KatieM

sparrowgrass, you and I are kindred spirits! I'm a pie slut, too! I've had several proposals after baking pies for men, but none of them were serious! Of course, I keep making the mistake of dating men who have no appreciation for good food. I think that if I find the one who appreciates the pie, I'll know he's the one! I was going to say food is love, too! Before you guys beat me to it! Also, I'm a from scratcher, all the way. Damn those evil prepackaged pie doughs and cake mixes! It's not love if you're cheating!

Dude, this thread makes me want to cry! I'm reading this forum because I'm feeling homesick. I live in Baltimore, now, and people out here just do NOT understand. They look at me so strangely when I tell them I'm looking for an Italian Beef sandwich. There are NONE to be found here! Everything has freaking crab on it. All the people say, "but we have crabcake sandwiches!" and I say, "So what! Your crab isn't even from Maryland anymore, and my beef was raised my backyard!" Well, plus the fact that I'm allergic to shellfish, so that doesn't help. But man, I miss me some Italian Beef! My mom used to make it when she made roast beef for dinner. She'd make roast beef one day, and Italian beef with the rest of the roast the next day. You gotta do it in a dutch oven or a crockpot. Over several hours. Keep adding spices and more water. Makes such yummy beefy juice. I made it for a Christmas party and some of the men there proposed marriage. And they were already married. And I said, "I told you, you stupid Baltimorians. You don't know food. Italian Beef is where it's at!" Maybe I'll order some Portillos. I forgot they ship it. Too bad Mr. Beef doesn't ship out of state. BTW, I like mine a little on the dry side, plain. Nothing on top. But I'm a Scandi, and I'm only slowly adding spice to my diet.

Well, a deviled egg, but you're right. And I know, I'm an idiot. I thought it might be some weird Irish dish I had never heard of. Joe's got a great sense of humor. Well, I agree that the food is fine at all these places, but for a woman, I wouldn't recommend Magerk's or Mothers after 9pm. As long as you are going for just before the game, they're fine. If you go anywhere afterwards, though, I don't know that I would recommend Magerk's unless you have suitable male companionship. Or if you enjoy being groped by random strangers. Of course, it's a Wednesday, so it might not be so bad. Sorry, I'm just not a big fan. Mothers might be fine on a Wednesday. They do have Blue Moon on tap, which is nice. And I do enjoy the Ropewalk. Rochelle, my earlier post may have been a bit misleading, sorry! J. Patricks isn't really that close to the stadium, more like a 5 min cab ride. But it is worth checking out at some point, IMHO.

Mmm. . . that sounds excellent! Kind of like a creamsicle flavor? Thanks for the tips on lemon. That will be my next project. I think that instead of reducing the amount of cocoa in the mixture for my chocolate ones, I'll just let them set up in a smaller pan. All I really need is for them to be the same height when cut and sitting next to the strawberry or vanilla ones on a tray. It won't make as many, but that's OK. Thanks for the tip, Joni! I usually make big stockpiles of good puree in the traditional flavors (strawberry, raspberry, apricot, etc) for use in buttercreams and such, but for flavors like passionfruit, I'll definitely have to check that out. Nice picture, Foodie3! I like the triangle shape. I may have to try that one myself! You mean you never ate some plain marshmallows straight from the bag while making s'mores? I agree that the ones that are leftover got nasty and stale pretty fast, but the ones from a fresh bag were pretty good. Also, didn't you ever play the game where you see how many marshmallows you can fit in your mouth and say "chubby bunny"? Or what about at Easter? No chocolate covered marshmallow eggs? Seriously, though - try making the strawberry ones. They're like little fluffy soft mouthfuls of strawberry heaven!

I've eaten plenty of sweet corn ice cream in my day, but of course, I'm from East Central Illinois originally. I've haven't made any, because I haven't been living in Illinois the last few years, and I refuse to make it without good Illini Supersweet from my family's garden. Actually, because of my upbringing, I'm a huge corn snob, and I have yet to encounter decent corn outside of Illinois. Corn ice cream isn't really that unusual when you think about it. Ever have creamed corn? Corn pudding? Cream, eggs and corn are a natural combination, and if I can ever find good corn, I like to make a corn pie/custard for breakfast with a liberal amount of black pepper. Kind of sweet and savory at the same time. Interesting corn facts regarding why East Central Illinois produces the best corn in the entire world: Champaign, IL is home to the University of Illinois, which has (obviously) an school of agriculture. This school spends lots of time working on new corn hybrids. Some hybrids for feed corn, some for sweet corn. The University's library was built underground so as not to cast a shadow on the test field! The soil in that part of the state has been tested and deemed to be some of the richest and most excellent soil in the world. Some believe that it is chemically identical to the soil in the Garden of Eden. Well, at least where historians believe the Garden of Eden was located, in a patch between the Tigres and Euphrates (not sure of spelling here) rivers. If you do make this ice cream, or anything else involving sweet corn, try to find corn that was picked very very recently. It tends to turn to starch just hours off the stalk. If you can't use it right away, slice the kernels off the cob, collecting any milk that comes out, and freeze. Katie

You know, there really isn't a whole lot of discussion in this forum on Baltimore. Are there just not many of us who actually live there? Am I the only one who actually lives in the city? Anyway, just wanted to recommend one of my favorite places. It's not exactly right next to the stadium, but not all that far, either. If you're ever down by "the Point" (meaning Locust Point, which is right near Fort McHenry), you should seriously consider checking out J. Patrick's. It's a little Irish bar that is just a trip. It never looks like it's open, and right now there's construction going on, so you have to walk under scaffolding to get inside, but trust me, it's worth it! You can get a Coney Island Burger and chips for like $2.50 or something ridiculous like that. Plus, they have one of the best selections of beers in town. I actually think they were one of the first places in the United States to have Smithwicks (I'm not sure if that's the right spelling, but it's pronounced smitticks). At least that's what Joe (owner) says. It's made by the Guinness people, and was only available in Ireland for the longest time. It's awesome. Plus, they have live Irish music every night. Wednesday night you can learn how to do Irish dancing. And Tuesday night, there's a group of people from my church playing pinochole. It's kind of a random crowd, but my roommate and I love that place. Of course, we live less than a block away, so that helps, but the food is good and cheap, and the beer is excellent, so we keep on going back. And Joe is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. I think he's like 80 or something, but he's there almost every night. Anyone want to venture a guess as to what this menu item is? "Boneless Young Chicken - $0.29" It took us a good 6 months to build up the nerve to ask what it was. Sorry that was so long, but if anyone needs any advice on where to eat on "The Point", let me know! There are other great places, like Pazza Luna and Hull Street Blues, if you're looking for something a little more upscale.

This thread is hilarious! I just read the entire thing (seriously avoiding work today), and the bursts of laughter coming from my cubicle are making my coworkers begin to think that I am crazy! Ok, here's my confession: I will never again try to impress a boyfriend with my culinary skills (after bragging for months about them) by cooking dinner while wearing a little pink apron, stilettos, and ahem, well . . . nothing else. Besides obvious dangers of cooking while wearing inappropriate clothing (or lack thereof), you should also be aware that cooking this way also makes for a very impatient, and quite distracted diner. Finally, I decide that the chicken has to come out, we have to eat. Can't find thermometer, in a hurry, chicken is brown, must be done. Umm, pink chicken meat, anyone? At least everything else was good. Used the chicken for stock, so it wasn't a complete waste. But still. Not a brilliant plan. Ok, going to hide head in the sand, now. Can't believe I'm actually posting this. Must have had too many Diet Cokes today!

Neil, I made three batches of your marshmallows this weekend - vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate. I'm working on making a Neopolitan Marshmallow Tray as a nice add-on for my special occasion cake business. This is one thing that could actually be profitable, since the ingredients are not very expensive. Of course, I may call them "Neil Robertson Marshmallows", or "Nightscotsman Marshmallows" which would give them a fun sort of intrigue, and also give you credit. The strawberry marshmallows were DIVINE, and the vanilla ones turned out great as well. The chocolate ones didn't have quite the same volume, and the cocoa didn't dissolve all the way, so I'm going to have to experiment with that one. Since the gelatin needs to bloom in cold liquid, I'm thinking I might dissolve the cocoa in boiling water and then cool before using. When I did them this weekend, I just sort of combined the cocoa and water in the mixer bowl. Duh, no wonder it didn't dissove completely. Any suggestions for getting more volume out of the chocolate ones? Is anyone else reminded of Count Chocula cereal when they eat the chocolate ones? Obviously, these marshmallows are not hard little pellets, but big soft, creamy ones, but still. Makes me wonder why my mother fed me candy for breakfast as a child! These marshmallows are awesome! I'm finding myself inventing reasons to make them now, since they are so easy! My roommate and I are having a party this coming weekend, so we've decided to somehow incorporate s'mores into the theme (also, fun with torches!). Also, does anyone have any suggestions for making lemon marshmallows? I think the acidity of lemon juice might mess with the gelling power of the gelatin, but maybe I'm wrong. Obviously, lemon curd is out, because of the fat. I'm thinking of using lemon zest and lemon extract, but if anyone has made them, let me know. Thanks for sharing your recipe, Neil! Katie Edited to add that I am definitely going to try pumpkin marshmallows for Thanksgiving. I'll probably reduce the pumpkin puree to intensify the flavor (I know, I'll be adding water back, but I still think it would help). I'll probably add pumpkin pie spices to the marsmallows themselves AND to the dusting powder, like I added cocoa powder to the dusting mixture for the chocolate ones.

Hey everyone. Just wanted to bump this and let anyone who is interested know that you can always bring your dog to The Thirsty Dog up in B'more. I don't have a dog, but the Thirsty Dog is ALWAYS a good time. Awesome pizza, salad that is randomly great for a brew pub, and when you order the house brews, you are always served 2 half pints for $3. At the same time. ALWAYS. Plus, whenever I go there on a Saturday evening with this one girlfriend of mine, we end up staying late and they inevitably "lose" our tab or it has conspicuously less on it than it should. Of course, I think they are just trying to reward two properly dressed, well-behaved young women for ordering proper brew and not something stupid like an apple-tini (why anyone would come in to a place like the Thirsty Dog and order that is beyond me). Also, the owner is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. One time I saw an altercation that ended with one of the patrons getting kicked out. The owner went outside and talked to him, and by the end of the conversation they were both crying. Turns out the guy's wife had just left him and he felt like starting a fight. The way the owner handled it was so cool. Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Here's a link to a review if you're interested. Just scroll down. It doesn't say anything about being able to bring your dog, but trust me, you can. There's usually one or two sitting patiently next to their owners at the bar. click here Ooh! Plus, they have cinnamon mints in the bathroom. I forgot about that!

I made a huge pile of cold sesame noodles the other day when it was raining (so I didn't mind boiling the water, not that they cook that long anyway). I've been eating them all week long. Otherwise, tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, etc.

Wendy, Sorry for the confusion. I mentioned the Braun recipe because that is what I HAD been baking for my customers. It was my standard cake, and I was trying to fix it. I did read the entire other thread, and decided that since you all had settled upon the Scott Clark Wooley recipe, that I would try that. What I posted above were my results from baking the Wooley cake, as written at the top of this thread. I used coffee and those particular cocoa powders because that is what I use in ALL my chocolate cakes right now, and I was trying to find a formula that would work chemically while still allowing for the flavor variation that I use in all my cakes. I have found it in the Wooley recipe. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear before! Katie

Whoa! What a hot thread! I'm somewhat new to egullet, and most of what I've read and posted has been in the pastry and baking section. I must say that I'm intrigued by all of this recipe etiquette talk. I share my recipes for the most part, since someone shared them with me to get me started. But a lot of times, what I will do is ask them how familiar they are with the techniques and ingredients I used. Often times they are not, and I will say, "If you are really interested in making this, why don't you come over the next time I'm making it, and I'll show you how." This is the way I learned a great deal of the things that I'm "famous" for making. For example, there was this wonderful old lady at my parents' church, and she was known as the "Butterhorn Fairy", because she always made these fantastically wonderful butterhorn rolls. She used to knock on our door Christmas morning, run away, and leave a basket of them with a note saying "Love, the Butterhorn Fairy". Actually, I've never known anyone else who made them. People would constantly ask her for the recipe (including her daughter-in-law) and she would always tell them that there really wasn't a recipe, that they really needed to bake along with her in order to learn how to make them. So one summer, I took her up on her offer. We spent two blissful days making butterhorns, and sipping lemonade on the porch while the dough was rising. As far as I know I'm the only person she taught (and the only one who truly wanted to learn). I feel incredibly honored that she chose me for her protege'. I think she knew I would understand that the learning process has to be as enjoyable as the accolades you get from them in order for the end product to have true integrity. And she knew that I would use them to spread joy, just as she did. This is also the way I learned to make aebelskiver and kleiner, two of my favorite Danish recipes. By working with my aunt, who was the only one old enough to learn from her grandmother before she (my great-grandmother) died. So I feel honor-bound to pass these on to someone. The world would be a much less happy place if there weren't people making these wonderful things to feed and give joy to others. However, it really is true that these recipes have to be learned by making along-side. So far, I haven't had any takers. I just hope I live long enough to pass it along to someone worthy! I'm only 24, so I'm sure I have time, but you never know! BTW, I also live by the parable "Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime" I think it's quite applicable here. Katie

I'm just a home baker, but I've actually got quite a few nasty ones. Right ring-finger knuckle - sugar burn. Since I was 11 years old. WHY my mother let me play with sugar when I was 11 is beyond me. Or maybe she didn't. Hmm, I probably did that one while she was taking a nap and dad was at work or something. Deck of cards sized scar on the tender flesh of my inside left forearm. Two years ago, getting bread out of the oven (450), glass pan, somehow managed to press my entire left forearm onto the glass. Went to doctor two days later. They had to to the scrapey thing (they actually took a razor blade and scraped the burned flesh from my arm). I have a decently high threshold for pain, but I nearly fainted when they did this. I gladly took the bottle of percocet they gave me. Ok, maybe I'm a wuss. 450 isn't that hot, but honestly I think it was the worst pain I'd ever experienced. Recent one - I was steaming some fondant pieces for a cake (to make them shiny). Did I put them in a colander? Of course not. Held them one by one over boiling water. Took it like a woman. Alas, I have to face facts that I will never be a hand model. Though it does make for interesting conversation (I show you mine, you show me yours). And I will NOT be wearing a long-sleeved wedding gown. That's just silly. Besides, I'd need to wear gloves too, then. Katie

You could make penny pies - little jam-filled pies for snacking, best eaten when hot. My mom always gave us little cutters and we made little cinnamon-sugar covered crisps. Or, and this may sound gross to some of you, you could EAT them! One summer I lived with a really cool aunt of mine who had all sorts of wonderful things growing in her garden, and when the sour cherries were ready, she made a cherry cobbler for dessert. And for dinner? Pie dough scraps dipped in reduced cherry juice! She made me swear not to tell my mother, though.

I got The Pie and Pasty Bible for Christmas, and I also tried and loved this crust recipe. The only problem I have with it is that it's too fiddly when you need to make a ton of pies. But this is exactly what I was referring to when I said I make a "fancy" pie crust sometimes. Sorry about that! I didn't mean to be mean! The Hershey Bar Pie recipe is in the Pie Every Day book, but since there's been a request for it, I'll give you the synapsis. Basically, you take one of those big fat Hershey bars and melt it down with 16 large, fresh marshmallows. Buy a new bag of them, don't use stale. Add a little milk to aid in melting and mixing. Cool mixture completely. Whip some cream and fold that in. Pour into graham cracker crust and chill. Cut small pieces, since large ones may cause sugar overload. This tastes like a big fat gooey s'more. I must warn you, though. This pie never sets up entirely. It's always going to be gooey. I make this pie whenever a friend of mine gets dumped. Also used to make it for sorority functions where we were all feeling like eating chocolate and shunning men. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Katie

I don't have any advice on how to make intricate sculpted cakes, since I haven't done very many of them, but I DO have a suggestion for what to do with scraps - CAKE SPACKLE!!!! Toba Garrett has a recipe for it in her book, but I really don't follow any recipe. Take your scraps, process briefly in your FP for a few seconds, add enough buttercream to make a nice paste, and use to fill in all those lumps, bumps, and gap areas. You know that gap between layers where your filling is, but it doesn't always end up completely filling that space between the layers on the edges? Even when I use a buttercream dam, fill only to that spot, level the filling, chill, then set the next layer on top, there's still a gap. So cake spackle is PERFECT for filling in that spot. And if you cover your entire cake with it, you'll have the most beautifully smooth, perfect surface for fondant to adhere to. I bet it would be useful for sculpting, as well. For a 70s disco theme cake, I would maybe make a big disco ball. Or maybe some records out of chocolate. I think you can find molds for records online. Maybe a microphone? I'd probably have a lot of sparkle on it. Or just copy some of the elements of the invitation. I bet if you do a google search for disco-theme cakes, you could find a lot, too. Sorry if this isn't much help. I'm not feeling very creative today. Katie

Ditto this being a great thread! I actually have very strong opinions about pie, but none of them are new, so I'll mostly keep them to myself! My mother is known as the "Pie Lady" in my small hometown in Illinois, so I learned how to make pies from a very early age. It's probably the pies that first fueled my passion for pastry. My mom gave me little jobs like stirring the sugar and cinnamon for the apples from as early as age two or three. So I learned how the dough should look and feel at every stage. And sometimes, how it should NOT look! As every pie baker knows, sometimes there are just some doozies! But you move on, and you make it again until you get it right. My mom's a strictly Crisco, flour, salt, water pie baker, and she never chills anything. She also uses a fork. Just one fork, and she spins the bowl while she's doing it. She too has very cold hands, but she also has Raynauds, so maybe that's the trick for good pies! Her crust is very tender, but not as flaky as some others I've tried. She also rolls her dough almost paper-thin. Somehow it always holds up, though. When I grew up, and became more serious about baking, I started trying other crust recipes. I now use any number of different crusts, depending on what I'm using it for. If I have a dozen pies to make for a church supper, and I've only got 2 hours, I use all shortening. If I'm having a dinner party, and I know there will be foodies there, I'll use my "fancy" crust, which has butter and cream cheese in it. Honestly though, so few people even make pies anymore that any sort of homemade crust usually impresses people. So all of you should pat yourselves on the back for even trying! And really, as Wendy said, the best pies are always made by grandmothers because of the experience. So the best way to learn is just to do it. In any case, I just wanted to submit my favorite cookbook of all time for those of you who are interested in pie. It's called "Pie Every Day", by Pat Willard. First of all, I think the title is a great philosophy. I would eat pie for breakfast every day if I could. Also, the book has a lot of great autobiographical stuff, and the American history of pies. So I actually curled up with it under a blanket on the couch and read it like a novel - with a cup of tea. That, to me, is the quality that a great cookbook should possess. It was actually this book that inspired me to write my own cookbook. Not all the recipes are perfect, but I can guarantee that if you've had a really awful week, nothing can fix it better than Hershey Bar Pie! Anyway, enough of my reviews of this book. Here's a link to an epicurious review for anyone who is interested. Pie Every Day Happy pie baking, all! Katie

Hey everyone! I know that you are all probably pretty much done with your chocolate cake experimenting, and it seems that you've found your winner, but I just wanted to jump in and let you all know what happened in my most recent trials with this cake (I know, very late in the game, but I didn't find this thread until somewhat recently). OK, so I made the above recipe, with the following modifications: I reduced the amount of baking soda to 1 tsp, since I knew I was going to be using dutch processed cocoa powder. I used coffee, since I always do in my chocolate cakes I used a half and half mixture of black cocoa powder and Droste. I've been on a black cocoa powder kick lately, and wanted to see how this recipe would do with it. I never use all black cocoa powder, since it gets a sort of anise flavor when there is too much (at least in my experiments). I just happen to really like the flavor of Droste, so I almost always use it in my cakes. I made 2 9" rounds and one 4" round (for tasting - I needed to serve the 9" ones). The cake turned out PERFECT!!! Thanks Wendy, for bringing this thread to my attention! No more rubbery, tunneling chocolate cake! All the great flavor I got from the Margaret Braun cake, but with the perfect texture and moistness! Everyone I served it to thought it was perfect, but when I make it again (and I will!) I will probably leave out the coffee (meaning I will use water instead). I think the flavor would be much more "clean" without the coffee, if this makes any sense. Also, I used the black cocoa powder in this instance because I wanted a chocolate "blackout" cake, and I was pairing it with a filling that had Oreos in it, so I thought it would make a nice combination (and it did). However, for a "regular" chocolate cake, I will probably use all Droste, or perhaps a combo of 80% Droste and 20% black cocoa powder. Though for the purposes of this thread, I don't think that my personal preferences in cocoa powder flavors really matter. I really think the point would be for all of us to find the perfect chocolate cake for US, and as long as we knock out the technical and chemical properties to perfection, we can leave the cocoa powder decision up to the individuals. Although, I would say that I would probably never use all undutched cocoa powder. It never seems to work as nicely for me. However, if it works for you, go for it! As far as doming and cracking goes, I didn't have very much on the 9" rounds, since I used my Magi-Cake strips, but on the little 4" round, I did have a sizable dome and quite a few cracks. Honestly though, that really wouldn't bother me, because I always level my cakes, or at least "skin" them. Particularly since I've discovered CAKE SPACKLE! I take all my scraps, whir them in the processor with just enough buttercream to make a nice paste, and cover the whole cake with it. It's perfect for filling in those lumps and bumps and the gaps between layers. And the cake spackle made from this cake tastes like brownie batter! And there's nothing wrong with that! BTW, I served this cake with the cookies and cream filling from The WHimsical Bakehouse (basically whipped cream with chopped Oreos) and a whipped cream icing. I took it to a work function and there were a few people that actually lost their composure eating this cake! One woman even clung to my arm and told me it was the best cake she had ever eaten in her life! Come to think of it, I think there were at least three people that told me that. Of course, this was not an egullet kind of crowd. I was actually hoping someone would tell me what they would like changed about it, but alas, everyone thought it was perfect. So . . . I guess I've found my winner! Oh, and sorry I've rambled on for so long - I was just VERY pleased with the results of this cake! Katie

I think those might be the gorgeous cherries that RLB describes in The Cake Bible. I can't remember what they are called though. She uses them for cheesecake toppings and such. If I had a jar, I'd probably make a clafouti out of them. Or maybe some crepes? That's all I can think of at the moment, but for some reason, I can only think of eggy, custardy pairings right now. I think I just really like cherries with custards.

Where I'm from (originally East Central Illinois), strawberry shortcake was always made with biscuits. Sometimes individual, sometimes baked in a 9 x 13 and cut into squares. ALWAYS served with homemade vanilla ice cream, fresh picked berries (from the backyard) and freshly whipped cream. Man, we need a drooling smiley! That is the stuff of my childhood and dreams. The biscuits were a perfect slightly salty foil for the sweet and tart of the berries and cream. When I moved to Baltimore, I was so confused when I got my first order for "Strawberry Shortcake" for a baby shower (to be decorated). I was like, "You want me to make a biscuit in the shape of a cake?" I soon discovered that she meant sponge cake! So I pulled out my old hot milk sponge cake recipe, and filled the layers with whipped cream (with a small addition of strawberry puree), nice ripe berries, and iced the whole thing with whipped cream. Got rave reviews. Guess that's what strawberry shortcake is out here. I think it's definitely a regional thing. Of course, NONE of these descriptions sound bad! I'd eat any one of them right now!

Chefpeon, Just wanted to add my thanks for your tips on getting nice smooth icing! I applied them (and Keith's mixing instructions) to an anniversary cake I did this past weekend, and I got a beautifully smooth, no air bubble cake! Woohoo! I used to use the big basketweave dealie, but I had gotten away from it. Now I'm back to it, and it's working better than ever! Plus, I had recently purchased one of those paint masker things, and so I tried it out. You're right - it's fantastic! I swear I've been buying more stuff at Home Depot than the cake supply store these days! Anyway, so sorry to hijak the thread. How's it going with the Martini cake, Wendy? I can't wait to see a picture!

Keith, thanks so much for your response! I suspect that I have not been mixing my buttercream long enough. I thought that mixing it longer would make MORE air bubbles, but it seems I am mistaken. Thanks for the tip on reconstituting frozen icing as well. I often end up freezing my icing, since I never make less than a double batch. Especially helpful, since I am doing my first paid wedding cake this week, and have lots of frozen buttercream in my deep freeze. How on earth people manage to do wedding cakes regularly when they have a different full-time job (as I do) is beyond me. I think this week has already taken years off my life. It isn't that I don't enjoy doing the cakes, it's just that I wish I could quit my other job and do cakes full-time! Unfortunately, I'm not quite ready to give up the paycheck and benefits! Anyway, sorry this is so off topic. BTW Keith, I have been a frequent visitor to your website for some time! I am very happy to "meet" you here. I feel so humbled to be able to converse with such top notch cake celebrities here on egullet! I've got a long way to go, but this site is definitely going to help me get there! Thanks again, Katie

chefpeon, Wow! Your cakes are so excellent! That martini glass was exactly the sort of "black line" thing I had pictured in my head. Your chocolate transfers are amazing! I've seen lots of chocolate transfers, but none like that! You have a true talent for copying fonts it seems! Those are so perfect that they look like you ran them through an edible ink printer! I have a question for you about your icing, though. I think I read somewhere on egullet that you typically use a swiss meringue buttercream. This is what I use as well, but yours is so smooth! I can get mine fairly smooth on the cake, but I tend to have a lot of air bubbles, and yours does not seem to have any at all! The only fix for this I have found is spatulating the icing before I put it on the cake. However, this is very time consuming, and if there is an easier way, I would love to know! I am wondering if it is my mixing method. I switch to a paddle attachment when I add the butter, and I try not to mix on too high a speed, but I still get the air bubbles. Would you mind sharing how you get yours so nice? Thanks in advance, Katie

I know exactly what you mean about the tunneling in Margaret Braun's cake, Wendy. I have the same problem with it. It is also QUITE dense when I bake it. I still haven't gotten a chance to try the Scott Clark Wooley recipe, but I will probably try it soon. The reason I've been using the Margaret Braun recipe is for the flavor and because everyone I know who makes it seems to rave about it. When I've served it, I've gottten rave reviews, but people have said that it isn't exactly like cake - it's more dense or something. I have had better results when I reduce the liquid slightly, because to me, the tunneling looked like the batter was simmering in the pans, and the air bubbles were getting trapped. However, the tunneling was still there, just less so. I wonder if I could reduce or even omit the baking soda entirely? I only use dutch processed powder, so maybe I can? I'm not sure. I also find the Margaret Braun cake to be somewhat rubbery. Here's something strange, though: when I heat the cake, like in the microwave, and eat it hot, it is not rubbery. Maybe because the heat relaxes the cake or something? I really can't figure it out. I hope we can find a solution for this, because if the problem spreads to other cakes, I may just go insane! Katie Edited to say that I know this problem is not a result of overmixing. I thought it might be at first, so I tried only hand mixing it, and I STILL had the same problem!

Hmmm. I am very new to egullet. Mostly been lurking up til now, but I am a cake designer/baker/etc. myself, and I thought I might be able lend a hand on this topic. I have never done a martini glass, but I have done a margarita glass. Not the entire cake SHAPED as the glass, but with one on top of the cake. I molded it from white chocolate out of a real glass. I filled the glass itself with chocolate and molded that part. I then used a white chocolate dipped candy cane for the stem, and for the base, I simply turned the glass upside down and molded the base itself. I cut all the pieces in half so it could lay flat on the cake. I couldn't figure out how to make a "clear" glass, so I brushed the whole thing with super pearl so that it would look "frosted". For the liquid, I tinted piping gel the yellowish-greenish color I wanted and swirled it around on the top of the glass. I "salted" the rim with green sugar (white wouldn't show up) If you are making the whole cake shaped like the glass, you could use some of the same tricks, I think. If you covered the sculpted cake with fondant, you could sort of outline where the glass is with black and then use maybe SLIGHTLY yellow tinted piping gel for the liquid? You could DEFINITELY make an olive out of fondant! Hmm. This is harder than I thought. For some reason I have a sort of clipart image of a martini glass in my head. I'm nowhere NEAR your level of expertise, so these are just humble suggestions. Hope this helps a little! a huge fan of your work! Katie