mignardise

Anyone else? Holidays coming up...I am trying to get help soon, recruiting friends to bake. The easiest is two stage to teach. Yup, I like it, it is a cinch.

Wondering if anyone has had a bad result converting their recipe using a two stage method. According to RLB, it's okay. http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2005/12/..._layer_cak.html

Thanks everyone for all the replies. Thought for an intense copper, I would have to knead the color into the fondant. Guess not. And if it will save time, great!

Okay, shall I knead in color into the fondant first, then airbrush the copper luster on. Will that give me a more vibrant copper? Or, don't bother kneading color into the fondant, and just airbrush the heck out of it? meaning..starting with plain white fondant. And, if the consensus is to knead in color, what's the best colors to use for the primer for COPPER? Thanks!

I've been kinda going all over the board lately, trying all kinds as well. Really like Golden Cake w/ sour crm frosting from Epicuriuos. Just tried Fine Cooking Vanilla Butter Cake April/May 06 issue- liked that as well. And, you are right, taste is subjective.

Hey Jeanne, When I went to school........I lugged around some of my own tools. I used colored 3M electrical tape to mark my utensils. Cut in half/ thin strips. Wrapped around several times. Worked for me.

Yeah... I make two versions.... One w/ coconut milk and coconut extract....just a hint of coconut flavors in the batter. Coconut meringue buttercream, toasted coconut on top. The other is coconut in the batter, then cream cheese frosting and coconut topping. It's hard to decide to stick w/ one only. I've got the friends and family routing for both.

Thanks for the replies. Looks like coconut in the cake for most palates.

Cuisinart and a strainer and a good right arm. Read that there was an attachment that came w/ the Cuisinart long time ago. I think I read it from RLB, but, I think they no longer make it.

Coconut Cupcakes....................doing a poll. Can't figure out which one I want to keep as my standard. Which do you prefer: 1.Coconut Cake with shredded coconut in the cake and cream cheese frosting w/ sprinkled coconut on top. 2.Vanilla Cake w/ cream cheese frosting and coconut sprinkled on top. And there is always other variations....... ~7-min frosting ~toasted coconut sprinkled on top. ~coconut meringue buttercream Mainly, I want to know if you prefer the specks of coconut in the batter. Some people think it's TOO much coconut w/ the extra coconut topping. Thanx.

Thanks everyone..... Hey JeanneCake....how are you? I love the Sugarflair colors. The cake I am doing is just a light tint of lavender. Airbrushing is an option. Thanks again, I'll have to think about this one.

Couple years ago, I did a cake enrobed with lavender fondant......after a couple of hours later it turned light blue. What happened? Never really figured it out, and never had to do another one again. Well......I just got a request for a lavender cake, but hesitant to do one again. What caused this reaction? Thanks.

Yeah.... Sweetside....during the holidays I was having to triple/quad the recipes by hand. And still using all cup measurements, which is a drag. Just didn't have the time at that time. Just want to convert all my recipes to weight.

Is there a good website that does recipe conversions? Wanting to triple a recipe and use it all by weights?

Thanks Wendy....got that issue. Good to know that it doubles up good for the future. So for the record....is there such thing as a Milk Chocolate Cake(sponge)? In all my pastry years, I've never seen one, used one, tasted one. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Wendy.......are you referring to "Baking Illustrated" from Cook's Illustrated? I was thinking about a German Chocolate. Does this recipe double up good? Thanks for your response. Or, is the recipe from America's Test Kitchen? Completely different German Chocolate recipe?

I want to stay on the same topic.......Milk Chocolate Cake. She wants thick, sweet 10x frosting, I'm talking silky Italian Meringue Buttercream

Hi. didn't want to put this where the best chocolate cake thread was. Got a request from a bride wanting a Milk Chocolate Cake with white frosting. """"She seems persistant"""""" arrgggghhh I don't do Milk Chocolate Cakes..........just Devil's and a Dark Chocolate, don't do frosting either. It's buttercream........... Anyone?????? Really don't want to mess around with tweaking my own recipes, looked on the web for some, not looking good out there, slim pickin's..... Help!

Just curious on Cream of Tartar added to the Italian Meringue Buttercream.............and what do most of you do, use it or not? What's your thoughts on added stability? I know it stabilizes/increase volume of the beaten egg whites, but do you notice a difference when making an IMBC? I looked back at my old school recipes, all are w/out. My normal go to recipe is w/out. Noticed...... RLB uses the cream of tartar.

I've used both......My natural is plain ole Hershey's and my dutch that I always use is Cocoa Barry Extra Brute. Droste is dutch. It's okay. Have you tried Pernigotti? Not bad, can find at Williams Sonoma. I like Vahlrona too. Not tried SB. If the concensus says not good, I will not bother to buy it. But, you would think SB would be better than the other naturals like Hersheys and Nestles. If you can get a hold on some Cocoa Barry.....it's good.

Ling...........so you use a Dutch (Valhrona) cocoa for this Epicurious recipe?

Thanks for your input everyone............now I have to find the time to experiment.

Ling...........what brand of natural Cocoa do you use? I too love this cake.

Just had a birthday...........and when friends and family ask what do I want...I say cookbooks. So, to make it easier on them, and to add to my collection.... I go to Amazon and look for what I don't have, and make a list. Beats getting something that you don't want and will never use. There are some books out there, that I wasn't sure about (Medrich) and never purchased on my own. Anyways, I received..... Maida Heatter's- Cakes Alice Medrich- Bitterweet Payard- Simply Sensational Desserts Anyone bake anything interesting from these?

Hmmmm............ Lychee Martini's