ALTAF

I made the high hat cup cakes shown below using once natural cocoa powder and once dutch-processed.The reasults: with natural cocoa powder: light brown color, no taste of chocolate, airy & light cake, but well rised, made 18 pices. with dutch-process: dark brown color, real taste of chocolate, a bit dense, did not rised high like the 1st try, made 21 pices! If i want to stick with the 2nd try using dutch processed cocoa, should i change the leavining amonut? (example: lower the baking soda and raise the baking powder)?and how much Advice Urgent Please?

The cream chesse was at room tempreture. Today i made the same recipe a gain using normel cream chesse (not low fat) and sifted the sugar, it was much better that yesterday attempt!

Glad you told me so. i'll give it atry because the european style cocoa is available widley in my country and franckly speaking i dont like hershys natural cocoa. I prefer the taste of alkalized cocoa and have used it in everything, including cake recipes which specify natural cocoa, with no (apparent) texture or leavening problems. ←

Today i tried a cup cake recipe with a butter-cream chesse frosting. i followed the instraction carfully: to beat the butter first 3 minutes until it becomes soft, then to add the cream chesse and beat, then add vanilla....(know here's when the problems started). After i add the last ingredient (the confectioners sugar) it frosting was not smooth as the author explained....my frosting looked crudel. What might went wrong.? i have a suspetion in one of the following: cream chesse, i used low fat confectioners sugar, i did not sifted it because the author did not specify. Any thoughts?

Patrick S: Your macarons looks are perfect. I have a recipe of a chocolate cup cake that calls for cocoa powder. and it containes 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. So i used hershyes non-alkilized cocoa powder because of the amount of baking soda. I'wondering can i still use alkilized cocoa powder instead because the non-alkali is not always available in my country?

WOW...........elegant dessert

Thsnka alot. That was informative. Need ma recomendation for best cheesecake book?

Wendy: In case i did not find a pan release spray, would butter or shortining be ok? wendy: How long do you freeze them? And want that procedure affects the cheesecake interior? Wendy: What method do you use for cuting chessecakes? Hot water & knife? or waxed thread? The cakes at the coffee houses has A smooth neat cut look. with your experience as apstry chef, do you use a cake divider (marker)? I have one that gives you 16 pieces, which i don't like because the cake pieces lok very thin. Any Advice? Sorry for too much questions

Wendy: Do you mean the cakepan without a loos bottom, and how can i remove the cake? JayBassin: Sounds unusual, also i think it want help for a fulln crust. Guys: I'm thinking of something like cheesecake factory cheesecake style. Many Thanks

Hi, Iwant my cheesecake to lok taller. Once i changed the springform pan from 10" to 9" but it did not make a big diffrence. I also tried to make the crust thicker by doubling the ingredients and i got a bad result. (the crust had too much butter) Got a slution?

Wow, a very important topic. But still one question left: if the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon pure vanilla exrtact, and i would like to use vanillin instead. Shell i use the same amount or less?

Thank you again.

Almond flour: Is it ground almond? Almond meal: What is it?

Hello, Due to religious reasons, we cannot use pure vanilla extract in baked goods because it containes alcohol. what is the best to use in this sitiuation: artificial vanilla extract or vanillin? and shall i use it in the same amount the recipe calls for? Thanks in advance.

hello Turtle Meng, First of all i wish you a succesful bussines with the cafe lady. Secondly there are alot of resources in the internet that can lead you to perfect cheesecakes, among them : epicurious. But what i noticed in my country particulary, is that you can get the people attention to buy or try cheesecakes in two ways: 1- the look of the cheesecake 2- the name of the cheesecake An example of cheecake that made a hit : Oreo cheesecake, caramel-hazelnut. I also tried recentrly a blueberry topped chessecake but it had a delicious secret taste and smell and i'm sure that it included an small amount of shreded coconut but i could'nt figure out if it was in the crust of the filling. I hope that hepls.

Generaly speaking: drop cookies.

Hello, What kind flour do you like to use for baking cookies? and why? (example: cake flour, all-purpose, whole wheat.......etc) What i want to point is: what makes the cookie tender? i've heard it's the kind of flour.

Thanks fr the info

Hello, I have alice medrich "bittersweet" book and i would like to buy her new "chocolate holidays". I would like to know if it encludes past recipes from her books or new ones/ got an idea?

Hmmmmmmmmmm. It seems some people are using the deep cake pans. I like the idea but feels that it might be risky. And what if the filling amount was a lot ?

I thought i had a good knowledge of cheesecakes. Well my thought were wrong when i started using recipes with water bath technique. Although i have lined the spingform pan with foil, i still get a wet a wet texture. 1- I need an advice or a nother options 2- Is the water bath technique very important to cheesecakes? Thanks

I agree with you wendy. Thanks for the information

Hi Wendy, well the answers that i recieved and confused me are: 1- when you are doubling a recipe, you can double the flour and liquide but everything else you will use 11/2 times the original amount! 2- boubling leaveners such as baking soda & baking powder can br tricky! .............that what made me confused

Well i have wrote to some food magazine and pastry chefs before and there reply was confusing!. They told me not all desserts recipes can be doubled or tripled, you have to try and see for your self!! so i was not helpful, and i'm not going to use a huge amount of ingridients then throw it!

Hello, I'm wondering can i double cakes & cookies recipes easily? or do they need certain method?