chefpeon

Any sugar solution will do. Sugar syrup (viscous), corn syrup....glucose. You don't need to do any special shopping.....corn syrup is fine.

Regarding the type of roses, I would just say to the florist "red roses", as the garnish is simply a red rose petal. I would specify that the roses need to be just on the verge of blooming or beginning to bloom so that you are assured a hearty fresh petal. There actually is an Ispahan Rose, but it is pink and obviously not the type of rose petal Herme is using as a garnish. The "dewdrop" on the rose is sugar syrup. Most likely, knowing Herme, a rose syrup. The "drop" would be placed on the rose petal shortly before service, and needs to go on the petal AFTER the petal has been placed on the dessert. Trying to place "dewdrops" on rose petals in advance, and then trusting the caterers to get the petals on the desserts without the drop falling off is just askin' for trouble. Give the caterers a box of petals (or just the roses themselves) and a squeeze bottle with a fairly viscous sugar syrup solution inside. The tip of the squeeze bottle should have an opening that is really really small. Instruct the caterers to place the petal on top (it's probably held in place with the same buttercream that's inside of the macaron) and then to squeeze a "drop" on the rose petal. Give them a picture of what you want, or show them step-by-step how to do it, and then hope they can pull it off.

Well, that certainly makes sense, but it sure seems like a longer way to go to achieve the same results you can get by adjusting your cream and chocolate proportions.

I too don't see any problem with ricing the bananas. A squooshed banana is a squooshed banana is a a squooshed banana........ And overripes RULE! My scientific theory about the darker bottom......hmmmmm.... *the sugars in the batter are sinking during the bake and browning the bottom; *and/or high bottom heat Just a guess really. If there's no texture change within the bread, and it's not dry......I just wouldn't worry about it to be honest. Hopefully that dark part doesn't taste burnt or anything.

You might want to check out this thread.

Is the part of the bread that is darker below the level of the rim of the pan? Or does where the pan begin and end not seem to make a difference? What type of pans are you using? Metal dark? Metal shiny? Glass? Silicone?

Oh god....don't get 'em started.......... I figure with all that plastic wrap I use and plastic bowls in the microwave, my number will be up next Wednesday.

Yeah, and I thought that was really bizarre too. All you really have to do is pour hot cream over chopped chocolate or chocolate chips and stir til melted and smooth. Which brings me to what alanamoana brought up......maybe in the process of cooking the icing to death it actually broke and that's why it's not setting up for geminigirl. Geminigirl, does your (did your) ganache look grainy and/or separated? What kind of chocolate did you use? Chopped chocolate or chips? What brand? And how about the cream? It was heavy cream.....not milk or half and half, right?

Thanks for referring to my tart dough recipe Beanie!! I will note however, that I've never used that dough to do a 90 degree wall like schneich is talking about. It's very possible that the edges can fall over even with my dough just because of the physics of it all. I'd probably go with the beans/plastic wrap method for this particular application, even though it is a giant pain in the you-know-what. I love the roasting bag idea! I have always thought if I could re-use the little plastic pouches filled with beans (or uncooked rice; that's what I use-the rice fits into the nooks and crannies of tart tins better), then I wouldn't mind using that method so much. The plastic wrap thing works great, but the plastic wrap only works one time only, and you have to use new plastic wrap every time. If you made little roasting bag pouches, you could re-use them and save time!! I like it I like it.

FYI: It always helps to include the link when you are talking about something on the web so we can all refer to it easily instead of having to hunt around. Took me a little while to find the elusive Mrs. Milman's frosting because of a spelling error, but I did eventually find it. I had assumed you were talking about some sort of boiled icing, so I was surprised to find that Mrs. Milman's frosting is simply...............ganache (with a little corn syrup in it). The only reason this icing is "cooked" (or should I say "heated") is to melt the chocolate and cream together. You control how thick the cooled ganache is by increasing the ratio of chocolate to cream; meaning more chocolate-less cream. Heating ganache over a direct heat source for a longer period of time will only get you burnt tasting ganache. Note that the recipe says to cool the ganache (I refuse to call it Mrs. Milman's!! ), until it's a spreadable consistency. When hot, the ganache is of course a lot thinner. There's lots of things you can do with ganache. You can cool it to room temperature and spread it like icing. You can refrigerate it and scoop it into little balls to make truffles. You can use more cream to chocolate then chill, and then whip it for a whipped type chocolate filling. Also, you can pour it warm over your cake to give it a shiny fudgy glaze. If your Mrs. Milman's-um-er-ganache frosting wasn't thick enough after cooling, then I would suggest increasing your amount of chocolate to cream. Remember with ganache, it's: More chocolate+less cream=thicker Less chocolate+more cream=thinner Just take your too-thin ganache out of the fridge, add some more chocolate, reheat til chocolate is melted, then cool again. I wanna know who the heck this "Mrs. Milman" is, and why she's so presumptuous to call ganache "Mrs. Milman's Chocolate Frosting". You are SO BUSTED Mrs. Milman!!!!! Cheers.

Hey! Love your site! (although it's really really slow to load)....love your cookies too!!! Decorating your cakes with decorated cookies is a great idea! Of course I look at all of it and being the seasoned baker that I am, the first thing that comes to mind is the words "labor intensive". I'm no stranger to it, believe me. Do you get orders for hundreds of dozens of cookies at a time? If so, how do you handle it? About the TV thing......embrace the moment! I'd say the best advice I'd have is to keep it simple, since they have a lot of time restraints on those shows. I have seen so many food people try to do less than simple demos, and they almost never get all the way through it because of the small amount of time allotted for their segment. Not to mention all the talking the host does that sucks up your time. I nearly made it to TV Land but got axed at the last minute. I may have another opportunity in the future, but who knows......in the meantime, I've still got dough to make!

Why do you think that the indentations in that particular golf ball were NOT made with a ball tool? My guess is that they were.

Rather than trying to thicken up "slidy" fillings, such as jams and curds and cream cheese, I just pipe a "dam" of buttercream around the outer edge of the layer and then spread my "slidy" filling within the circle of buttercream. The "dam" prevents the layers from sliding, and also keeps the filling from squeezing out between the layers. Note: even thick jam is still "slidy".

Here is a link to a recipe for Yu Char Kway. My questions: What is alum? Is it sort of a baking powder? Does anyone have a recipe that is easier to make in the US, meaning no alum or ammonia in it? Would they still taste "authentic" if I didn't use those things? I have a Malaysian friend who wants to make them but cannot find alum or ammonia. Any suggestions? Thanks a lot!

I wonder if people realize the irony of all these nutritional food studies: 1. Scientific report comes out saying "x" is good for us. 2. People (lemmings) run out and stock up on "x" 3. A food trend is born. 4. Food trends make already unbalanced diets more unbalanced. 5. Lack of balance=unhealthy. Mostly, I think people use nutritional reports as a way to justify already unhealthy eating. Which is unhealthy. The premise of healthy eating will ALWAYS be whole unprocessed foods, in moderation, and in the proper balance. Just like the "secret" to weight loss is less food and more exercise. I think I'll come out with my own wonder food. I'm gonna call it "BroccoChoc". Yum. Chocolate dipped broccoli bits. Lotsa beta carotene and flavanols to spice up your salad. Or sprinkle it on popcorn!!!! (air popped, of course).

Milk is SO GREAT! I can't live without it. I drink it with everything. Except cranberry sauce. If you eat cranberry sauce, then take a drink of milk, the milk tastes bitter. It's the weirdest thing.

I used to do all those things. Rum balls. Trifles. Ice Cream Cakes. Scraps in my mouth. Now I just say, "screw it". The scraps go in the garbage immediately so I don't feast on them as I work, and saving them doesn't work for me....I accumulate too much of them to use them up fast enough, I just end up with moldy scraps that go in the garbage anyway. I used to anguish about the waste, but now I'm just like "meh.....it's biodegradable." I feel worse about throwing a styrofoam cup in the trash these days.

In regard to keeping your drain and disposal sanitized: Actually, I do it a lot because there's nothing worse than a smelly kitchen drain and food particles in the disposal rotting away to accost my senses. I didn't have any idea though that bacteria in the drain affected bacterial growth on my food items, since none of my food ever comes in contact, or even close the kitchen drain. At work, when we are inspected by the county health people, the issues of sanitizing the drains there are never even brought up, but maybe that's because I pour bleach solution down the drain every single day...... I would agree with that article.....that the number one enemy regarding our health and proper food safety is ourselves. Most occurrences of sicknesses involving restaurant food can be traced back to improper human sanitation issues. Hand washing, and the CORRECT techniques involved, are number one. It's one thing to get someone to wash their hands, but quite another to witness them doing it RIGHT. A quick rinse under the hot water, just ain't gonna do it, and that's what I see.....A LOT. I'll bet you that almost any other pro here has some sort of rodent story to tell. I have several. When I read the story about the rats in NYC, it didn't really shock me much. You work in the food biz and eventually you have to deal with pests (I mean besides the customers ). But believe me, when it comes to food safety issues, rats really are the least of your worries.

Yet another good reason to never buy "new" equipment.

One should be glad she has no mouth, otherwise there's the issue of Hello Kitty Hairballs.

No amount of "flame-age" will make up for having to deal with that STINKING safety cage! For me, "serious pimping" involves modifications like removing the cage and giving me a nice pouring shield. Oh yeah, and make mine a pink "Hello Kitty" mixer. THEN I'll buy a raffle ticket....

Have fun Klary! Rooting for you! Abra and I just used some of the Speculaas spices you sent her in a Christmas Spritz cookie we baked for our cookie box extravaganza yesterday......

You can use any edible liquid (preferably clear) that will evaporate. You can use vodka, gin, kirschwasser, lemon extract....peppermint extract.....you get the idea.

I'm the person who made the chocolate stout cake with the bottle caps. Link here. To make my bottle caps I used white modeling chocolate. I only needed one bottle cap and no tempering needed. I rolled out the modeling chocolate and used a round cutter to cut a size close to what I needed. I then pressed each round into the inverted bottle cap lined with plastic wrap. I lifted up on the plastic wrap to pop each "cap" out. I then refrigerated the caps, and then painted them with gold powder mixed with vodka. Then I popped them back in the fridge to harden again, and when the cake was ready, I stuck 'em on. Easy.

It's really funny, I too, have never considered, nor has it ever occurred to me, that the cakes in question were/are greasy. "Moist" is the word that comes to my mind. Greasy? Hm.