pastrygirl

Better for saving space? I gotta say I vote no to cold cookies.

How much of your pastry really needs to be kept refrigerated? If you are doing your mousse cakes for retail, or a lot of cheesecake, or jars of lemon curd that might justify it but a whole lot of stuff is better at room temperature (health dept allowing). I don't have any answers either. How about a little countertop sushi refrigerator? If you only need a little space and can restock from a larger chiller they are less than $10k... http://www.sushi-knifes.com/Merchant2/merc...ategory_Code=SR

Can you use the rice itself instead of the flour? I tried making mochi yesteday with Thai sticky rice, and it turned out OK. I steamed it then put it in the food processor, which it threatened to kill (liiiiitle too sticky) - if I did it again I would add a little hot water to try to keep things moving. Or I would try a stand mixer with a dough hook to try to make a dough but I don't know if that would break the rice up enough. Otherwise, maybe tapioca flour would be similarly sticky?

I've recommended this cake to many people, and they've all loved it. Some used a 9x13, and others used two 9" rounds. (If I were to make it for myself, I'd cut down on the sugar and salt, and use 1 cup brewed espresso and 1 cup water instead of the 2 cups water). You can use a chocolate water glaze to top it. Crazy Chocolate Cake http://www.recipezaar.com/53524 ← Thanks, I tried that one today and I was really surprised at how good it was! Just a slightly gummy texture, but in truth probably not noticeably different from my regular chocolate cake recipe. My coconut milk ganache was too soft but would make a great frosting for the cake. Tomorrow I'll be on a vegan muffin quest, I'll post recipes later if I find some good ones.

Michael - I realize that with a name like 'grand cru' you are probably focusing on wines, but to me the menu makes it look like it is all about the wine and the food is an afterthought or secondary. Usually the food is listed first in the bolder font and the wine is underneath. I also would not put the words 'palate cleanser' on a menu. If you need to title the course, call it an intermezzo or refreshment or something clever and list melon and champagne as the description. Also, among people 45 or so and younger, particularly in places with a large Asian population, 'oriental' is no longer the preferred term for things that come from or are inspired by Asia. It is not the Orient, it is Asia, the people are Asian, what used to be Chinatown is the International District (at least in Seattle where the part of town in question truly is International with Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, and more). It would be more descriptive and not offensive to speak of the flavor of the vinaigrette - 'oriental' is not a flavor per se. Sesame vinaigrette, yuzu-shiso vinaigrette, wasabi vinaigrette, ume-sansho vinaigrette, whatever.

It has finally occurred to me that I need to put together a collection of vegan recipes for those occasional guests with special diets. Oh fun. I need a few breakfast pastries, cookies, and cakes. There are some good starting points here, but I am finding that a lot of the recipes online ask for ingredients that I don't have here. What I DON'T have: silken tofu, margarine, shortening, soy milk (can get it, but it has added milk fat so not vegan), flax seed, egg replacer, succanat, maple syrup, commercial fruit juice concentrates, dates What I DO have: vegetable oil, olive oil, coconut milk/cream, honey (I know it's not vegan but I'm looking at this more from an allergy standpoint than a moral 'oh those poor little bees' standpoint), apples, bananas, prunes, dried apricots, raisins, peanut butter, most other basic ingredients. Also agar-agar, pectin, tapioca flour, can those be used as binders at all? I think I could replace the soymilk in recipes with coconut milk, but I can't have everything tasting of coconut. Olive oil scones? Any cookies recipes with oil instead of creamed solid fat? I'm just waiting for some gluten free vegan billionaire to come on her private jet and demand a chocolate cake better be ready!

Is your liqueur different from creme de cacao? I like creme de cacao but it doesn't really seem that chocolate-y. As for your caramel, it will still bubble and spatter when you add hot liquid, but you won't get that maddening hardening of your sugar that then has to be re-melted that you get when you add cooler water.

If you are adding a fairly high proportion of cream to chocolate - like for a thinner ganache for pouring - I find it helps to pour only about half of the cream over the chocolate and whisk until melted, then whisk in the rest of the cream. If you add too much cream all at once, sometimes you don't get a nice emulsion, but it looks sort of granular and like the chocolate is not completely melted.

For pear liqueur, have you tried Belle de Brillet? It's pear infused cognac, quite yummy.

One teaspoon is not a lot of baking powder for 4 cups of flour, if the cookies usually are lighter and cakier maybe it is supposed to be 1 tablespoon? That would still be less than 1 tsp per cup.

Marsala or masala? I hope the latter. Hey, typos happen Last summer while out for a cocktail I overheard some guy telling his friends how much he loves chicken tiki marsala. I think he meant chicken tikka masala, but you never know, they might have some wacky Polynesian-Italian fusion going on in Denver.

It's too bad you can't just leave them at Freeway Park or somewhere close where there are poor hungry people, but that is probably illegal dumping or something. Do schizophrenic alcoholics even like pastry? Not meaning to be offensive to people merely down on their luck who need assistance, but the Seattle street population has a lot more problems than just $$. What's sort of a dilemma too, is giving cake to people who need food. They need better nutrition than most muffins, but maybe a treat every now and then will really help lift some spirits? The discounting thing is difficult and everyone else here is probably right, either wait until the very last hour or don't do it. With the idea of sporadic and unpredictable discounts and just with the way people are, I could see some people getting angry if yesterday they got a discount at 4:15 when there were 4 muffins left but today there are 10 muffins so no discount at 5:00. Waste is just part of cooking, I know it is heartbreaking to throw things away, but if charity doesn't work out, at some point you just have to accept a certain amount of waste. Throwing stuff away gets easier after a while, you just have to be emotionally unattached.

I probably never would have though of that until it was way too late. Is it merely a practical consideration or the sort of thing the health department would be onto? I'm not that into bread baking, but I'm sure if I had a pastry shop there would be at least some brioche happening.

Great idea. I picked up some LorAnn oils when I was home, but so far have only experimented with flavoring solid chocolate pieces, not ganache. A few drops go a long way. https://www.lorannoils.com/

I realize there is an obvious conflict with oven heat and chocolate work; are there other reasons why people choose to focus only on chocolate and not do baked goods in their shop? Like even a few chocolate cookies or cakes to round out all of the chocolate options? Do some people really enjoy making chocolates but aren't that into baking? Is it an equipment issue? A couple of convection ovens and a mixer are not that expensive compared to an enrober but if you want to have everything it sure adds up. I'm curious because my vision for the shop that I may or may not ever open has always been pastry-centric but as I get more practiced with chocolates I want to include them to a significant degree. I feel like it would be good to have some of the every day type treats like breakfast pastries and cookies with chocolates as an optional splurge, maybe 75% pastry and 25% chocolate. I also think about ice cream, I want to do it all! There was a chocolate shop in Oakland, CA (name escapes me at the moment, Bittersweet? In Rockridge - anybody?) that did some of everything, including retail bars from various makers, and I can think of a few places in Seattle that do both (Bakery Nouveau, Essential, and of course Dillettante), but it seems like more people deal in either all chocolate or all pastry. Thoughts? Do any of you do pastry as well, and if not why? If so, what conflicts do you have?

A dash of orange juice concentrate - the frozen kind - might also be a good addition to intensify the orange flavor without adding the bitterness or chunks of zest/marmalade. The Chateau Monet raspberry is decent. I think most of the not-the-top-shelf-brand-names but not-the-super-cheap-bottom-shelf-plastic-bottle stuff is generally decent, especially if you are using another form of the flavor as another layer, like a jam or puree or infusion along with the alcohol. You need a close friend who flies a lot and can get you everything duty free! My pilot brother keeps the whole family stocked for cocktails (best brother ever!).

Cointreau is more pure orange. I don't know how many people could tell the difference once in ganache, but I think of Grand Marnier as a little more caramelly. I only have Cointreau here so I haven't tasted them side by side for awhile. It helps to work in a restaurant with a full bar that they leave unlocked so you can sample everything before using. Or, if your liquor store has the little airline bottles, get the different oranges you can find and see if they seem different to you.

Grand Marnier is brandy based, so you have that added flavor note which is generally delicious, but not a pure orange flavor. I can't imagine a little orange zest having an effect on water activity, but you can also steep it in the cream and strain it out if you are worried or want a perfectly smooth ganache. Candied zest has low enough water to keep on its own for months or years, so it should be safe in ganache, don't you think?

I've had Amazon ship from the US to Bhutan for only $5 per book, so most of them still end up a little bit less than cover price...of course that is the cheap shipping, which takes 4, or 6, or sometimes more weeks (still waiting for Kafeehouse which I ordered end of Sept, but maybe the post office is holding it for ransom without my knowledge). But they should be able to find Japan, so maybe it would be faster for you!

I like Cointreau, but wouldn't refuse Grand Marnier. I think triple sec is a little sweeter, but honestly it's been awhile. I use some orange zest or marmalade in combination with the alcohol.

If I hate the layout of a book, I won't buy it, even if the recipes might be good. Or if they use a lot of pink...how did pink come to be the designated color for pastry? I hate pink. Anyway, I agree that layout, fonts, spacing, design, all that make a difference.

If the dessert is frozen, do you need to temper the chocolate? Would untempered chocolate be more maleable or less likely to have a mind of its own?

A liter is slightly larger than a quart, approximately 4-1/4 cups.

If it was dipped in really good chocolate...

Hard, crunchy, brittle, usually with almonds and ideally coated with chocolate.