JeanneCake

I am clearly doing something wrong - I bought a case of cocoa butter three or four weeks ago from AUI, powered up the EZ and left two containers in for 24 hours. Very lumpy so left it in another day. Still lumpy. Took them out, and forgot to put them back in for the day so the next day they went back in - still very seed-y, lump-y looking. No change after 24 hours. In desperation I melted it all out (took the CB to 93dF) put it back in to see what would happen. (I haven't changed the default temp setting, it's at 33.8) I've lost track of how long it's been in there but this is what it looked like at the end of the day yesterday. These *$&%^ chocolate bombs are killing me - I don't know how to temper chocolate to begin with and learning on a curve during a holiday season in the midst of a pandemic is probably not the best time to learn something new And I am learning that working clean when working with chocolate is simply not possible as a novice 🤣. What am I doing wrong? Should I have melted the CB to a higher temp? Or just wait longer? Edited to add: I don't really want to bother Kerry with such a trivial question because she's busy saving our lives in the pandemic so I'm hoping someone else has had this issue and can tell me what worked for them.

that makes me remember a line on several menus from various wedding venues "blah blah ... cake decorated to your perfection" 🙄 Seriously? WHO'S "perfection"??? Isn't that why there's a website dedicated to cake fails (cake wrecks) - that was somebody's "perfection" too 😄

Julia Child didn't refer to herself as a Chef; she in fact made mention of the fact that she'd never led a brigade so should not be referred to as Chef. The word that's getting to me is "artisanal" - not everything is artisanal 🤨 but I see it in regular rotation. I'm not saying there aren't artisanal producers but the term is being applied very loosely IMHO.

Yeah, where did you get the grilling bags? Those look great ....

All of our distributors (who ship to MA from NY, MD and across the country) have warned us that the carriers are "experiencing higher than usual volume" and to count on shipping delays. I'm not sure about the USPS. Better to plan for 3-5 days shipping just in case. Have you sent out test packages to see how things arrive? I think American buttercream made with all shortening is safer than a shortening/butter mix. Some of those UPS trucks are jammed to the gills with stuff so even if it's freezing out, your packages should be somewhat insulated against wild temp swings!

I succumbed to the hot chocolate bomb madness. I just ordered molds from D&R (2.75 inch), hopefully they'll be here in a week or so. I'm ordering cocoa butter from AUI this week and will make silk and then immerse myself this weekend learning. We use chocoa forte 60% as our basic, everyday ingredient chocolate and that's what I'm going to use to get the technique down. (we save the good stuff for mousse and ganache). So, the dark side beckons and I'm answering the call Please be patient with me as I navigate this new obsession.....I'm sure I'm going to be asking questions!!

@Shelby where could I find the tart recipe? I might want to try that!

There are members posting pictures (not their own) and asking how to make them because they've posted said pictures to their pages and now need advice on fulfilling orders for hundreds..

I do like your snowballs. I saw Ashley Vicos' chocolate bombs on her FB page (she's opened a confectionery shop in ATL) and she used chocolate scribbles on hers. Maybe I will just stick with marshmallows and leave well enough alone!

Would you make the half spheres in a solid plastic mold or a silicone one? I have plenty of silicone molds (the flexi sheets that have 20 or 30 forms in them) from making mousse bombes; I have never tried to mold chocolate in one. How would you keep the chocolate from cracking when you try to unmold it? And not have a flat spot on the bottom from resting on a sheet pan while it sets up?

A friend showed me a video clip of a hot cocoa bomb early this week; I'd never seen one before. And now it seems as if I'm seeing them all over social media. Is this a relatively new gimmick? It seems as if you just fill two half spheres with cocoa powder, flavoring and those tiny marshmallows then seal them .... maybe it's a thing for the upcoming winter months to keep people kids amused during a snow storm? Does anyone make them? What size are they?

I had a random thought about your ingredients - even though the brand hasn't changed, it's possible the formulation of the (sweetened condensed milk) could have been changed by the manufacturer. Perhaps it might be worth subbing a different brand of one of your ingredients to see if there's any difference? Or perhaps the pan you're making it in has new scratches/dents/dings (I once made meringue buttercream at a friend's bakery, using a pitted aluminum pan and the sugar syrup crystallized for the first time in the 5 or so years I'd been making buttercream ......)

We did a turkey breast roll one year (in addition to the roasted bird.) I'd wanted to try this recipe from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Melting Pot cookbook; it was rolled with proscuitto, herbs and something else. I remember it being delicious but we didn't end up repeating it for Thanksgiving; we had it a few times at Easter alongside lamb. That brings me to another food memory - the sausage bread from the Silver Palate cookbook. I used to have to make several - one for my mom, one for my best friend's husband and one for us to serve. It calls for an insane amount of herbs (chervil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, fennel, basil....) and some smoked mozzarella along with sausage. I always had to add more sausage to satisfy the masses. Maybe I'll surprise the husband and make it this year

Wow. Just, wow! ❤️

I knew I was living on borrowed time with our 24 year old fridge; it came with the (new) house and we haven't had any problems with it although my husband had been saying he thought it was sounding different. It's in a tight spot, with a useless cabinet above it and not very wide so our options were limited. Our appliance store was upfront with us in July when I ordered a new one, that it would likely be a minimum of 2 months. I also wanted a second freezer for the basement, they said freezers are selling out the day they come in. Both luckily arrived and were delivered last week. Neither of them are fancy, maybe they'd be called mid-range. I can't say I'm wild about the freezer (I'm not crazy about the way the shelves are arranged and I do not need storage on the door but so be it) but it's here and I can start to fill it. Even if there is no second wave, I'm trying not to have to venture out for Dec/Jan/Feb and make do with what I can freeze. I hate driving in the snow!

Happy Birthday @Shelby! Hope you have a GREAT day! 🥰

McVities! Thank you, I'd forgotten the name. And the supermarket that does curbside pick up stocks them (AND hobnobs too!) so thank you @AnnaN and @liuzhou - they're in my cart!

I liked Oreos, before they started messing with new flavors. They taste different to me as an adult but maybe it's because I know better. I am reminded of the oreo cookie cake in Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts; she was told that Oreos (at the time) were the best selling commercially made cookie in America so she says she chopped some oreos and added them to the cake she was in the middle of making. It's a great cake recipe BTW! I like Biscoff cookies (and the spread, that is addictive and I can't stay away from it if I have it in the house.) It's not a cookie, and I haven't had it in forever, but there was a British wholemeal digestive cracker/cookie that I loved. I didn't even need cheese or fruit with it. The Carr's one is the closest I'll get now I guess. Oh, wait! Lorna Doons. I could eat a whole package by myself without sharing as a kid! Another cookie I haven't had in a very long time .....

My first response was "no". Then I wondered how other people do them and this video popped up in a search. I don't know what others call this device, but I would refer to it as a sauce gun.

I've learned a few things from the pandemic, and shopping at Restaurant Depot ...... one day I went down an aisle I'd hadn't been in (I was wandering the store trying to wait until the lines were short). I stumbled on the aisle with powdered Knorr (and some other brand) mixes! Hollandaise from a POWDER?! Alfredo sauce from a powder? Seriously? Sometimes I am really naive, I had no idea you could cheat like that. Then I realized this is the savory side's "bucket frosting". Years ago I sheepishly asked my sale rep if they sold pre-made frosting (I had someone who wanted the Publix kind of frosting and didn't have shortening in house). She just started laughing, I was her only account still doing scratch baking.

I've always washed it by hand, and once or twice I foolishly used a knife to cut some salmon while it was on the grid and it definitely harmed the finish I might dig out the stainless grill and see how it works. ETA: I just looked up replacement parts, the nonstick grid is $47 and change....

Nice job! A beautiful day for a wedding and a lovely cake to match! Congratulations to the happy couple!

If it were a dough type consistency, I'd experiment with lining a rectangular bread/loaf pan with a sling of foil or parchment, press the mixture in, tamp it down, use the sling to get it out when it's firm, then slice it ..... ?

And then, touched broccoli with her hand ? .... blech I wonder if I would have the grace to offer her some hand sanitizer after seeing that. Knowing how other people had bad experiences engaging strangers, I likely wouldn't have but there's hope. Maybe. Maybe not ...

You can add more of the pink to get a vibrant hue....what kind of buttercream are you using?