CanadianBakin'

Holy smokes!! I did some searching and found it for as high as $895!!! Is it that amazing? I haven't seen it yet but you've peaked my interest so I'm going to try getting it from the library. The best price I could see is here: http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/usedbooks/ge...n=9780375504297

I just called the phone number on the website and the salesman' answering machine came on and I left a message. I am a gambler and it looks like it is worth a try.... ← If you lived a bit closer I'd mail you some but it would probably take 3 weeks to get to you. As a disclaimer, I'm not a Watkins rep. I just happened to have some Chai tea given to me.

You may have already tried this but if not....could you grind up some chai tea spices like you would buy from Watkins http://www.watkinsonline.com/productdetail...ECredit=081200N and use that to spice the cake or could you heat up the milk and infuse it with the chai mix?

You may find this book helpful: http://www.amazon.com/Lets-Have-Tea-Party-...92392721&sr=8-1 It's a book on Tea Parties for girls and has lots of ideas. You will likely find it in your local library.

I'm quite sure you can buy direct. I buy from Qzina here in Richmond and I'm just a Joe Schmoe who bakes at home. You don't have to have an account or anything. Just call up, place your order and then pop by to pay and pick up.

It looks very cool but if you hadn't said it was mousse I would have thought it was some type of bread. It looks like it has been baked. What is it actually like?

I usually use lard and butter. Somehow I prefer lard in the pastry rather than shortening. I'm pretty sure ChefPeon uses lard so hopefully she'll chime in.

Have you tried Cook's Illustrated's regular pie crust in Baking Illustrated? If you have, how do they compare?

Next time try your favourite apple and add just two granny smiths to the mix rather than all one type. With regards to the spice, I finally stopped adding any at all and our family likes it much better. I add some lemon juice to brighten the flavour and of course some sugar and thickener but no spice.

It looks delicious!!!! I can't believe I have to wait a year to try it. Then again, I guess I just have to wait till my fruit is ready, it doesn't have to be Christmas. Maybe I'll have it ready in time for Easter. Might be a bit heavy for that time of year but I'll do it anyways.

Head to your local library and literally "check" them out. I almost always do this before deciding on a purchase since books can be so costly.

Hi Nina! I just wanted to let you know I had tears in my eyes as I read this thread the other day. You are doing a wonderful thing. Having recently gone through breast cancer and treatment while being pregnant and already of mom of two 5-year olds. I had the opportunity to be on the receiving end of a lot of fundraising. A friend decided that our family would need a nanny and she was right. One of the fundraising events was hosted by a bunch of wonderful people on the Vancouver forum and a couple P&B people contributed as well. I wouldn't have thought of this before having cancer but there are huge financial needs for people going through treatment. We always hear about fundraising for research which is awesome but those of us in the middle of it can really use the help as well. Best wishes on your event!

Redsugar - good to see you back!

Thanks so much for your ideas!

As Tri2cook said, shape is not a problem. I recently made a bunch of individual cheesecakes in rings on a sheet pan. To keep it moist in the oven I put a cake pan of water on the bottom shelf when I turned my oven on to preheat and left it there till they were done. If you bake it at 275F and keep an eye on it you should be fine.

My husband's grandad is celebrating his 100th birthday at the end of October and I need to make two cakes for it. I'll have no trouble with the cake and fillings it's the decorating I'm having a hard time with. I can follow a recipe no problem but I'm not very creative or visual which can be a bit of a handicap for decorating. A search on this forum came up with nothing and a google search didn't come up with much more. My mother-in-law is hosting two small celebrations for him, a few days apart. The first will be for friends who arrive a few at a time over a couple hour period and the second for family. I think each cake will only need to feed about 20 but I still want to do something a bit special. My first thought is to at least make them 2-tier as I think right off the bat that gives them more WOW factor. But what colours? What kind of questions do you think I should ask him to get inspiration? Anniversaries have colours although I don't know if there's a colour for 100. ie. 25th is silver, 50th is gold, etc. Anyways, just having a bit of a mental block and wondering if a few of you can help get my creative juices flowing. Oh, couple things. At least one of them will be frozen until the day and I won't be there to set it up so I think that rules out fondant. Also, I don't know how to pipe roses and don't really have any interest in learning although I'm can get my way around a piping bag no problem, just not fancy flowers.

I'm not an expert but this is what I think. I would make the cheesecake pieces about the same size as a mini popsicle. I would use Cooks Illustrated recipe for baked cheesecake as it is quite dense, it freezes well and would dip easily. I just thought of something else. I use a chocolate cheesecake recipe from Epicurious that tastes like a fudgsicle when frozen and might be a good recipe to use as well. Here's the link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/4484

I love this thread and I so wish I'd started fruit earlier this year. As it is, I think I'll start working on fruit for next year so I'll be ready. I've never tried one but wondered about them ever since I saw one on betterbaking.com. That recipe doesn't say anything about aging the fruit so I'm sure it's not the same. I've printed your recipe Hummingbird and can hardly wait to try it. edited to add: I was just looking over your recipe and noticed that it calls for "the browning". If I'm adding purchased browning, how much should I add? I've never used it before.

No idea how to fix it but bripastryguy has an awesome recipe for a ganache glaze that has cream, butter and corn syrup in it. Unfortunately I've deleted the e-mail but you could PM him. I'd be tempted to warm it and try stirring in some room temp butter and then some corn syrup to see if it helps. Good luck!

David, what is your level of training? Are you a professional or an avid homebaker? Just wondering who this type of class would be available to. I've never heard of a class like this happening in Vancouver but if it did I'd be there if at all possible.

If you're interested in searching him out, I believe transfattyacid on the Vancouver forum is a chef at Parkside which is one of my favourite restaurants. I have had amazing fried zucchini blossoms there and he may be able to give you some ideas. Unfortunately he hasn't been active since May this year but if you PM him, you never know .

Our family has had the priviledge of enjoying some of Chef Metcalf's frozen meals and they were fantastic! Easy to reheat and lots of flavour.

Thanks so much for the report! I would love to take a class like that.

Thanks for the suggestion. Her latest book looks fantastic! I've got it on reserve at the library and can't wait to have a look.

I just came across a bacon dessert that looked like it might be good. Here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/09/2...LIDESHOW_4.html - apricot cornbread with bacon, topped with maple ice cream.