JeanneCake

Hi ... question for professional pastry chefs .... Amoretti has been my go to for compounds for years, despite their rising costs over the last four years. They've got much more of an online presence now, and they are trying to push a lot of selling through their website. They are running a "Black Friday" sales promotion - you buy so much, you get so much off your order good through Nov 30. Since most of their compounds run between 70 and 100 for a 2.2# jar, I can really only afford to buy when there's a promotion. So I stock up once a year and get everything I will need for the next year. My order is currently up to almost 1,700 and when I asked if this qualified for free shipping, I was told no - because it was an online order. Free shipping was offered only for orders placed through a customer service rep and over $300. But, you can't use the promotion if you call in an order. I pointed out that the promotion does not contain any restrictions, nor does it say for online orders only but they are adamant that they will not allow me to place this order through a customer service rep and get the discount and if I go ahead with the online order, they'll give me a code for free shipping on my NEXT order. Are there alternatives to Amoretti out there with the same or better quality? I don't want to play this game with them any more. I'm a small business and to me, a $1700 order isn't chump change for such a specific product (I spend this on regular stuff like flour, sugar, dairy, etc on a weekly basis) and with so many other companies offering free shipping and sales promotions maybe it's time to explore other players in this space.

We didn't get a lot of cold cereal when I was a kid, either. I remember Kix and that's about it. Mostly we had the instant packets of oatmeal and I was allowed to boil the water for it myself from a young age (of which I was very proud. It was an electric stove - microwaves hadn't been invented yet - so my parents probably figured not much could go wrong). I did get the cinnamon frosted flakes but didn't really like them and no one else in house did either. My husband loves to snack on the flavored frosted mini wheats and the kid has been known to make an entire box of the blueberry ones disappear in a day.....I cannot keep enough Honey Bunches of Oats with almonds in the house either - and I'm not eating the cereal! LOL.. When I'm craving breakfast for dinner I want buckwheat pancakes or eggs in any way, shape or form.

I found them in the local Market Basket grocery store, but they weren't with the other Oreos in the cookie aisle, they were on a merchandiser up front with other holiday stuff. The package is small - smaller even than the usual specialty flavor packaging but I have to say I like these better than the mint ones At the rate I'm going, I'm going to need to buy several more packages in the next week!

If you like mint and chocolate, the peppermint bark oreos are quite good. Out of all the flavors they are throwing out there, this is the only one I've really enjoyed. (I like mint oreos so this isn't that far off; the mint in these is not as overwhelming).

Do you mean one cake that has three layers of cake in it? It would probably be anywhere from 4 to 6 inches tall in total. Or three stacked cakes? This would definitely need dowels in the bottom tier (to support the middle) and the middle tier (to support the top).... you can use bubble tea straws or the plastic dowels you can buy in the craft store. ETA: if you are doing a stacked cake, you also want to make sure the cake board (aka cake drum) is strong enough to not flex under the weight of the tiered cake. Each of the stacked cakes are built on a cardboard round that exactly matches the size of the round then you tape the bottom tier to the cake drum; etc...

I've made Black Cake a few times - it is *wonderful* and now I am wishing I had this thought a month or so ago so I could have started the fruit. Which brings me to a question for all of you seasoned fruitcake makers: how long can you macerate the fruit - maybe it would make sense to buy a pound or so of different fruits and just keep them in a glass jar with the alcohol year round so you can make the cake when you want to and with your favorite fruits (I am not fond of citron or the green cherries LOL) ?

Agree with pastrygirl; the springform pans aren't essential to the recipe (they probably use it so you can release the sides and get the cookie out more easily); you could probably use a small rectangular (quarter sheet) cookie or brownie pan if you lined it with a foil sling so you can remove the cookie easily.

She thought they were trying to fill the box too much; that seems like she thinks the problem was theirs? You can't fix a problem if you don't know about it and I would much rather a customer tell ME about a problem with my product than to tell everyone else online who can't help fix it! I'd be frustrated too, as a business owner.

There is such a wealth of knowledge here in the various threads and topics! Have you gone through some of the ones you are most interested in, as far as type of recipes? I'm not a chocolatier, yet I learn something every time I read a thread; people are very generous here with their time and knowledge.

cut down on the amount of gelatin and reduce the mixing by a minute each time to see where you want that product to be. I've been using Nightscotman's recipe for years and burned out two small KA mixers when I first started making it; then over the years I started to cut back on the gelatin and the mixing time. Now when I make a full sheet (pan, by doubling the recipe) of vanilla marshmallow; I'm using 1 5/8 ounces of powdered gelatin and beating for only 6 minutes. I get a firm enough set that I can still cut it (or pipe it in to a kiss shape) but sometimes it's still very soft (this happened a few times this summer and I suspect user error more than anything else and it was too "flabby" to cut into squares.)

@gfweb, I agree with your assessment! I really like the specialist I am working with now; but I feel like they nickle and dime you every possible step of the way. ADP is worse. I thought about doing Patriot Software but I really need someone else to handle this. I have too much on my plate and too terrified of mistakes!

What app or device do you )or your employer) use to track employee hours/schedule, etc. We are a small bakeshop (less than 5 employees) and use a clover device on a tablet for retail transactions. I'm looking for recommendations for a means to track employee hours instead of a paper system. I would like employees to be INSIDE the building to clock in (because I know someone would try to clock in from their phone while still in the parking lot) and I'd like to not have buddy punching. Paychex wants $55 per month (no contract) for their device, which I find outrageous considering what it is and what I am already paying them for payroll processing..... so I'm wondering what you use and would you recommend it?

FWIW I think the #18 cookie looks fine; I wouldn't reject it if I were buying. Sometimes I think we too often undercook pastry in this country - golden brown is appealing . I hope the rent you're paying takes into consideration the type and condition of the equipment there. The first kitchen I rented had ovens literally all over the facility - deck ovens, convection stacks and none of them worked right. When I said to the landlord how much I was wasting in figuring out what worked and didn't work, he shrugged and said he wasn't going to calibrate the ovens or do anything to them because they worked for what HE was doing (roasting stuff). If you decide to stay in this rental kitchen you might want to ask if they will consider rent relief if you calibrate the oven - but that might not solve the problem of an old oven... The incubator kitchen in this part of the state is fully equipped with brand new stuff and they are committed to keeping it in excellent working order because they are charging a kings ransom for it.

where are you located? Anywhere near Boston MA?

First: I am not trying to talk you into or out of buying a mixer. Don't spend money if there's no return on the investment! Having said that however ..... When I first started my business, I had the 20 qt hobart and ONE bowl. I'd have to wash it between batches which didn't seem to be such a big deal; I mean, it doesn't take that long, right? I didn't want to spend $200 on buying another bowl. I was cheap (I still am ) Then for some reason one day I DID buy a second bowl and it changed my production schedule OVERNIGHT! I could make two batches of buttercream one after another; I could get another batch of cake into the oven quickly. I still chuckle at how I thought I was saving $200 but spending by wasting my time . When you need it, you'll know. But keep an eye out for a good deal so you'll know it when it presents itself. I know next year I have to buy a bigger mixer; I cannot do 18 weddings in three days without a 60 qt mixer making buttercream.

@pastrygirl, if you have a choice, get the one that has the rocker switch and a timer dial like this one I've had both types and like this one. You can set to a specific time and walk away and it will stop (check the timing with a stop watch before you buy) which can be a big help if you are trying to multitask I hope I did this picture correctly.

I wonder about the size of the bowl; usually when there is an option to use a smaller bowl there's some kind of attachment that goes on the arms of the mixer to accommodate a smaller bowl but I don't see it pictured?

@pastrygirl - I have owed several 6 qt KA, a 7 qt KA, a 7 qt Viking, a 10 qt Thunderbird, and my old standbys at the shop the 20 and 30 qt Hobart. The little ones don't count; I've burned through three of the 6 qt KAs at the shop. I had to move my 7 qt from home to work and so far it's been fine for 2 years. We keep the 20 qt on a work table on wheels so we can move it if we need to; and not have to take up work table space. The 10 qt Thunderbird was the perfect size for cake batters (I could do a 4# butter batch of meringue buttercream in it) when I didn't want to use the 20 so I would say this 10 qt size might be perfect for you. But don't get the Thunderbird. It stopped working just after the warranty ended; my father thinks it's just the electrical switch but no one around here services this brand (they're in TX I think) and it is collecting dust in the basement. As much as I hate saying this; if there's a Restaurant Depot near you, check out what they have for 10 qt mixers.

Don't fall for the sales, discounts, coupons, what-have-you methodology .... do not train your customers to wait for a sale, or the end of the day or week (if you will close for multiple days in a row I mean) before you close for bargains. Don't let people try to tell you they want a discount because they are buying so much - your work multiplies with volume sales and that does not mean a discounted price. well, they will try, but don't go for it. And try to have something inexpensive that people on a fixed income CAN purchase. We use our cake scraps to make cake truffles - we make hundreds at a time in less than two hours but they last quite a long time in the freezer so we have them all the time. They are cheap to make (most of the cost is labor but we make them quickly and efficiently) and they are the least expensive thing we have in the case. Your product offerings are very different from mine, but perhaps you can make chocolate bark or something that can be priced so that you are not out of reach of the majority of your demographic if they are pensioners.

what they said. i have a layered "mousse" recipe (dark/milk/white) that calls for melting chocolate with rum and fluid heavy cream, then adding whipped heavy cream to it; it begins to set quickly and I don't need gelatin (it's the same method for each type of chocolate - the white chocolate is the only layer that needs gelatin and we add it to the warmed chocolate before adding the whipped cream.)

ok, tell us about this cheesecake recipe - I bet we can figure it out. In 30 years I have made SO MUCH cheesecake (and it's evolved over the years from the dense NY style in the early Maida Heatter books, to the lusciously creamy one in RLB's The Cake Bible; to the ones in Mary Crownover's cheesecake book, to the custard-y one in one of the Maida Heatter's book where you bake it at 250 for 8 hours - I kid you not, it is sublime- so describe away!

I think I have mixed feelings about this. I would give any of the recipes in my personal file to someone who asked; but the recipes I use at the shop (for things that I sell, like flourless chocolate cake, cheesecake) not so much. We feed people to make them happy, and sharing recipes, teaching someone a technique; that's all part of being a wonderful and generous cook. And the more good cooks in the world, the better.

I've seen recipes that use whole eggs for buttercream; I want to say it's called French buttercream but not sure. Any time I made RLB's neoclassic buttercream I had to start whipping the yolks almost before I put the sugar on to boil just to get any volume. I think the whole egg bcrm is going to be richer than swiss or italian but not as rich as the neoclassic. So now you have to try it and let us know what happens!

I know, LOL, I corrected myself when I edited the post! I just googled it because I don't know what poutine is, and since you didn't enjoy that one, what's it supposed to be like? Does the sauce change or does it change depending on where you go?

@Anna N why was the scrapple in box, without even a coating or something to protect the food from the box or vice versa? I myself have never had scrapple so I don't know what I'm looking at. Besides gravy, I think.... ETA For crying out loud I can't even read correctly today: poutine! not scrapple. I still have never had either one though....