2010

According to baking 911, here creme fraiche can be used in place of heavy cream to make ganache. I make a wonderful Valrhona chocolate tart using creme fraiche and a bit of butter with Noire Gastronomie. The texture of the ganache is beautiful with a slight tang from the creme fraiche. Just beautiful.

Thanks for all the responses everyone. I guess I'd have to try a piece myself to make my own assessment. Still, a bottle or two of red food coloring? Oy! I'd be interested in anyone's recipe that uses a natural source for the red color vs. using food coloring. Would concentrated beet juice work?

I just finished watching an episode of Oprah where her friend Gale went around the country on a quest to find the best cake. They mentioned a bakery in LA called Doughboys that makes a fabulous Red Velvet Cake. Oprah didn't seem all too excited about it but I have to know, what's so special about Red Velvet cake? I've never tried it. Something about the red food coloring part turns me off a bit but I am going to LA this Aug. so I must try a piece from this bakery. Does anyone have a good recipe to post? Thanks!

Oh, you mean you're not coming? ..... ! I'll try and take pics of the event and post. Still don't know what time it opens.

vanilla-peppermint marshmallows: ← Wow! Great job! Your version instantly reminded me of ones I saw on the Williams-Sonoma site. http://ww2.williams-sonoma.com/cat/pip.cfm...di%7Cp1%7Crshop

Oooh yes! I'm planning to go. Did you know the first 100 visitors of each day gets a goody bag of stuff?! I'd like to be one of those 100 people but I couldn't find where on the site that tells when the exhibition opens. Do you know?

Patrick, the description of your cake sounds wonderful-so many textures/ flavours. I wish we could have seen a dissection of it! That crispy garnish looks yummy! I'm going to try this recipe.

Wow, thanks for all the responses everyone. I agree with Wendy with preferring the 'baked custard' version of tarte au citron. I also prefer to have a non-bruleed/broiled top to the tarte. I love seeing a beautifully baked lemon tart with a smooth untouched surface. No icing sugar, no whipping cream etc...Simplicity at its best. That's why I inquired about this topic. There are so many variations of tarte au citron. Is anyone willing to participate in a bake-off? Wendy, do you leave all that zest in the filling prior to baking or do you strain it?

I once read somewhere that the measure of a good pastry chef is in their ability to make a perfect lemon tart (or tarte au citron). Not sure if that's true but I guess you can screw up a "simple" lemon tart. Anyone got a good recipe, hints/tips for making the perfect one?

Wow! Thanks for bringing back memories of my old haunts of TO!. I used to live in the Manulife Centre building and often walked by Eitelbach's. Their Treecake Truffle is just out of this world. I also used to work for Stubbe's in Ottawa before moving to TO after attending LCB. You must go back and have a piece of cake and coffee. Heinrich's son Daniel runs the Toronto location. And when they're selling it in shop, you must try their version of Baumkuchen. Heinrich has an authentic baumkuchen maker up and running in Ottawa. My favorite is the one dipped in milk chocolate.

To make your cupcakes even more decadent, you can make a raspberry ganache instead of a raspberry buttercream. It's the same as making a classic ganache 1:1 ratio but instead of heavy cream, you add raspberry puree to chopped bittersweet chocolate, then allow the ganache to set to a spreadable consistency. If you want, you could also add a bit of raspberry liquor (such as Chambord) to the ganache as Canadianbakin suggested. The tartness of the puree with the bittersweet choc is just !

Wow Abra! Great looking cookies and I'm sure they probably taste just as good. What a wonderful find for $5!

Oooh Abra! So a recipe does exist. Do post whenever you come acoss it again. Thanks!

I too faced the problem of finding ingredients that I was used to using prior to moving to the UK from WA state. All my cookbooks are from the US and Canada and call for ingredients readily available back home. However, with a little searching on the net and asking the locals here, I found that Lyle's Golden Syrup is a good substitution for corn syrup. Hope that helps. Oh and treacle, I found out, is the English molasses.

Amazing demo! COOL! Really cool! Thanks for sharing! Watch this become a segment on Martha Stewart's show. "....And next week, make your own chocolate at home! Stay tuned..."

Is it a sad thing that I happen to like Starbuck's gingerbread biscotti? I always look forward to having it around the holiday season. It's soo good with a grande egg nog latte. I've tried looking for a similar recipe on the web to no avail. Does anyone have a recipe for gingerbread biscotti?

I've made dulce de leche like this (submerged in water and boiled for 2-3 hours) and it works out just fine. I was taught by an English chef that introduced me to Banoffi Pie. I've never had an explosion occur although I was skeptical about the method when I first heard about it. Just be sure to always have the cans submerged. I used to boil 4-5 cans at a time so I always had de leche ready when needed and I'd date the cans of when they were made because obviously, the labels are removed prior to boiling. I used the de leche to make Banoffi Brulee. Mmmm, it was a staple on the dessert menu for a long while.

I planned a suprise birthday lunch once for my husband at Seasons in the Park at QE. Although now it's called Seasons Hilltop Bistro. We've been going there for years for special occasions. It's become "our" restaurant along with the Chartwell at The Four Seasons. We've never been dissappointed with the food or service and you can't beat the view of downtown Vancouver. If it's good enough for Bill and Boris, it's good enough for anyone. http://www.vancouverdine.com/seasons/home.html

Sure! Of course! My friend's birthday isn't until March 5th but I think I'll do a "test" charlotte before then. Stay tuned.... Thank-you for the recipe!

Yes MD! That is exactly the kind of charlotte I'm after, minus the fig but leave it to Monsieur Herme to to step this classic dessert up a notch. Would you mind posting the recipe (under eG copyright restrictions of course) for ingredient quantities. I could pretty much figure out how it's put together. Thank you!!

Thanks GG! I actually linked onto that recipe when I did a search on the net before inquiring on eG. Unfortunately, that's not the version of Charlotte aux Poires I'm looking for. (I should have been more specific) The version I'm interested in involves pureed and diced poached pears folded into a bavaroise base. If anyone has any ideas, please post. Thanks!

Don't you just love those mice! I ordered some as soon as I saw a segment about LA Burdick on Martha Stewart Living. Megan, your madeleines are BEAUTIFUL! Not an air bubble to be seen. You should stick to your $10 B,B&B pan since they produce such wonderful madeleines, unless the Williams-Sonoma pan you're after is the silicone flexi-pan made in France, which also produces beautiful madeleines! Psst, I have it!

I used to have a recipe for this wonderful french dessert straight out of my Le Cordon Bleu student book, but unfortunately, I don't have it with me to refer to. I'd like to make it for an upcoming friend's birthday cake. Does anyone have a recipe to post? Thanks!

Alright, I'll give a go at it. Thanks for all the tips everyone!

OK, so let me get this straight. The puree comes from the flesh of the passionfruit and not the seeds? Is that correct?