JanKK

Ok ........it's not cake .......but if you really like Malted Milk Balls and you like to make ice cream, try the "Milk Chocolate Malted Ice Cream" from Claudia Fleming's book, "The Last Course" It is absolutely the most fabulous stuff. (And if you like a little crunch in your ice cream, you can take it a step further and chop up some malted milk balls and toss them in too !) --Jan :)

I think they were slightly less sweet, TP ........although maybe not a lot , given that sugar is always the main ingredient? I didn't have any others for a side-by-side comparison. And that's correct Kew .....I didn't add any extra sugar ---just decreased the corn syrup. Again, I didn't have a side-by-side comparison, but the texture seemd the same to me and they lasted fine (just ate the last one yesterday ;)

All these variations sound marvelous! And I'm practically drooling just looking at those chocolate-covered ones ;) Now ..... I've made these several times --chocolate, strawberry, vanilla ----and the other night when I decided I just HAD to have some, I had everything in ready to go and discovered I only had 3/4 cup of corn syrup, not the 1 1/4 called for. Wellllll................at that point it seemed pointless to waste everything and it was WAY to later to run out to the store, so I made them with the 3/4 cup ...........and they turned out absolutely perfect! Had no ill effect on either flavor or texture. Just thought I'd share that ........I mean a few less calories means you can eat a few more, right?? ;)

Ok ....it's 9:15pm and y'all have me wanting to run out to the kitchen and make more marshmallows. Oh well .....sleep is over-rated anyway, right? ;)

I think summer hiatus it is .........but let's get back to it soon ......this was fun!! Just no time right now :)

Now why didn't I think of that?? I use the damn pizza cutter for everything! ;) Thanks for a marvelous suggestion!

Acutually, I didn't know this forum existed when I bought mine --but I did do my homework and there were definitely pros and cons. But I kept finding things the 5qt just wouldn't quite handle ---and to be perfectly honest, I love new kitchen toys ;) I still really like it .......I've had it for about 1 1/2 yrs and it runs great. I would agree though that the 5qt was better for doing some smaller batches. Trying to cream something with only 1/2 cup of butter is certainly a challenge in that big bowl. Unfortunately, there's no room to have two ;)

Absolutely Ben !! We would love to have you join us!! Everyone kindof comes and goes as there schedule permits. I would suggest looking on Ebay for the book.....I've seen quite a few good deals on the BWJ book! --Jan

::listening to the echoes in the hallway" Yep ..still around. Just have been too busy to bake much lately. Last thing I did was the Croissants. And that is one beautiful pastry you did there, Arbuclo!! :) Looking forward to pictures of the Amaretti :)

I made Croissants this weekend and I'm pleased to say they turned out pretty well (except maybe for the flying tails ;) ....practice, practice, practice! ;) I started with the Baking with Julia recipe and watched the video. But as I looked around the forum for more tips and read everyone's croissant making stories, I found that Andiesenji had recommended the recipe from "How to Bake" by Nick Malgieri. So I got out both recipes and compared. They are quite similar, except Nick uses a less cumbersome, less time-consuming technigue and also less butter ---3 sticks instead of 4 1/2. To me, 4 1/2 sticks of butter just seemed like too much (and I LIKE butter! ;) So I used the Malgieri recipe and a combination of the techniques. Mixed the flour and butter in the mixer and made it into a flat rectangle and wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated. Seemed to me to make more sense to try and make it approximately the shape and size I wanted it to be instead of trying to beat a block of butter down into the middle of the dough. And it worked quite well. MInimal butter oozing and they were very light and flaky. Now, if I could just get my ice cream right, life would be good ;) And that's this week's progress report from sunny Aurora ;)

Nope ...had read that before about sugar and egg yolks, so did whisk them together right away. Will certainly give the thermometer a try ... I didn't realize there was a specific temperature. So it may have been a case of over-cooking? Thanks, Ted .......and no need for forgiveness! I appreciate any and all advice ...better to hear it again than not at all! :)

Ok ..since we've gone from talking about expresso to fat ;) ....let me ask a question ... I've recently tried Vanilla Ice Cream recipes from both Sherry Yards and Claudia Fleminings books. They both have LOTS of egg yolks --8 in one, 12 in the other. I have no trouble tempering the yolks with the hot cream/milk ...they look just fine. When I start heating them again, they still look fine .....but every time, by the time it's thickened enough to coat a spoon, it starts to get what looks to be egg bits in it. Not big lumps ....just little bits. Now, the first couple times this happened, it was just a little bit. I strained it (as the recipe called for --so they must expect a little??) ....and the ice creams turned out fine. However, yesterday when I made my base, it was quite "eggy" ---I did finish and freeze it, and it tasted ok, but it left a sticky feel in your mouth. Decided to try again today .....and it was so bad, I tossed it. Sooo.............am I cooking it too long? Not long enough? Any clues from all you ice cream makers??

Well, I have never had a 'real' baumkuchen before, but I did try making the one from the Yard book because it just looked fascinating. It really isn't difficult, it's just that for the 30-40 minutes you would normally bake a cake, you need to be there. It tasted great. The only problem I had was that by the time I was done adding layers and baking, the bottom of it had burnt to a crisp. In fact ...that's how I happened to stumble across this forum a couple months ago -- while doing an Internet search to see if anyone else reported a similar problem. ;) Haven't tried it again .....but would like to. Maybe putting a sheet pan or an insulated pan under the round pan would help? Anyone have any suggestions?

I'm going to be gone this weekend too --- will be at my sister's house for my niece's 1st birthday ........and I volunteered to make the cake ...oh my! But I'll catch up with y'all next weekend :)

I love the pictures, Dahomechef....it's fun to see what everybodies stuff looks like. Sometimes it gives me something to aspire to .....sometimes it makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one who has stuff turn out kinda funky! Of course, I have cable modem, so it doesn't take long to download stuff .....how do people on dial-up feel about it? (of course, pictures taken on digital cameras tend to have large file sizes - you can reduce these without any ill effect (using any graphic program or, most likely, the software that came with your camera), which will help lighten the download times :)