TurtleMeng

Thank u. I think Rose's recipe just has way too much cocoa. I will try to cut it in 1/2 to see....

Thanks. I am making cake fondant. It goes like bloom the gelatin in water, then heat to dissolve, then add glycerine, shortening, corn syrup, vanilla. Pour the mixture into sifted powdered sugar/cocoa and knead until elastic. Let it rest o/n. Most fondant recipes I have seen for cake have the gelatin. Most main ingredients are the same. I think it might be the ratio....

No reply? Am I the only one trying to make fondant?......

I had never made fondant. Then I made 2 batches.... They both tasted great, but the cracking, man. I have looked thru internet over and over. I own the Rose Cake Bible and the second one is from her recipe. I will list the ingredients below 1 T gelatin 1/3 c water 2/3 c corn syrup 1 T glycerine 1/4 c shortening 1 t vanilla 1 lb 9 oz powdered sugar 7 oz cocoa I will not list the method since if you are helping me you would know...I think the problem with this recipe is too much cocoa. 7 oz was an enormous amount (more than 2 cups). So the fondant would try to crack no matter how much I kneaded and tried to rub in extra shortening/glycerine. The first recipe I made was a simple white fondant with 2 oz melted chocolate mixed in. Even this did not crack as badly as Rose's recipe. Everyone sings praise of her recipe but I have found many recipes in her book to have a problem. Can anyone help?

I know, that's why I wonder he wrote the recipe like that, creaming butter andoil together does not make sense to me, and I thought maybe someone else has done that.

Hi everyone I have not been here forever. Anyways...please give me some good advice. Bobby Brown has a fantastic looking Red Velvet cake in his book. It calls for... Creaming 12 Tsp butter and 2 1/4 c sugar ( no problem)...and 3/4 c canola oil together. I kept reading the direction...really? It specifically states the oil adds the cake's moistness. I sighed and tried. It came out ok, but there were grease spots on my parchment. I even reduced the oil to 2/3 cup. So.... (1) would u cream butter, sugar, and oil? Would u do that all in one? ( I creamed the butter and sugar, then slowly dripped in the oil while praying) (2) Or would u dump in the oil with the wet stuff (1 1/2 c buttermilk in this case)? Any other suggestion on RV cake more than welcomed.

Hi Thanks for all your help. Ruthcooks and Swisskaese, I would like your recipes, I guess you can PM them? I actually am testing out all these recipes from Epicurious. The current project is "Sunshine Cheesecake", and I am stuck on something crazy--getting very thin orange slices to make "candied orange" to put on top. I am sure if this is done right it would be fantastic. You know the problem? "paper-thin slices"? Orange? I am beginning to believe my old knife is better after 2 mandoline tests (even tried a very expensive one). either that, or I don't know how to use a mandoline. I am getting crushed pulp mostly. BTW, taking the side off too early did some cracking for me too, as seen here in my cappucino cake. I told the lady to use the 2 cracked slices for her own taste test.

I was wondering if "Cook's Illustrated" is the same as "Baking Illustrated", which is a book by the same people (the big yellow book). Anyways, because that's the recipe I use, except I use 5 eggs instead of 6 plus 2 yolks. But this one has a baking time of 1 1/2 hr, which is just about right for me. I cannot test the temp since I have to take it for sale (or can I? invisible hole?), but I have played with the timing for a while. I also find the 500 then 200 (actually I use 215) degrees beats the 350 all the way thru (as in some other cheesecake recipes). I also put in a pan of water underneath as a semi bain-marie. I don't know if these help, but cracking was avoided...

Well, I am just an amateure and envy all here who are either professinal or have lots of time to bake. My family don't even eat much sweet stuff But one day I ate in a cafe and realized the owner is mother of this boy that plays ball with my son. We yakked and I asked her if she wanted to try some of my cakes. She said cheesecake since she currently buys they from CHEESECAKE FACTORY and sells some for afternoon tea service. Ah. So I took my regular NY cheesecake (which I really believe is pretty perfect) to her and she raved it. I almost had tears swell up in my eyes as she called me for more and when I took another one in she put it on the glass display. Talking about melodramatic. Today I took another one to her, "cappucino" flavored with espresso and Kahlua, I decorated with whipped cream and chocolate espresso beans also. Looked nice. I would also like to try an orange cheesecake recipe and a lemon-ginger recipe I have on hand. I'm wondering, anyone else wants to share any recipe? I am just a little home baker and won't sell your recipe for $$$.

This might not be helpful since I have not made the Cake Bible way (I use Nick Malgieri's recipe)but I just looked over the recipes and they are pretty similar (his uses whole eggs and a little more sour cream, and the streusel is simpler). The only difference I can think of is kind of dumb--I have alwlays made this cake in a TUBE. That means quicker rising all around and perhaps the streusel somehow doesn't have a chance to sink. (Gees, and I took college chem and don't know what I'm talking about.) But maybe try it next time. I've never contemplated making this cake in a springform. It is one of my most popular cakes also. edited for typo

I know people are gonna add this: get a scale. They are not that expensive. Get one that can zero with containers on. It is amazing how much easier weighing is than measuring by cups. You don't have to wash so many containers, you dump everything into your mixing bowl, you are ALWAYS accurate, blah, blah , blah.

Hi Andie, are you still there? Where is your Vallarta market? I could not find one around here. I will ask my nurses since they know all the Mexican markets.

Oh, I have a black and white recipe, but I don't have time to bake...friends are coming to town, husband left town, son is having open house....argh. Please, others, share some more cookies.... BTW, brownsugar, I quickly read your other thread and question, perhaps weighing can help? I weigh most of my ingredients (actually with Carole Walter's book she didn't list weights, which is an ARRRRRRRGH)

I think it might be too much work for me to render my own. Don't know if there is a Vallarta market around, will have to search (I'm near Pasadena), but 99 cents a pound sounds very reasonable. Being Chinese, I should know how to render my own fat (no pun intended), but I am lazy. So many Asian pastries call for lard. They taste much better with it.

It dawned upon me that lard might taste better than butter in some cookie recipes, I know it's often used in pie crusts also. My questions are (1)Where do I get it? I know "kidney fat" is the best but have no idea where to find it. The boxed lard stuff...is that any good? It seems a little scary sitting on the shelf without any refrigeration. (2) Does it cream like butter? (3) What is your experience with it?