JeanneCake

I do baby block cakes a lot; usually I use a 7" square and it's on the lines of the picture Tri2Cook linked to. I make four layers of cake and three thin layers of filling. The height isn't 7" tall, but more like 5 or 6 and it works. It isn't a perfect cube, but I don't need a perfect cube for the effect. It's a PITA to get squared edges but the reality is, there's a border or some other decorative effect at the edges that helps to hide any imperfections that might occur Usually if they need to serve a lot of people, I suggest they get four individual blocks and have each one a different letter: B A B Y. It is more work for me, but it's easier for them to transport (I put them on separate boards, they move them close together when they display them). If you already have a 4" pan, you could just bake a LOT of 4" squares and do the four layers cake/three layers filling idea and make four blocks and avoid the whole stacking issue altogether. But that's only if you like the idea and need that much cake. But there's nothing wrong with leftover cake!! I love the Peninsula Grill filling, I use the food processor to grind up the shredded coconut so it's not quite so long when you're eating it. I think this would work with either size, because it is going to be thin and not a thick slather. (If it were a thick layer of filling, it would be a hazard, I agree.) Use a buttercream dam around the edge for insurance. You'll be fine!

I'd use a bamboo skewer or dowel to anchor the two together because you're driving with it for a long time. It won't hurt and gives you a measure of security in case the roads are bumpy or under construction. You're building the 4" block on a cardboard, right? Otherwise I think you're fine. If you can, chill the finished cake overnight before you start on your trip and keep it on a flat surface - the floor or cargo area - while driving. I once had a woman pick up a two tier cake (it was small) and she put it on a suitcase (flat surface, remember?!) in the back seat and drove with it. The first time she went around a corner, it slid, and the top tier kept sliding after the bottom tier stopped

can you find a dark beer to use in the Chocolate Stout cake recipe? The recipe is on epicurious, search for Guiness Cake or Stout cake to find it.... It's not traditional by any stretch of the imagination, but at least it would be in keeping with the spirit of Octoberfest!

I get them from a variety of sources: Mona Lisa, Dobla, Swiss Chalet and Albert Uster. The first two are manufacturers which distributors probably carry, and Albert Uster (auiswiss.com) and Swiss Chalet ship nationwide if you can't find a local distributor.

Hope it was as delicious as it looked....

Because I have all of Maida Heatter's books and in some cases, have worn through several copies of some of those titles, I happen to know that today, Sept 7, is Maida Heatter's birthday. She lists a "Sept 7 Cake" and in the front story of the recipe, says she created it for her birthday. She's been an inspiration to a lot of other pastry professionals (Rose Levy Beranbaum comes to mind) as well as legions of home cooks. The first book (of hers) I bought was "New Book of Great Desserts" and the first thing I made from it was the Lemon Mousse, which was fabulous. Then I made the Paris Brest, and The Best Damn Lemon Cake (she's not kidding either on that one) and it launched me as the best neighbor because I made almost everything and gave it away People I worked with years ago still ask me about the Oreo Cookie Cake and the Sour Cream Almond Cake is hands down the best cake ever. I use some of her recipes for my current product list, in fact: the Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies, the California Fruit Bars, Chocolate Gobs, her Hamentaschen and the Queen Mother's Cake. I used to look forward to the new books she came out with, it was a thrill to start cooking my way through a new book. This was long before the web and blogs and people documenting their experiences in cooking their way through an entire book. It was sad to read in the liner notes when her husband and daughter had passed away. I wonder how she is doing and what's she's up to. We need a category for "celebrity chef gossip" like the way they have entertainment news ! I posted this here in P&B because I couldn't think of another category that fit better but I'm really just curious about what she's up to lately? Enjoying retirement? Working on another book? She doesn't have a web site as far as I can tell. Anyone know? In any case, Happy Birthday Maida Heatter, hope it was a sweet one!

Brian, are you making Hamentaschen? I could go for those any time of year, and I'm not Jewish!! I love the recipe from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts, minus the orange rind in the dough. Her rugelach are good but RLB's are better (cream cheese dough) So now I'm intrigued. What are teglach? Is there a history behind them (sort of like the tricornered Haman's hat for the aforementioned Hamentaschen)? I love recipes with history!

Managed to see the Big Bash catering "challenge" over the weekend, and wondered whether anyone else saw it. I thought the judging was inconsistent - to tell one company their appetizers were not too creative but then to have them go on to place second by a hair's breadth seemed not to add up so maybe that was more the editing than anything else. Personally I liked Giada's Big Bash show much more than this kind of challenge - I liked seeing how an established company made a big event happen. Did anyone else see it? What did you think?

In the glow of the engagement, it's hard to think about a divorce. But that's where I'd start and as Annie says, where a contract is crucial. Brainstorm about EVERYTHING - some things that come immediately to mind are hours, compensation, time off, marketing, media appearances, writing (you might write articles or even a book, you never know); who owns the recipes and what happens to them after you separate; a non-compete clause, can you maintain your business in that location if you are no longer partners or would you have to move? Find out do you really mesh on a daily basis: What do each of you like and dislike about being a business owner? A pastry chef? A boss? What makes you cranky? Is it just the two of you or will you hire others? Even the best of partners can have problems - I've heard the Silver Palate founders started the business as strangers, became friends for decades and then they parted ways and I'm not sure if it was a bitter parting or not. Think about the strengths each of you bring to the business; what are the weaknesses that still exist after you join forces? What are the alternatives? Can you buy her equipment and hire her or does she only want to be a partner? Is this the right time for you to expand? I could go on and on.... but these are just the rhetorical questions! Good luck.

Use less cream with a white chocolate ganache. So my usual dark choc ganache is 2# choc, 8 oz butter; 2# cream. For white choc ganache, I'd use 2# choc (no butter) and 1# cream to start with and see if the consistency is what you want. Different brands of choc will behave differently with various amounts of cream so there's some playing room there.

I've never had the original cake... but I've used the filling recipe from Epicurious, and definitely put the coconut in the food processor first so it is easier to eat. How would your recollection compare to the epicurious recipe - for the filling, I mean. Any changes that you would suggest for me the next time I make the filling ?

You could... the fondant will stay fluid for a while when it's still warm, but you'd have to work quickly and the cake (already crumb coated) would have to be well chillled. But I'd probably use a white choc ganache instead, come to think of it. The thing with the poured fondant is that it can wrinkle if you were to move the cake, it can crack at the edges and you'd lose bits here and there (that happens with my petit fours if I am sloppy with them. I ended up switching to coating chocolate for the petit fours, it tastes better and I get better coverage with them, but you couldn't use that on a cake!)

Poured fondant is most likely what they are referring to, not rolled fondant. This is the stuff you use to coat petit fours, the tops of eclairs... If you were to purchase poured fondant, it would come in a tub or block; you just melt it over hot water for use. If you are looking for a recipe to create the poured fondant, the food processor poured fondant recipe in the Cake Bible is a good one to use and easy to make. Waiting for it to cool is the most time consuming part of the process.

I asked about this a few years back, we had a thread on it that might help you: Sugarveil thread

I have better luck with liquid candy colors than the powdered ones (I always get tiny beads that are noticeable, especially with the red, when I use powder) and the color is very true. I'd almost rather color chocolate than color buttercream!

How big is the logo? What about using chocolate to create it? Use a piece of acetate, get the logo in reverse, outline the black and red areas, fill in the colors and then "flood" the back of the whole thing in white. Since you're tracing the logo, you're not really piping freehand so no worries there. I find that the bigger I make these chocolate things, the more prone I am to breaking them so coating the back helps with that. Another trick from the Amazing Annie There's also something I've heard of called a frozen buttercream transfer, which is similar to the chocolate technique, only using buttercream instead and freezing it as you create it. I don't have any experience with this so I can't comment on whether it is easier or harder, but maybe it is worth looking into?

If you don't already have one, here are some cutters for Japanese maple leaves: Tinkertech Japanese Maple Leaf Cutter

I was about to suggest lemon extract, but that also contains alcohol. There's a new sprayable luster dust available from the UK company PME. I've bought it from Pfeil and Holing, but it's also available from CalJava. In fact, CalJava sells a silver airbrush color and maybe that would work....

I'm with the ancestors Are these being passed or are they a stationary display? Or a little of both? Depending on how easy it is to get the desserts, that could make a big difference in how much gets eaten. Is this at night or a brunch? I'd go with 6 pieces per person too.

The method SugarSeattle is describing is for a Swiss Meringue (versus Italian Meringue and French Meringue). In a swiss meringue, you heat the whites and sugar (usually to about 160) and then beat until it increases in volume, usually about triple. With italian meringue, the whites are beaten (sometimes with sugar) and then a hot sugar syrup is added to the beaten whites. With french meringue, you beat the whites, sometimes with a little acid (lemon juice or cream of tartar) to help protect them from overbeating, (to me, this also gives them a little more stretch but I could be imagining that) and you add sugar (sometimes a combination of granulated and confectioner's, sometimes just one or the other) and beat til the whites are glossy. So, the short answer is yes, you put some water in a pan, bring it to a simmer and then put the bowl with the whites and sugar over it. The water doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl, and it shouldn't boil (at least not furiously!). An active simmer is ok What about just making your niece's cake again, but vary the flavoring. What about a strawberry version? You could still use the Grand Marnier with it (Strawberry Grand Marnier is a hugely popular combination in my neck of the woods), maybe some fresh berries for garnish? I thought your original idea was pretty terrific.... If you are still thinking along the lines of meringue because your family so loves that Vacherin cake, what about a marjolaine? It's similar - meringue layered with buttercream and ganache. I have a cinnamon coffee version on my dessert menu - chocolate cake, layer of coffee buttercream, then an almond dacquoise and a layer of chocolate ganache with a little bit of cinnamon. Then the whole thing is glazed with ganache, decorated with coffee bean candies and either sugared almonds or chocolate curls on the sides.....

I don't like to make buttercream roses because with our house buttercream, they don't look like the same type the veg shortening icing produces. Plus, festoons of various colors of buttercream roses are the type of decoration the supermarkets around here produce, which is something I do not want to be. So early on, I decided that I would make a fresh berry garnish "my signature". So my all occasion cakes have berries on them, usually a few strawberries depending on the size of the cake, with some raspberries and blueberries to fill in between the strawberries. It's the same for a cake finished with white buttercream or chocolate ganache. I also use chocolate curls (white, dark or strawberry) or choc cake crumbs to mask the sides of the cake, which no one else around here does. I make sugar plaques or chocolate plastique "banners" with the message so a cake already made can be personalized as needed. This works for the gourmet stores I sell through, it gives them a chance to respond to an impulse purchase. For custom orders, I write directly on the cake. But one of my "signature" cakes is a basketweave with a top covered with berries (and the plastique banner on top of the berries with the message). People around here recognize this as a Jeanne Cake, and it works for most occasions. Eventually people will want something different though, and that's when having some extra fondant decorations at the ready can help. When I am cutting out stars, or flowers, or making bows, I make extra - way more than I need so I can use them on the spur of the moment if I need to. For baby showers, you might get a carriage or onesie cookie cutter and use that for the message, or use that to cut out fondant decorations for the sides as a way to personalize it without having to color frosting (you can color fondant in advance and as long as it is stored airtight, it will last a year). Use a colored fondant or fabric ribbon to bring in color if you like that look better. You might want to look around at what your competition produces so you can make your cakes different from the rest. Have a range of pricing (e.g., a 10" round cake, serving approximately 20, ranges from $55 to $80 based on how elaborately it is decorated) so people can tell you what they want to spend. I don't think customers are deliberately taking advantage of your kindness; they're asking for personalization (which is what they want). If you are charging more, it won't feel like you're being taken advantage of.

CanadianBakin: Are you leaving your equipment there when you are not there? Will you have a locked area to put things away? Will you be keeping anything there? If so, you need to think about the possiblity of them being borrowed or broken and how to handle that. As well as what would happen if something breaks while you are using it....

I wonder if there would have been a different outcome based on viewing the "pilots" and audience voting. Of the three pilots, Lisa and Adam seemed most natural and at ease, Aaron less so. It's too bad they won't just put them all into production.

Here's a thought... let's lose the Neelys (I haven't watched their show, just the horrible horrible teasers) and give Adam and Aaron on their own BBQ show. Lisa has potential, and I like her much more than I did at the beginning. Any of the three of them would be fine as a winner; they all have different strengths and compared to what's on now, all three of them should get their own show. It would dramatically improve the lineup.

The Cake Bible is a good resource as well for recipes (buttercream, cake and fondant). There are other books that deal with decoration and not so much recipes. You might want to check the library before deciding which book to buy - there are a lot of them on the market. And, you might want to do a few small test cakes before the big day. Do some 9" and 6" practice cakes to get the feel for it.