JeanneCake

Correct use of gloves is not pointless. The man in front of me was using a pen that was left on the counter to fill out the labels. He went back and forth three times while I was there. At the post office, if you need to fill out a form, it would be prudent to have your own pen or at least there should be sanitizer for your hands after use. The key pad also gets touched a lot during the day. If the staff isn't cleaning it between customers, washing your hands when you get home isn't going to help the fact that you touched the door handles to get out of the PO, the door handle and steering wheel of your car, etc. I own a bakery and our health dept is telling us to disinfect all surfaces (door handles, keypads, etc) customers may touch, after each customer. They send email reminders every week. We are doing contact free curbside pick up; we put the client's order on a cart, wheel the cart outside and then after the customer is back in their car, we go get the cart and disinfect it (handles, surface, each part of it) for the next order. I know that's not possible for every business, but I'm taking every precaution I can, where I can.

Yesterday I shipped out 12# of yeast to various friends across the country; the # boxes were $3.63 from the distributor. It cost more to ship than to buy 😄 I have 6 left from the case. It was the first time I'd been anywhere except the bake shop, home or restaurant depot. Utter madness; one man kept going back and forth to the counter (and I would move each time he did, 6 feet away means come prepared for heaven's sake), no mask, no gloves, nothing. I had to repackage two of the shipments (I had been reusing the Rancho Gordo boxes, my labels were previously filled out and I brought shipping tape) and when I got back in line, the woman ahead of me was holding a mask in her hands. No gloves. 🤦‍♀️ I myself had a mask and gloves on (I keep a box in the car), and for good measure, a clorox wipe to use on the keypad.

that was an interesting video...before they showed what the product was, I was thinking it was a chocolate financier. Your recipe is going to make a fudgy brownie; I think you need some cocoa powder in there. I lost track but I thought I saw liquid butter (at the start), then sugar, cocoa, shortening, liquid eggs - and molasses maybe? so if you're open to a different formula, maybe go with a chocolate financier?

@shelby where are you? i have two pounds of (dry) yeast at the shop, I will send you some eta: forgot the @ sign

It looks like there's some type of divider already in place, in that box. What if you took pre-cut deli paper or food grade tissue paper and made sort of a trough with it (so it covers both valleys in the box and just slides over the top of the divider); then you could simply put three truffles on each side? Or put them in a paper cup meant for mini cupcakes or confections (depending on the size of the piece) and no tissue....?

They're sold out of all three models so I guess I am safe for now

I've had only two responses in the Pastry Arts group on Facebook. The first reply mentions her mentor as having made a box with 1" furnace filters (she doesn't say anything about a fan though). The second response is someone who fashioned a pop up laundry basket with a hole cut on one side. So I don't think this is helpful at all What if you asked them to give you the names of some recent purchasers - or ask them to give *your* name to the buyers and have the buyers call you if they want to share their experiences. And @spennie - I would contact CakeSafe and let them know what your experience has been. Their product is being misrepresented by the place you bought it from, and CakeSafe would want to know. They may not be able to do anything but they should know that this shop did not have the right information when recommending their products and as a result you are out a lot of $ and have something that isn't helpful to your work.

What's the child proofing that's required? Something that you can't open single-handedly? Or something sealed shut (with a heat sealer) that requires scissors or a sharp edge to open? Could you merely tape the sides of those 6-insert boxes - is that considered child-proof? I'm not around little children much lately but they are pretty inquisitive and inventive when they have to be

Hi! I know of CakeSafe as a company from their cake carrying totes, which are also exorbitantly priced (at least, when you're doing 14 weddings a weekend, I'm not buying 14 of these and then having to get them back from all the hotels and country clubs....) I don't have any of their products so I can't speak to their quality or performance from personal experience. I know other bakers sing the praises of this booth for airbrushing; one baker even did an airbrushing demo in a white dress to show how well it worked. Let me ask around in my cake circle and see what people say. Will report back. PS; if you sign up for their email list, they offer promotions and deals periodically so that helps with the pricing.

Host's note: this was split from the How to enrobe these marshmallows topic. I need to get off the internet. I just saw a video for a combination (?) Chocovision Revolation 3Z tempering/enrober/skimmer - for which I am not buying, trust me. I'm getting a 60 quart Hobart before I buy any (more) chocolate equipment (because I have an EZ temper, so @Jim D. the dark side has already started it's slow tease) and with what's going on in the world at the moment, I am in no position to spend $7k just because I'm obsessed with marshmallows. But wow, that is one cool machine. Sigh.

Thanks @curls and @teonzo for the help. I will try those techniques this week. You are right about the consistency of the coating chocolate, Teo, I did notice it got thick/viscous faster than I thought it would, I am sure because I was fumbling and thinking "dip the bottom see what happens" and "dip the top see what happens" "dip the whole thing see what happens". When we dip cheesecake pops, we are fast enough with the dipping that we run out of chocolate before there's a change in the consistency. The dark side is beckoning....come to the chocolate side, Jeanne, come to the chocolate side 🤣

With the current COVID-19 crisis closing things left, right and center; I am taking advantage of the enforced time off to play in the kitchen. I have been obsessed with the different marshmallow offerings from a shop in Chicago and another one in Arizona. So I've long used the recipe from Nightscotsman, adapted slightly to use less gelatin and whipped a few minutes less for a slightly softer marshmallow that's easy to pipe into forms or on tarts.... I'm using the cylinder flexi molds, sprayed; filled half way then I'm sinking a truffle into it and then piping more marshmallow on top. I let it sit overnight then I'm dipping them into coating chocolate. I need a way to make these look neat and because I am by no means a chocolatier, I am asking (begging!) for some assistance in making these look good. I don't know what I don't know so assume you are talking to a complete novice (because you are!) when offering help. I tried dipping just the bottoms. The tops of them aren't really level so they wobble a bit and the fluid chocolate drips on one or more sides when I'm dipping the bottoms. Then I "glaze" the tops, letting the chocolate run down the sides (I just scrape up the run off and add it to the next batch of coating chocolate I melt.) I try to slide them before the chocolate sets up too much in an effort to minimize how much they stick to the grid. Some challenges: I don't have any cocoa butter at the moment and am unlikely to get some any time soon given the current situation. (We have a lot of coating chocolate because we use it to dip cheesecake lollipops). I also don't have a finer grid either (if that matters at all). Am I doing this the wrong way, or approaching it the wrong way?

I did a delivery today to one of my accounts and I arrived at the same time another distributor's truck arrived. They had ordered 12 cases of TP and it was out of stock; and if the distributor did have any, it was limiting purchases to one case per account. So it's not just consumers having supply issues. My next order with GFS (Gordon Food Service) is for Friday and I'm going to ask my rep tomorrow about their paper goods/janitorial supplies situation. And to anticipate any questions - it's a private resort; the delivery is for client tastings that are 2 people only so the restrictions and limits in place don't affect this but all my other accounts have cancelled their orders for the end of this week and all of next week. We are going to adopt the take out/curb side pick up model and the staff baked today so we can have cakes and desserts available for the weekend.

I love the idea of cardamom! I'd put the powder in with the gelatin, only because if you add it toward the end of mixing, it might lump.

Or try it with half and half; or light cream. I used to make creme anglais with milk until a chef asked me to make his recipe which was thicker. His recipe used half and half and I've since adopted his recipe as ours For pastry cream though, I always use milk. To me, a well made pastry cream is luxurious enough with milk! Don't waste the cream

If you liked the flavor, you can try again and reduce the gelatin (do 1.5 packages or 2). I've been using the marshmallow recipe from Nightscotsman on RecipeGullet; it's an adaptation of one from Martha Stewart and it doesn't contain egg whites. You bloom the gelatin in water or fruit puree, then add the hot syrup and beat, adding air and creating volume; then you pour it out into a foil lined pan, sprayed with pan spray. It sits for a few hours then you dust it with potato starch/confectioners sugar and cut then store airtight. You can definitely fold in some of the powdered peanuts but the banana puree might be a challenge, since it's relatively thick compared to puree......

I have been wondering how you are faring, Teo, so I am glad to hear you are ok. I am having to get bleach wipes and hand sanitizer from my distributor since the grocery stores are out and we are using quite a bit of both at the shop. Staff asked today if they could order these for themselves. Of course I said yes; I am lucky I have this option. I find myself wondering where we will be at Easter; at Mother's Day.... will we be through the worst of it or still managing. Kim, you've made me remember I should have a plan for milk; the kid can go through gallon in a day if he's not careful! Dry milk powder; I haven't thought of that in years. My mother used it (as well as the synthetic "hamburger") about 40 years ago when we were young. My brother definitely did not like it and we all refused to eat the "hamburger" (she made sloppy joes with it and it was not a success)! I think she tried stretching the milk with the powder and water instead of a direct replacement but either way, my brother was not having it!

At work, I have a cream cheese/whipped cream filling that is light, fluffy and addictive. It has cream cheese, confectioner's sugar, soft butter, vanilla and whipped cream. It doesn't weep and would work as a topping for your PB pie. Compared to a gelatin-enhanced lightly sweetened whipped cream, it's going to be fussier to prepare. For filling and frosting one pumpkin roll you'd mix 24 oz of cream cheese, 4 cups 10x confectioners sugar, 1 cup very soft butter, 2 tsp vanilla and optionally 4 TBL grand marnier. Beat with a paddle until smooth and creamy. In a separate bowl, whip 2 cups of cream to soft peak, then fold into the cream cheese mixture. For your PB Pie, you probably only need half or even a quarter of this recipe.

I wonder, if you asked nicely, if they would sell you some of their glasses?

Far, far too much butter. You need only enough to hold it together; add a third of a cup and mix well, then see if it holds when you make a fist with some in your palm. If not, add a little bit more and keep testing it. Spray the sides/bottom of the pan and then tamp down the bottom (use the bottom of a flat glass or small 3" cake pan). You can just sprinkle it on the sides instead of trying to make a thick crust on the sides. And, for future reference - if you try an oreo crumb crust, you just need to grind the cookies with the filling - no need for any additional sugar or melted fat. I struggled with an overly greasy oreo crust when I subbed oreos for the graham crumbs in a recipe similar to yours above).

I found both of these today at the supermarket and indeed, I have taken one (two?) for the team. My advice is don't waste your $. The chocolate marshmallow is blah; no flavor, nothing. Crispy cookie though! The caramel coconut tastes like artificial flavoring For a second opinion, the kid ate one of the chocolate marshmallow ones and doesn't want any more. This from a kid who can polish off an entire package without realizing it (plus, he's 6'4" so truly this is just a snack for him ) The supermarket still had dark chocolate ones and I wish I had bought one of those.

We got ours two days ago and I haven't even had a chance to open the box yet!

Our menu is pretty much the same every year - Havana Moon chili from epicurious.com (minus the almonds, sub golden raisins for dark and extra olives), some variation of chicken wings, nachos, bleu cheese dip and crudites, and the Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies from Maida Heatter's Book of Great American Desserts and The Ultimate Carmelitas from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Christmas Cookie book. I'm only in it for the commercials, to be honest. I don't talk during the game because I ask too many questions and can't figure out what is going on, on the field. I'm much more into the Puppy Bowl!

AUI Fine Foods sells it www.auiff.com. I buy it regularly, it comes in a 5.5 # box

l got an email that there's a Home and Cook Sales flash sale starting on Monday. Hope it can be helpful.