sanrensho

Unless you have strong wrists, do yourself a favor and pick up a hand mixer. If anything, those recipes should warn people not to underbeat things like meringues and whipped cream. That's what I used to do and my results often suffered because of it. When you get your hand mixer, set aside some time to purposely overbeat some egg whites and whipped cream to get a feel for the different stages it goes through. With both, I can usually hear when the motor is straining to indicate that the cream/whites are getting stiff (this is on a stand mixer, however). There is also a very helpful thread on whipping cream.

I never trust non-stick pans to stay, well, un-stuck. I always grease and flour (or cocoa). You could also use Baker's Joy which already has flour in it. I find it more economical to mix up some baker's grease as mentioned in other threads--equal parts shortening, flour and oil whipped together.

I like to experiment with new recipes when the SO and kids are away. Being alone in the house means that I can try more time-consuming preparations that I otherwise wouldn't have time for. I also like to experiment with new ingredients, as I don't have to buy a lot or end up with a lot of waste if it doesn't work out.

Do you have a specific model and/or source that your can recommend? TIA

Here is the publisher's info for the Gisslen book that Wendy refers to. A link to the table of contents is also included. I wish I could preview a copy of this book before buying it. http://he-cda.wiley.com/WileyCDA/HigherEdT...llegeAbout.html

I was a baking dumbass until a year ago. (Had almost zero baking experience before then.) Nowadays, I'm a baking dumbass with a stand mixer and a copy of the Cake Bible. Seriously, though, the two things that made the biggest difference to me were RLB's Cake Bible (sorry Chris) and getting a stand mixer. Working through the different types of cakes in the Cake Bible has helped me to understand some of the theory behind cake baking and allowed me to work on technique. Her directions are precise and everything is weighed out, so it is hard to mess things up. I have a lot more confidence in tackling other recipes with less specific instructions. There is also a lot of good reference material in that book. The stand mixer just makes things immensely easier. I can walk away and do cleanup, so everything goes quicker. That means I'm inclined to bake more often, averaging one or two cakes a week for family and friends. (Any more than that and I wouldn't fit through doorways.)

That makes sense then. I can see them being given out for newspaper subscriptions and other commercial promotions. I was just wondering if these had perhaps became an oseibo item. Over here, except for the free sundae/cone coupons that are sometimes doled out trick-or-treaters, I couldn't imagine an application for gift certificates from McDonald's.

Thank you. More data is always helpful! I will make a point of buying the 3" pans.

Wendy, have you noticed the same phenomena that Sugarella refers to? Namely, that the same amount of batter will rise higher in a taller pan?

McDonald's gift cards? Is this part of some new trend that I'm not aware of?

Couldn't agree more. I can't wait to turn mine into frisbees. I'll try to do a similar comparison to yours when I get my 2" (maybe 3") pans.

It really depends on who (how many) you're baking for. I find myself going to smaller pans as I bake often and don't want to have a cake sitting around too long. I've also started to bake from Japanese recipes, which often call for 8" or smaller. Having said that, I use two 9" pans and one 9" springform for 95% of my (round) cake baking. Partly because most recipes are based on a 9" size, and because it fits the cake stands/containers that I have.

I would use the 8" springform, assuming you want to fill this cake. The Cake Bible should tell you the finished height and how much the batter originally fills the pan, so just gauge this when filling your springform. Bake the rest in a muffin tin for sampling! I have 9" x 1.5" pans and I think they are limiting, since I often have to resort to a 9" springform. I will eventually replace them with 2" pans. If you don't want to build a large pan collection, return those 1.5" pans and source some 2" pans.

There's a good thread about cafe sua da here. Basically, you use a dripper to brew strong coffee over a liberal amount of sweetened condensed milk. Thanks for the info, Lorna.

Yorna, do you usually use a Vietnamese brand of condensed milk, or something like Carnation brand? Does it make any difference to the finished product? I only ever use sweetened condensed milk for Vietnamese coffee, so I don't know if there is much of a difference between the two. Thanks.

Looks great! What banana cake recipe did you use, and how did you like it?

Or you could just call it crab miso, like the Japanese refer to it (kani miso). Sounds nicer than either tomally or "crab guts."

I was thinking the same thing. If so, congratulations!

Unless you are going on a tour (for pleasure), I wouldn't sweat too much about hitting other parts of Japan, especially as far away as Tokyo. Although it would certainly be a nice option, for more reasons than just food. There are regional specialties in every part of Japan I've been to. If anything, I would try to get invited into as many homes as you can to get a feel for what the locals really eat (and drink).

I couldn't agree more. Although I think that there are more coffee (vs espresso) drinkers than you give credit for. I recently ordered a double espresso at a highly recommended coffee bar and the barista actually messed up my order. (I was watching him.) He was caught off-guard by somebody ordering an actual espresso!

Lemongrass and galangal: Tom Kha Gai. You can definitely freeze the three herbs/roots you mentioned. Kaffir lime leaves and Thai bird chilles can also be frozen and used as needed.

I'd buy that.

Nice tie-in to Asia for dessert. I see you that you stopped in at Sadaharu Aoki's shop. How did you like the maccarons?

Yikes! I stand corrected. I guess it shows how often I make it out to Aberdeen Centre...

2nd floor food court? First thing that comes to mind is the food court at Aberdeen Centre, where the Daiso is located.