CanadianBakin'

...sounds like you need a digital scale .

I'm loving this thread! I just made two batches of strawberry jam with (gasp!) certo. I grew up with certo jam and have continued making it that way because I was under the now-obviously-false assumption that jam without certo had to have a ton of sugar in it. With certo I can use the light version and make jam with more fruit than sugar which I prefer. I'm thrilled to find that I can do the same thing without certo. The other thing I found interesting with this method is that the strawberries sit in the fridge for awhile. The jam I just made with certo really did turn out well but I'm wondering now if this has to do with the fact that I sliced the strawberries up several days ago and they sat in the fridge with just a bit of sugar until I decided what to do with them. Even though I mashed them a bit before making the jam the fruit still held it's shape very well and tastes amazing. Now I'm excited to try the Ferber method and see how the flavour is.

If you also had added some good quality chocolate pieces I'd be all over that !

I grew up eating walnuts rather than pecans, I suspect because walnuts were a lot cheaper, but this led to an aversion to walnuts. Now I seldom use walnuts unless the recipe specifies and even then I often use pecans. I'm finally open to using walnuts more often but I'm not sure which types of desserts lend themselves better to walnuts. (Do you think I could use the word walnut anymore in one paragraph?! ) In what type of recipes do you like them best?..or better than pecans?

That's hilarious!!! Thanks for being humble enough to share .

This picture keeps catching my eye. I think I'm going to have to make it very soon .

I put a pizza pan on the bottom rack while the oven is heating to 500F. Then put the pie on the hot pan and reduce heat to 425F for 30 minutes I think. Rotate, cover edges if needed and cook at 350F for another 25 - 30 minutes. This is off the top of my head but I'm sure it's close. This is the method used in Baking Illustrated and it never fails me. I had a hard time with pies as well so I just kept making them until I got it.

I think I'm just going to skip it and use PH's Caramel Ganache instead. Thanks for the advice.

I'd like to make a chocolate cake and fill it with 7-minute frosting for use in about a week. Do you think I could freeze it? IMBC freezes well but the 7-minute frosting has no butter. Anyone tried?

I've been really happy with the Golden Butter Cake from the Whimsical Bakehouse. I've tested a number of yellow cakes and this is as close as I've come to a moist yellow cake-mix type cake. Tri2Cook's idea of strawberry sauce thinned with simple syrup sounds good. If you choose to make this cake I would wait till you sliced it open to see what you think. If it looked pretty moist already I'd be tempted just to add a layer of good strawberry jam underneath the mousse layer.

We'll all live vicariously through you, Kate . Have a great time and we look forward to pictures.

Great idea! How long do tuiles stay crisp? Do they have a similar issue with humidity?

I'm not sure why I'm supposed to be familiar with "that cake" exactly, but if you're attempting to produce a sparse brittle as depicted in "that photo" then yes, moisture is definitely going to be a problem for you. Not sure I'd want a mouthful of gum-slicing, tooth-cracking shrapnel in a cake anyway, so it may actually be beneficial to soften it up a bit. ← No, no, when it softens up a bit you can't get your teeth apart. I made caramelized pecans with the expectation that they would crunch when you bit them. A few of them did but the rest would have taken out your fillings. They looked pretty but that's about it.

WOW!!!! My daughters thought we could make all the cakes on their site. My friend has found a place just across the border but thanks for your suggestions.

I just googled and found this link: http://www.pickyourown.org/canadabc.htm It's a list of farms all over BC and I didn't read it all but I did notice some organic farms in the Fraser Valley.

One of my girlfriends is looking for a baker/bakery that makes funky cakes, ie. one that looks like high heeled leopard print shoes for her Mom's b-day party. Do you know of anyone?

These are now in Recipe Gullet. PM me if you'd like a list of the flavour combinations the author suggests. http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1982.h...22629eb7acd2e01

Bake-Shop Muffins Serves 12. This is based on a recipe written by Joanne Chang and featured in Fine Cooking magazine March 2006 as part of a feature article. This is the base recipe only and of course a variety of flavours can be added. 16 oz all-purpose flour 4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 9-3/8 oz sugar 5 oz butter, melted and slightly cooled 8-1/2 oz whole milk, at room temperature 8-1/2 oz sour cream, at room temperature 2 large eggs, at room temperature 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature 1. Heat oven to 350F. Spray 12-cup muffin pan thoroughly with pan spray. 2. In a large mixing bowl sift together dry ingredients. Whisk until well combined. In a medium bowl, whisk together wet ingredients until well combined. 3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and fold just until the dry ingredients are mostly moistened. 4. Add up to 1-1/2 cups of fruit or chocolate and up to 3/4 cup of toasted nuts. As well, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla or flavour or spices of your choosing. Fold in just till combined. Do not overmix. 5. Use a 4 - 5 oz disher to scoop batter into the muffin cups. The batter will mound higher than the rim of the cups. Bake until the muffins are golden brown and spring back lightly, 30 - 35 minutes. Let the pan cool on a rack for 15 - 20 minutes. 6. While still slightly warm, use a knife to separate the tops if necessary, and then turn out the muffins onto a rack to finish cooling. 7. Glaze while warm if desired. Keywords: Easy, Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Snack ( RG1982 )

Ruthie, those look awesome!! Sorry, I didn't get to add a recipe last night. I had to do some baking for my hubby for work but I should be able to do it tonight. Happy baking !

I didn't think that but I immediately thought of the famous Seinfeld episode that involved muffin tops - where the bottom was ripped off and only that big glorious crunchy top was being sold. Is there such a beast as a muffin pan where the body of the muffin is really shallow and a big wide crown is allowed so you end up with mostly muffin top? ← These were all the rage a few years ago and the pans are still available. Here's an example: http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-Gou...n/dp/B0000CFN2C.

I would love this recipe. Would you post it here (in your own words to avoid copyright issues)? Please.... ← I'm going to attempt to put it in RecipeGullet tonight. I'll post when it is done. I just have to read through all the copyright stuff first.

If you haven't tried the Bake Shop Muffins from Fine Cooking magazine then you must. They are in the March 2006 edition. If you don't have it, please let me know and I will PM you the recipe. It makes amazing huge perfect muffins. I really need to take a picture next time I make them so I can show how awesome they are.

I had to dig my pizzelle iron out from the back of the top shelf of the cupboard I have in my dining room/living room. I call it Fibber MaGee's closet after an old radio show from the 30's that my father used to talk about. Apparently on this show, everytime someone went into the closet you heard the sound of the closest contents coming down. That's what happens in this one, mostly plastic containers crashing, but occasionally all the glass jars full of stuff, baskets, bakeware. I've seem pizzelle irons for sale all over the place though, grocery stores that have a kitchenware section like fortino's, any italian grocery store or bakery seems to have them. Doesn't solve the storage problem. I wonder how these would work baked between the flat plates of a waffle iron? You'd get something more suitable for making cones that way. ← I do have a waffle iron with 3 different types of plates. I'll take a look at that and see if it would work. I've got a hunch it has a bit of a gap between the plates which would leave them too thick. The closet thing is pretty funny!! Over the past several months we've been trying to get rid of all those types of closets in our house. It's amazing how much junk you keep. My baking gadgets have not been touched though. I don't care how long it takes me to use them, they all stay . I just can't add anymore till I solve the storage situation.

I'd love to be a part of this but alas, no pizzelle iron and no where to store one if I buy one.

Here's a link to a castle that was made a couple years ago. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=918513 I think luster dust might be a great way to help with a fairy tale look.