chefpeon

What happens to the chocolate in the waterfall? Is the waterfall actually just a giant tempering machine? Can you use the chocolate? Do you change it? What brand of chocolate is best for waterfalls? By the way I love to play in waterfalls. Homer Simpson says: "Mmmmmmmmmm.......waterfall......."

True, water does seize the chocolate at first, but when you keep adding it, it starts to thin down again. Basically you're just making ganache.....with water.

Thanks a lot Phaelon! I clicked on the links and did a lot of reading this morning. Wow.....this is going to be more of a challenge than I thought! Possibly 6 months of practice before I get that elusive art in my cup! But what the heck, it's not like it's going to be painful or anything.....since I make myself a cup every morning anyway! Of note: One article said it's important to have a four hole fan dispersion steam wand. I know my steam wand at work is just a single hole type......would I be wasting my time trying to create latte art on that machine? Or is it achievable with that type of wand, just a bit harder?

Man, oh man.....I eat dessert all day......gotta make sure my stuff at work is good y'know....ahem....quality control and all that <cough>. So by the time din-din rolls around, my dessert is usually a glass o'wine......or two....

Shoot, I don't think I even KNOW 300 people! On that subject, I have always wondered about those huge guest lists. They must be inviting their garbage man, dentist, doctor, attorney, mailman and all their kids....My extended family doesn't even come CLOSE to that many people! You're probably right, Wendy.....but I did say the prices would START at $25. That's just for the cakes.....oh, you want me to DECORATE them? Well, that's extra......a LOT extra!

The "latte art" hasn't happened yet. Did another shot this morning......good crema..... but I must not be doin' the milk right. I reviewed the milk foaming and texturing techniques that I was referred to, above. I noticed that one mentioned combining skim milk and whole milk was best, and I've also heard using just whole milk alone was best. My co-worker told me she heard that 2% was best. So now I'm sorta confused. I've been using just whole milk. Maybe I'll try the combo of whole and skim on Monday and see how that works. Anyone with opinions or suggestions on this matter?

Here's the computer "sketch" I submitted to the couple. After I finish the cake, I'll snap a pic (as always) and post it. Then we'll see how close I come to the original idea. Usually, when I work on the cake, I make some changes, because somehow what looks good on paper doesn't always translate well to a real cake. Don't know why that is. I'm pretty sure this cake will be right on the money though. We'll see!

Hey, wow, and they have X-rated chocolate molds, cake pans and cookie cutters too! Happy Valentines Day Honey! Have a Penis Pop!!! Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!!

I'm not baking anything for personal purposes, since my husband and I believe that Valentines Day is yet another one of those materialistic "retail holidays" designed to make people feel guilty if they they don't buy chocolate or flowers or take their sweeties out to dinner. We celebrate Valentines Day by not celebrating Valentines Day, and trying to do nice things for each other 24/7 365. Easier said than done. Anyway. On the career side of things, I'm doing a wedding cake for Feb. 13th that's kinda cute. When I consulted with the couple, I discovered they were cat lovers and had two black and white kitties they doted on quite a bit. They really had no clue what they wanted, so I suggested a cake with kitty paw prints going around and up each tier, with a cake topper (custom made by me) of two black and white kitties "dressed" as bride and groom. At the bottom of the cake will be a ball of "yarn", and the "yarn" will weave in and out of the pillars separating each cake, where it will end up at the top tangling in the cats' tails and tying them together. They loved the idea, so that's what I'm making. Oh yeah, and I'm making chocolate dipped shortbread heart cookies for the wholesale end of things.

Hey, I'm gonna try that! It kinda sounds....like......watered down modeling chocolate! Thanks for the tip Woody!

Hmmmm......kinda depends on my mood....but......I'm thinking "ridiculous" would start at $25.00 per cake. That's how much money I'd like to make for those li'l pain in the ass things. Otherwise.....forget it. My profit margin is so much higher when I do a single wedding cake....even if it's elaborate. So ya want mini wedding cakes, eh? Ok, I'll do 'em.....but it's gonna cost ya!!!

Hee hee.... Just wanted to add..... When I got married to my high school sweetheart in 1984 at 22 years old, I wasn't even in the food biz yet (I was on the fast track at Ma Bell), so I had my reception catered at a local restaurant. Of course, I planned the whole wedding myself, within the budget my parents gave me.....$2500, and I came in under budget too! The most expensive part? My dress. Oh vanity. The cheapest thing? The cake! A la Albertsons!!! Yes, you heard right kids.....I had a grocery store wedding cake! Ah, I was young and foolish (but I DID come in under budget!). What's really amusing is when I was talking to the catering dude about the food. I wanted champagne of course, and I figured 4 bottles would be PLENTY for 100 people......Ha! Shoot, my husband and I plowed through 2 of 'em.......! So the rest of my guests each got about a half a shot glass full of champagne for the toast......but they didn't mind......since it was so much fun to see the bride all drunk! Unfortunately, we divorced 8 years later, we're still good friends though. Anyway, when I got married to my sweetie in August of 2003, I HAD been in the food biz for 14 years, and was so jaded about weddings, that I didn't even want to DO the ceremony/reception thing. From my point of view, weddings are such a waste of money....I just have so many more things I'd rather spend money on! So my husband and I, being real minimalists, took our friend who was an ordained minister out on our sailboat, along with my husband's son and sister, and we sailed around Port Townsend Bay while saying our "I do's". I did make my own wedding cake this time.....hee hee....it was only 4 inches tall. Chocolate, covered with ganache. One bite for him and one bite for me. World's tiniest wedding cake at the world's tiniest wedding! My sister-in-law, who is one heck of a photographer, took these pics, and gave them a nice sepia tone....then presented them to us in a frame as a wedding present. So cool! Yep, it's yours truly, and my wonderful husband Mark!

choux's idea is a good one too, provided you have an oven that you can rest things on top of. Ganache does firm up, certainly, but you can make a ganache that stays soft at room temp, by adjusting the amount of cream to chocolate you use when you make it. You want to end up with a ganache that has a buttercream-like consistency when it's at room temp, that way you don't have to worry about keeping it warm. Make a small amount of 1:1 and see how that works for you. Then adjust as necessary.

I think you kind of answered your own question there......ganache would work great, as a pipeable room temperature chocolate. Make your ganache ahead of time and let it set up (either in the fridge first, then move it to room temp, or just keep it at room temp). That way, it's chocolate, it's yummy, and it's easy!

Oh, you guys are so RIGHT ON! After I read the initial post, I was sitting there thinking, how could I reply without being all negative? As a professional, even *I* dread those horrible miniature wedding cake orders. I did a wedding for 300 once, and that was really a time consuming bummer of a time. I had fun decorating and assembling the first 20 or so, but after that it was a mini wedding cake nightmare. You know what? It's a lot harder to ice up miniature cakes nicely than it is larger cakes. I actually prefer to cover miniature cakes in fondant, so I don't have to be so careful with the buttercream part. Anyway, next time I have a request for miniature wedding cakes, I am either going to: A) charge a RIDICULOUS amount of money (that way if they still want them and are willing to pay my price, it'll be worth it) or, B) just say "no". I'm inclined to go with "A". Anyway, I concur with everyone.....do the cupcake thing. It'll be food from you to your guests, you'll be able to easily pull it off with little or no stress, and they'll be yummy. Cupcakes freeze really well, so you'll be able to make them in advance. Just pull 'em out of the freezer and ice 'em up the day before. Cupcake trees for weddings got real popular a few years ago after a photo was published in a Martha Stewart publication, and in my wedding season of 2001, I had my tree going out once or twice a week. I built a permanent one, using a large dowel, round wood boards and the appropriate hardware. Covered each round board in green polyfoil and decorated the edges with silk leaves. It was kind of drag getting that thing back every time it went out. My clients would never return it of course (even though I charged a deposit every time), and when I'd go to the hotel to fetch it, it seemed like no one in the kitchen knew what happened to it. One time I found it out back next to the dumpster! Never mind that I had stickers on it saying "Please return to...." Arghhh!

Wow Beto..... thanks for the tips! I will try them tomorrow! I did get some good crema this morning.....I ground it fresh.....what a difference! Guess I didn't foam the milk right though 'cause I still couldn't get that little pool of milk to show up in the center of the cup. Everything just mixed together and there was no way I could pour any art. I'll give it another shot tomorrow......ha! Get it? Shot? Barista humor!

Hee hee....next time I'm working on a big wedding cake, I'll have someone snap a pic. It ain't pretty though......about the last thing I cater to when I'm workin' is my vanity! What's up with that one photo bleudavergne just posted? It looks like a giant bong......er.....uh....waterpipe. Oh! I get it! Flight! High! Ha ha! I wanna hear more about Mr. Mexican Judge guy. I can't believe a judge would have a temper tantrum. Maybe one of the competitors......but a JUDGE??? Not that I condone ANY temper tantrums.....people who throw them are NOT welcome in my kitchen!

A bit of a correction here: single acting baking powder, as opposed to double acting, does only react when heat is applied, that's correct. But baking soda DOES beging to react when moistened.....that's a fact. Double acting baking powder reacts first when moistened and secondly when heat is applied. Wondering.....does anyone use single acting baking powder? I never have. Another good thing to know is that all leaveners eventually do lose their power over time...especially when they are sitting in a pre-made batter or dough. I make huge amounts of cookie dough and the fresher dough most definitely bakes off better than the older dough. If you are just refrigerating a cookie dough overnight there's virtually no difference, but I'm talking about a week. After that amount of time you see a difference, but even then it's not really that big of a deal. Another piece o'trivia..... baking soda is one of the major things that can contribute to how much a cookie spreads in the oven. Leavening refers to how much a product expands, and this could either be by puffing up or spreading out.

That's been my first obstacle......the crema! I have a little crema in my cup after pulling the shot, but not enough to make art with. What I'd like to know is, what are the criteria for achieving abundant crema? What is the "proper tamp"? What temperature should I shoot for? And using espresso coffee that's not freshly ground will affect it? I think I've got the milk foaming thing down pretty well..... but damn you crema! Why do you taunt me so?

I just went through a "Financier Phase" a couple of months ago.......there was a thread on Financiers and I just decided to "follow along". My opinion..... They're just not that good to me. I baked several recipes, liked some better than others, and served them different ways.....with fruit baked in the middle, assembled as petit fours, layered with chocolate, etc. Any way I presented it was "just ok". Not anything to write home about. I probably won't make them again, unless someone requests them. And to think of it, in my career as a PC, I've NEVER had a request for them. There must be something to that.

There was a reality TV show about the restaurant biz......it was called, (get this) "The Restaurant". I never saw it though. It was on too late for folks like me who get up at 3 freakin' thirty AM.

I've used both types of KitchenAids.......I prefer the bowl lift models simply because they are the heavier duty models. The tilt head models are like "KitchenAid Lite". I feel that if you're going to invest in a KitchenAid, go whole hog and get the bowl lift model.

I think if I had witnessed what happened to the Japanese team like you did Lucy, I would have started crying and left. How horrible. I would NEVER in a million years wish something like that on someone.....God, when you know the sweat and the stress and the hours that go into things....and it's all gone in a moment......what a heartbreaker. Yipes. The pic you snapped of it gave me a clue as to how beautiful it was too......gosh! That's what I don't understand about competitions....there's a certain conformity that you have to strive for, and I think that can be very limiting. Too many requirements quell creativity as far as I'm concerned. I've always been a fan of encouraging originality.... and new ideas. It's kinda sad. I also had a friend that entered the PatisFrance competition a few years ago. He placed third, but I'm sure it was only because he didn't use pulled sugar, and because he didn't have a monstrously tall piece. But it was by far the most beautiful and detailed entry. When I saw the 1st and 2nd place winners, I knew it had to be a requirement/politics thing. No competitions for me. Too much stress.......and for what? Totally not worth it for me. I'm happy just to overcome my personal challenges on a daily basis. Sometimes I win the prize, sometimes I don't. I just try harder the next day.

Yes.....Mark Burnett (The Apprentice, Survivor) needs to see this thread. Maybe the show could be called "Mel's Bakery, The Survivor Apprentice....."

I've never had that kind of problem actually. Perhaps if your filling is super light and squishable.....perhaps......but chiffon has always been great for me whether I use fondant, marzipan, chocolate or buttercream..........