CanadianBakin'

Same pot, same thermometer, both electric stove tops.

Just wanted to let you know I figured out how to fix the problem but I don't understand the why. The recipe specifies cooking the sugar to 350F. That works at home but at work I have to pull it at about 345F. I thought it might be the difference in thermometers so I used both the one from home and from work. They do differ by a couple degrees but regardless of which one I was reading I still had to pull it off the heat before it hit 350F. Happy to have a resolution but it would be great to understand why.

Thanks for the ideas! I think the Sprinklez will be the best option at the moment and I have my local healt store looking into them. As well I contacted the supplier to see how costly it is to have them shipped from the US. I could be wrong but making tiny confetti out of pastillage sounds very time consuming. I'll keep it mind for larger decor though.

I make and sell marshmallows and pride myself in using pretty natural ingredients. For Easter one of the flavours I'm making is vanilla dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with pastel confetti. I called my supplier to get the ingredient list for confetti to put on the label and I'm in shock. Here's the list: sugar, rice flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, cotton seed and/or soybean, cornstarch, gum arabic, cellulose gum, confectioner's glaze, carrogean, soy lecithin, colours, flavours. One of my customers looked at the list and was also a bit shocked. This doesn't appear very 'natural'. I usually have a very short ingredient list and this doesn't look good. There's only about 20 confetti on each piece but I'm pretty sure I still have to list them. Are there any options that have a smaller ingredient list and look less scary to the consumer?

I thought I might be able to use lemon. I'll give that a try. Thanks.

Thanks for your replies. I quadrupled the following recipe: 2 oz water 1/8 tsp cream of tartar 7 oz sugar 1-1/2 oz light corn syrup 1/2 oz unsalted butter 8 oz heavy cream 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1/2 tsp vanilla I know there's a million ways to make caramel. It just so happens that I've tested this one in my Caramel Ripple Marshmallows and it's worked out well. There seems to be a good balance of moisture between the sauce and the marshmallow. They aren't weeping at all, they aren't going moldy, the appearance is great, the taste is amazing! I don't know if I need the cream of tartar but I hate to mess with a good thing...or what was a good thing. edited to add the cream

I've been using Elizabeth Falkner's Caramel Sauce from Demolition Desserts for quite awhile and love it but 2 days in a row now I've made it and it's inedible. So bitter and metallic tasting. My first thought was the aluminum pot was reacting with the cream of tartar but I made it again in a stainless steel pot and had the same result. Is it possible the cream of tartar has somehow gone off? My next step is to try it with fresh cream of tartar but if someone else has experienced this and knows it to be something else I'd be happy to learn from your trial and error.

I'm afraid 'very interesting but unhelpful' it is. However, if they aren't too expensive I could get one. I'll look it up. Thanks!

I've never done a fruit puree swirl. I've always used them to bloom the gelatin. I made the caramel marshmallows this past Tuesday and so far they are holding up, no moisture issues. I'll try to hide a couple so that I can keep an eye on them over the next couple weeks. I'm hoping to start producing them this week....we'll see. I found this article that says caramel sauce is safe at room temperature for a month and safe in the fridge for 3 months but I don't see a source reference. http://www.ifood.tv/blog/how-to-store-caramel I know it's correct about time in the fridge. I don't know if I've ever had it go bad even after several months. Another option I was thinking of is to make caramels & then soften them just prior to using. This article suggests that they are more likely to have a moisture problem so maybe I'm better to stick with the sauce.

I posted in the Marshmallow thread but haven't had any replies so I thought I'd list it as a new topic. I made Nightscotsman's vanilla marshmallows & folded in some homemade caramel sauce right before pouring them onto the pan. They are seriously amazing but...I'm wondering if the ribbon of caramel sauce is safe. When I make marshmallows with fruit purees they are fine at room temp for weeks so my instinct would be that the caramel will be fine too but there's dairy involved and I'd prefer not to use my liability insurance by poisoning someone. Does anyone know?

What are you thinking of using it for? I always think that even if it's a natural or high quality flavour/extract that the farther you get away from the original ingredient, the less it tastes like it. ie. natural raspberry flavour doesn't really taste like raspberries. If we knew what you are making we could maybe help you think of other ways to boost the flavour.

This week I made a batch of vanilla marshmallows and swirled in homemade caramel sauce right before panning them. They are seriously amazing. They taste like caramel ripple ice cream. The layers separate a bit but none of my testers thought it was an issue and in fact, some of them thought the difference in textures between the layers is what made them amazing. However, I'm wondering about shelf life. The caramel sauce is usually stored in the fridge. Fruit purees are as well so maybe it's fine but I worry about the butter and cream. Are there any guidelines on this? Instead of sauce should I make a firmer caramel that would normally be stored at room temp and just warm it to liquify before using?

Just a quick note to add that macarons are not very sturdy. The delicate shells crush very easily so I don't know that they'd travel very well unless very carefully packed.

Do you have the Red Velvet Cake recipe?

I'm amazed that they still get such a flaky layered dough after handling it so much.

Sounds delicious! Do you know how to avoid the small feet issue next time? I just learned but don't want to explain if you already know. Oh please do tell! They seem to develop nice feet while they are baking, but somewhere between minutes 9 and 12 they fall on themselves and flatten like that. They have great texture and no airspace at their crowns, so a resolution to the feet issue would be wonderful. They've likely dried for too long. I took a macaron course recently and the most useful tip I picked up was drying time. Chef Marco uses a swiss meringue which I liked. He suggested keeping a log of each time you bake macaron because there are so many factors that affect them. Humidity and temp outside, temp inside, are there fans on, are they by an open door, where in the kitchen are you drying them, and for how long. If you touch the tops gently as the drying time progresses you will see it change and form a skin. The trick is getting them in the oven at the right time. Practice makes perfect as usual. My goal is to be able to tell when the skin is right so that I can bake them successfully in any kitchen. Don't know if that's possible but I'm going to try. If you err on the side of over dried at least you still get feet it's just they're shorter. If it's under dried or the batter is too runny then they're more likely to crack. Hope this helps a bit in your quest for the perfect macaron .

I'd never heard of pastizzi and I've never seen them for sale but they look amazing!!

Sounds delicious! Do you know how to avoid the small feet issue next time? I just learned but don't want to explain if you already know.

[quote name='Kerry Beal' timestamp='1293905225' post='1777775'] [attachment=9178:DSCN2343.jpg] I just happened to have exactly 4 ounces of blue stilton in the fridge just calling out for a purpose. I used the Bourbon Bacon Jam linked to on kayb's recent blog in place of apricot. [/quote] Kerry, how did you like the Bacon Jam? I have a friend who's a bacon addict, thought this might be nice for her.

-Can't comment on fondant over ganache. -Your link for SMBC doesn't work. Can you please post again. -Ratio for simple syrup sounds fine. Just want to confirm you're adding Kahlua after making the simple syrup? Taste it before using it. -Not sure why you would use amaretto creamer. Amaretto, Kahlua or vanilla will easily dissolve the instant coffee. Stir into the coffee, let sit a few minutes, stir again and it should be dissolved. How much you use depends on how much SMBC you're making. 1 tsp coffee doesn't sound like enough to me. To give you an idea, to flavour 1 dozen muffins I use 1/2 oz vanilla mixed with 1-1/2 Tbsp instant coffee/espresso granules. Make the paste and then add to taste. - "add mascarpone to the cream"...do you mean the filling or the SMBC? I wouldn't add it to the SMBC. Instead I'd add a bit of cream cheese. I know it's not the same but I'm not sure the mascarpone will hold up as well at room temp which is the ideal temperature for eating SMBC. Cold SMBC isn't great. Either way, I wouldn't replace the butter, it must be at room temperature and add it at the end. -Colette Peters suggests 8 oz cream cheese per recipe. Her SMBC recipe is 20 oz sugar, 10 oz egg whites, 20 oz unsalted butter. For espresso she suggests adding 2 tbsp instant espresso dissolved in 2 tsp vanilla. http://www.amazon.ca/s?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=books-ca&field-author=Colette%20Peters

Might not work for gifting but this is one of the few things I use powdered milk for: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/100-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread-recipe

Reduce the temperature to 325F, keep the water bath and loosely cover the top with foil. Start checking at 25 minutes.

We make Nanaimo Bars but your changes sound amazing! Will have to try.

I didn't have much luck with the gelatin version and didn't have time to try again so I went with a standard sponge toffee recipe (can't remember if I used Kerry's) but used some of her tips. Butter and flour the pan and have it warm in the oven (maybe 200F). When you add the toffee put it back in the oven and turn the heat off. Leave it for a couple hours. This turned out a very nice sponge toffee.

I'd be interested in your flour mix. Is it one you buy or a recipe you've created?