celenes

Hi All, I am not sure if anyone happened to see the segment that ran this weekend on the FoodNetwork on holiday gifts. Edible ones that is. There is a company that was featured that offers frozen cheesecake bars of various flavors in addition to traditional cheesecake. I found if quite interesting. The company is called the Underground Cheesecake Company. The customers were raving about the bar. I do recall in a previous thread on the forum some comments about freezing cheesecake and the consistency not being so nice. So I wonder how are they doing this and coming out with an acceptable product. Oh, I forgot to mention they are dipping the bars in chocolate, and it is I am assuming high quality chocolate. Another company was Pete's Gourmet Confections and he is doing outstanding business with his gourmet mallows. I visited his website last night and there was already a message up stating that due to the feature on the show his production time was now longer than normal. All these companies started out really small and have just exploded. I found it very amazing.

Here's the update: The cake tasting went very well. Looks like I will be hired for this wedding. The bride and groom were very impressed with the cakes that they tasted. Here's what I prepared: chocolate raspberry cake with a thin frosting of chocolate buttercream and then covered with ganache butter cake filled with vanilla custard and strawberry with cream cheese frosting white cake filled with raspberry and vanilla buttercream frosting. They selected the chocolate and the butter cakes. I will know for sure if I have the order on Monday. Thanks again to everyone who gave me great recommendations on how not to waste cake because I just have a little left of each. The chocolate one my hubby has claimed as his and I plan to give the rest of the other two to neighbors.

I too grew up on pecan pie made using the Karo syrup recipe. But I am positive my granny did a little extra to her version. What it was I can't tell you but I know it was yummy and I have yet to master it. As for the price of pecans, they are quite expensive here in Ohio. Even from the wholesale places like Sam's Club, GFS etc. But I buy them when I need them. I don't use walnuts too much so I haven't really compared the price. I think I will try one of the recipes with the butter and brown sugar too. Sounds just like something I shouldn't be eating which is why I must try it.

I am fortune enough to have a proof setting on my oven but if you don't this might work: While you are mixing your ingredients, turn your oven on 200 degrees, when all your ingredients are put together in an oven proof bowl or pan covered with plastic wrap place in oven (turn oven off before you put your pans in) for about an hour along with a pan of boiling water. That should do the trick.

Anne, All I can say is that you are right on many points in your post. Being in marketing myself, I know that treating people and querying them for information helps alot. I am also a very good listener and have been told I have a dynamite smile. So here's what I have found out from the bride which is going to help me. They have interest in the following cake flavors: chocolate, white and cassata. Fillings strawberry or raspberry. Frosting buttercream and cream cheese. So I feel comfortable with all those and should be able to accomplish that without a problem. I had plans to do the dummy cake as you mentioned but didn't think to do a third 6" live one so that could work and then it can go home with the bride. I think I will e-mail her and ask for her colors so I can be sure to have the tier decorated with her color or perhaps I'll just stick with white don't want to be to over anxious. Also I plan to give her a little bag with a token of appreciation. I 'm thinking a little candle that looks like a wedding cake. I purchased one from Crate and Barrel sometime ago because I thought it was cute. I also like the china idea. I have never used my wedding china so I think now's the time to put it to use. Thanks to everyone for your responses they have been most helpful. The tasting is this Friday, December 3rd. So once it happens, I'll let you know how it went. Hope everyone had a Happy Turkey day!!! That's works well when you do stuff on a small scale, like one or two weddings a month. But when you're faced with busy wedding seasons that entail 100 wedding cakes in a single month, you have to approach things a bit differently. One thing I have found is that there's no way to please everyone. No matter what you do. All you can do is try to please the majority in the most efficient way possible. Some people won't like your methods even if you stand on your head and smile. I used to take a lot more things personally.....I don't so much anymore, otherwise I'd be insane. Wait.....oh crap. Too late. I used to prepare cakes that were already split and filled, and I'd freeze them up. I would prepare the most popular flavors together, and guests could see how the cake looked. But two things made me stop doing this. 1) People always wanted to taste a cake flavor combo that I DIDN'T have made up, and I'd tell them to come back later and I would make it up specially for them. After all, I wanted the sale, and I would always bend over backwards. Eventually, I discovered this extra work for just ONE couple was a money loser for me. Especially since the flavor asked for generally was unusual, and didn't make any other sales for me. By deciding to make all the cake flavors and filling flavors separately and letting guests play around for themselves, it saved me this extra work. 2) I found that if you are going to showcase your cakes and have their texture and flavor be a major selling point, then having it as freshy-fresh as possible is the best idea. The Friday before every open house, we would bake off one eight inch round of every flavor we did, and make up all the fillings. On Saturday, we would bring out all the cakes, cut them up, and let them come to room temperature. Cakes always taste their very best at room temp. Can't stress that enough. Truly. Something I didn't mention in an earlier post solved my problem of guests having trouble visualizing what the inside of a finished cake looked like. Sounds funny, but a lot of people do have trouble with visualization. I made a two tier stacked wedding cake dummy. It was covered with fondant that was was the same exact shade as my buttercream. It was decorated in a swiss dot design. On the Friday before open house, I would split, fill, ice and decorate a little 6 incher, and place it on top of the dummy. Now it looked like a complete three tier cake. Then I'd cut a slice out of it, so the guests could see the inside. My open house set-up was as follows...... A long table covered with beautiful linens and beautiful china holding all my cake samples. Nice china bowls with all my fillings. Plenty of toothpicks and little tasting spoons. My cake dummy with the "live" tier on top, displayed at one end of the table, and fresh bouquets of flowers. Hot coffee and tea. Another table filled with all my books of cake designs. Flyers and brochures detailing price structures, packages, delivery details, and flavors available. KNOWLEDGEABLE sales staff to answer questions (which is the hardest part......KNOWLEDGEABLE sales staff....yipes). Another thing that I discovered was a selling point was the fact that my open houses were right in my production kitchen. Guests could see how well set up we were to do what we professed to do. They were always interested in seeing the mixers, the ovens, the walk-in, cakes that were in process, etc. I was kind of amazed that the kitchen was a great backdrop, because I feared it would be the opposite. Ok, here's the REALLY important point. I discovered in my fifteen plus years in the wedding and custom cake business, that the NUMBER ONE way to assure a cake sale is to PAY ATTENTION to your client, listen, smile, and act as though THEIR cake is the only one you are concerned about, and that you are 100% concerned about it. People are anxious when they buy things that they don't know much about. They don't know what questions to ask. They don't know if they should trust you because they really don't know how to tell the difference between a good cake person and a bad cake person. I have found that when you anticipate their questions and answer them before they are even out of their mouth, they are very reassured. Reassuring anxious couples almost clinches the sale right there. Can you tell I've done this a lot? I could write a book called "The Psychology of the Wedding Client".....it's funny after a while, you know EXACTLY what to say to people. So really, to sum it up, it isn't about the cake sample, or the portfolios you show them, or the referrals you have from other customers. It's how you TREAT them. When they feel special, they're your customers. Truly. ←

I also like that recommendation as well. You're right there are cakes that I do over and over again. Lately the one I have stumbled across and perfected I might add is a chocolate raspberry cake that my clients have been going wild over. The cake is quite moist because you actually use raspberries in the batter and then it is covered with a ganache. The last one I made about a week ago was fabulous and I don't like raspberries. Also when I made the ganache this time I didn't have enough bittersweet chocolate so I added semi sweet and it was very tasty.

I love that idea. The Saturday thing too. Perhaps I can do an email right after Christmas and sponsor an open tasting sometime in February those that got engaged recently. Thanks for the idea. I actually have several cakes in the freezer now that I can cut up. Love it!!

Hello All, I am seeking advice about an upcoming appointment that I have setup with a bride-to-be next Friday. She is coming to do a cake tasting and this is something I have yet to do. The folks that I have done wedding cakes for over the past summer have been customers or referrals from friends and family and have not required the cake tasting. My first thought was to do three flavor choices, white, chocolate and a butter cake. I thought I would make up 6" size and frost one layer of each with a different frosting, buttercream, whipped and perhaps a ganache. I also figured I would fill one with a mousse and then maybe another with a raspberry filling and leave the third as is. Is that enough, too much??? I am the first baker she is visiting so I want to make a good impression. I plan on displaying a dummy wedding cake. As well as showing her some flower selections, gumpaste, buttercream, and recommend the use of silk flowers. I have actually lost sleep over this appointment because my mind won't let it go. Crazy huh? I did send her an e-mail a day after our conversation and thanked her for the inquiry etc. and within the communication I asked if there were particular flavors etc. that she had interest in so that I could be sure to have them available at the tasting. I have not heard from her yet but I would like to start preparing over this weekend so I won't be too overwhelmed. Especially since I am now on vacation from my fulltime job which works perfect.

Yes I do agree the specialty shops are probably a better shot. I had two reasons for targeting the local grocery store. One it was a way to build a relationship with them until the development of other retail spots which will hopefully be available right off the main strip mall area sometime in the Spring. Second was since I live next door to City Council President and I know he wants the residents of the community who have business ventures to be the suppliers for our area I thought this was another good way to build my creditability.

Hmmm. I am sure it's just as tough here too. I think if I do end up striking a deal with the local grocer I will soon find that the rules are a lot stricter. And I probably won't want to deal with the headache. We'll see what happens or if they even call me back. So far no word from them. Might be for the best. I like the way I operate now with a small but yet loyal client base. Plus I not in it to make the money at this point since I do have a very good job, you know the one that pays for all my baking toys and a few pieces of clothing every now and then

O.k. basically the only portion of the recipe that uses the paraffin is the portion to dip the cookies in: 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels 1/4 of a paraffn wax bar Chocolate Dip Place the chocolate chips and paraffin in a small very heavy saucepan on the lowest temperature. Stir often-it will seem nothing is happening but don't turn the heat up. After awhile the chips and wax will start to melt and blend together, forming the traditional shiny choclate candy coating. Then of course, the recipe continues on how to dip the cookies etc. I have also seen paraffin called for in buckeyes which is a novelty item here in Ohio being the Buckeye state in all. I don't think I would ever use the wax because it scares me!!! It just sound like it would cause some kind of issue. Thanks for all the feedback.

When I spoke to the state (OH) earlier this year I was told that if I did the proper labelling and did not have product that required refrigeration I would be o.k. The inspector would only come out if I was doing things like cheesecake that requires refrigeration. What I would be contract baking would be cake, mostly birthday cake that would be ordered and probably eaten within a 24 hour period.

I would like to know the group's thoughts on providing bake goods to a retail grocery location. Here's the background. Recently a local grocery chain opened up in my neighborhood which is literally walking distance from my house. It is a family owned business and has been a long standing business in the Cleveland area. The shopping plaza that it is located in is small and so the grocery store is not very big and they don't have a bakery at all. In the other stores however, they do have very large bakeries. With the approach holiday season and beyond I thought I might contract bake for them if they agree. I have plans on making a call to the Corporate Office on tomorrow to begin the discussion but I am not quite sure of some questions I should ask, how should I price my product etc. Thoughts?

Hi All, Can someone please educate me on the rationale behind using parafin wax when melting chocolate. I have come across a recipe that I want to try out and it calls for melting chocolate with 1/4 of a parafin bar of wax. I have never done this before and I have seen other recipes but I never been willing to try them because of the wax factor. Thanks in advance for the lesson.

I have also been baking with a convention oven since last November. Done plenty of cheesecake, cakes and cookies no problems with the fan that I am aware of. To be honest I don't really know how to turn the fan off so since I've had no problems I figure leave it alone. My oven is a double and I love it. Now that I understand the temperature and time stuff I've produced much better stuff than what my gas oven was doing. Good luck. P.S. So far the health inspectors haven't come after me. I live next door to our city council president too and he knows I bake from my home. I did the research tough to see what I might be up against and the state told me as long as I label my product properly I was in good shape. We have a decent website that give you all the label parameters and explains baking product from home etc.

Let me just say I am jealous, I wish my schedule would allow for me to attend some more formal training too. As some of you know I do baking from my home on a part-time (or maybe not so part-time any more). I did pretty much what Sinclair said, I had the opportunity to build a new house last year and of course my kitchen is "a baker's kitchen and thank goodness my husband is a good guy because he let me sink $$$ into my ovens which at the end of year when I total up my cake sells maybe I've made some of the money back that we put out to get it. At any rate I too crave more and more knowledge about baking and decorating. Here's the interesting thing that I have noticed just since I moved into my house last November, despite the fact I don't have time to take classes I have joined this forum, watched a lot of Food Network, purchased a few books and spoke to some folks in person and I have learned tons and stepped out and taken risks that I may not have done if indeed I went to school. I think I would have waited until I completed my course work and then ventured out. Here's point in case, I made my very first wedding cake July 4th weekend and guess what I did it despite the blood, sweat and tears!!! ( I might add Sinclair and Chefpeon cheered me on lots ) Since then I've done three more, who knew!!! I received a call earlier this week from a company that will be holding a very affluent Bridal Fair at a upscale hotel early next year and there are a select number of vendors from each category who are allowed to participate in the show. I was really honored that my business was one of those selected. The unfortunate part is right now I don't have the $$ flow to lay out for the booth rental, it's pretty hefty and to be honest I would like another year or so under my belt before I start to service the more wealthy folks. They kinda scare me. The jest of my tale is this it is my opinion that if you can fit formal training in awesome but if not do not let it hold you back. I have done what I term as my formal training which was the Wilton classes at a local craft store for months and then took more cake decorating classes at a baking supply store that taught me even more. My next goal is to take a few one off classes at the Viking Culinary School that opened here last Fall. So besides just growing up cooking and baking with my granny I've taken what I could when I could and I guess I'm doing something right. Good Luck.

Yes, I second and third that information on practice,it is definitely the key. I also took the Wilton classes all the way through up to the Wedding Cake portion. Then my life got busy and I ended up going to a cake supply store to purchase some stuff and found they offered classes. I only wanted the Wedding Cake classes but they made you take 8 weeks of classes before I could reachethe Wedding Cake portion. Guess what I am glad I did take the previous 8 weeks because I learned more stuff that wasn't taught at my Wilton classes. Talking to folks on egullet has given me great ideas and more confidence too. Today I debuted online with www.theknot.com in the Cleveland area to hopefully get myself more business. Who knew? Sinclair - I got rave review from client on the chocolate mousse by the way too!!! Used your recipe as I mentioned in my other thread.

Just wanted to report that I made the mousse using Neil's recipe first and then I had to resort to Sinclair's recipe. Here's what happened with the first recipe, I did everything as instructed put the mixture in the refrigerator and came back in a few hours it the mixture was hard as a rock!! So of course I didn't want to try to fix because I considered rewarming to bring about to liquid but then I think I may have had other problems. I do plan to try it again because I will not be defeated by such an easy recipe. Perhaps my chocolate was not suitable, I didn't follow my first mind to run up to the Chocolate Meister and purchase some Schaffenberger Chocolate like I should have. As for the second recipe things worked well however I did notice once I place it in the refrigerator I had a few chunks of chocolate in the mixture but nothing too bad infact when I did the taste test they melted as soon as they hit your tongue. Terribly delicious too, luck the mousse made it in the cake at all, my daughter and I considered eating the whole bowl The cake turned out beautiful and I hope my client was happy!! I was. Now on to the 70s cake for this weekend.

Thanks everyone for your assistance as always. Now all I have to do is decide which recipe to use

Hi Folks, Anyone have a good and fairly painless chocolate mousse recipe? Wedding cake number 2 is next week and I am preparing all my stuff recipes etc. so I won't be overwhelmed. Now that I have my first one under my belt I feel like I can conquer almost anything The cake itself is simple, click here to see what what the customer has requested: Becerra Wedding Cake Three cakes as pictured with the following changes, cake 1 and 3 will have chocolate mousse, cake 2 raspberry filling. Royal frosting spirals will become roses on outer bottom edge with a hint of light blue on the edges of the roses. Side spirals to become string work only done with pearls and top edge will be very small white flowers with a hint of blue. White candles encircled by white roses. Delightful I think.

I am so tickled at the recommendations, I think I will just make them all Honestly, this stuff is great. I think the Simon one is clearly disco floor looking and is under strong consideration. I'll let you know what my final plan is soon. The party is only three weeks away. Perhaps you all should come, the more the merrier.

Thanks Katie for your suggestions. They are helpful. Yes I definitely know I will do the disco ball thing. Probably the record and some big daisy fondant flowers. I was thinking about designing the cake like a disco floor (yeah that is right after I figure out the details) I'll do my research over the weekend. Right after I work on a design for an upcoming wedding cake that I just got asked to do yesterday. The wedding is July 31st nothing like last minute. My only saving grace is it is a small 50 person wedding so that should be easy.

Well you would believe that after getting everyone's suggestions and help, I got the invitation in the mail today for the party and the theme is 70s. So I guess the purse isn't going to work. Now I need to look at disco stuff etc. Which is fine but I was looking forward to making the cake. I still will give it a shot after I figure out my party cake. Any suggestions? Purple is the theme color too.

Great. Thanks so much. I will make the purchase.

Thanks. Here's what I think I would like to do: Since this will be my first attempt at something like this I thought I would start small. So below are images of two simple I think Prada wallets. That should work because I don't want the whole cake to be taken up by one item. http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/...e=2&size=&sort= And I can just use one of my own shoe boxes as my visual to get the other item I would like to put on the cake.