JeanneCake

I'm willing to venture that someone in the costume department thought it looked cool and said: wear this! Probably the same person who dresses Sandra....?

Thank you both for the detective work! The only names I know of WRT mixes is Brill, and Henry&Henry because I see them advertising in Modern Baking - but I don't know anything about these companies. (Speaking of Modern Baking, does anyone remember the ad with the baker working on a cake in the middle of the night? Everything is meticulously clean, all the stuff on the shelves is perfectly arranged in line, labels out and nothing is askew or out of place! I always got a laugh out of that ad, but I couldn't tell you what brand it was promoting!! I only look like that in the first 30 mins of work.)

I would not want to run the risk of wearing the Pumas there, and slipping on something unexpectly slick (a spill and someone's gone off to get the mop but you walk that way without realizing it and ....) You mention being a personal chef so you are in different home kitchens where the protocol is not so strict as a restaurant kitchen. Commercial kitchens usually have some sort of tile or cement floor and where I am, even with slip resistant shoes, I worry when the dish pit starts to crank and the floor can get pretty slick over there. A friend of mine wears Dansko clogs all the time - she has her kitchen ones and her "play shoes". So I'd spend the money on the shoes anyway, and see what they say about chef coats, pants, etc. I know that once I bought a nice pair of chef pants, I never looked back. They're cool and comfortable in all seasons.

Milk Duds makes me remember Sugar Babies! Sticky, sticky, sticky! And I loved them

My trusty 6 qt KA died a while back, after making a few batches of marshmallows (it made a few batches of buttercream after that) but now won't turn on or even make a peep. Any ideas on where to take it for repairs? It's about 7 years old, so not under warranty but I'd rather fix it than buy a new one....

It will get spongy, having a lot of air bubbles, and it will not look as smooth (it does this in a storage box, or bowl or whatever you use to store it, including the piping bag); you always see a note to rebeat before using after the buttercream has been standing for a while. So, while you can technically store it in the piping bag, it won't look good if you use it to pipe something.

I *love* Princess Cake and only started offering it on the menu this past year. I'm with Annie on the chiffon cake; I also add a little gelatin to the whipped cream because that will get me a third day if it doesn't sell immediately (I assemble them the night before they are delivered, e.g., I'm putting it together at 4 pm on Friday for Sat 9 am delivery) and the little rest in the freezer is a very good thing before putting on the marzipan (I have people ask for straight fondant because of the whole nut thing but I like it better with the marzipan.) In fact, it was Annie who told me this was a walk in the park to do, and she's right. Easy, easy, easy. Make the dome yourself with a spatula, the bowl would be too much hassle. Green is traditional, but I'm partial to lavender, as Tri2Cook mentions The Village Baker's Wife, who does pink, lavender and green).

Hi Mary! Thank you for the recipe. Does this icing crust? (Does Publix icing crust? The bride in question says it doesn't, it stays fluffy but I wonder how that is if there's confectioners's sugar in it.) This is defintely a deal breaker for this bride

The client is on such a hunt for this that she's considering having someone send some of the stuff up here so I can taste it. Has anyone had a Publix cake? What's the deal with this stuff? Why do so many people want to copy this stuff? (from what I found on the google search!)

Your mom ROCKS! Mine made Italian food, all the time. We never experimented with other cuisines but she's a great cook, and I'm glad she's my mom. Thanks for a great story!

I have a client who just booked her October wedding with me. She has her heart set on Publix buttercream, which I have never had. (she wasn't crazy about the meringue buttercream which is our house buttercream.) I'm told that it is fluffy - not the typical American buttercream with confectioners sugar, butter/shortening, milk and salt - this Publix stuff doesn't crust. The bride called her mom to see if she had the recipe, and the mom said it used Dream Whip but couldn't remember the other ingredients but she was sure it also had confectionery sugar in it. Being a supermarket, I'm sure they don't use butter. Anyone have a recipe for a buttercream that uses Dream Whip? Or have an inside track on what Publix uses for their cakes? I googled Publix buttercream and got several hits but none of them seem appropriate (they all look like crusting buttercream to me). Any ideas?

Brides tend to travel in packs which include mothers, maid of honor, sisters, aunts, the whole cast of characters. And everyone wants to taste . You don't want to run out of samples, but you also don't want to take tons back with you. Find out how many are registered for the show, figure out if there are other bakers or others providing food and go from there. The last time I did an event like this, it was an an upscale downtown hotel, big name sponsor, more than 250 people were registered and I did 600 mini cupcakes. They were gone in about 30 minutes (this event was planned like a reception - people had drinks first, then apps, then the main course and they came back out for dessert. I was the only baker so I made more than enough, so I thought. The hotel came out with petit fours and mini pastries - one bite things -just as the cupcakes ran out. If you are the only one in your booth, you can't serve and sell at the same time; if you have help, you can let the other person cut and serve cake while you talk to clients. If you are having family or friends help you, talk about what you want them to say in response to some standard questions: price range, delivery charges, flavors, etc. I agree about the groom's cake - do a Texas Aggies cake design or Texas A&M and you'll be golden PS - Because most of the brides attending this event were having their reception at a downtown hotel, most of them already had their wedding cake arranged. I got very few orders from that event - not enough to break even. I stopped doing these events because my expenses in booth rental, providing samples, etc just didn't make it worth the return.

Mini cupcakes are easier to handle and serve than slicing and plating cakes if you are giving out samples. With the cupcakes, you can do a simple swirl of frosting and arrange them on a tiered stand for people to help themselves to and have a stack of napkins nearby. If you go with cake, you have to slice and plate it, provide forks, etc. If you have lots of help, it isnt' a problem, if you are alone, cupcakes give you more time to interact with people. Stick to two flavors - one chocolate, one not; stay away from nuts (hazelnut, etc) if you can. Have a list of your available flavors so people can see what the range is. Try to sample something a little out of the ordinary - most people know what strawberry or raspberry buttercream tastes like but may not have had passionfruit or caramel buttercream. Sample your best stuff or your most popular flavor. Have plenty of business cards. Have several stand-up portfolio books to show your work. Put one at each end of your table(s) so you don't have two people hogging a book at any one time. Put your dummy cakes on stands, preferably out of reach of curious minds and fingers but take pictures of your cake dummies before you put them out in case the worst happens. You don't have to do huge dummies, but make them eye catching. One traditional looking and one out of the ordinary. Try to make your booth noticeable by adding height or color, or lights. Also show a non-wedding cake - some of the brides will get their cake through their hotel and therefore aren't in the market for a cake (but they'll taste anyway - but they can use you for other events and celebrations and you can plant that seed now. Have a trash bin close at hand otherwise your table will be littered with napkins or plates or what have you. Most brides are so overwhelmed with the stuff they get in the bags, they usually just throw it out. But they keep things like coupons or pens, or magnets..... make your business card into a magnet to hand out.

A home fridge is drier (not humid) than a commercial walk in or reach in. I bought some pre-made royal icing flowers and after a day in the cooler, they had absorbed some moisture and started to drip. If I left them in there longer, they probably would have started to melt. I'm sure that the way the royal icing is made has some effect too (using shell whites, pasteurized whites, or a meringue powder).

Yesterday I got a call from the gourmet store (at 4:30 no less!) saying "I know I told you 2 Princess cakes, 2 Lemon Delice, 2 Decadence, 2.... but listen, I don't have any orders and I don't want to get stuck. I want to pull back my order." At 4:30?! This was stuff due to be delivered Saturday morning. So I told her she had to take the occasion cakes and Princess cakes. (it was all I had done then!). But I was really looking forward to the rhubarb tarts.... It will be a long, hot summer. Here's hoping all of us survive.

I find Callebaut bittersweet callets to be very viscous - more so than other brands. It also firms up much faster than any other brand I've tried.

How big is the image? Would it fit on a bar (a large bar) of white chocolate? Or do you have any white candy melts? I use this edible image stuff periodically, and for message plaques, I print something with a fancy font and appropriate graphics, print it out and then wave a torch in the vicinity of the back of a bar of white ghiradhelli (usually because the dipping chocolate I use I keep in a bowl and never remember to spread it out on a piece of acetate when it's fluid), peel off the backing from the image and put it on the chocolate. Then when the cake gets to it's destination, the client can position it (this helps guard against breakage in transit). Do you have any fondant? You could do the same with a piece of fondant. Dampen it ever so slightly and then apply the image to the fondant. By doing this, you can put the image on when you get to your destination and not worry about it on buttercream or whipped cream (the bakery is correct, the image will start to break down on whipped cream overnight.)

If you have Maida Heatter's Cakes book or the first Great Desserts book, she has a recipe for Haleakala Cake. It's a basic white cake (with beaten egg whites) layered with a pineapple filling made from canned crushed pineapple. here's how I would make the filling: Stir together 2 TBL cornstarch, 2 TBL granulated sugar, a pinch of salt, and add 2 cups pineapple juice. and some vanilla. Put it over medium heat until it boils, then simmer for two minutes (remember to stir this to prevent lumps) then let it cool and add the crushed pineapple. You will probably need 2 19 oz cans of crushed pineapple. You can use this as a spread for toast, too

On the way home from elementary school (we walked, no buses!) there was a penny candy store, and I remember the wax bottles with syrup, licorice whips, fireballs (I hated those), wax lips, the candy cigarettes (if you snapped off the pink part, you could fool your friends into thinking you were eating chalk ). Blow pops. Mary Janes. My favorite "chocolate bar" was a toss up between Skybar and Chunky.

I agree about the sensationalism of the news; by reporting it, and adding a bit of drama to the report, people start to think about what other things might be in short supply. People who might not otherwise be buying rice now suddenly want to have it. Maybe the journalists should suggest they donate their purchase to a food bank....

Or shave ice maybe?

For home use, I like the TFAL brand (it's nonstick). At work, I have one or two Bourgeat saucepans, and a similarly heavy pan that looks a lot like the Bourgeats but I got them at a rest supply store and can't remember the brand. They don't dribble...

I can hear when the sugar syrup is ready before the temp alarm goes off (similar plopping/popping sound ); I can also hear it when I'm beating egg whites for buttercream. But mostly, I can hear when something doesn't sound the way it should. I'm embarassed to admit that yesterday I was making a tiny batch of cheesecake batter and I was really distracted. I walked away from the mixer after scraping the batter, thinking (just like Miss Clavel!) "something is not right" and realized that I'd forgotten to add the eggs to the batter. It just sounded wrong, and I'm glad that kicked in before I poured it into the individual rings I was baking them in!

I had a chance to do a side by side comparison of the espresso and tiramisu between driedopple (those are the only ones I have) and Amoretti. This was for buttercream, which is pretty much where I use a compound to boost the flavor I'm after. Amoretti won, hands down. Not even a contest, really. For coffee, I originally used the Medaglia D'Oro powder, but found it could be really bitter. Then I found the AUI coffee paste and loved it, but had a hard time with the peanut oil. In school, we used Sieben and I went with the Driedopple based on feedback from other pastry chefs. I have to say that their orange wasn't bad, but I like using orange curd better I have the MEC3 pistachio. It is to die for. If I couldn't get it, I wouldn't offer a pistachio flavor at all. (I once opened a jar of Hero pistachio and gagged on just the smell of it.)

I remember an older cousin in my husband's family making what I thought she called "marzarine" - a short pastry dough with an almond filling (like almond paste). She gave me her recipe, and basically, she rolled the dough into a rectangle and then put the filling in, and brought the two long sides up to the filling. I can't remember if she covered the filling or left it exposed. Then I think there was a glaze drizzled over it after baking. I did a search for dutch almond roll (the family was Dutch) and found something on cooks.com called swedish mazarins. For individual servings, they call for muffin tins so maybe you don't need a specialized form to make these.