Patricia Austin

Just joining this topic . . . I have tried probably a half dozen different recipes, my current favorite is the Rigo recipe with added orange oil, lemon oil and orange blossom water with the option of vanillla bean butter. The humps are dramatic, and I have been able to freeze the batter for up to a few weeks with excellent results. I like them dipped in hot chocolate. I have lots of people who think there is something inside of the madeleine. Anyone know of a filled madeleine? Patricia

Hi Folks, Today at the Farmers' Market where I sell I had a customer ask me if I had ever had "Sawdust Brownies". He said they are made from a real tree in the New England Area and he couldn't remember the name of the tree. I googled it but came up empty. Does anyone know anything about this? I am just being gullible? Please enlighten me if you can. Thanks! Patricia

Thanks for your response. I think it must be the stiffness of my paste. I vaguely remember adding 25 g. of cocoa powder instead of 20 g., just because I wanted it darker . . . but it must have been just a bit too much. I also have been wondering if when I froze them they were left in too long without covering which would tend to dry them out . . . I do use the PCB biscuit transfer sheets, they are amazing timesavers and some really fun designs too. The only drawback is I have to be extra careful to keep them away from hot surfaces because they warp within minutes! Thanks again, I'll soften my paste and see what happens. Patricia .

I'm going crazy with my joconde cocoa paste transfer. For a few years I made them with no problems. Recently the cocoa paste has been peeling off after baking or later on . . . when I go to use the joconde the cocoa paste isn't adhered properly, seems to be too close to the outside and rubs off leaving the joconde bare! I remove the silpat while the joconde is still warm; sometimes the silpat removes perfectly and later the paste rubs off, sometimes the paste comes off with the silpat. Is my cocoa paste too stiff? Is my Silpat too oily? I did clean the silpat REALLY well before this last batch this morning. Help! I need to resolve this, these are a regular order for a local restaurant! Experience, Ideas? Thanks. Patricia

Alice Medrich's Bittersweet has a fabulous Grappa, Currant & Pine Nut Torte (chocolate too). Easy to make, requires no special finishing, looks lovely and has received rave reviews.

O.K. Excellent, so I could go sweet or savory. I love the idea of candied walnuts, apple slices (or pears)and caramel. The savory side sounds really good but what I offer professionally is the sweet side, so I'm leaning that way. I'm sure there is a place for Triscuits but they have always scared me (like shrunken salted shredded wheat cereal biscuits). I wonder if the blue in the Gorgonzola would dissapear after baking. The tricky part seems to be in finding the right amount of tanginess without overwhelming the palate with that blue zing. Thanks for the recipe ideas! Patricia

Has anyone ever made a Blue Cheesecake?? Maybe it would be more on the savory side? I've had a request for it from a new wine shop in town and I have not seen a recipe for one that I remember . . . but there must be something out there. Let me know if you have any ideas. Thanks. Patricia

A few years ago I switched to a Blodgett convection oven and I love it. The oven browns nicely, bakes faster and is more efficient than a deck oven.

Good idea to checkWendy's blog, Canadianbacon. Mirrors . . . I like that idea too and I do have a little collection of them, tucked away and forgotten until now. Thanks for posting the delicious photo McDuff, It's so true that beautiful tempting desserts can create a restless crowd. Pam R, I am leaning towards doing a floral centerpiece with cranberries in the vase. I think I want to keep it simple partly because this is a first for me and also because there is alot of dessert variety which will bring it's own interest. My table will be rectangular and I have a long list of items per their request. I wonder, is there any reason to place the whole, sliced items higher-up or down? I guess asthetically they could be in either place. Here is the grand list: the cakes will be whole except the Chocolate Mousse and Tigers. All of the other pastries will be individual servings or petite four size. CAKES: Ginger Cheesecake Pumpkin Rum Cheesecake Chocolate Grappa Current & Pine Nut Torte Joconde-Raspberry Mousse Chocolate Mousse Cakes Tiger Cakes TARTS: Raspberry Frangipane Tarts Lemon Cream Apple Tart Tatin Almond Cream Tarts Chocolate Victoria Tarts CREAM PASTRIES: Eclairs Cream Puffs Fresh Fruit Tarts Napoleons COOKIE ASSORTMENT: Chocolate Macarons Chocolate Truffles Sablés: Chocolate, Lemon, Linzer Almond Horns Tuile Cookies Shortbreads (Scottish & Cocoa Bean) Hazelnut Meringues Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Yeow! Patricia

r, T, g, D, Thanks for your responses, all very helpful. gfron1, I'm not sure what you mean by glass blocks. How large are they and where would I find them? Trishiad, I do have some large cookie tins, good idea. Are the "tiles" your speaking of ceramic tiles? I need to decide about a centerpiece. Since I am incorporating edible miniature roses into some of the pastry decoration I'm leaning towards a pastry centerpiece. I will be using different sized and designed antique glass plates for display. I live in Vermont, and so I can go towards the rustic/elegant look (which is my tendency anyway), so in this moment I am thinking about using a few wooden boards (nice ones!) and perhaps wooden blocks for display. Wood coupled with glass, flowers and pastry can be very earthy and elegant. I'm also considering how to possibly incorporate the season. . . . Geez, there are so many possible directions to go in; how exciting and somewhat overwhelming. I'll center my focus eventually, but there is so much energy in the beginning of a creative process. I really appreciate the eGullet forum for support and ideas. Patricia

Hello All, O.K. I have taken on a job to make pastries for the local bank at their annual who's who gala function. The event is for 300 people; they have hired two savory caterers and myself for pastry/sweets. Originally I was going to just drop the goods off and let the caterers take it from there but the individual I am dealing with at the bank convinced me to be there, set up my own 8 ft fancy display table and use the function to showcase my work. This is a great account for me and if everything goes well she (the bank person) said they would contract with me again next year. So . . . the part that is totally new to me is creating a table display! I arrange pastry case displays alot but this is different. I am imaging a tiered look of some sort but I'm completely starting from scratch. I thought that I could practice before hand with gathering boxes and draping them with cloth etc. but then it occurred to me that it would be a good thing for me to reach out to see if anyone on egullet has experience and/or thoughts on the subject. How does one go about creating a table display????? Hints? Tricks? Things to be careful of? The event is in three weeks. I will have an 8 ft. table that will be positioned at the entrance to the party. There will also be trays of petite fours being passed around by the caterers that I will need to keep replenished. thank you , thank you. Patricia

I've been following this thread with happiness and received my copy of Dorie's new book on Friday. I made the chocolate chip cookies. (I don't have the book in front of me but I believe it said "my best chocolate chip cookies". Sorry, no photo options). Like many bakers, I too have tried a bazillion CCC recipes and these are my new favorite: exactly as described with crispy, buttery edges and softer centers, very yummy and a nice slight wrinkle/dimple factor after cooling from the oven. Thanks Dorie! Patricia

I use yeasted puff pastry (croissant dough) which is popular. There is a fair amount of crust which soaks up some of the egg mixture, but isn't soggy at all. For me, the yeasted puff bakes through to the bottom better than straight puff. So many choices . . .

I love Easter . . . thanks for sharing these inspiring photos. I've never put saffron into Kulich, or any other pastry come to think of it. Any recommendation on how much I would need to add for one loafs worth? Patricia

Hmm... I emailed them a few months ago. The problem with this company is that they told me I needed to order a min. of $1000 worth of boards every 1-2 months. That's a hell of a lot of boards. But they do seem to have some of the boards I'm looking for. ← yeow. Have you tried Pfeil & Holing? www.cakedeco.com

It could be . That could be why my search hasn't turned up anything. Thanks so much for all of the ideas, links and numbers. I'm going to check all of them out and see what I can do. In a couple of hours you've all helped me get much further than I got on my own in a couple of weeks. Thanks! ← I order my boards from these folks: Edge Vantage - Boards for Better Baked Goods!

I'm crazy about the Korova's too. With the log rolling, slicing technique I was having a difficult time getting an end product that looked appealing and they weren't selling so well. So I changed the technique: I chop the chocolate bits a little finer, roll the dough flat, cut them, give them a light egg wash, a tiny sparkle sugar sprinkle and bake. They look great (they have a crackly texture from the wash), still taste wonderful and they sell.

The Grand Marnier Cake is wonderful. I made it for a 25th wedding anniversary cake last week, then again for my husbands birthday and sold some mini extras at the farmer's market. They were a big hit. You can make the cake in a bundt or tube pan as suggested or in round cake pans for slicing which is what I did. I sliced them in 3 thin layers, heavily brushing each layer with grand marnier syrup, a thin layer of bittersweet chocolate ganache, a thin layer of orange buttercream and a finish with bittersweet glaze. Another vote also for the Golden Almond Butter Cake.

Thanks for considering this idea. Some of the demos have close-up, very specific info. and seeing the step by step process of working with cigarette paste, making patterns via various techniques and covering with joconde is what I am curious about. I have worked with many types of pastry and this is something I have not yet worked on, so I am very interested. I hope I wasn't being too forward in suggesting this.

Any chance you would do a demo on this Wendy? (or perhaps this has already been done?) I'd love to see more on this too.

Hi Thornado, So sorry the timing didn't work out. Here are a few great places I went to last fall. It's always good to call ahead. Dorie Greenspan has a fine list in the back of her book if anyone else has easy access to it. Patricia Boulangerie Poilane (famous for their bread) 8 rue du Cherche-Midi 0 1 45 48 42 59 Patisserie Arnaud Larher 53rue du Caulaincourt (Montmartre) 0 1 42 57 68 08 Lauduree (my favorite. PH spent some time here) 3 choices 16 rue Royale( lovely tea/lunch room) 0 1 42 60 21 79 75 avenue des Champs Elysees 0 1 40 75 08 75 21 rue Bonaparte 0 1 44 07 64 87 Lenotre 48 avenue Victor-Hugo 0 1 45 02 21 21 15 boulevard Courcelles 0 1 45 63 87 63 Patisserie Mulot (great savory to go as well) 76 rue de Seine 0 1 43 26 85 77 Boulangerie-Patisserie Poujauran 20 rue Jean-Nicot 0 1 47 05 80 88 Sadaharu Aoki 35 rue Vaugirard

I make an oatmeal raisin "lace" type cookie that has cardamom in it. yum.

Thanks for sharing. I throughly loved your story, like a great blueberry muffin. Good luck resurrecting the recipe. Patricia

I have a ongoing mystery I am trying to solve and wonder if anyone has a clue to the answer. Approximately once a week I bake a batch of chocolate macarons using a Pierre Herme recipe. I pipe the recipe to yield a total of three half shiners worth of baking. I allow the macarons to sit out for 15-20 min. to dry a bit and form a skin before I bake the first tray. The first bake and the second bake come out perfect, I couldn't be happier with them. The third bake is unpredictable . . . sometimes about half of the macarons have only a partial foot developed with what appears to be a collapse of the top over one side. They do not have their roundness, but are mis-shapen. They still taste great but do not look right and consequently I do not sell them. The only thing I can think of is that the drying time is too long and this affects the rise of the macarons. I have tried baking the first tray sooner but end up with wrinkly tops. Sorry I do not have photo capabilities here. Ideas, Experiences??? Thanks, Patricia

Sugarbuzz, Is this what you meant to say? I would not add oil to meringue because it will deflate the whites. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Patricia