DiH

I've seen that site before somewhere. I remember it cuz none of the pictures enlarge for me when I click on the thumbnails. It must be using some pretty fancy schmancy coding that's written for the minority rather than the majority of computer users. All this to say that if it doesn't work for some of you, it's nothing that you're doing wrong. Di ← It's my website- and unfortunately, since I am not a web designer, it still has some quirks that need working on. I find if I click on the cakes from the top left corner and go "in order" from left to right, top to bottom, the pictures open up. I used javascript on that effect, but have no idea why that is happening. If anyone knows how to fix that problem, I'd greatly appreciate any suggestions. I e-mailed a contact who designs websites for help and never got any response, so now I have to find someone else who might be willing to work on getting the quirks out of my site, that is if I can't fix it myself. Here's my old site with pictures that open up easily if you want to see examples of the writing done with the cutters. There is actually an example of writing on the side of a cake, done with larger cutters. ← Oops , sorry. I didn't mean to offend you; I know firsthand how much work goes into a website. Unfortunately, I can't offer any suggestions... I stick to plain ol' HTML. "I find if I click on the cakes from the top left corner and go "in order" from left to right, top to bottom, the pictures open up."... nope, that still didn't do it for me; however, your old site operated just fine. Your cakes are terrific. Nice work! Di

I've seen that site before somewhere. I remember it cuz none of the pictures enlarge for me when I click on the thumbnails. It must be using some pretty fancy schmancy coding that's written for the minority rather than the majority of computer users. All this to say that if it doesn't work for some of you, it's nothing that you're doing wrong. Di

These have become my husbands favorites. Funny story... not looking forward to a 13-hour flight from Dallas to Saipan, he took some of these cookies with him. The guy seated next to him ate nearly all of them. When all the cookies were gone, he asked for the recipe! Di

K8's right... next time crank up the fire. My arm would have fallen off long before two hours' time! The only time I have problems with non-climbing temperatures is when the a/c comes on and the overhead vent blows directly downward and into the pan, cooling off the contents. I would think that you should be able to fill your tart shells after allowing the lemon cream come to room temperature, then giving it a good stir. With all that butter in there, it should chill up nicely for you. Di

That's right, you've been a busy girl in recent months. I totally understand how you wouldn't have time to mess with "yet another" piece of equipment right now. The airbrush I got is a Wagner Spraytech System... yep, the whole kit and kaboodle in one box. $90 at Lowe's... as big a hit as my bank account could stand right now. Later on, if I decide I like it or am any good at it, I'll shell out the Big Bucks and upgrade to a "cake decorator's" airbrush. And yes, of course, I'll be demo-ing -- on how NOT to use an airbrush. Di

Bumping this up... cuz I finally bought an airbrush yesterday -- Yay!! I have a couple elementary questions. How to mix the color before filling the gun's container, specifically what do you mix with the color... in what ratios? I'm brand new to this so no one is allowed to laugh except me. Di P.S. Lydia, have you been able to get into airbrushing yet?

I'm curious. Those of you who confess to being "shortening snobs", what type of icing do you use for piping?

I agree with you Mette...buttercream is absolutely my least favorite. As far as CC's cakes...I've had it four different times and 3 different cake flavors. All got and A+ for visual appearance and about a D for taste. To me the layers were dense with not too much "fresh" flavor and the mouth feel of the icing is just totally wrong for me. It tastes exactly like you have described...a mouthful of sweet, chemical tasting grease They are wildly popular though, so I guess I'm in the minority when it comes to this sentiment. JeAnne ← Gurl, I guess we're a 2 member club then... ← uh... make that 3 - when it comes to Italian Meringue BC anyway. French Buttercream on the other hand is to die for. Ooh la la! I would love to know how to create a pipe-able French Buttercream. Any ideas, anybody? Di

PB Awesome Blowouts (recipe link above) fresh from the oven... Using a 2 oz. scoop, the recipe yields 19 big, fat cookies plus a little extra dough to nibble on. Oh -- and I added one extra egg. These are probably one of the best cookies I've had in a long time... their name sez it all (more so than my photography). Di

Although a bit more than a big soft PB cookie, I think these sound divine. Di ← Those sound great, however I cant find the mini pb cups here in Canada. ← Just use the regular sized ones then, only not so many. I'm shopping myself for them this afternoon. Di

Although a bit more than a big soft PB cookie, I think these sound divine. Di

JamericanDiva, you have been such a help... thank you! Is the icing recipe (shown in her book) the right consistency for piping? I don't want to spend the money if I'm still gonna' have to tweak 'yet another' recipe. Di ← I know, this seems rather stupid to be replying to my own post... actually I'm just expanding on it. It just occurred to me that Cupcake Cafe's buttercream icing is almost identical to the recipe that I use... I believe chefpeon (?) was the original poster. The only difference is that CC uses whole eggs whereas "our" French Buttercream recipe calls for 1 whole egg and 5 yolks -- and is way too soft for piping. My question now is... (if the CC recipe actually is thick enough to use for piping) does their addition of eggwhites make that big of a difference in the consistency? That is, using whole eggs as opposed to using either whites or yolks. If so, I much prefer the flavor of French buttercream to Italian or Swiss. Di

Is this what they're using? $35-40 for one 9x16" sheet. Di

JamericanDiva, you have been such a help... thank you! Is the icing recipe (shown in her book) the right consistency for piping? I don't want to spend the money if I'm still gonna' have to tweak 'yet another' recipe. Di

I think probably they're not using "real" paper, per se... it's just that "a wrinkle here and a seam there" does allow a certain amount of mystery to creep in. Maybe Stev Klc or someone else "in the know" will catch wind of this thread and shed some educated insight. Di

Other than cakes, here's an example of how I've used this particular type of edible image: I get mine from DecoPac. The paper that the image is printed on completely dissolves into the wet surface on which it is applied. In this case, it was dissolved in only a matter of minutes because of the wetness of the whipped cream. There is no detectable residue left behind. As you can see, there's a remarkable difference between this type of edible image and the transfers as shown on the above cakes. The bottom two strike me more like something that is "glued" on... like a sheet of wallpaper, for lack of a better comparison, and look almost paper'ish to me. Di

Wendy, maybe you could contact Ann Warren/Cupcake Cafe and extend a personal invitation for her to join the eGForums... and give us a photo-tutorial. YESSSSS!!! Di

Ditto !! Di

No, you're not alone... CC's flowers and Wilton's are worlds apart. I'm intrigued by them too so I've been squeezing in a bit of playtime during the past couple of days. I know what you mean by not being able to achieve all the angles in order to pipe the flowers next to each other. The first flower goes on just fine... but piping the next flower smooshes the side petals of the first one, and so on and so on. There's gotta' be a way. Then again, if it was that easy we'd all be doing it. Have you tried the CC recipe yet that BKeith had posted? Is it's consistency stiff enough to get the height of CC's taller and more slender petals, like on their zinnias? To me, that's the mystery... how to keep the height without having to turn my a/c down to 32 degrees. Di

Did you get a picture of it that you can post? I'd love to see it! Di

Here's a link to the entire recipe. There are also some interesting links at the bottom of the page. Di

How weird; it works just fine for me. I wonder what the deal is. Thanks tho' for posting the backup link. Di

Crown Muffin Pans... and Coarse Sugar, available in Brown Demerara, Sparkling White or Pearl. Covered, muffins should keep for several days. I believe the additional butter that you're adding after baking is the culprit of your problems. Di

I had a bunch of Hershey's Miniatures left over after last Halloween. They made great chocolate chunk cookies and some halfway decent ganache too. Di

Thanks Elie! I'll give it a shot. Di [Moderator note: This topic continues in "Chocolate Desserts" by Pierre Herme (Part 2)]