chefpeon

I don't have Medrich's book, but does she tell you to freeze the mousse layers before adding the next ones? That's what I've always done when I make multilayered mousse desserts. Regardless of the method used to set them, putting the ring mold in the freezer between layers has always been very reliable.

Thanks Sarah! You've pretty much confirmed what I suspected all along. I've done so many cakes starting with cold ingredients, and quite a few with room temp. ingredients. If there are any differences between them, I certainly can't tell. It does make a lot of sense to have your ingredients at room temp (well, mainly the butter) if you lack any type of mixer and have to cream by hand. But now that most people do have mixers and don't have to cream by hand, the room temperature theory has been slow to fade. Very interesting indeed!

Nope. Nothin' takes the fun out of pastry like feeling time pressure, huh? I hate it too. I hate to tell you it won't go away. Best thing to do is make a game out of it. Challenge yourself.... see if you can beat your time every day....... Then one of two things will happen: A) you'll get promoted because you're kickin' some serious pastry butt; or B) you'll be stuck doing fruit tarts for the rest of your freakin' life, since you're so good at it. Just kidding. Sort of. Oh, one more thing....the good news. If you work on your speed skills now, and keep challenging yourself, pretty soon you'll be working fast without even thinking about it. The pressure won't seem like pressure anymore because speed is now a habit instead of an effort. Fast, will in essence, be your normal speed. And I can't emphasize enough, how being quick and efficient makes you a VERY valuable employee!

Ok, I get it now Jeanne..... Thanks for that explanation McDuff!

Yay maggie! You SAID it, girlfriend!!! And I TOTALLY hear you about culinary externs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, I just have one question..... if one takes care to have all their ingredients at room temperature when mixing a cake batter, then why would one want to put the batter in the refrigerator before it's baked? Doesn't it defeat the purpose of "room temperature"....whatever that purpose is? Does anyone have a definitive answer to the "room temperature" thing? What's it supposed to do, exactly? I've never been sure about the exact reason..........

Having all your ingredients at room temperature is something that exists in an ideal world. When at home, I take the time to pull all my stuff out about an hour before I mix a cake. Most of the time though, when I'm at work (where I bake most of my cakes), my ingredients are usually cold. I don't really have time to pull stuff in advance; I have limited space; and the health dept. gets kinda upset when they see eggs, milk etc. sitting out in a hot kitchen. My cakes come out fine at work, as they do at home. Although I have my ingredients at room temp at home, I really must honestly say, I don't see much of a difference between the cakes I make at work and the ones I make at home. Actually, I'm not really sure what advantages there really are in having your ingredients at room temp......I just do it 'cause everybody says that's what you should do. Anyway......one thing for sure......having your eggs and sour cream a little bit cold is not going to be a cause of a fallen cake. Nah. Actually you should have made cupcakes out of the extra batter! You THREW IT AWAY???? Horrors!!! Filling your pans a little over halfway is just fine......you didn't do anything wrong there. I don't believe any of that caused your fallen cake either. This is where I think your answer lies. Toothpick tests are fine, but next time try just lightly touching the center with your fingertip. Look for springback. If your fingertip leaves a small dent, or it feels kinda "raw" you know it's not done. At this point, depending on the kind of cake it is, a toothpick can come out clean leading you to believe it's done, when it's actually not. Remember "springy".....you want "springy". Yeah yeah, I know the "recipe" says use a toothpick, and sure, use that too, but also check for spring. You can't go wrong that way. She may be Ina Garten, but Ima Baker. Your fallen cake could also have been a result of an accidental mismeasurement (like maybe a little too much baking soda or something like that.) But only you'd know the answer to that question. Maybe. I also doubt it's the egg size thing. The effect on the final cake with large vs. extra large eggs would be almost unnoticeable, and it wouldn't cause your cake to fall either. So my official guess: underbaking. Yep, that's my final answer. Do I win the million????

There are lots of different reasons for a cake falling. Since you're the only one who knows exactly what you did when you prepared it, you have to be your own "cake detective". Here's a good place to start. Look at all the probable causes regarding falls, and you can probably figure out what went wrong by process of elimination. In the future, if you want any of us to troubleshoot, you need to include the exact recipe, exactly what you did, exactly what substitutions you made (if any), exactly what temp you baked at, and what kind of pans you used. When we know all the pertinent info, only then can we make a fairly educated guess.

Steve said it far more eloquently than I did. I'm the example of the kid who didn't go to "real college" first. Even though I consider myself successful in this business, I'm still making $12 an hour. Creditors and landlords don't really care how beautiful your cakes are....they want you to show them the money. And I'm like, "what money?" Without a college degree, I have nothing to fall back on. I've gotta lotta smarts, but a lot of employers want to see that degree.......in most places where you stand to make a decent amount of money you can't even get your foot in the door without college, no matter how smart you are! Believe me, I KNOW! Kids have a lot of spunk and a "conquer the world" attitude.....and that's great....but they need to get out in the world to REALLY discover what they want out of life. Frequently what they think they want straight out of school, ends up not being what they want at all a few years down the line. Even if they go to college and major in something they don't end up actually utilizing in the work force (like art history or philosophy), they still have the degree......and that degree opens up FAR MORE doors than a stint in pastry school! I say again, Steve is right on the money.

HA HA! I get it now! I didn't get it yesterday, but I did today (a little slow on the uptake). Doughnuts! Chocolate Glaze! Sprinkles! Hee hee!

You know, as much as I have a passion for my career, I believe that people considering going into the culinary biz really really need to know the downside first. Because it's a big downside if money, advancement, decent hours, retirement and benefits are important to them. Truly, if I'd really been educated about the fact that the restaurant business has very little of the above perks, and what it would mean to me in the future, I probably would have reconsidered. It was my blind ambition and naivete that got me where I am now. Don't get me wrong....I'm happy. But every day is a struggle. If I weren't married and sharing expenses with my husband, I'd never make it on my own......not at $12 an hour with no benefits. This business has taken it's toll on me physically too. Bad feet......and hands weakened by carpal tunnel syndrome. Burn scars all up and down my arms. Remember I have no health benefits, but luckily the state picked up the cost of my carpal tunnel surgery since it's a work related injury. And, there's the undeniable fact that in probably no other field, will you have to work so hard for so little. People considering this profession REALLY have to ask themselves, if they REALLY want to do this. Because, what you see on Food Network ISN'T how it is.

Do donut peaches taste any different than regular peaches?

Funny you should mention that! I just recently shelled out some dough for Colette's book, "Cakes to Dream On" (not her best cakes in my opinion). I read her instructions regarding assembling the topsy turvy type cakes and I just dropped my jaw when I saw all those dowels.....TOTAL overkill and completely unnecessary!

Wow Keith...... the way you go about doing a "topsy turvy" or a "Polly" as I call it, is so completely different than the way I do it! Very interesting indeed. Maybe next time I do one, I'll photograph it so you can see what I do. Share techniques and all that.

Try this.

I don't think of myself as prejudiced......of course, I always do what my client wants me to do....with a smile, mind you. And whatever it is they want me to make, I try to make the best version possible. But I don't have to like it. And I think that's what some of us are lamenting.....the fact that with everything fun, comes the stuff you really don't enjoy doing. I enjoy doing things that aren't "everyday" items......I get bored easily....I like to do different and exotic things. I like to utilize my skills to the fullest.....and I just gotta say, I don't feel all that fulfilled when I'm making Rice Krispy Treats. And in the case of a Krispy Kreme Wedding cake, you aren't even making the doughnuts.....KK has taken care of that. All you gotta do is stack 'em and throw a few flourishes in there, whatever they may be. Sure, it's easy money. Sure, it's what the client wants......but it's not that satisfying...you know? I'm in this business 'cause it's all I know and because I need to satisfy my creative side. I sure ain't in it for the money.

Yep.....one of the low points in our profession for sure! We are proud of what we do and consider ourselves artists.....we want to create Rembrandts, Picassos, Dalis, Van Goghs in food...but occasionally we get asked to do a Charles Schultz. Not the most renowned art, but yet extremely popular and "classic". Sigh. You just gotta grit your teeth and remember that this too, shall pass. Til you have to do it again, that is. That's exactly how I felt when I was managing a large wholesale bakery, and we had to make sheet pans and sheetpans full of Rice Krispy Treats....ugh! I kept saying to myself, "I went to culinary school for THIS???" I always considered Rice Krispy Treats as the ultimate morale-killer.

Having baked artisan breads professionally, I've used new razor blades and X-acto knives to cut the tops of loaves.....but you know what? I think the thing that works best is the quick swipe of a serrated knife (a nice sharp serrated knife). I always get a clean cut, it's quick, and I'm not hunting around for tiny blades all the time.

Actually, a cupcake tree is more like this.

I was going to attempt to reply to this, but I wasn't sure I had it in me to actually describe how to do it. Like bkeith said, it's much easier to show than tell. Kudos to you Keith for doing the description thing! I suppose I could add my methods on to this thread for perfect square cakes but I think it would only confuse. Best to stick with one way and practice it than to frantically try a bunch of different ways. Coupla tips though..... When you build your cake, put extra filling in the corners. As you stack the layers up, the corners will actually be a little higher than the center of the cake. That's OK. When you put the last layer on top, gently push the corners down so they are level with the rest of the cake. If a little filling squeezes out just scrape it off with the spatula, or push it into the sides with the spatula. When you start with a cake that is perfectly level and square, you don't have to work as hard with your icing to make it appear that way. Always do a crumb coat, and refrigerate well before adding your second coat. Why is the crumb coat so important on a square cake? Because those pesky corners always have a way of showing through....especially if your cake is chocolate. Life is much easier with a crumb coat when you work with square or sheet cakes. (This advice given assuming you are using buttercream). And lastly, I do love my paint masker thingy. If you want to see a pic of a homely PC using it, go here.

Gosh, I don't think you need any MORE ideas...... you already have too much to choose from! One thing you'll learn soon.....don't give your clients too many choices....it just confuses them....and you. A better approach is to say, "This is what I do, and these are your choices", and give them a few flavor combos to choose from. It stresses people out less, when they don't have to make so many decisions. In the same vein, asking questions like, "What do YOU like?" is a real can of worms, because as you've found, they'll rattle off a huge list, or tell you they like cabbage and liver.....which generally aren't "crowd pleasing" flavors. I always gently remind the bride that they are feeding their GUESTS with the cake, and they need to consider what would please the most guests, rather than fulfilling some kinky cake flavor fantasy that nobody else is going to go for. If they really do want a weird flavor combo, or want the cake swimming in a liqueur soak, I always tell them they should have that as the top tier for themselves to enjoy, and the guests can enjoy a more mainstream flavor combination. I've spent so many years talking to freaked out brides that I figure I can qualify for a real-time certificate in counseling. Sheesh. As whitetrufflegirl says, I ditto not using too many flavors in one cake. The palate can only distinguish few flavors at once, and getting too complicated is overkill, and subtle flavor nuances can get lost. My cakes usually balance just two flavors, which is always quite suitable, not to mention easier for me.

Once you have made up your cylinders, do you let them relax in the retarder before you bake them off? That may solve your problem if you aren't. I also think that rolling out your dough to be a bit thinner may be really beneficial. It seems to me that your seams are bursting because there's too much pastry for the size cylinder you're rolling. Using a thinner dough and relaxing it before baking off should help a lot. You could use phyllo, but wouldn't that just create more work for you? It seems to me that you want to make this process less labor intensive. I'd suggest working out the problem with the puff, rather than abandoning it altogether.

As I keep thinking about this story, I have other comments....such as..... 1. If I had actually wrecked my own cake creation, managed to blame it on the customer's dogs, and accepted money for the whole deal, I certainly would NEVER cop to it in any way, shape, or form. ESPECIALLY not in a tell-all book. I mean, there's innocent mistakes and all-out irresponsibility. I think this story is much more the latter. 2. I can't believe anyone who has done pulled and blown-sugar work would actually place the doves on the cake and THEN transport it, and then expect them to hold up well in a customer's refrigerator once it has gotten to the site. This is just one of those tales I can't get out of my head because it sounds too crazy to be true. Call me obsessed. Just don't call me Michel Richard.....

Hey, after your comments, Chefette, I actually decided to follow the linky and read the story. I must say, it DOES sound too ridiculous to be believable. Here you have, on the one hand, someone who cares enough to and Then he abruptly undergoes a personality change and, and then..... So this dude is dainty and careful when decorating the cake, then turns into a madman as he delivers it? Any cake person knows that the careful handling doesn't stop the minute you finish decorating it......so I must ask, "WTF?" SURELY, he couldn't have been that reckless? And CERTAINLY not at that point in his career? If it's a true story, I would be amazed indeed.

Hey, I alway say, mistakes are your BEST learning experience!! I'm not ashamed of my mistakes....wait, let me re-phrase that.......I'm ashamed of them, but I'm not ashamed to admit them. What credibility does one have if they've never made a mistake? My mistakes serve two purposes: 1. That I'll never do that again, and 2. I have a great story to share....not to mention a fun "teaching tool". I say the more mistakes you make, the better chef you are..... and that you're more willing to take a risk and fall, than not to try at all. Do you know that the first time that I ever boiled cream it was in a giant steam kettle, and there was a heck of a lot in there since I was making an industrial sized batch of pastry cream (this was in school). Well, shoot, I didn't know that steam kettles were so damn efficient....and fast! I figured it was gonna be quite a time for that cream to come up to temp, so I turned it on and walked away. Ha! Ever see cream boil over in a giant steam kettle? I have! And I got to clean it up too.