TurtleMeng

You don't have to use a bag - but if you insist, use a heavy duty disposable plastic bag - just cut the corner off - then toss it. ← Oh, the only reason is I am making this heart-shaped thing so I thought I might not be so precise spreading it. Wait....why not? I hate washing more things. OK, I will try the spatula.

In the Baking Illustrated they had the variation recipe with added egg also, which they state makes the scones more "cakey" (I guess compared to "biscuity"). So it should work well either way.

Thanks, guys. Yes, that helped a LOT. I just could not imagine using the shredding disc (isn't that for vegetables?....). In fact, being a one-knife Chinese cook, the only thing I use my food processor for at this point is for baking, with the metal blade, and all the discs are still in the box. So I had to get over that idea. I still have to wash my bag. Well, I can do that later. I do want to attack this project. Hopefully I can post a picture of that heart-shaped cake sometime soon.

So one of my nurses has been reminding us of her B-day, which is tomorrow. She highlighted quadruple on the calendar. Well, since I use every occassion as an excuse to bake, I opened my cake bible and said "hmmm, a taste from heaven, looks good". how hard can it be? I just need to make buttercream, genoise, and....dacquoise? New project to tackle. Considering I even have all these left-over whites. Now what....ground nuts? but using the shredding disc in food processor to avoid getting too much oil out?(how the heck can you use the disc to grind these nuts?) Piping it? My bag is kind of greasy from the choux I did. So now I have to what? rinse it with hot water and vinegar maybe (my own assumption)? Would I really kill the meringue? Bake it forever but it might take longer to dry? WHAT WHAT WHAT? I don't think she is having a taste of heaven tomorrow. In fact, just reading, pondering and scaring myself, I got exhausted and sank in my armchair to read "InStyle". I have more books I can pour over to study this. But I am already intimidated. Perhaps I do not have a future in baking. So is it that hard to make it?

Oh, you guys wrong scones. I will defend them. I am an afternoon tea nut (once stood for 1 hr in freezing cold somewhere in NY to try a supposedly famous place), and a big reason is to just eat the scones. Fresh and warm is a must. I like the recipe from Baking Illustrated as below, it does give you the trouble of getting some heavy cream, but I think it tastes so much better. I've tried quite a few recipes. 2 c (10 oz) unbleached AP flour 1 T baking powder 3 T sugar 1/2 t salt 5 T cold unsalted butter, cut into little pieces 1/2 c currants or cranberries or whatever 1 c heavy cream preheat to 425 place all the dry ingredients in a bowl or food processor. whisk together or process with six 1-second pulses cut in the butter until the mixture is like coarse meal. (With the food processor sprinkle the butter pieces and process with twelve 1-second pulses). Mix in the dried fruits. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the heavy cream with a fork until the dough begins to form, about 30 seconds. Tranfer the dough and all dry flour bits to a countertop and knead by hand just until it comes together into a rough, slightly sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. (it's important to NOT overwork the dough). Pat the dough into a thick circle. From here, you can shape the dough into whatever shape you desire. I like to use a biscuit cutter and make little round scones. Some people cut out triangular wedges (but they remind me of Starbucks again ) Place on a baking sheet and bake about 12 minutes. Cool about 10 minutes before eating. Thanks for the offereing, Neil, I am SOOOOO hungry now (esp after I wrote the "I am hungry" thread in General Foods). You know, it's only a 4-hr drive. I think I might be able to convince hubby to drive over, if not today, maybe wknd.

I love scones, but not Starbucks stuff. First, they are bad. Second, they are huge. Third, the above two combinations makes it intolerable. Try making some scones when you have time, maybe over the weekend. They are not only good for breakfast but for afternoon tea. Heck, I would eat a freshly, PROPERLY made warm scone with Devonshire cream any time. No, I would eat two. I don't make them too big though. Besides, scones are very easy and quick to make. No waiting for rising, quickly mixed, hmmmmmmmmmmmmm OK, end of talking about obsession. I like croissants, but only if they are very good. Most stuff you buy is....ugh....I should not sound snobby because I used to eat croissants from Costco in college for breakfast EVERYDAY. I have yet to find a decent Danish in this universe.

I guess all the recipes I've seen call for the sweet stuff in a jar. I don't know how fresh ones would be used. Will try some online sources.

Everything SEEMS to be in English, then you click on it, then it's all Japanese.... I guess it's another reason to pick up my textbooks again.

I don't even know how many people like or regularly use it. Saw it @ some upscale markets and the price gave me hiccups. But I would like to try it. First of all, it's mentioned in RLB's Cake Bible. Second, I want to try making Mont Blanc. It seems rare to see that dessert here. Is it more common in France? What was I doing when I was in France instead of visiting the pastry shops? (reading "Memoir of a Geisha" in the hotel room)

I also ordered from Fantes (www.fantes.com). They have free shipping over $69.

Thanks, Patrick. You know your photos have inspired us to read the manual of that digital camera. At least the slice on the plate looks half decent. My husband thinks I am VERY strange shooting series of photos of food on table.

Oops. I made some creme anglaise just now, ignorantly stirring with my whisk. The corners DID overcook. I also need new Lasik surgery. The candy thermometer was reading 190 and I thought it was 175 (now I know you pros don't rely on a stupid THERMOMETER for sure... but I did not know when it would be done...and it WAS over done...little bits of eggs...BIG HUGE FAT HAIRY deal, I strained this stuff. Tasted great. I should always log on this site before making anything new.

I know I am a late starter. I was also inspired to start learning how to take better food photos, so I tried that here. One thing I want to say about the raspberry tart is that it tastes a LOT better with the creme anglaise. I first served it straight. Ouch. Too rich even with the sourness of berries (and I added more raspberries than they called for) , then I had to go make the sauce. It tastes now like the restaurant stuff. I see that the pics do show, but why are they so small? Can anyone give me a clue?

Like the original poster said, it was actually stated in Sherry Yard, page 101, to strain and to "process until smooth if lumpy". Hey, I know most are pros here, and that's why the amateurs ask questions, but don't be too cynical when you guys see us bring up we-thought-would-be-good-idea techniques. I would not process it just because I am too lazy to wash yet another bowl. Fortunately my cream has not been lumpy. I have seen some recipes using whole eggs and some using just yolks, does anyone care to comment which way you prefer?

Well, the last recipe I read (Baking Illustrated) called for the sieve. I think Sherry Yard's book called for it but I'm @ work and can't check on it. There must be others. The recipe also states "if still grainy you can process it in the food processor". For all the pros out there I doubt anyone would have time to do it.(or if it's necessary). I am a home baker, and actually did push mine thru the sieve last time, I used a rubber spatula and had no problem. It did turn out to be very smooth. The "sieve" I use is my do-everything-strainer, very fine mesh, I also use it to sift.

Thanks. I just finished reading it. Apparently some people do 375 and some do 425. Like you mentioned before, supposedly the higher temp should help the "burst" of steam, but that might not work, esp after reading that someone had no success with Sherry Yard's recipe (she calls for 425). Well, will just have to try it to see.

I made a bunch of eclairs but found them to be not too puffy. They tasted great but still. Then I discovered that some people recommend baking these initially @ 425 (I used 375) and decrease by 50 degrees after they have puffed up. Is that your experience? Probably using higher gluten flour would also help (used all purpose)

Jumping on the bandwagon Made the chocolate mousse because it's so easy. As I scraped the bowl to lick it, it didn't taste that great, but after chilling for 2 hrs it tasted much much better! I guess patience rewards. I put some toasted almond slices on top. The Valrhona from TJ seems a bit too strong. Might try something different next time. They have a new chocolate now...but I threw away the wrapper...it's from Venezeula, I tasted against the Valrhona and it's quite good with a little fruity note. I used that for 1/2 of the chocolate. Since there are 3 yolks left, should make the raspberry tart.

Ditto. I need a new kitchen. Actually I have a rather large kitchen, but it looks like...well, the previous owner was a dentist, and I think he used MEDICAL cabinets for the kitchen. They are LAVENDAR. Or they are just the cheapest Ikea cabinets. So, once I get the abhorrent color squared away, I want a marble island for rolling. I want an oven from Asia, the kind that you have TWO temperature dials for upper and lower. It does not even make sense, but I have all these recipes calling for the temperature differences. It's actually a small oven, but hauling it back from Taiwan...I wasn't about to do it. This dream can be completed by having a fridge of my own, so my mother-in-law does not mess with my stuff and keep asking questions.

Great, now I am back in LA from Berkeley and saw this thread. Well, it's not that hard to go up I guess...only took us about 5 hrs one way, driving "a little" over 90 mph, should be careful though...

We had this in Japan from a bakery. I was totally curious, and the conclusion was similar to yours...my son gave a long "eeeeeewww".

Not Chinese...but don't Japanese put the raw eggs on nigiri sushi? I always had my Hotate (scallop) ones with the little egg on top. They also put the raw stuff in rice to mix and eat. When I was little, we always ate them (already boiled, from a can) with the hot pot--just put them in to soak up the flavor of the broth then eat them.

I just got my book a while ago and said "oh darn no photo" on this one. You saved a recipe for me! It would be the last thing I want to make without knowing what it looks like. ....oh, BTW, now I am reading the recipe, did you use fresh yeast? If not, how much of the powdery stuff did you use? edited for question[/SIZE]

Gosh, first of all, I could only discern several of these herbs. Second, I am too lazy to get my husband's Herb Dictionary. I think I saw 党参 枸积 Gosh, the simplified Chinese input sucks Lots of Garlic All these herbs that people use to 进补 （sort of like extra nourishment, yang kind of stuff) in winter. (however, in summer they eat the same thing ) No one uses charcoal here. All the pots are on the electric plate that you can adjust temperature quickly, and the plate is hidden underneath the table. Convenience...

I didn't go thru the whole thread, maybe later... my son goes to a public school here, they bring theirs or buy the "hot lunch", $3, needless to say usually consists of chicken nuggets/hot dog/pizza, etc, we live one block from school so my mother-in-law often takes lunch to school, homemade pot stickers, homemade suchi rolls, homemade fried rice, BUT these are greeted with a frown. My son will trade with other students to get his American stuff. I go there to watch once a while and see parents give in--Lunchables! (hey, I buy them). The ultimate crap on this planet. When I grew up in Taiwan, the system was kind of interesting. We bring bento lunches, but they are always in aluminum bento boxes (compared to Japanese, Chinese eat a lot less "cold" food, like rice balls). Each student places the box in a huge metal bin. Once everyone was there, the on-duty students (rotated daily), 2 of them, would pick up that heavy bin (50 something students in each class!) and take it to the Steam Room. It seems like yesterday when my friend and I walked across the huge field holding on the two handles, gossiping and giggling. Lunch time comes, the students go back and bring back the bin. The students pick up the rather hot boxes and eat. We had some richer kids with fancy, 3-tier boxes, with rice, meat, veggi all separated. Most regular folks have the standard rectangular boxes with 2 buckles to keep the lid in place. Why didn't I take a picture of all this? Taiwan was definitely not as affluent as Japan, and this system surely is much cheaper. But we did have "mother's love", as it was affecionately called. I went back to the school after 20 years and discovered now that they have individual steamer (or microwave) in the classrooms. No more big steam room. No more trips. In my mind, I saw myself running to that big room and begged the guy to put my little bento box on top of the steamer (as I was always forgetful and the bins were all already in and the door closed). I would get my lunch with a burnt bottom. Numerous times. The best I can do for my son now is to make semi-evil foods: pasta with cheese, but screw the veggi...