pastrygirl

Hmmm, never seen those before. Maybe they come with that particular box or are custom? Let us know whose box that is, and where you are, it might help.

There may be no standard definition other than that the produce is packed in one shallow layer (or sometimes two with clamshells) and there is no cover to the box. Here are a few links to the flat box suppliers, maybe they will help. There are a lot of different sizes of flats, for example strawberries come in a larger flat than blueberries or raspberries. https://www.glacierv.com/SPD/-433-corrugated-white-berry-flat-tray-shipper---fancy-berries---500-pack--8B0000-946236273.jsp https://www.berryhilldrip.com/Boxes-and-Flats-for-Berries-and-Cherry-Tomatoes-Sold-by-Case.html http://www.unionjackstable.com/tote-shallow-berry-flats/

For bakers and candy makers: the folks at Sugarcraft (Ohio, USA) are retiring and closing up shop. Everything is 60% off while it lasts. I just stocked up on candy bar foils. www.sugarcraft.com

I sold my copy of Natura so I can't really say. Migoya has a very clean, modern presentation and does get kind of minimal, but I think he is less modernist in terms of ingredients and less abstract. Natura does try to re-create nature in delicious piles of dirt and flower petal and such. I haven't tried cooking anything as written from any of the books, but Migoya seems more approachable, with fewer so-called 'molecular' ingredients like ultratex and maltodextrin. Here is a video about Natura: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QV9cBP1ox4 And here is Migoya's blog: http://www.thequenelle.com/

I think that's Natura. Los Postres desserts are more traditional in the sense of main componenet + sauce + side + garnish. Natura is more minimalist and tromp l' oeil.

Also, I love the name, so clever and sweet.

What a beautiful machine! Looks like fun, though I don't typically eat hard candy. Thank you for sharing.

is it a one-time thing? I'd take a few pieces of waxed cardboard or cake boards and cut a stencil with a razor. Looks like you want about 1/4" or 6-8mm thick.

Then i would wrap well to protect from humidity and keep at room temp.

My first instinct would be to include a portion of liquid sugars. Molasses, honey, glucose, golden syrup.

Caramel sauce that is equal parts by weight cream and sugar will last at least a month in the fridge. You could freeze it but it won't be solid. Less sugar might not keep as long, more sugar and you may not need to refrigerate. If it is a thick caramel you could get into crystallization issues in the fridge, especially if there is not much fat - syrups like 2:1 simple can crystallize when cold, but my caramel sauce above never does.

And I'm pretty sure melted beeswax would be too hot. But you could brush a little sparkle dust on, that should help.

Some chocolatiers do airbrush molded chocolates with cocoa butter but the effect is flocked, not shiny. See Kate Weiser's ninja turtles and orange butterscotch here https://www.kateweiserchocolate.com/shop/build-a-box/ other bonbons have the molds painted first, you can see the difference between spraying the mold and spraying the chocolate.

Following up w/ pics - I think it turned out quite well, and the client seems happy. A little over-the-top perhaps, but fitting of Prince and the request for a "riot of Purple" and glitter. The cake is a nice rich chocolate with ganache filling and vanilla white chocolate buttercream. I used tylose in the ruffles -circular style like @HeatherM posted above and shaped them over a bunch of little parchment paper cornets. Most pieces were half a circle, the smaller ones were a third. They probably could have been thinner but i didn't want to risk it. One cracked as it was. So. Much. Purple! I had fun with the leopard print guitar strap, but should have glued the different colors together better, they were starting to shrink away from each other after drying a bit .

Thank you, Jeanne, and thank you, HeatherM, that circular ruffle technique really helps me visualize what to do.

Ok, I found tylose - Jo-Ann was out, but Michael's was just across the street and had a can. How much per pound of fondant? Or will I be able to feel the difference as I knead it in? The cake is assembled and in the freezer, tomorrow I will buttercream it and play with the ruffles and let them dry, then finish it all Tuesday morning.

An interesting thing about legalization is all the info. Everything is analyzed and labeled, lots of strains at 20% or higher THC. Strong stuff!

It's going to be a half sheet, I wanted the ruffles on the top (horizontal) surface, and larger scale than the pic above - a looser wavy fold of "fabric" (see link below). I was thinking today of going up to the cake store that has everything but traffic has been a nightmare lately so I didn't, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to get any specialty ingredients but maybe I can run to Michael's on Sunday. Cake is to be picked up Tuesday morning. The shirt is kind of layered, so maybe I can pile layers of fondant on itself. Hmm, thanks for the advice, I've never tried gumpaste or tylose but I'll see what I come up with! http://static.rogerebert.com/redactor_assets/pictures/53a1ff52e3f95f4455000011/Purple-Rain.jpg

I've been requested to make a cake inspired by Prince circa the Purple Rain era - "a riot of purple" and white ruffles like the shirt he wore. I have little experience with fondant, am planning to use marshmallow fondant (melted marshmallows + powdered sugar). Does anyone have any tricks to making the ruffles perky and 3-D? Should I drape them over something the day before and let them dry? I want them to add dimension. Thanks!

SLU market starts May 14. I'll be the one cursing the sun and wishing it was 65 and overcast

I wouldn't necessarily agree with this: "If you’re making a cake, you can throw together the flour, sugar, butter and eggs however you please, and the cake will come out fine — that’s an associative process. Not so for preparing custard. You must first combine the sugar and egg yolks and whisk them into a froth before you pour in the cream. Blend the ingredients in a different order, she said, “and you end up with a runny mess.”" But what do I know?

I was asked to do some special order production for trade shows by a publicist. I used the client's products to make samples of candied nuts, granola bars, and muffins; easy work but specialized and they needed someone with the right health permits. They offered $30 an hour. So if it's a matter of testing a recipe where you spend an hour or two to make sure it works, $35-40 sounds good. If hours of research and multiple formulations go into developing a recipe, hourly rates could add up to hundreds of dollars per finished recipe. Try to find out what they are hoping/willing to pay, or what they have paid before and how many versions they want to see.

Slave is more accurate, I am extremely hard to please. What's so hard about a shiny kitchen and perfect every time? But seriously, I'd be happy to help you out with whatever I know, and chocolate sources. PFI has pretty good prices on callebaut and a few others http://www.bigjohnspfi.com/ or Merlino's should be willing to sell to you at will call. They don't have prices in their catalog, but are generally very nice and helpful on the phone. http://www.merlino.com/web_order/ Or I can hook you up with 2kg bags of Felchlin, it's about $7-$13/# depending on the variety. Peterson has more chocolate than merlino but I don't think they sell to the public. I work on capitol hill and will also be at the SLU Saturday market this summer. If it's too hot, chocolate just doesn't work. You can set up fans or put it in the fridge but some days you're better off not fighting it. I am not happy about record temps in Seattle, business definitely slows down when it's warm. Yes, a few nice polycarbonate molds are worth it. Get a few of a few different shapes. I think the exchange rate is still favorable, so check out dr.ca and choclat-chocolat. Hobby molds are too flimsy for filled centers, but I do use few in novelty shapes. I very rarely hand dip, it is so tedious.

In Seattle, the edibles market is exploding. A lot of confections but also syrups to mix into drinks and oils to cook with. I've heard about a cannabis food truck but not sure if it came to fruition. Personally, though I do consume it frequently in various forms and enjoyed "happy pizza" in Cambodia, I'd avoid a multi course meal of cannabis. Eating it gives you so much less control over how and when it hits you and how much you've consumed. I hope they make sure everyone has a safe ride home, and the next day off!

I don't mind a few bones. Most animals we eat have them, and cooking on the bone adds flavor. I have a hard time eating some preps, for example dishes where poultry is chopped into smaller pieces including bone, but that's more because I feel so inelegant trying to navigate bony, larger than bite sized pieces via chopsticks. I did have one dish in Bhutan that I couldn't handle because of bones. Kitchen staff took some chicken carcasses and hacked them to tiny bits then made a delicious curry for staff lunch. But it was at least half shards of bone, too tedious to try to eat around and too hard on my teeth to eat. I don't believe it was a traditional dish, just cooks trying to stretch the available meat. It still boggled my mind that anyone could eat it.