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JSkilling

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Everything posted by JSkilling

  1. Calorie reduction. Thanks.
  2. Patrick, Gorgeous! Are you lemoned out yet?? Funny thing... I just saw this same recipe today when I looked up her outrageous brownie recipe and thought I'd like it alot with that amount of lemon zest. Tell me how the texture is of this compared to the first cake you made, which I think had less flour to butter. I'm assuming this one is lighter like a cake and not so pound cake like.
  3. Powdered raspberry. It was discussed somewhere else and I thought it would work nicely, though I have not tried it yet.
  4. Got a sample on the way to me now! Any recipe tips or places where you are seeing this used?
  5. Stunningly gorgeous! How many people are producing this each day?
  6. I agree with Chianti on this one - for a more progressive learner he's not the book for you. I don't take that to mean that for someone else he won't be fine but I had exactly the same reaction to the book since my needs have progressed past that level of baking. The same basic recipes exist in other places and I didn't find anything really new. Damn fine chocolate cake, though! I don't want to compare the two but, for me, the Herme book is better for moving forward and learning new skills and how to put different elements together.
  7. I bought it and returned it because I didn't think it really had enough that was different to merit keeping it. There was nothing wrong with it but I have the Herme book and felt it didn't really compare. Not that I don't have room for both but it didn't have anything to compel me to it.
  8. Oh, what a nice idea! I'd like to use powdered raspberry sieved on the top before baking like I do the cocoa with the chocolate ones. That would be pretty and add flavor to the outside of the cookie and then reinforce it with a flavored filling....
  9. Redsugar, I'm glad to see you around here again. I was afraid you had been insulted off... Now for this Morrocan lemon recipe.... Is this like candied lemon rind cut up into the batter? And when you beat the egg whites is it the same amount as in the test kitchen recipe or is it a recipe that's totally different? I love lemon! Tart, tangy lemon any time of the year and in any dessert....
  10. In your lemon escapades you might want to try this: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/104905 I made it in homage to the Bundt king and thought the ginger addition was outstanding. It takes lemon to a new height. The difference between the CI pound cake and this one is a good bit of butter to flour ratio so you can expect a less dense cake but one that is quite good. I doubled the recipe and baked it in a fancy bundt pan. I'd for sure either inject the glaze the next time or poke many, many holes in the cake to soak it up. And it benefitted greatly from an overnight stay tightly wrapped in saran wrap. It's now moist and much more pound cake like. I also think a topping of candied ginger will be quite good.
  11. Patrick, What recipe did you use for the non chocolate ones? I used Herme for the chocolate ones and they elicit raves whenever I give them to anyone. But I'd also like to make some like colored ones with pastel inside, such as what is on the cover of this month's Donna Hay magazine. They are quite pretty.
  12. Where did you get yours?
  13. Go here: http://www.boironfreres.com/uk/uk_docs.htm And click on the right hand side for any of the recipes. They'll give you the correct amounts to use of each of their purees. This is why you won't need a refractometer if you are using their recipes - they've already done that for you.
  14. Thanks, Keith! Wanna teach a class?? I'd like to cover roses, leaves, fillers and lilies. Do you have anything going at the county? The Dunn book is just gorgeous in the flowers. And I actually really like the demonstrations and feel like I can start putting them together from this. Where I'm a little more than lost is all the equipment. Lord, I have enough supplies in my various hobbies to outfit an entire store so I have to be sparing in what I buy. I can see recycling my paint things for this, though, as I have new brushes that will likely be good for painting on fondant. I'm looking at a couple sites for basic tools. Got any good tips for where to buy?
  15. I think Steve's message is on the money. Not just in sugar work but in any field. For me it says that it's up to me to decide the priority I place on this career. And that just as I've chosen educational pathways in the past, I should do the same here. A $30 book might give me a lot, but $500 class could leap me ahead saving me endless time over the long haul. Sometimes it's just hard to think about the time and expense involved in that class and justify its value. And for me, with two small children it's difficult to consider as I'm sure it is for most of us. But because I know this to be absolutely true in my other art classes, it must be true here as well. There's a local artist who draws portraits and I simply can't wait to get into one of her always full classes. I already know how to draw portraits from photographs. I draw them pretty well. I will draw them much better when I've spent time with Lisa. I don't think this commentary should rankle any of us, but should make us ask ourselves how to get better, faster, smarter, whatever it takes. His perspective is from a teaching vantage point and answered a question I posed to him directly. I'm assuming that the advice he's given is directed to my stage of development and that for someone else it might be different. Start out right so you don't have to fix it later. Later, keep learning. Acknowledge that you don't know it all and can get better. Repeat cycle. That's how the valley of mediocrity is raised. For me, it's also knowing when to move on in teachers - when I've outgrown him/her even though I've loved the time and learned a ton. I took this drawing class at the Torpedo Factory (local art arena) and dropped out the first night. She was good artist but she was a terrible teacher for me. Elite is defined by your requirements and esthetics. I can tell you from the SCW book that came today that even though he's the "acknowledged master of his craft" (on the jacket) I'd never consider him for a class. Is he elite? Yes. Does his style correspond with mine? Nope. I'm sure I'd learn things from him, but if I have to make choices on where to spend my $$ it would be elsewhere. And the Dunn roses book is here as well. Beautiful flowers and I already have a better understanding of how to form them but the application of the floral sprays is just too overdone. But along my pathway of learning if I could take a class with him, I'd do it. And while, I'm lucky to be in the DC area with access to many good folks who do beautiful work, I'm sure that they exist in other corners of the world as well. What I do wonder is if these high end folks would really be willing to spend any time with someone else who's likely to be competition soon? I'm still a little bit tentative about asking for help like this since I'm never sure how it will be taken. Any advice there? Heck, though, I don't have a clue right now what I want to do with this knowledge! I need to find a way to marry art and baking. It comes together in beautiful, decorated edible art. There must be a place for me somewhere in there and I suspect it's cake. Good thing I love cake!
  16. Steve, I'm assuming you mean the intermediate piping techniques book by Lindsay John Bradshaw. Amazon has a bunch of her books - I assume this is a she - from miniature cakes to collaborations with other artists. Miaomee, I learn by research as well. Though I understand Steve's point about needing to learn by methods other than the printed word. With painting, I taught myself a bunch up front but wasn't very good (though I didn't know it!) until I took a seminar with someone who really changed the way I looked at what I was doing and how. I have a voracious research habit so I'll need to know everything I can before I take that class, mostly from a self preservation standpoint. I truly don't like to look stupid! Ladyyoung, To each his own - which is why the world is a rich place. I understand the trends don't really support much of the past work but things always have a way of coming back around. I went and took a look at my own wedding cake from 1996. Big, white cake with lots of piping and strings! I thought it was glorious... Today I'd choose a sleeker look but my tastes have changed in many other areas as well.
  17. Polydextrose might be an option here. From what I understand it has NO sweet taste at all. Danisco makes it: http://www.daniscosweeteners.com/web/dsw/p...se/litesse.html I've not used it but a chemist who specializes in sugars told me it might be something that would help in sorbet making, since I'm working in a blend of sugars, not just sucrose. And I can't use an invert because I don't want to up the glycemic value. If you do use this, please post your results! Glycerin, lecithin and a gum stabilizer worked very well for me when I've made sugar free ice cream. I'm able to keep a nice mouthfeel and scoopability for days. I used xanthan gum but I'm willing to bet that any other stabilizer will do the same. When I use the lecithin powder I make sure to pulverize it first. I have yet to use the liquid. I used about 2T glycerin per quart and 1/4 t of gum.
  18. Steve, Thanks for the concise reply on this. I am completely new to gumpaste but in general learn at a very rapid rate and am very dextrous and creative as an artist. I can paint these same flowers in acrylics with very realistic results and want to marry that with edible art. Generally the more complex something is the more it appeals to me! Dunn's work, though probably out of my reach today, is the kind of realism that appeals to me in roses especially. Here is a picture of something I did a couple years ago, after one of my first classes in acrylics: I have decent piping skills that I'm refining again. It's been many, many years since I did any decorating but at one time was quite proficient with piped flowers and stringwork, etc. I don't particularly care for that now, just my preference, and would prefer to work with something more lifelike and dimensional and with more ability to mold into a shape that I want, such as a turned leaf or the folds on a rose petal. Can't wait to get my brushes out and see this come to life with color. I saw most of the books you referenced on Amazon and will go back and look at those again. The Vincent book appealed to me once so I'll take another look. The Bradshaw book I can't remember seeing but I'll take a look at it for what sounds like a refresher on basic skills? I also got the Margaret Braun book. The style is too much for me. Not too hard, but too much, too decorated. But the individual elements are great for me to look at since I like the scrollwork and embellishments, which again I've used in painting. I know that's outside the scope of my original post about flowers! Classes. I would like to take some once I dig into a couple books and try my hand. Do you know of anything local in the DC area? Dying genre. Can you elaborate? Cake decorating in general, gum paste realistic flowers, working in fondant? Or the lack of good talent to do it?
  19. After making dozens and dozens this holiday season I can say that the frozen cookies thaw just fine and taste great. Are they exactly the same as fresh baked and iced, no. But they are still very good. Though for me, I believe you should just eat them frozen as it's what I've always done. My mom used to "hide" them from us in the freezer, so we just ate them like that. Man, a bite into a frozen sugar cookie with peppermint butter/confectioner's sugar icing and I'm a kid again! And if it's blue icing, so much the better!
  20. Thanks! I actually figured out that I needed to use "sugar art" as my search words and was able to find these books. I had them in my cart at Amazon but wanted to make sure that the experts validated them before I bought! I'm getting the SCW book, the Alison Procter and the Sugar Roses by Alan Dunn.
  21. I'd like to get some good books on how to do beautiful, realistic flowers but haven't seen anything so far that shows how to do these flowers from beginning to end. Any recommendations?
  22. This year I made snowflakes, lots and lots of snowflakes.... I used the sugar cookie recipe from Cook's Illustrated - after trying out several others as well - and find it offers the best taste and results. I tinted the royal icing a very light mint and used blue pearl luster dust on the edges. These were an enormous hit!
  23. I never got it!! A "stolen" recipe....
  24. I just saw an ad on TV for a liquid product for cuts that you can buy over the counter. You just brush it on cuts and it puts a seal on it. I can't remember the maker but I think it would be a great idea for cases where bandaids will come off. This seems like what they use in the hospital. I thought I'd try it for when my hands are dry and cracked this winter.
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