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I'm curious as to what food safety concerns we're talking about here? The issue with the plastic wrap touching hot cakes and thus possibly producing dioxins? Or are we talking bacterial/mold growth? As for plastics touching hot cakes, if you immediately unmold the cake right away after taking it out of the oven and wrapping it right away, there might be a possibility of dioxins being released by the plastic wrap (the verdict is still out there on this issue, right?). But isn't what's more the issue is that such a hot cake might even melt the plastic wrap? Isn't that even worse than the possibility of dioxins? If you wait a few minutes after the cake has been taken out of the oven (which is wiser anyways because you want the structure to set up), the temperature is low enough that the chances of dioxins leaching into your food are quite low. And I agree with Sugarella's post that the cake would most likely get misshapen if you wrapped a hot cake, and I think that's much worse than a slightly dry cake. As for bacterial growth, that really is not much of a concern here. K8memphis' technique of adding a soaking syrup is still the best method. I question the wrapping a hot cake method; the moisture retention might not be even--maybe more moist in the center.

Does anybody have a great haupia recipe they'd like to share?

Oooh, I hope I'm not too late responding. Fred, I have never been able to incorporate 3 full ounces of fluid into this buttercream recipe -- it is too much liquid, in my opinion. That said, I usually splash a few tsps of vanilla (or whatever) to taste if I'm not doing a fruit flavoring. ← I've been adding vanilla extract instead of the liqueurs. But like Ruthwells, I don't think I've ever added the full amount listed in the book. For a while, I was adding 45g to a batch that uses 1 lb. of butter. You get a good amount of vanilla flavor, but also makes it a little more ivory. I recently found some 2x vanilla, and now I add about 24 g to a 1 lb. butter batch, and it's pretty vanilla-y. If you only have access to 1x vanilla, I'm guessing 24 g of that might suffice.

It was very misleading of Martha to not give credit and to not show who was actually doing the assembling and decorating of the cake. They made it look so easy, as if anybody can cover a cake in fondant, do icing designs, and make fondant bows (with cornelli lace), without having ever made a wedding cake in their lives, ever. And the way they didn't show who was actually doing these tasks made it seem like the actual team members had done them. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they (the teams) didn't, right??? It makes those of us who actually do wedding cakes look like we can whip these things up in no time and thus not deserve to get paid what we charge.

I haven't ever had this problem Sugarella. I both refrigerate and freeze them. I have even made angel food cakes that work fine with them. Woods ← I also frequently use egg whites that have been separated and refrigerated for days, and they always whip up fine.

We just got back from Kauai, and here's my report on our dining adventures. Our premise was: 1. Try to eat at some places where the locals eat. 2. Go by recommendations from eGullet.org and Kauai Revealed. 3. Shyed away from the really expensive places - we didn't go to The Beach House, Roy's, any places in Princeville or the really fancy hotels (Sheraton, Hyatt, etc.). Bubba's in Hanalei - okay burgers - go there if you're dying for a burger; otherwise, go across the street to Hanalei Mixed Plate. The other burger places might be better, but I don't know, we didn't try them. Hanalei Mixed Plate in Hanalei - had a really good fresh fish (marlin) sandwich there. Hukilau Lanai in the Kauai Coast Resort in Kapaa - I think we had our best "upscale" meal there. Nothing super fancy, but the execution was more refined than Coconuts. We had the mixed seafood plate and the meatloaf. The seafood plate had two different kinds of fish and a sugar cane skewered shrimp with orzo "risotto" and a delicate coconut sauce. The meatloaf (2 slices) came with a nice brown sauce and mashed potatoes. Coconuts in Kapaa - creative and generous portions (of fish), but not as refined as the Hukilau Lanai. One of our dishes, the tempura ono, came with this huge puck of fried rice. The fish and sauce were good, but the rice was just soy sauce with diced carrots (like something from Panda Express), and it looked like it was placed sloppily on the plate. I had the grilled opah with garlic mashed potatoes. Again, the potatoes were in a huge dense puck. Barbecue Inn in Lihue - very good kalua pork (and at a good price). Very extensive fish menu. I got "Da Asian" - creative and good presentation-unexpected from such a casual restaurant. The ono was a little charred, unfortunately. Hamura's Saimin in Lihue - went there right after we landed. Great noodles. Went with Kauai Revealed's recommendation and got the "special". Worth it. The lilikoi pie was also very good. Pomodoro's in Kalaheo - contrary to Kauai Revealed's recommendation, the place was not that upscale. The decor reminded me more of a casual breakfast/lunch cafe. The food was alright--Italian American dishes. We ordered the lasagna and the veal pizzaiola. The lasagna was rich but had decent flavor. The veal was pretty good. Keoki's Paradise in Poipu - the decor was fun, but the food was very mediocre. The ribs were decent, but the opah was pretty bland and also served with mashed potatoes; why do they like to pair fish with mashed potatoes? That just doesn't seem to work. It was more of a bar scene, good place to party at. Pattaya Asian Cafe in Poipu - basically, a Thai restaurant. The menu was pretty extensive, and any type of sauce/preparation can be done with vegetables, meat or seafood. Nice casual place. Sueoka's Snack Shop in Koloa - great deals for plate lunches. If they have the Hawaiian Plate Lunch, get it--the pork lau lau was delicious.

I have a Krups machine and it does that as well. And with ice cream, it seems that the fat gets pulled out of its emulsified state and sticks the walls of the bowl. Has anybody else seen the fat separation problem in other machines where you need to pre-freeze the bowl? I'm wondering if it's because the bowl surface is so cold it pulls the fat since fat solidifies more quickly at 0 degrees F.

Thanks for the welcome, Wendy! I finally had another opportunity to try my hand at genoise again last weekend. I used the recipe in Desserts by Pierre Herme. It turned out alright, I think. At least it rose and baked all the way through. It wasn't super light though, and it was a little chewy. Is this the way it should be? I can't remember. I know I like the moistness, consistency and lightness of sponge cake and I always think a genoise should be like that as well. Wendy, when you referred to Herme's genoise recipe, were you referring to the one in "Desserts" or the one in "La Patisserie"? The one in "La Patisserie" did not seem "classic" with the almond paste and an emulsifier. I used the genoise in Herme's Carioca cake. It turned out pretty good!

What are you doing?

Gelatin should be bloomed in cold water, for 5-10 minutes, and then melted, either over a simmering water bath or in a microwave. Make sure you sprinkle the gelatin into the water; don't add water to gelatin--it will stay clumped up. I worked for a pastry chef who did not use alcohol. For his tiramisu, I think he used coffee that was brewed stronger and some Trablit. I dont' think Trablit has alcohol, or else he wouldn't have used it.

Thank you for everybody's replies! I tried RLB's and Flo Braker's recipes. Both are essentially the same, except Flo's calls for all cake flour (it also seems similar to chefette's): 4 eggs 100 g cake flour (RLB's was 50 g cake flour & 50 g corn starch) 100 g sugar 28 g melted butter (RLB's was 36 g clarified) 4 g vanilla I did the standard method (as chefette mentioned above), but I did fold a little bit of the batter into the melted butter. I did double the recipe and mixed it with my KA 5 qt. mixer. Does anybody think doubling the recipe was a bad idea??? If so, then how do people make genoise for wedding cakes--many, many small batches? Does 350F sound low? Also, I did have four 6" round pans in the oven at the same time. I've had that many pans in the oven at the same time when I made butter cakes, and they came out fine. I greased, lined with parchment, greased again and then floured the pans. And then I wrapped them with those magi-cake strips. I've made genoise before, but in sheets and 8" rounds (without those magi-cake strips). Never had any problems before. Okay, a few lumps, but they always rose. I usually try to fold gently, and it didn't seem like I totally flattened the batter. But I'm not always the best judge on that! My oven seems to be alright; I've baked other things after the first failed genoise and they came out fine. Chefette, I read in another book that corn starch is used to make the cake's lighter. And it sounds like RuthWells' batches showed that. Also, I did notice that there were less lumps in RLB's version. So I think I'll try again without the magi-cake strips. I'll mind the folding, and I'll double check my oven temp! Thanks again, everybody! I really appreciate it.

I've made German Chocolate Cake a couple of times, but I've never used Baker's German Chocolate. Are you talking about the chocolate for the cake or the frosting? Not knowing what the recipe calls for (bittersweet/semisweet, etc.), I don't know to suggest. My guess is that Baker's German Chocolate does not have as much cocoa solids as the E. Guittard's 62%. I think any good chocolate (like Guittard) would do. Good luck with your cake. Just curious, how come you don't like German Chocolate Cake? I love it!

I use the mousseline recipe exclusively when I need to do a wedding cake..and it holds up extremely well. It's light & goes on incredibly smooth. There is also a Honey Buttercream in the Cake Bible that I used with her almond cake recipe & some apricot preserves. I left that out at room temp over night & into the next day as I also couldn't fit it in my fridge. It turned out great. ← Joshalow and Sugarbuzz: When you make the Mousseline Buttercream, do you add the amount of liqueur she lists? It seems like quite a lot of liquid to add and might make the buttercream too soft. I've always cut it in half.

I've been trying to make 6" genoise rounds, but have been having the same problem twice. At first I thought it was the recipe, so I switched from a cake flour/corn starch blend to all cake flour. But that didn't seem to be the problem. The cakes haven't been rising; the top 1/4" looks okay, but then the bottom 1/2" is completely dense and flat; it looks like it didn't rise at all. I did use the magi-cake strips both times; Rose Levy Beranbaum suggested using them in The Cake Bible. Also, I had four 6" pans on the same rack in a 350F oven. I did grease the pans, line with parchment circles and then greased and floured again. Anybody have any ideas as to what's going on here???