Patricia Austin

Hi Sugarbuzz, Just checking in with this thread, and yes, I certainly would love to try the recipe. I've recently been wanting a recipe for large, spiky meringues and your recipe sounds like it might be what I'm looking for. Thanks so much. Patricia

A qualifying Yes. The life of a tart depends on the individual tart and its components. Many tarts will last longer than one day and I would just check the crust, filling, whatever its made of and be certain that it is still in good standing. I've revitalized tarts that are tending toward sogginess by popping them in the oven to recrisp and if you use glaze on any of the fruit you can reglaze to refresh their appearance. I do not recommend serving fresh fruit tarts with pastry cream beyond one day however. good luck, Patricia

I second the pretty fruit tarts please . It seems to me that many people do tend to eat lighter in the summer. Where I live (Vermont) people are into buying local, seasonal produce so the types of foods consumed does change with the seasons; we eat more fruit and variety of veggies during the summer season. I sell outside during the summer at the farmer's market and the pastries made with fresh, local produce always sell first. Fresh fruit on baked tarts (like a raspberry frangipane tart), pretty baked fruit tarts and rustic tarts sell very well. These are all items that do not require continual refrigeration. During the summer citrus, too, is a big hit and I might add that chocolate is always in demand. Farmer's market begins next weekend, I'm excited and playing with/planning my selection! Patricia

Glad you like them! Nice substitution of prunes (incidentally, my nickname was Prunes as a kid) and adding nuts. This reminds me of the fact that when I get a recipe I like, and my customers like, I don't experiment as much. Its an interesting balance to hold consistency with exploration. Even though I do tend to make lots of new things on a regular basis you guys are inspiring me to play with my old standbys a bit more. Patricia

Welcome Mette, Hmmm, beer and chocolate. Such an interesting, exotic combination. I have made one item with beer which was a chocolate guiness stout cake. The stout flavor grew in intensity as the cake aged and people either loved it or left it. Good luck. Patricia

Thinking back to my earlier years of running a bakery and having a dozen employees the thing that made me crazy was not the occassional poorly thought out question but the lack of questioning. I'd rather have someone speak than stand around waiting and silent like a piece of furniture gathering dust. The employees who did not speak up or step up took so much energy. Initiative is an invaluable quality in the workplace.

Thanks for the responses and very good point about downsizing the sponge. I'm considering garnishing each with a small almond tuile or miniature chocolate fan. I am going to go for it this Thursday for a special order. I can picture them in my mind, we'll see how they actually turn out!

Your nougatines look great! Over the holidays I made the grand chocolate tart which includes using the nougatines to decorate the top; a very abstract and exciting look and they taste great (sorry I don' t have photo capabilities here). I also could not scoop them right from the frig, but was in a hurry with no microwave and so called in the big arms (my husband) to scoop. Chocolate Dome Question: I am wanting to make the chocolate dome but rather than use a large bowl I want to use my shiny new stainless steel 3" spheres to make individual domes. I have never used this type of mold before. Does anyone have suggestions, cautions, etc. before I dive in? Should I expect the process to be the same as with the larger bowl? thanks. Patricia

Does anyone buy Scharffenberger wholesale from a New England distributor? Thx Patricia

I learned a perhaps unusual and very effective way to break up chocolate blocks in my early baking days. This is a tried and true technique which I highly recommend. The person who taught me was Jeff Hamelman, the author of the a new bread baking book (sorry I cannot remember the name of his book, I am more into pastry than bread). I do not know if he invented this technique or if it was passed down to him by his teachers of that time. Here we go: Wrap block of chocolate in two heavy duty plastic bags. 1. Step outside where there is a solid area of cement or blacktop (sidewalk, parking lot, etc.) 2. Holding chocolate with both hands, lift block just level to or above your head. 3. With a full downward swing, smash the block flat down onto the pavement. This is particularly pleasurable if you are in the mood to yell which helps break the chocolate if sounded simultaneously with the throwing down of the block. I usually do two smashes and skip happily back to the kitchen. Good luck! Patricia

Are these what you are looking for? http://qualitapaper.com/html/Box_Qbox.htm ← Yes! I am familiar with qualitapaperco. but did not know they carried this line. Thank you so much.

I love that California has pink boxes! Until recently I have only seen white, straight edged, square/rectangle boxes. I have been in search of a tulip box which has rounded edges and encloses the four sides over a little handle on the top. I finally found this box being used by a chocolatier in my area. This is the same box I received from Sadaharu Aoki's pastry shop in paris. The only pink boxes I have seen are in France. For my taste, the boxes in France are more elegant, but not quite as sturdy.

I wonder . . . does it make sense to consider offering a range of Dessert Teasers? for example starting with the single serving and moving up a level to the Duo Dessert Teaser (2) and then the Decadent Dessert Teaser (3). Patricia

I sell these at the farmer's market and they are a hit. I think the combined elements of oil, plumped fruit and a long soak contribute to the moistness of this muffin. Wish I had one right now for breakfast. Patricia 2 1/2 c. plus 2 T. unbleached all purpose flour 4 1/2 t. baking soda 1 T. baking powder 2 t. cinnamon 1/8 t. salt 3/4 c. vegetable oil 2 T. honey 1/4 c. molasses 1 c. plus 2 T. light brown sugar, packed firm 1 t. vaniilla 3 large eggs, lightly beaten 2 c. buttermilk 1 c. wheat germ 1 c. natural bran (not the cereal) 1/2 c. dates, plump with scalding water, drain and coarsely chop 1 c. dark raisins, plump with scalding water and drain In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, soda, powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside. Next, whisk together the oil, honey, molasses, br. sugar, and vanilla. Whisk into this oil mixture the eggs, then the buttermilk, wheat germ, and bran. Allow the batter to rest 10 minutes. Whisk the dry and wet together to partially blend. Switch to a rubber spatula and fold in the dates and raisins. Refrigerate batter (covered) for 2 hours or ideally overnight. Bake in lightly greased muffin pans (or use liners). Fill to the brim, and if you like, sprinkle sesame and sunflower seeds on top as a garnish. Bake at 400 degrees.

Just thought I'd add a note to this quest. I found a bran muffin recipe last summer that I love. The batter gets completely mixed together and then sits in the refrigerator for 2 hours or ideally overnight. The muffins are dark, stay very moist, are a little bit sticky and yummy. I will post the recipe if you'd like to try it. Patricia

Does anyone have any recommendations for bakeries/pastry shops in the Boston area? I am spending next weekend there and will be exploring. thx. Patricia

wow.

A long standing favorite of mine is descended from a recipe in the classic Joy of Cooking . The finished product is thick, yet buttery and melt in your mouth. However, it is not for rolling and cutting; it is made in a pan. It is the closest I have had to the Walker style shortbread and could probably be worked into a closer version of that. 1 c. butter 2 c. sifted all purpose flour 1/2 c. sifted confectioners' sugar 1/4 t. salt Cream the butter. Sift together the dry ingredients. Combine the dry ingredients with the butter. Pat the dough into an ungreased 9X9" pan. (I usually even out with a dough scraper). Chill for 1 hr. Score dough into slices. Pierce with a fork every half inch. Bake at 325 for 25 -30 min. Sprinkle with fine sugar. Allow to sit for 10 min. Slice into pieces while still warm. For my own liking I have changed this recipe to half all purpose flour/half pastry flour. I like the flake and tenderness it gives.

Yeah, you got it. A half inch tip is a good choice; just hold steady, squeeze and voila! Patricia

Having had good success with chocolate macarons I experimented today with my first attempt at non chocolate macarons. I used Herme's La Patisserie basic recipe and made up additions for the flavors I was interested in: Cherry, Espresso, and Green Tea (Maccha). I made the batter, divided into thirds and flavored respectfully with natural cherry flavor & rose petal color; ground espresso powder, and maccha (which I sprinkled with black sesame seeds before baking). The cherry ones were a gorgeous pink (nice for Valentines Day). The espresso ones were dull brown, did not retain their speckle, and the green tea ones are my favorite; very pretty with the green and black contrast and tasty too. They all rose beautifully and were lovely colors but then got too much color because I forgot to lower the temp from the choc recipe. Rats!!

I want a table top dough laminator. I have done a bit of research on this, and they cost more than I can get for my small marble collection. I am seriously considering a Somerset model (alas I cannot afford the Rondo) but even so, the Somerset is alot! I'm taking on a new account at our local food coop to try and save up to buy it before the summer. Does anyone know anything about the Somerset sheeters? I am nervous about buying one without having had hands on. Patricia

Hmmm, I have had good luck with this recipe. The dough was firm but not overly dry. I roll them in sparkling sugar and give them a single tiny rosette in the center. I sell them at our local farmer's market and the kids love them. They might be worth another try. Another Herme recipe for chocolate sables (out of a NY Times Mag. article) was a delicious disaster for me. Completely dry dough (with chunks of dark choc.) that I could not slice one cookie from the log without crumbling. I baked most of them as crumbled pieces of dough. They tasted great, probably would have been good on ice cream. That leads me to think . . . wouldn't a chocolate streusal topping be tasty. . .has anyone ever had or seen a chocolate streusal? Patricia

I have made this lemon cream recipe twice, both times I was concerned that the temp. rise was taking too long . . . but patience persevering the cream did eventually reach 180F. I was very tempted to remove it from the heat because until I tried this recipe I had always made my lemon cream by eye (having been taught this way). I have never been a big fan of chocolate with lemon. Obviously there are others who enjoy this combination. I'd like to expand my palate, maybe I'll give the Riveria recipe a go. How did you like the finished product? Patricia

just thick enough; spreadable but not runny at all. The cherry was thick but not gummy, perhaps a jam reduction of sorts. The chocolate was not buttercream, but rather ganache. The pistachio was buttercream. Patricia