JeanneCake

Personally I don't like this meringue buttercream when it's made with margarine (I don't like margarine or shortening but sometimes that's what the client wants/can have, so we do); but I think with soy butter it might be better and adding the fruit powder (with Kerry's excellent advice about a little citric acid to help) is an excellent idea.

Even with just a few turns of the mixer, it seems to separate. In RLB's Cake Bible, she uses a stand mixer fitted with a whip and a very small amount of granulated sugar to make a mascarpone cream; we tried this and the first time it worked, but not since. Her recipe notes that her first attempt at it, it curdled drastically and she just kept beating it and eventually it emulsified and became smooth. *That's* never happened to us (the smooth part!) I wonder if it needs something else in there besides sugar. When you make a tiramisu filling (with egg yolks, a few tablespoons of liquor maybe, some sugar); it doesn't separate. Even the BelGioioso site has you whipping it for a minute with a hand or stand mixer when making a tiramisu dip so I just don't have an answer

We have a dessert for one of our clients that calls for a mascarpone filling; made simply with the cheese and confectioner's sugar. Every time they're beating it to death and it separates/curdles. (We are usually making big quantities, 10# of cheese at a time and using a 20 qt hobart). Yesterday I had to buy another case of mascarpone because it happened again. Is anyone out there that makes a smooth (like a meringue buttercream smooth) mascarpone filling that is willing to share a recipe/technique? I think this stuff curdles/separates because of the fat content and temperature (like when you try to whip buttercream that is still cool) and how long it gets mixed but I can't figure out a good solution.

Can you make an italian meringue (or swiss) buttercream and use a non-dairy butter substitute like a soy or rice butter? We do that for people who are lactose intolerant but they know, for instance, they can have a certain type of margarine (like Fleischmanns') so they will ask us to use that in place of butter. As for cake, another recipe to experiment with is one my mother made frequently for us as kids; it's called "Wowie Cake" (easy to find online), it is dairy free and egg free; and if you want a vanilla version, you can sub out the cocoa powder with almond or hazelnut flour.

Thank you @robirdstx! When I made it, it was just the Velveeta and drained tomatoes, and I did one batch in the microwave and when it cooled it was not so wonderful; so I did more on the stovetop and it did the same thing (clumpy when cooled). Now that I know where the Velveeta is, I'll try it your way!

I think the only reason(s) I have to watch the game (who am I kidding; I don't understand football. At. All.) is 1) for the commercials and 2) to actually see this Goodell person have to be polite to Tom Brady - because if even *I* can understand the science behind "deflating" footballs, this guy shouldn't be in charge of making ice cubes, much less a football organization. Anyway I know people have strong feelings about the Pats (I myself am neutral, but it is a welcome diversion from politics), I do not. Our game day menu will be very similar to previous years: Havana Moon Chili (from the epicurious.com site) minus the almonds and with extra olives, over rice for most of the guests and over spaghetti for my husband. I am partial to teriyaki chicken wings and veggies and hummus; a few years ago someone wanted the Velveeta/RoTel tomato dip and I embarrassed myself in the supermarket by having to ask where the Velveeta was because I couldn't find it with the other cheese in the dairy aisle so I might be asked to make that again. How do you keep it from getting clumpy after a while? Anyone remember the artichoke dip that was popular years ago? I might make that if I can find a recipe.....

Oh my goodness, I'm late to the party! I just today ordered an Instant Pot and it will arrive Wednesday. It's not wedding season (I'm a baker) so I am looking forward to learning all about this over the course of the next two winter months! I originally thought I wanted a slow cooker but I just could not get past the leaving food in it for a few hours before it actually started to cook (assuming an 8 hour cycle); several people recommended the IP so I took the plunge! I'll be going through the entire thread(s) this weekend and thanking you all in advance for helping me to shorten the learning curve. And, I did buy a glass cover, but not an extra gasket so that's on the wish list for next time.

I'm thinking of the good old "Wowie" cake - it has the open crumb you're looking for and if you short the oil in it, you'd be close to the right texture. You can sub out a nut flour for the cocoa and get a non-chocolate version. If you bake it in a half or quarter sheet pan, you can get a shorter cake without having to torte it and it should hold up (not disintegrate) when you soak it, providing you're not drenching it.... what's the big picture for this dessert - is it layered with mousse or cream or something? How it is served (sliced like a cake or pie)? Glazed with something?

I saw this shared online but my French is very very rusty and I can't figure out how to get it to display in English. Can someone help me figure out how to get an English version of this article? http://www.lemonde.fr/m-gastronomie/article/2016/10/14/les-dessous-de-la-patisserie-de-luxe_5013853_4497540.html

Thank you for the pictures, that's exactly what I want to do. There's a plastics fabricator in the next town who can cut a shelf for the bottom too (I've had them make acrylic bases for cakes). We had a really good year this year so I have $ to do this and I'm happy to know about the free shipping from D&R, thank you @pastrygirl. I'll measure the frames tomorrow to make sure they'll fit on the table. Thank you all for your help!

So years ago I bought a used double Martellato guitar; and I'm thinking of getting a guitar cutter table for it; I am tired of moving it around and I don't want to give up space on a work table (plus keeping the other frames safe is a challenge). It doesn't fit on a speed rack and I think I need to just bite the bullet and spend the $ for a table specifically built for a guitar. I saw on the tcf sales site a table meant for a double Dedy and it's half the price of another place I'd seen advertising a table on line ($1500). Do you use a dedicated table? Does Martellato make a table for their guiltar and I just can't find it? Any opinions? Comments? Advice?

How did you decide on a name for the new restaurant?

I shake the previously cut/dusted marshmallows around in a strainer to get the potato starch off and then dip them. It helps to keep some potato starch around just to keep your fingers from getting sticky; we usually torch the tops before we dip them. I dip them just before they get delivered; usually we don't hold them (after dipping) for more than a day....

thank you, everyone, for sharing your most painful moments here with us; being an emotional sort myself, I want to reach out and hug each of you in an effort to shift the pain for just a moment. All of you have reinforced how fragile and precious life is and to show love and kindness always.

Years ago, my friend Annie AKA Chefpeon was testing Pichet Ong's pate a choux recipe (it's fantastic. I'll even eat it plain it's that good). Like teonzo, she cautions that the amount of egg is always variable, and dependent on how much you cook it, and how much you let it mix (to release the steam). If she thought it needed more egg, she added the yolk first and then tested the dough again; adding the white if it needed it. Using teonzo's method you'd just add more of the mixed egg in spoonfuls as needed. I've been thinking eggs are getting smaller over the years; I have several recipes that call for a dozen large eggs, and for the last five or so years, I'm getting a different yield from the recipe, all other things being equal.

If you're looking for commercial use, try Amoretti. They are based in California and they are very helpful and offer a wide variety of flavoring options - for hot/cold beverages, baked goods..... You can buy by the ounce or the barrel. We use some of their compounds and I've been very pleased with what I've tried. It might be an option for you. I've heard they are moving toward serving the consumer market as well in the future; perhaps in the new year.

I've been baking a creamier style cheesecake in my convection ovens for years, and I typically do individual 3 inch rings and only the larger sizes (8, 9 or 10 inch rounds) during the holidays. I'm not using a bain marie for the individuals, but I do with the larger sizes. I don't use the buttered parchment circles on top. I've found I need to lower the temp - for the rings I'm baking at 250 (the oven runs a little hot so the oven thermometer reads around 275) for about 30 minutes then letting them sit in the turned-off oven. I tend to get more air bubbles, not any pitting; and I would say that maybe the bubbles could look like craters. We're making some individuals this week so I will take pictures if I am there when they get made.

Pitted in what way? large air pockets or small bubbles? Is this a dense cheesecake recipe? (as in, NY Style?) Had you been having problems with it baking before? Did this method give you an improvement or no change as far as consistency/cracking/etc? I guess I'm trying to figure out if the pitting is new with this method (with the paper) or if it always happened and the paper made no difference.

Our local fishmonger closed up shop when rents became too exorbitant in our town; but now he runs a "shore to door" entity. So I can still get the amazing fish he sold, but I can only get it on Tuesdays and Fridays. It's worth planning ahead. I'm north of Boston (the fishmonger is out of Gloucester) so if you're interested in his info, PM me.

OK, we need to find someone who works at the Chiko Roll factory... LOL!

So I was browsing the Chef Rubber site today and came across this in the food additive section, and I immediately thought of this thread. I have no idea what this stuff is, or what it does (or doesn't do), but it strikes me as one of those things that a commercial operation would have that is not available to the average home cook. While it's possible that Chef Rubber probably ships internationally, there has to be some equivalent type of distributor or specialty trade retailer who is closer to you....? https://shop.chefrubber.com/item/501026S/Crisp-Coat/

I'd paint the plastique with a little thinned corn syrup if you want to make it shiny - not too much, just the thinnest possible coating. Kind of like the clear edible glue they use for fondant, but you don't have to source it. the film strip on the pictured cake is quite thin (narrow) and putting holes in something that small is going to make you crazy. Can you make it wider so you aren't cross-eyed after? Not that running a dark chocolate line to mark the sections and top/bottom is going to be any more fun If you were to do that, then I'd just do tiny dots in white for the edges.

you could also use modeling chocolate, also known as "chocolate plastic", chocolate plastique, or candy clay. You can even make it yourself, there's lots of recipes. There's a very old thread somewhere here about it too. You're basically seizing melted chocolate with warmed corn syrup and mixing it; it will stiffen and firm up then you can roll it and shape it just as you would fondant, except it's not fondant You can curve and curl it just like a strip of film....

I've never done this myself, so I have no experience to offer - however..... A few years ago, people were doing "surprize inside" cakes where they made cake batter, colored it, then (slightly under)baked it in that cake ball pan. You then baked another cake, and placed half the batter in a pan, placed the baked cake balls in, then poured the rest of the batter over said cake balls, then bake as usual. One of my favorite Maida Heatter recipes is the chocolate brownie cheesecake - you bake a pan of brownies, cut them into small-ish cubes, then add it to a vanilla cheesecake. It's fantastic! So, presumably you could do the same with brownies in your usual cake batter. Unbaked cookie dough, I'm not sure about.

Ok, here's what Kerekes has: http://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?id=9534&categoryid=110 and they have a pullman loaf but it looks bigger than what you want: http://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?id=254&categoryid=110 This is from King Arthur https://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/canape-bread-tubes Maybe those will help?