K8memphis

What a very strange reaction to have happen. I think it's even more amazing still that they determined what caused it. And for him to turn out to be (near) mortal too whacking molds like the rest of us Very cool. Now I wanna get the book...thanks for the highlights.

Oh, man, on the other apprentice, the D Trump one, they had the guys against the girls doing a lamborgenni (howdoyouspellthat) car commercial and the guys were so-o cocky...well they lost. Man, I can just picture some 'self-assured' people thinking they can do this (a wed cake) by themselves. Whoohoo this has great potential for some high drama. Neil, a bridzilla would be perfect! Great idea. Of course you could have a bitchy florist do some serious damage too, wedding coordinator, mothers of bride & groom, oh the possibilities. Wonder if it will be for a real wedding. That would be so cool -- have mercy! It would increase the pressure to the nth power. Whoa, that's making me nervous The baking, stacking, icing, delivery oh man I hope this is good. Plus they have to outdo the other team. Hey, wonder if we'll hear the word Wilton? Does K-Mart carry Wilton like Wal-Mart & Michael's & stuff??

The next Martha's Apprentice show is going to have some kind of wedding cake competition in the next episode. Wednesday night in my area. Plus I think other cable channels carry it later in the week as a leftover, ah I mean re-run. Just an intriguing fyi.

Yeah you're right. And this is the best season for them too. Try the big department stores--it'll likely be a heated massager thing to put onto your car seat or desk chair y'know?. They always sell bunches of them around Christmas. Like this kinda, the fourth one down? But you wanna be sure you can turn off the heat. But truly this is the season for oodles of these to be on the market.

Y'know what though, I'm Polish and we always said ko-lahch-ky, but in reference to the cookie kind of cream cheese dough cookie ones--not the yeasted ones. So I'm thinking perhaps the types & terms have mutated around the country, around the world, to be pretty much the same kinda sorta, y'know? Maybe the little regional differences are showing up a bit. I mean I've seen danish dough used to make them in some places. They're all good! Be that as it may, If you are traveling to Austin from like Memphis area or from the Northeast, THE CZECH BAKERY is on I-35 EXIT 353!!! I got it memorized! It's to die for!! Hey I even got a ball cap from there. When chef-boy was in school in Austin, I'd tell him we were gonna come down from Memphis to The Czech Bakery & get a bunch of kolachky's and since he was just a few more miles down the road that we'd probably swing by & see him

Here is an idea. Before it gets out of hand, like after the first coupla fillings lay the bag on the counter with the opening toward you, the tip pointing away from you. Insert your clean spatula into the bag, not quite touching the payload down there, just into the icky top edges there that you want to cleanup. Hold the spatula edge firmly against the table through the bag. With your free hand, cross over the spatula and pinch the bag so you can roll the bag up thus cleaning the insides, repeat to get all the way around the bag. It's a jif to do--rather painstaking to describe. You are just rotating the bag between the table and the spatula edge. Just keep the spatula pressed against the table so it wipes off the inside of the bag, as you pull the bag around it, y'know? ← All I'm saying of course is stick your spatula in the top and using the table as leverage scrape out the top of the bag. While it is all smoothed out you can wipe it down & dry it off too if you need to. I was doing this today, cleaning out the top of the bag, and I realized I had advised here to cross your hand over the bag to do this & that's not necessary. Just pinch the bag to grab hold of it & pull it up so it rolls under the spatula. Allowing the spatula clean off the inside there. So many words, so little relevance

Perhaps add mace to the dough. Not the pepper spray stuff, myristica fragrans, the outside of the nutmeg. Not that you weren't familiar, just for clarity. Jeez, then let me know what day you are baking!! My favorite are the apricot and the poppy seed. Oh seriously drooling here. Sorry, no storage tips, they were never around long enough to need storage

I have a couple opposing ideas to throw into the pot. Just brainstorming. One is if you do go the bundt cake route, you could torte it to add the fillings and have room for a candle inside too--course you could carve out a spot for a candle in any other cake too. My other idea comes from BKeith where you bake & stack like for a big pumpkin, maybe like from the bottom up a 13, 14, 14 12 or a smaller one like maybe a 7, 8, 8, 7. Y'know, maybe some one-layer some two-layer to get the right sizes. Off set them too for a more real look. Whatever dimensions but that way you have minimal carving and you can hang onto more of the crusty carmelized sides of the cake, fill in with icing and have a bit more strength. Just some pumpkin thoughts for yah. Hmm, what about petal pans?? There's only eight petals per pan I think but you could fake it. In fact, I think I would fill in each indent to make the extra pumpkin stripeys yknow? Ok ok I'll be quiet edited to say: Oh oops I was rambling on while you posted that you didn't need deco help--oops oh well, sorry!

Yes they do. Be sure you get them soaked well. Lightly dampened doesn't get it. They soak up better in hot water. Like even get a bowl full & immerse them to saturate--squeeze out the excess though. And wet towel also works. I take brand new terry cloth towels and cut them & fold over to wrap two layers thick around the pan secured with t-pins. Works great also increases baking time a bit and increases moistness in the cake. Plus I use a piece of aluminum foil, like index card size & folded like 3/4inch by five inches & tear one end to make 'feet', each foot folded a different direction so you could actually stand the little thing on the counter y'know? And then stick it into the middle of the cake batter as a conductor of heat so the middle has a chance to heat up as fast as the edges and that also helps it bake less domed. And it's a breeze to remove--just slide a knife down each leg & wiggle out the fold. Very little damage to the cake--I spray it with pam too and remove it as soon as I take it out of the oven and the hot steamy cake just comes back together. In fact, both of these ideas are pictured here, just scroll down to post 18. Like halfway down page one.

Awesome stuff --doesn't appear as if you're just starting. You're using a lot of different techniques. I love the lillie of the valley, your chocolate cake is to die for, your first fondant roses are A+ but I promise, my favorite is the boxing gloved kangaroo--too cool--great stuff!

Another idea is to buy spices & stuff at a bulk place that sells 'by the pound'. The by the pound prices will give you a coronary until you realize how light they are and how for pennies you can replenish old weak stuff & purchase teensy amounts for way way less than those dang $4, $5 a hit bottles & cans of spices at the grocery & specialty stores.

On the butter, try to still get the grade AA. It's marked on the box. I've found that our least expensive brand of butter seems to have more water in it. But the store brand double A grade butter is fine and you still get the price break. Blessings on you & your family.

Well, >>taking deep breath<<Clicky here for some pictures of my work. It's not a slick website but I did crash the computer trying to figure out how to post pictures in the first place, so I get a little creative credit for that. This is just some stuff I've done in the past two years or so. I still have a few stuck in the camera too. This is a really cool thread here that I missed during it's first run. Umm, everyone's work is amazing. I have loved Kathyf's work forever, those clean clear artsy lines with such expressive creative interuptions. I love Ruth's happily animated cheerful menagerie. C'mon, ChefP, on the cutting edge as usual, gorgeous embroidery, artful dramatic technique. So then I thought I should comment on everybody, apology in advance if I miss somone. Wendy, I think I actually had a fringed, (chocolate/suede) purse very similar to your first one--each one so awesome--then to tie them all together with the single serving minis in production--way way awesome. Hats off. Tepee, adorable puppies, the paw prints I think are genius. I love those Mother's Day cakes you made too--breathtaking work. **Idea>> If I can I try to design and produce my decorated boards well in advance like a week or more ahead of time. Because it's true, you are so spent by the time you finish a cake there's no mental or physical energy left to do one more thing except hope you hit the bed when you fall over. And usually time is gone too. So I do my boards first when possible. Just a thought for anyone. Sharon, I love your work, cutting edge, floraliferous, those bubbles too cool--really admire your stuff. Alanamoana, great tip about sliding messy bags into new clean ones. Oh yeah, Marilyn, The Croquembouche I Love it, so tall and stately, so ethreal covered in the spun sugar--great stuff. Lydia, Can I get a slice of lemon heaven for breakfast, jeez those look so droolingly good. BKeith, I loved yah before I knew yah. Your work is stunning and your great heart to teach and share is legend to me. Thanks! Marjorie, That pink & gold quilted cutie is beautiful. Love the treasure chest! Once upon a time I was gonna do a bunch of dummies so I could put out a proper website blah blah blah--well, somehow all the chocolate coins for the treasure chest cake 'disappeared' in the meantime Sharon, I forgot to gush about the castle cake, oh my total gosh on that one, what can I say, Camelot should look so pretty. wow And Marjorie, you got a great write up--how cool was that??!! TracyK, drop dead gorgeous flowers. I really like Scott too. My husband and I met him once--very cool, nice person, generous teacher. >> Idea The very old fashioned method of sugaring plastic pillars takes them to a different level, I think. Just brush pillars and plates for that matter with lightly beaten egg white then hold over a wide container, sheet pan or something & sprinkle plain old white granulated sugar and they become glistening and fresh and very different than the plain old plastic. Just a cafeteria thought, take it or leave it. Also covers the yellowing glue or yellowing plastic. Tepee, I want to wash down my slice of lemon heaven with a slice of your chocolate heart cake--except the flowers are too pretty to eat. I love that rose. Oh, Amuse Bouche, the Broolyn Bridge cake is soo cool. What a freaking boatload of work you did on that! I love it. And you did your own wedding cake??? Multiplied congratulations, my friend, it looks Lenox-y like fine china. How beautiful. (Plus you made it to the ceremony too???--just gently teasing ) But seriously, big kudos to you. CRC, Love your lovely arrangement--again, what a boatload of wo-ork. The pot of flowers, the handbag, the polka dotted hat and all the many pretty details. >> where's the sweat pouring off your brow smile face << Great stuff!! So three pages later let me add one more idea. **Idea>>>I've been doing cake for decades from shops and bakeries professionally. I do not have hand or arm issues from decorating. I of course I hold the bag with my one hand and guide it with the finger of the other hand, but I decorate (pipe) with my shoulders. Just a thought... edited to say one more idea: Here is an idea. Before it gets out of hand, like after the first coupla fillings lay the bag on the counter with the opening toward you, the tip pointing away from you. Insert your clean spatula into the bag, not quite touching the payload down there, just into the icky top edges there that you want to cleanup. Hold the spatula edge firmly against the table through the bag. With your free hand, cross over the spatula and pinch the bag so you can roll the bag up thus cleaning the insides, repeat to get all the way around the bag. It's a jif to do--rather painstaking to describe. You are just rotating the bag between the table and the spatula edge. Just keep the spatula pressed against the table so it wipes off the inside of the bag, as you pull the bag around it, y'know?

Ask them what size the tiers are. Pin them down on that. edited to add--Also with two different cake flavors guests will be more likely to expect two slices--not that that is right to expect, but they will, especially with only fruit to head them off at the pass.

Y'know, it just ain't fair or right. I have worked with some of the nastiest rustiest machinery. But it was commercial stuff I remember one time I rinsed off a bowl & beater with hot soapy water to make some royal icing. Noticed the bowl had a hole in it, so a non-decorating co-worker said, "Oh no problem" and proceeded to patch it with a blob of shortening Ahh, yeah thanks a lot. Oh yeah, cages, but 5 & 6 quart mixers are too small to get your hand into. What a picky little blankety blank blank health inspector. It's not the beaters is it?? Teflon covered ones??? It cracks so maybe get the all metal ones??? But she said the whole mixer?? Jeez. Oh I got it, you need to get mixers big enough to get your hand into so you have to get cages to keep you from putting your hand in there

Thank you, Ruth, great idea.

That's an interesting point. If I have already been a patron, I will allow a place an off day and I will order the item again. Two times in a row and mmno probably not again. But I'd go & try a different item if my husband liked the place. If it was the first visit & it sucked, I probably would not go back. Bad service on the other hand is a deal breaker on the first visit. No mercy. I'm sorry, I really cant understand this qoute. The reason of fixing the batter is because if you threw it out then that would be labeled a complete waste of TIME and MONEY. SO how hard is it to make a new batch, which obviously your going to do anyways, and incorporate 1/3 of the slightly off batch into it. The muffins will still come out perfectly fine considering they had all the proper chemical functions working. I can understand the fear of fixing something if you've never done it. But you need to start trying because most of the culinary business does it 24/7. You can't expect everyone to do there job perfectly all the time, even the professionals. SOOOO many trainee's have botched sooooo many things. I had one girl that just seemed to not be able to get cookies right, ever. But they were always close.so what is 10 minutes out of my day to save 250 cookies? I'm sorry I just dont underrstand how 3 dollars labor sacrifices 500 dollars sales. ← If the old story is correct, brownies were born by someone's mistake. One man's booboo is the next guy's brownie. Hey most of us were probably mistakes, hey wait, wrong forum

Pam, Thanks so much for telling us what you put in your rum balls! We have a lot of fresh cake scraps at work. Thanks again Sugarella, if you are copying and pasting your quote, you hit the quote button up at the top before and after you paste. You can also 'collect' the quotes you want to post a reply to by hitting the blue add"" button at the bottom right-ish of each post. Then you can edit down to the quote you are wanting but be sure to leave the first & last bracketed stuff intact. Or hit the blue reply"" if you just want to quote & reply to one post. : )

Those are great solutions if you're baking at home. When you have clients that buy a product based on what it already IS, then when you give them something that looks in any way different, they will question it, and most likely complain. Even if what you did to it is an "improvement", they may not feel that way. Also, if I stuck cream cheese or a pecan half on it this time, and they actually liked it, they may come to expect it. They'll say, "Why no pecans this time?" Hard to explain (without telling the truth). I'm honest to a fault. I'd say trying to make a bad muffin look pretty.....is like.....puttin' lipstick on a pig...... ← Well, all bacon beautification and flavor enhancement attempts aside ... Umm, could you send an extra dozen 'somethings' to the affected customers afer another order or two goes by. Being honest is very important, but unless you're on the stand you are not compelled to tell the whole truth. Use nuance to your advantage, maybe?? Make it a customer appreciation thing. Or give a ten percent off. Free delivery once. I don't know all the particulars of your situation. I just remember the cute little building in the pictures you posted once. So would any type of little freebie help smooth any little hangnails rubbing anybody, you, them, the boss, the assistant?? But not with the very next order, a couple orders down the line. Just a little something to 'make nice'. Maybe just send a little bunch of goodies for the employees themselves??? One of those cheesecakes you recommended in the autumn post or something??? Make some minis er something. It would be upsetting for that to happen. Just a thought for you. But y'know what else? We get burned so often on so many things, it all levels out. I'm sorry the boss did that though. So perhaps a customer appreciation thing or a Celebrate Autumn sampler??? Just a thought. Have a good one.

Well, I'm the dissenter. If it was only one batch, I don't think that's enough for people to start closing accounts with you. However with a second and third 'off' batch then you'd be running into the possibility of some more serious feedback issues. I would possibly disguise the mutants with a drizzle or a glaze or something. Maybe a shot of sweetened cream cheese y'know on top or stuck down in the middle. Maybe something like that. I mean maybe they can't keep them refrigerated, but lots of people keep cream cheese stuff at room temp, not that I'm saying it's ok, I'm just trying to give you some ideas. Maybe brush the top with honey and stick 'em in some chopped nuts, toasted coconut...stuff like that maybe. Plant a bit of icing and then a pretty pecan half. Like maybe Morning Glory2 or something. Maybe, Had a Bad Morning...Glory! Smile at the new guy like Ed McMann's bringing him a check but tell him you're gonna have to hurt him if he screws up again That you don't really want to but...

Whiskey & nerves Wow great demo--love your cake! Amazing work. >>Insert 'clapping hands wildly' smilie faces<< Bravo Bravo!!!

The 'I will get help soon' part is sooo funny at 2AM!!!! (snort)

Chris, just wanted to say, let us all know how this plays out for you. Best of the best to you.

I know! And how do you get around that one? 'Kate, you're not talking, is something wrong?... Are you tired?... What's the matter?... You've gotten real quiet.' Ahh, maybe I'm accomplishing something and if I stop concentrating to shoot the breeze with you I will eff something up, loose my momentum, burn something, burn me, forget the strawberries, the almond extract, the nuts, miss a step in the process, ice in white instead of ivory etc. etc. (And currently I am not doing near the scope of work that Greenbean is doing.) I mean so far I'm just going, "Well, I am in the non-verbal side of my brain." I think that is the reason home bakers often stay up at/all night doing decorating work from the home--so you could hope to string two thoughts together & think undistracted. Then in a previous life after such an all-nighter, I'd shower & go to work at the bakery But some people never catch on to the fact that you are often/usually incommunicado. It's really an occupational hazard, people chit chatting.

Greenbean, first of all congratulations on your first pastry job and condolences as well on it's being so challenging. I think it is a matter of experience and giving yourself time. I mean I do not know anything about your work history. Ultimately it is how much time your employer will give you too, y'know? Hopefully you will get this all under control in time. It could be mismanagement on your employer's part too. Nothing like disorganization to screw up a work flow. I know my own little 6'4" chef-boy worked in several restaurents and one hotel before he went to culinary school and now has a great job in the hotel world. He can maintain the pace for the most part because of his previous experience, but he works his scrawny tail off. Oh yes 'hits the ground running' and goes in way before opening to get his station prepped & rolling. So even with good experience under your belt, it's a tough tough gig. An idea for you>>When away from work, I would focus on one item you make/serve, were respnsible for in one way or another. Take it one step at at time, break it down & keep it simple. In your mind take it from start to finish, look at places along the way where you can tighten up the process. Like even just putting the bowl on the other side of the pan, use scissors instead of a knife, use parchment instead of greasing the pan or vice versa, as soon as you arrive, get the butter & cream cheese out of the walk-in to come to room temp while you get chocolate melting on the stove blah blah blah or whatever. See where you can economize a few minutes of time and you will start to create a tiny bit of control in that out of control atmosphere. And it will gradually over time breed some more control in that roller coaster dynamic of food service. I say give it as much time as your employer will allow you in order to get your bearings. Can you come in 30 minutes early & set plates out on sheet trays stacked up waiting for you to fill or something??? Sometimes starting backwards helps. Any thing you can do at end of shift to help it go smoother the next morning??? What do the other folks have to help you with??? How fast are you moving your arms/hands. Bet you could move a bit faster with practice. You'll get there. What takes the longest? What is labor intensive? What item that you make has a lot of downtime in the process?? Kinda play dominos with your responsibilities & see where everything will fit like a collage or a patchwork quilt, y'know???? You can do anything you really want to do.