K8memphis

I love her orange chiffon cake, Bert Green's coffee cake, white spice butter cake, chocolate oblivion truffle torte, and her mousseline buttercream is my standard buttercream. If you make the chocolate torte, be sure to make the raspberry sauce/puree to go with it -- heaven! ← It IS good! (thanks for the kudos, Ling ) Everyone I have made this cake for is blown away. I add 1 TBS Chambord Royale per lb. of chocolate (about 2 parts Callebaut semisweet to 1 part Scharffen Berger unsweetened or bittersweet is a ratio I've had good results with), and then serve with unsweetened whipped cream and raspberry sauce made by forcing defrosted IQF raspberries through a fine sieve, or with fresh berries in season. The 6 inch x 3 inch size is nice if you don't have a lot of people to help you eat it, too. It's so rich, you don't need big pieces. Thisis a record I made of making a two-layer Oblivion cake for my best friend's wedding cake. Have fun! ← I made the raspberry chocolate oblivion truffle torte for my kid's birthday. I posted about it in the desert thread (sniff sniff I wish I could post there more often ) but I think I need to post here too. Deborah, you are my inspiration for trying this. THANK YOU!!! RLB is not my favorite author. But that cake was the bombshabomb. I did not do the chambord part--but I will next time. It was so easy--I was really amazed at how easy and perfect it came out. I did it exactly as written and with her whipped white chocolate ganache. I think just some nice light vanilla ice cream is the best complement. And next time I'll use regular white ganache. It totally melts in your mouth just like a magnificent truffle. Y'know what's funny? I always push my batter out a bit from the middle toward the edges of the pan because the batter settles & melts inward & so bakes flatter on the top. Well this came out just exactly as I placed it in the oven--which was kinda funny with the little ribbles in it. But all was well 'cause I iced it anyway. Thanks again!!

Well two things. Umm, be sure to try the Vietnamese or Saigon cinnamon. The stuff I got from King Arthur's totally rocked. The stuff we got from Whole Foods is still better than regular cinnamon but is a distant second to the King Arthur stuff. And there's a recipe for sticky buns on Martha Stewart's. She is having best non-pro bakers from across the country on her show and this guy did some very very pretty cinnamon rolls/sticky buns yesterday.

Oh my total gosh--where's the jumping up & down smilie face??? THE ROCK N ROLL COMPETITION WAS SO-O COOOOL. The competition was so cool. Sugar displays. One piece broke to utter smithereens. Another piece broke a lot of it's major components which covered the height. It was so amazing. And I met ChezKaran. We all got food tv aprons. The Peabody's pastry chef, Erika, who helped judge the competition, served us wonderful warm large chocolate chip cookies. The food tv people said that was the first time they were ever served cookies at a competition. Can you say Southern Hospitality??? Oh yeah baybay!!! It was soooo cool!!!! The theme was rock & roll. This Regis guy's broke to smithereens--I knew it was gonna go because I could tell it wasn't right going up. He was using a level but the second white component was not leveled. The pieces on top of it were level, but with that second white part uneven the writing was on the wall on that one. He had been in a car wreck the day before too but wasn't hurt bad or anything. Ohhh it killed me. Hugely dramatic--just a big sonic BOOM! The whole dang freakin' thing. All the kings horses & all the king's men.... Then later, Susan Notter's awesome unbelievable work smashed off a big chunk. It was heart wrenching. Meeting up with Karen was cool. But I kept asking people if their name was Karen. Duh-uh--so then before they arrested me or something I switched to "Are you from Nashville???" And finally I asked the right person!!! We had a LOT of fun!!! Wish you all were there!!!!! Karen has lots of great pictures. The man who won was farthest away from me so I didn't really catch his name. He only had like four weeks notice. Tracy came in second and Isaac came in third. Sorry about no last names. Karen will have more complete information. Saw chef-boy several times. Wish you all had been there!!!

This is the kind I was referencing. I'm sure it is sold in many places. Like cake decorating stores.

Um...CK's is...? (Amateur status showing here) ← Country Kitchens brand. They are out of Indiana. Clickety here. Also available in cake deco stores where candy supplies are sold.

Gosh, I wish I could still eat as much pastry as you guys & maintain my weight. Ling, how do you do it, scalloped potatoes & stuffing too???? Where's the >> I'm fainting << smilie face??? Well, maybe a better, as in more realistic comment would be, "Enjoy it while you can!!!" Deborah, I love the pear tart picture where the two sets of pear slices marching up the edges made me think me of the steps of Montmartre. And the browned butter ice cream sounds wonderful--all of it sounds wonderful!!! Lemon meringue, white chocolate cheesecake sure no problem, mini is the only way to go. Patrick, I made 24-Hour Apples before from PH and that was what that was like too, glorified applesauce. It was good but...'so what' kind of. anyway...Happy eating, you all.

Michael, the invertase I used came in a teensy little half ounce bottle from CK's. I unashamedly used dry fondant mix too. I just added a bit of the cherry juice to the mix to make a dough. Then when I had everything ready I added two or three drops of the invertase to the fondant & that gave me like 90 minutes to get the cherries wrapped & dipped. It was fun. My arm would fall off if I did it the other way where you stir that cooked fondant forever. And the invertase only took a couple days to break down the fondant. The invertase is only a couple bucks. Next year I am going to make these in my bloodshot eyeball mold for Halloween This is a good candy book.

Hmm, what an interesting idea. Me, I would start with the caramel holding the pecans in place then place one of those lacey oatmeal cookies on top. Then I'd experiment with chocolate under that or over that to see which way I like best. If you did chocolate on top of the cookie you could pipe it like the plates of the turtles back & let the cookie show through. But you could do a sandwich cookie too, top & bottom--just so the pecans show up. I don't know how that would work out but that's where I would start. Or how about those umm, pizelles??? They are kinda interesting for a project like that. Depending on the cookie recipe you could stick the pecans in right when you take them out of the oven too. Maybe use half the pecan half. Like for a sugar cookie or shortbread type recipe. Or drop in a bunch of toffee chips into cookie batter. Just some brainstorm type ideas to throw into the turtle cookie pot.

I had something really awesome last night. It is from RLB's book. I have had a hard time with her "Bible" because I read that book cover to cover and her lofty attitude has always outweighed the intrigue to try her formulas. However, my kid turned 26 and she loves chocolate. So I did the Chocolate Flame Oblivion Truffle cake, the flourless one with the raspberry sauce. I used her white chocolate ganache too. The ganache, while uber light, was oompfy enough to pipe with too. The cake was truly heavenly. It baked up perfect as written--it was a nice height due to the added raspberry. I foil lined a regular 3x8 inch cake pan but I had a six inch and an eight inch board underneath that to ensure easy removal. The six inch kind of held up the eight inch so it just fell out of the pan-no problem-o. I did trim a tad off the 8-inch board. I used an upside down saucer to get the edges pressed around real accurately--no holes in the foil. The foil was sprayed with Pam and I pressed out all the wrinkles around the sides with a smooth glass before putting in the batter. I had it in the freezer for an hour before de-panning for further insurance. The birthday girl said it tasted like Paris nice complement for her old Mom. Oh yeah and I served it with vanilla ice cream. It truly melted like a fine raspberry truffle. Thank you, Rose.

Wow, how cool! Great pictures--this is a great tutorial--well laid out & so clearly written. Thank you very much. Awesome!

That's what I was kinda thinking. That cream. It seemed suspect. When all you need is chocolate & oil why bother with cream. Thank you so much I will relay that information. Thank you Anna & Genny & Neil!

Like simultaneous??? Two way cool things happening at once here in home sweet home Memphis??? My little head is spinning.

Can you use ganache in it??? Will that separate???? I'm thinking just chocolate & oil but will ganache work??? White chocolate ganache and regular chocolate ganache. THANKS!!!

So I am wondering if they still are going to Graceland too??? I mean with the competition, at both places???

God that's funny! And true. Hey though there was a thread recently about where to cut corners and several someones recommended the off brand choco chops--I just tested that out when I was making a big batch of ganache--for moi, I did not find that the store brand/off brand was as good as the Nestle and Hershey's. The premium store brand was 50 cents extra so I didn't even try those--I know those are dynamite--all that to say, yes, I agree good chocolate is key. But you can toast oatmeal and get a great result to replace nuts if you want. Old fashioned or steel cut are best not the instant kind. Random chocolate chip thoughts...

Oops, that's like the time that I was gonna make my meatless split pea soup that I hadn't make in like 30 years and I went to get some miso and there were so many varieties, I didn't know what to buy. So I think I was 'absent that day' (the dog ate my homework etc.) when they covered vegan food color. However what I wrote about the 'other' food colorings is accurate. It's way weird stuff. And methinks that using the vegan stuff in moderation would be a good idea. Concentrated spinach suspended in cornsyrup might not be especially tasty to color/flavor like a nice deep grass green icing--stuff like that. But I could be wrong it's happened before. And umm, the whole corn syrup thing is not organic. Surely there's not much in there but shoot if she's gonna dip her organic sails for corn syrup why not just use some real food color. You can make some real cute cupcakes with nuts & stuff too.

The following is from The American Egg Board. I boldened part of it for ease in reading, cutting to the chase type of thing. 17. What is the best way to store raw eggs? Continually keep raw shell eggs, broken-out eggs, egg mixtures, prepared egg dishes and other perishable foods refrigerated at 40° F or below when you’re not cooking or eating them. These foods should not be left at room temperature for more than 2 hours, including the time you use to prepare and serve them. Allow no more than 30 minutes to 1 hour when it’s 85° F or hotter. 6. Are there any safety concerns when cooking for a crowd? In addition to the need for you to observe all the previous safety points, quantity cooking presents special challenges. For a safe and successful function: • Make sure that refrigeration facilities are adequate to keep the entire quantity of cold foods well chilled at all times, including any raw eggs or egg mixtures. • Break eggs out of their shells on the day of the event. Break them only as you need to use them, rather than pooling (breaking eggs together in large quantities and mixing the yolk and whites). Immediately return any unused raw eggs, broken-out eggs or egg mixtures to the refrigerator. For convenience, consider purchasing pasteurized liquid egg products which can be poured out as needed. • Discard eggs, egg mixtures or cooked egg dishes that have been out of refrigeration for more than 2 hours (30 minutes to 1 hour if the temperature is 85? F or higher). Just fyi for you... Daniel, stock up on activated charcoal

Well, after having eaten that Krispy Kreme bread pudding and apparently surviving you're probably fine to use the egg whites. However, mere mortals like myself would have tossed them after a handful of hours, at least after one whole night out. Daniel-buddy, you should toss 'em. Life is short enough. You did the KKBP--don't push it

Lots and lots of stuff has food coloring in it & on it, butter, fruit, toothpaste etc. If someone was into all organic, then they would either not use any food color at all or make some out of beets or cranberries or onion skins or blueberries & stuff like that. It probably would not taste very good. Food color as far as I know is not child or big people friendly. It's a strange strange product all the way around, y'know? I mean 'organic food color' literally would be red apples and orange carrots. If she is very careful about quality then she would not be using food color at all. It's not a 'safe' product per se much less a quality product. It's an allowed product. That 'they' are watching and changing all the time. Like using different shades of (brown) chocolate would be an idea. Making coulis and decorating plates & food & stuff with squirt bottles to help liven things up color wise might be an idea. Umm, candied citrus peel, hey, you can make your own fruit roll ups and use that for decor. Cut out different shapes & stuff. Also become adept at making cool garnishes would be a great idea. Sharpen up your knife skills (pun intended:) and make pretty that way. Stuff like that. You can make some great shapes out of bread dough--did you see that post here in this forum???? and umm, pate choux...stuff like that...but not food coloring.

Jan, the holidays are so much more difficult that first year, like uncharted waters. Blessings to you and your family of comfort and peace and sweet reflection and all that you need. And to each of you who are suffering loss. Pop will be gone 22 years tomorrow. 22 years. The sun never shined the same since. Pop made perfect peanut butter fudge, p-e-r-f-e-c-t. It just poured out of the pot like rich buttery droolicsious magic. Gheedunk & pokey bait, he'd say, Navy talk for ice cream & candy. Mom, will be gone three years as of Thanksgiving week. Still processing that one. I can still smell the yeast rolls she made. She made us our pierogi's. Sweetly sweetly enough, my son chef-boy, formerly known as chef-wanna-be, asked her to dictate her pierogi recipes before she passed. Mmmm...sweet memories...good thread

Dust off your defribrilator, man. Then the Krispy Kremes sold at Sam's and WalMart should do quite nicely. Di ←

Hey, I made Ina Garten's pumpkin banana mousse tarte for Thanksgiving one year and I recommend at least halving the sugar--it was uber sweet. And actually I did my apple pie as usual and I was glad I did because the torte was too sweet for us. And I have some very serious sweet-aholics. But I only make the apple pie on Thanksgiving and Christmas so that's a definite every year. But the torte still seems like such a good idea--maybe I'll try it again this year--or maybe instead of orange zest and lemon juice, go orange juice and lemon zest, or maybe both zests--tweak it somehow...in fact if I do make it I'd probably use a quarter cup of brown sugar in the pumpkin stuff & like a scant tablespoon of sugar in the graham crackers if any at all. I'd cut way back. Have you made it before??? Did you think it was too sweet??? Happy baking to you!

You can usually just do the math and double, triple the recipes and use the same methods and it's fine. It always works for me.

My experience is that grocery store bought plastic wrap does not work. Commercial plastic wrap, like the kind you get at Costco or something like that, the big momma boxes, will work. Maybe home grown plastic wrap will work now but I mean after I tried it once & it melted, I didn't run extensive tests or anything.

And an idea to help you get the feel of it without ripping up everything in the meantime is to do half by half. Like start in the middle of the pan and pull the knife toward you--do all your cuts on that side--then flip the pan around & do the other half. Or start from the edge and stop in the middle. Usually your first few inches will cut ok. It's after you start collecting product on your knife blade that things get out of hand. It helps to use a long blade generally speaking and of course break the surface with the tip then lower the knife into the product, the edge of the pan will prevent you from sinking the knife all the way in and pull the knife tip back toward the edge (or the middle), so at the end of your run your elbow will be all the way up in the air and the knife will be sticking up like King Arthur's sword in the stone. Umm, I cut brownies hot all the time like this. Umm, of course you have to clean the blade each time blah blah blah. And of course this doesn't work for everything. Press & hold the top down with two fingers when removing the blade. If you see you cannot make it to the edge of the pan without ripping it up, stop slicing and remove the blade, clean it & start over. But I see people (who won't listen) trying to cut whole sheet pans of stuff and ripping the shit out of it and complaining complaining complaining--jeez louise pick up the friggin' blade, use hot water, clean the blade off and shut the f up. Sorry I just needed to say that so bad--not to anyone here of course...feel so much better now I saw this great fudge cutter on tv. It was a solid steel plate with long skinny slice 'holes' in it--so the steel plate hovereded just on the top of the fudge and the cutters went down through the slice holes and got cleaned off coming backup through the slice holes--the metal plate keeps the fudge down there so it doesn't rise backup with the cutters--it was awesome. So I guess they turned the pan to get the cross cuts. The fudge guy had a patent on it--genius.