sanrensho

Plus that's a lot of deep-fried food. Not my idea of a balanced home meal, by Japanese standards.

Thanks for the clarification. For a moment there, you had me drooling in anticipation at the thought of a hispanic grocery nearby.

Where exactly is Continental Foods? I pass that intersection all the time on the way to Fujiya and don't recall seeing this place. Is it in the same block as Gourmet Warehouse? What else do they carry?

Darn, I missed that edition of The Professional.

Also, consider using Pierre Herme's chocolate whipped cream (whipped ganache) for the filling, and ganache to cover. 375 g heavy cream 1 TBS sugar 65 g bittersweet choc. (chopped) Bring cream and sugar to boil, take off heat and stir in chocolate. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight or 5 hours. Whip to desired consistency. You may want to increase the above quantities by 50%.

Some random answers: 1. Did the cake actually deflate? A genoise shouldn't end up lower than the height when you filled the pan. 2. Borrow or buy a tall 7" or 8" pan if possible. You'll get a taller cake. The smaller cake will be easier for you to handle and slice into layers. 3. Barring that, get another 9" pan and double the quantities. 4. Get some dowels and use those as a guide to cut into layers and trim the top. 5. Smooth out the top of batter before putting it in the oven. Without deflating the batter. 6. About the glaze, are we talking about a ganache or glacage (glaze)? If it's a standard ganache, you shouldn't need to strain as long as you've got it thoroughly mixed. EDITED TO ADD: It sounds like a glacage from re-reading your post. 7. If you don't perfect the glaze in time, considering going with a ganache (easier) or just dusting with cocoa. Overall, I think you did really well for your second ever (?) cake and first genoise!

This one. Click on the cover and you will see the French title.

Or take a regular genoise and soak with a strawberry-flavored syrup.

A good suggestion, but I think the OP is referring to a cake that is actually made from strawberries.

Everybody did a pretty good job of answering your questions, so I won't repeat them. I'll just add that a genoise is less moist (I wouldn't call it "dry") than a typical American-style chocolate cake. As you surmised, the syrup adds moisture and taste. This also gives you more flexibility to adjust the texture of the cake for the desired mouthfeel, and flavor the syrup pretty much as your heart desires. As for flavoring the simple syrup, raspberry and coffee liqueurs also traditionally go well with chocolate, in addition to the other suggestions.

Good luck. Make sure to whip the eggs enough, as that's the only leavening you'll be getting from the cake. When you're ready to split the cake, I recommend trimming the top and bottom crust, then applying syrup to both sides of each layer.

It's early morning in Oslo so maybe we'll have an answer soon. ^^^I was thinking the same thing. Why is the cake at the bottom of the oven? Is his heat source at the top of the oven? Inquiring minds want to know...

Here's a link to the manufacturer's product page and here's the pan I bought. Looks like it's the budget line "for less powerful heat sources," which certainly applies to my stovetop. As per everyone's recommendations, I'll try to season the pan well before moving on to eggs.

Thank you Woods, Annecros and HKDave for your comments. HKDave, part of the attraction for buying this type of pan was to replace the disposable teflon pan. I have no agenda against teflon, but thought that this might be a permanent replacement for at least some of the applications where I would use a teflon pan.

Wow, I'm envious. BTW, ume is actually Japanese apricot, althought it is commonly referred to as Japanese plum.

Any suggestions from users? Just treat like cast iron?

I picked up a blue steel frypan today made by de Buyer (Acier La Lyonnnaise, 24 cm) . It cost me almost nothing, so I thought it would be worth trying something new. I've never owned any blue steel cookware before. It sounds simliar to cast iron, which I've never owned. The manufacturer instructions says to fry some potato peelings for seasoning, and never to use soap/detergents. Should I always oil the pan after each washing? Is there anything else I should be watching out for in terms of care? From what I've read, this type of pan should be ideal for searing and for eggs and omelettes. Are there certain applications that this type of pan is not suited for? I did read the eG course on Understanding Stovetop Cookware, which states: Black Steel/Blue Steel - This is carbon steel that has been treated by a process of annealing, which makes the surface harder and less reactive. It also imparts a distinctive black or gunmetal blue color to the carbon steel. - Because the surface is harder, black/blue steel seasons more like cast iron in terms of its durability and persistence. Because the surface is less reactive, one need not be so concerned about minimizing opportunities for chemical interaction between the food and the pan. - Very inexpensive. - Common uses: Fry pans, sauté pans, crepe pans, omelet pans, woks. - Representative manufacturers: These pans are not particularly associated with any manufacturers, and they are all more or less the same.

If you're having problems finding baking soda, why not go for a genoise-style cake without added leaveners. The ingredient list is much simpler. For a beginner, I would recommend something like Pierre Herme's cocoa cake with a whipped ganache filling (similar to his black forest cake), then covered with ganache. Very chocolatey. If you use a milk or semisweet chocolate for the whipped ganache, you'll get a triple hit of cocoa in the cake, milk/semisweet chocolate between the layers, and bittersweet chocolate in the ganache. Some fruit between the layers is optional. For a mirror glaze, look for a cocoa "glacage" recipe.

Was it the actual flavors, or perhaps the texture? I can see how the coldness and chewiness of soba noodles might not work well with the ikura. Since ikura aren't that far off from runny egg yolks, I can see how a warm bed of rice or warm pasta would work better.

I would go for a Japanese-Italian theme. Pasta tossed with ikura and perhaps shiso, and the ikura-topped pizza. You could also make a simple matchstick or wakame salad sprinkled with ikura. Of course, my first choice would be an ikura-don, with the ikura completely obscuring the rice underneath.

Here's a link to the Dr. Oetker product page, which makes the type of products that Ludja is referring to. http://www.oetker.ca/cgi-bin/WebObjects/oe...ination=page_35 According to the site: Sachet of baking powder = 5 tsp (20 ml) Sachet of vanilla sugar = Equivalent to 1-2 tsp vanilla extract (doesn't indicate the sachet volume)

Not a good sign if the counter staff are completely new. It sounds like they have changed their direction. I never understood the logic of their location. I suppose they were banking on affluent Chinese clientele in Richmond, but I think they would have done better downtown, where they could target those with business expense accounts as well as Japanese business travellers.

You could also make the crepes yourself and freeze them in advance. Pastry cream takes hardly any time at all to make, maybe 10 minutes, so I don't see the benefit of buying a pre-made product. It's also easier to work with freshly made pastry cream.

Has there been a complete turnover of staff (or management)? I know that they were advertising for new staff in one of the local Japanese publications.

My previous post might have been a bit confusing (and misleading). Basically "panko" is just the Japanese word for "breadcrumb." The commercial Japanese panko product is made the way cricklewood described. There's a diagram and photos of the production process here. That said, I believe you can still get regular panko (made from bread) in Japan. My mom used to make it all the time, but trimming the crusts off white bread, pulling that apart into pieces and setting it out to air dry in a pan. She used good quality bread from a real bakery.