DiH

sorry for the delay--I was away.. its 14 oz of chocolate to one can of evaporated milk, and a healthy splash of vanilla ← What size can of evaporated milk were you using? Di

Thanks, chefpeon... I can't wait to try it! Di

Okay, okay, okay, I'm hooked on the sound of this. What are you using for the praline flavoring? Thanks! Di

This has been bugging me all weekend long; I knew I'd seen something similar awhile back on the Food Network. It finally came to me... Serendipity, New York City. They describe their Frrrozen Hot Chocolate as, “a blend of 14 exotic cocoas that when mixed in a blender with milk and ice and topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate create a devilishly delectable treat”. Di

Euuwwww... don't know what happened there. I've done this twice now and didn't have a problem either time. There could be a difference between how thick and evenly each of us are applying the sugar. About the sugar burning, maybe it baked just a little longer than it should've. As far as it sticking to the paper tho', once out of the oven the sugar will harden and the paper should peel right off. Edited to say, "oops, I don't know a thing about convection ovens". Di

Swisskaese and nightscotsman, thank you both for sharing... most appreciated. Di

uh... what is it? Di

Same here... for about 2 seconds I'd considered upping the temperature but opted instead for just re-setting the timer in 15 minute increments. Di

As I just now posted on another thread: Regular granulated sugar sandwiched between two sheets of parchment paper, then weighted with a second baking sheet. 350 degrees for 45-50 min. I experimented with it this morning... bubbled just fine; looked just like the picture. Di

Ahhh but regular granulated sugar does work when sandwiched between two sheets of parchment paper, then weighted with a second baking sheet. 350 degrees for 45-50 min. I experimented with it this morning... bubbled just fine; looked just like the picture. Di

This happened to me a few years back... accidentally tho', when the refrigerator control went on the blink. Everything in the refrigerator froze rock hard, including a beautiful upside-down cake to be served at an office party. When thawed, the entire cake tasted fresh as new... no one suspected that it had been frozen; in fact, most thought it was fresh from the oven. Di

Considering you are probably pc'ing for different sized households and your time spent in each is already severely budgeted, how 'bout some simple-but-elegant fruit tarts... http://www.cuisine-french.com/cgi/mdc/l/en..._framb_ill.html From personal experience, I know that all your clients will truly appreciate anything extra/special that you'll do. Good luck! Di

Taking my cue from Sinclair's "upside down method", I tried something this morning - with excellent and extremely smooth results. Thanks, Sinclair, for the inspiration! On parchment paper, draw two separate patterns/outlines... 1) cake top, and 2) side of cake. Ice the paper as you would your cake. Invert the iced paper onto the cake, press to adhere, then put cake in freezer until the paper can be safely removed. Voila! Smooth icing with a minimum amount of finish work. Note: This worked great on both an 8" and a 10" cake but considering the length of that side strip, for a larger cake you might need a helper... or really, really long arms. Di

What a luscious sounding dessert! Would you mind posting the recipe for the raspberry bavarian type filling... I'd love to give it a whirl. As for the 7 tbsp. flour... I'd be tempted to use a recipe I was already familiar with. Y'know, if it walks like a genoise and quacks like a genoise... Good luck! Di

Made another batch of strawberry marshmallows... only this time I piped large "kisses" onto vanilla wafers, then lightly sprinkled them with either coconut or colored sprinkles. Fast, easy and toooooooo cute! Sorry, no picture; camera's on the fritz... bummer.

Couldn't get my Quote button to do anything but light up... must be a glitch in the otherwise beautiful new site. Anyway, this is is reference to Cakewench's, "Are there people around who discovered Woopie pies as an adult and loved them?" Yes, yes, yessssss! They're just one of those things that you either love, or you don't. Like Chefpeon sez, they're pretty much like a Suzy Q. Okay... back to the original question, the following are excellent cookies that also fare well in shipment: SOHO Globs 10 oz. semi sweet chocolate 6 oz. unsweetened chocolate 3/4 C. butter 4 eggs 4 tsp.vanilla 2 tbsp. instant espresso powder 2/3 C. flour 1 tsp. salt 1-1/2 C. sugar 1-1/2 C. chocolate chips 1-1/3 C. coarsely chopped nuts Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt chocolates and butter together; set aside to cool. Mix moist ingredients with espresso powder until thick. Add melted chocolate/butter combo, then sifted dry ingredients; mix just untill blended. Fold in chips and nuts. Drop by tablespoon-sized globs onto ungreased pans. Bake for aproximately 13 minutes. *Do not overbake... cookies will puff up but won't firm up until they are cooled.

Yes, these are very much a snack cake/cookie rather than a regular cookie. Whoopie Pies 1 C. Hershey's cocoa 2 C. water Bring to boil, stirring constantly; set aside to cool. 1 C. butter, softened 2 1/2 C. sugar 2 tsp. vanilla Cream together on high speed until fluffy and very pale in color; approximately 10 minutes. Add 4 eggs; blend Mix in the cooled chocolate; blend 3 C. A/P flour 3/4 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. baking powder Sift together 5 times, then add to previous mixture. Mix til flour is no longer visible, scrape sides of bowl, then mix on high speed for one minute. Can be baked in four 9" cake pans, 20-25 min. at 325 degrees. For Whoopie Pies, refrigerate batter 3-4 hours, or overnight; also refrigerate batter between baking usages. Drop batter by level 1 1/2 oz. scoops (household cookie scoop) onto lightly greased baking sheet, spacing them quite a ways apart as they really spread out. (8 cookies/half-sheet pan) Bake 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees; cool before filling. Makes 44 cookies for assembling 22 Whoopie Pies. Whoopie Pie Filling 3/4 C. Crisco 7 oz. jar of marshmallow cream 2 tsp. vanilla 4 C. powdered sugar 5 Tbsp. milk Cream together the Crisco, marshmallow cream and vanilla. Gradually add sugar and mix well. Add in the milk a little at a time; mix til blended. Turn mixer on high speed and beat til mixture is fluffy, approximately 7 minutes. Turn half of the cookies upside down, place a level 2 oz. scoop of filling in center of each. Cover each with a remaining cookie, topside up. Press tops down gently until the filling squishes evenly to the outside edge. Di

I just sent 4 dozen Whoopie Pies off with a gal enroute to Austin... and I'll be mailing another dozen somewhere else tomorrow. Individually wrapped, they hold up extremely well to the gorillas tossing the mail about. I ship them all the time. A Whoopie Pie is a creamy, marshmallow/Crisco filling that is sandwiched between two palm-sized rounds of devils food cake (baked as cookies). Comparable to Suzy Q's and Devil Dogs. I'll post the recipe if anyone is interested. My husband grew up on 'em and can't get enough... but the filling is toooooooo sweet for me. Di

An alternative to the red dye thing is the recipe that I use. The cake's color is derived from beets, of all things. Now before you go squinching up your noses, I promise that never in your wildest dreams would you guess that there were beets in this cake. The cake is absolutely delicious and ultra-moist... everybody who's ever eaten it has given rave reviews... and then I told 'em about the beets! Red Velvet Cake 1-1/4 – 1-1/2 C. Beets; cooked, mashed and cooled 3 Eggs 3 oz. Cocoa 1/2 tsp Vanilla 1-1/4 C. Oil 15 oz. Flour; sifted 15 oz. Sugar 1 tsp Salt 1-1/2 tsp. Baking soda Cream oil, sugar and vanilla; add in eggs. Add mashed beets; mix to blend. Sift together three times all dry ingredients; add to oil mixture. Mix for 2 minutes on med-high speed, scraping bowl from time-to-time. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely; frost with cream cheese icing.

I didn't even get that far with the recipe... mine never did thicken beyond the consistency of the cream. What a waste of time -- and my last pint of heavy cream. When I first read the Pecan Cream Filling recipe, I thought it looked vaguely familiar so I did some cookbook searching... bingo! With few discrepancies, it's nearly identical to Baker's Coconut-Pecan Filling for their German Chocolate Cake. Soooo it was back to the stove with a few changes to the Pecan Cream Filling -- I'll post here what I came up with. It's excellent in the Frog Commissary Carrot Cake; not overly sweet and blends famously with the other flavors. "A definite keeper", sez carrot cake connoisseur hubby! Caramel Pecan Filling 2 C. brown sugar (I use dark) 1/2 C. A/P flour, sifted 1/2 tsp. salt 1-1/2 C. milk (cream, if preferred) 1/2 C. unsalted butter 1-1/2 - 2 C. nuts, chopped 1 tsp. vanilla Cook, stirring frequently, all ingredients (except nuts) on stovetop at low-medium heat approximately 20-30 minutes, or until creamy and smooth. Cool to room temperature, then stir in chopped nuts. I would not recommend refrigerating. Since I too love "everything" in a carrot cake, the assembly order (from bottom to top) that I followed is: Layer of cake Spread with: 1/2 of a 20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained Caramel Pecan Filling, spread to a thickness of 1/2-3/4" Sprinkling of coconut, to taste Repeat layering until top cake layer is in place, then ice the entire cake with CC Icing. Fat Guy, no reason you can't add icing between the layers as well. On it's own, I don't see the Frog Commissary cake as anything special to write home about. The filling is a definite asset... and my layering of the ingredients that were "missing" from the cake recipe gives it a current rating of m'm'm'm'm'm good. Di

One thing that hasn't been brought up yet (probably because all the posters are using professional pans) is the finish on your particular baking sheets. If you're using pans that have a dark finish, whether applied by the manufacturer or a build-up due to years of usage, they're absorbing too much heat. Pans that have a shiny finish will produce a nicer, more evenly baked cookie. Good luck.

How about making a simple 7-minute icing, tinted pink... the recipe's in nearly every cookbook I've ever picked up. Then - for the coupe de gras - a batch of nightscotsman's Strawberry Marshmallows on the side. 'm'm'm'm'm

Lydia, don't let the technicalities drag you down... if you're wanting to expand your creativity above/beyond the design of a typical 2-layer birthday cake, obviously you've done a wee bit of cake baking/decorating. Go get yourself a copy of "Colette's Cakes - The Art Of Cake Decorating" written by Colette Peters. It has exactly what you're looking for... pictures, diagrams and easy step-by-step detailed instructions for the beginner. You can find the book everywhere online... be sure to check around for the best price. Let us know how your cake turns out... and have fun! Di

Edited to say: Oops, sorry for the dup!

"Convenience foods offered a solution of sorts--you could still maintain the illusion of being the perfect homemaker, without the actual work." Reminds me of the scene out of the movie Always where Holly Hunter's anticipating the momentary arrival of the new beau she's invited over for a homecooked meal. Rushing around the kitchen, pre-heating the oven while emptying the KFC take-out into serving dishes... then fluffing a good dose of flour onto her apron-adorned self as she hides the plastic containers. That aside, I'm surprised that no one's mentioned the role that women's lib has played in the movement away from scratch cooking. High school girlfriends of mine knew their way around a kitchen long before I could even find the doorknob, yet when they went off to college their mother instructed them to "never let a boy know that you can cook". Di