used to do two sheets and then butter.
3) did you use bread crumbs in between layers of phyllo? a lot of strudel recipes call for this which helps to absorb moisture and give you the distinct layering/crispness that you're looking for.
4) and as someone else mentioned on the dessert thread, you can make bigger sheets of phyllo by overlapping them end to end. just make sure to do this on a large cloth (an old stained tablecloth is a good thing to have around for this), so that it is easy to roll up your strudel once everything is layered.
hope that helps a little
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ps. Can someone please tell me what the snapback thingy means? Not chocolate, but of some importance no doubt.
snapback is a tag that will take you directly to a certain post on a page. you can only see it when you're replying, etc. as it is part of the programming language used on these boards. everything in brackets denotes an instruction.
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just as an aside, ammonium carbonate is specifically used to leaven items which are to be baked DRY like biscotti, crackers and other dry items. if used to leaven other items, all of the ammonia will not cook out and you'll be left with some pretty foul baked goods. ammonium carbonate gives these dry items a specific friable (crunchy, crispy, nice and brittle) texture which is why you don't get the exact results when replacing with baking soda.
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At a recent demo, Ewald Notter said, "Working with chocolate is messy, right?" After waiting for a murmur of agreement, he said, "It's not the chocolate; it's you." Well, he may not be messy, but I am. Heh. I have to say, he works cleaner than I can even imagine being. If I progress from newbie all the way up to novice after enough practice, then perhaps I will become less messy. (Maybe not as neat as Notter. I saw some other people working with chocolate who weren't working nearly as cleanly as he had.)
I started off going the parchment route for ease in cleanup, but after recently watching everyone work straight over granite and simply scrape up drips, I'm tempted to give that a try. Once. One other thing I noticed is how frequently people were changing their gloves. For some reason, it's never entered my mind to strip off my gloves that frequently.
For all of his talent, Notter can be a bit soulless sometimes. I really appreciated taking a class from JP Wybauw, as he got chocolate on himself and his work station and it never bothered him. If a guy with that much experience with chocolate can be messy, then I'm not too worried. I try to work cleanly, but if I get the stray bit of chocolate on me, so be it.
edited to add on topic info: I bought some cheap all-white towels from Costco and use them indiscriminately. I don't worry about them having stains. They're for working in the kitchen after all.
Homemade Paillete Feuilletine
in Pastry & Baking
Posted · Edited by alanamoana (log)
and honestly, there's good feuilletine and bad feuilletine. i really like the barry/callebaut product and find other products to be inferior (coarser, not as nice tasting).
yeah, i wouldn't use corn flakes as a substitute...too different.
edited to add: if i wanted to find something tasty to use as a substitute and it didn't have to be exactly the same texture/flavor, i'd use caramelized rice crispies before i'd use cornflakes.