atcake

Thanks!

Don't they use a product like Instant Whip, Bettercream or Frostin' Pride? Those are all whipped icings.

There is a possibility I can get a super clean Duke electric convection oven for a good price. I was hoping someone (or more than one) could give me some input on these. I believe it's a full sheet oven, don't have the model number yet. This would be used for baking cakes and cookies. Thanks!

I think Food Network was started as an entertainment value, not necessarily for educational content. While you can pick up some little tricks here and there, the true foodie or chef wouldn't get much out of it. That's why the have the perky young girls( or large you know whats) as their main female hosts. They have the hip younger/cool guys to host many of the shows. While I for one, along with my family enjoy watching shows like Alton Brown "Good Eats" or "Secret Life of" or "Unwrapped", I am so happy to see the end of Emeril. He was just on too much. Now, if they'd only get rid of Rachel Ray and Paula Dean (yeeaaaaaaaahwwwwl) I am so sick of seeing Rachel Ray everywhere, not only on cracker boxes, but in the book stores and please, 4 or 5 shows on the same network? I almost never watch Food TV for that very reason. Oh and do you think Bobby Flay could scale back a bit too? It's the same thing on their challenges. You get tired of seeing the same competitors in the categories. I watch the cake challenges, well, because, I'm a caker, but we sometimes watch the BBQ ones. They need to bring in "new blood" on the challenges. But, on the flip side of that, they've made millionaires out of these people. And for the challenge winners, they've been able to bump their bottom line pricing to a little more just because they were on there. Great place for exposure. I'm not trying to bash Food TV, just airing my opinions. The former White House exec pastry chef kept calling Food TV as the comedy hour of food at the Oklahoma Sugar Show.

Thanks! We've decided to submit the following two options to Amoretti. Hope some of you might be interested in competing. Pistachio - raspberry - white chocolate Cinnamon - hazelnut - cherry

Thanks for the input everyone!

Thanks! Actually, we'll be getting the compounds for the flavors we choose for the competition. If there is a different combo that you'd rather see on here, by all means, please don't be shy! That's why I asked. I also agree that people don't go too outside the box with wedding cakes but we want to show them that they can and see the results can be a wonderful dessert to serve their guests.

Well, it has more to do with a competition we're setting up in Cleveland for January of 2009. We want the tasting competition to be more complex than just a plain ol' chocolate cake. We did one this year and it was Chocolate Masterpieces, and only a few showed up and those who did were marked "average" by the judges. Figured if we had more input from a wide range of pastry chefs, we'd entice more competition and competitors. Amoretti will be supplying the flavor compounds to create the cakes and there is a possibility of the recipe being published by them or another source. I've been looking for that thread and I owe you a big THANK YOU for linking back to it. I knew there were more combos we weren't thinking about. As for the cherry replacement, what type of cherry would you be thinking about? There are so many to choose from, i.e., black, sour, marichino, choke, etc.

Hmmm, the chili marshmallow does sound interesting! Thanks for your reply.

If someone said "here's a list of flavor profiles, choose one to create a dessert cake (that would also stand up to wedding cake construction), with the possiblity of the recipe being published", which would you choose? Kahlua type (or crema di Kahlua), cinnamon, and hazelnut (or other type of nut) Creme Brulee, vanilla, cinnamon White chocolate, apricot, cinnamon Chai, chocolate and berry Coconut, latte, vanilla or english toffee Irish cream, white chocolate, marscapone pistachio, raspberry, white chocolate pumpkin, white chocolate, brandy green tea, nut (you choose), spice (again, you choosse) butter rum, caramel and pecans hot chocolate, marshmallow, cinnamon or gingerbread fig, pear, white chocolate Mint, irish cream, chocolate (or white chocolate) plum, chai (or other spice), white chocolate or zabaione pomegranate, lime, chocolate pomegranate, chocolate, orange pistachio, pomegranate, vanilla pomegranate, banana, cream cheese pom, banana, pistachio pom, pear, clove or these 2 flavor combos, where you could incorporate more imagination: fig and cardamom pistachio and raspberry pistachio and pomegranate apricot and black currant almond and black currant pear and chestnut fig and apricot hazelnut and cinnamon plum and chai

Here's a couple of funny ones: http://lmnop.blogs.com/lauren/images/11040...oakler_cake.jpg http://www.creativecakeshop.co.uk/Images/g...vorce_Large.jpg

Well, I tried the cake again this morning and much to my surprise, the flavor didn't change at all, just mellowed a little bit. It's as though it hit maturity about 4 hours after cooling and held steady. The crumb stayed nice and tight, and did not turn rubbery or anything. It stayed incredibly moist and the flavor was definitely there. Just wanted a little more than a suggestion of the spices and I definitely hit it there. You can taste all the flavors individually as you move the cake through your mouth. It always surprises me to hear that cakes can sit for that long. I know a lot of types can last that long, but other than a fruit cake, I don't know that I'd want a cake that had been in the fridge or at room temp for that long. One thing I noticed too was, after icing the cake, you have a much shorter "shelf life" than uniced. There seems to be a chemical breakdown at the cake surface, where the icing meets the cake. Especially true of chocolate cake. Becomes almost a slime. I think that's more of the butter/oils breaking out of the icing, but it's still kind of gross looking. I've found this true with both scratch and doctored mixes. Anyone care to elaborate on that?

Ok, so I did another run on the cake today. I upped my cocoa powder to 1/2 cup sifted into my dry ingredients and then steeped 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg in 1/2 cup melted butter. I reheated the coffee and poured the spiced butter into it and added 2 TBS of Amoretti's Cappucino/Tiramisu compound (slightly more than the original batch), and 1TBS Kahlua to the hot liquid. Let that all set while sifting out the dry ingredients. Mixed it all together and baked. The aroma was lovely. The whole kitchen smelled of cocoa and spices. The flavor was mild but noticeable when it came out of the oven and deepened slightly as it cooled. I let one sit on the counter and put one in the freezer. The one on the counter did deepen in flavor and the crumb was similar to a basic layer cake. The one in the freezer was pulled out and the crumb was nice and tight, almost like a pound cake. When you first bite into it, (it is still cold but not frozen) the flavor seems a little weaker, but as it moves through your mouth you can begin to pick up the subtle flavors. This is exactly the subtly that I was looking for. I'm going to let it come up to room temp and taste again. You can definitely taste all the flavors in the cake as they hit on different areas of the tongue. We'll see how it matures overnight and it if doesn't go weak or strong, this is the recipe I'm going to work with. Thanks for the help!

I don't know either, but he seems to tolerate the evaporated cane juice in cereals and such, just as long as we don't over do it.

Thanks for the input. I know, now that I wrote it down that it seemed silly. I only wanted a slight flavor of the cinnamon, but enough to be noticeable. I'll go higher and report back.

Thanks. I don't know either The cake remained at room temperature and I only used about 1/2 tsp cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg. I'm thinking it just wasn't enough to hold the flavor. I didn't want to overshoot on the first try, so I'll at least double it for the next round. Thanks for the help! I like the butter steeping idea too.

Have you looked into the organic evaporated cane juice sugar? My son is allergic to refined sugars, including the raw sugar and organic sugar but seems to be fine with the oecj above. It substitues very well, at least in my experience, for cookies and cake. Whole foods carries it. Maple sugar (just boiling down the pure maple syrup) works pretty well when substituting for brown sugar/sugar in some cookies. The taste is quite mild and much like brown sugar rather than the overpowering maple taste.

I am in the process of making a new flavor, spiced mocha cake, kind of like a cappucino cake, using cinnamon and nutmeg, and when I took it out of the oven it smelled and tasted wonderful. About an hour later, after it was completely cooled, it still smelled and tasted good. About 2-3 hours later though, you could hardly pick up the spice flavor at all, let alone the chocolate. My question is, how much do I need to overcompensate on the spices and cocoa powder (dutch process) to retain the flavor without having the mature cake taste too strong? Thanks!

Hi everyone. These will be the prizes for the top 3 places in both the Art of the Cake Wedding Cake Competition and the Chocolate Masterpieces tasting competition. Some other prizes may be added depending on incoming donations. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. For more information on the event, please visit http://neohiodecorators.tripod.com Grand Prize Wedding Cake Competition: Kitchen Aid 5 quart mixer plus CASH 2nd Place: Cash and ribbon 3rd Place Cash and ribbon Grand Prize Tasting Competition Sunbeam Mixmaster Stand Mixer plus CASH 2nd Place Cash and Ribbon 3rd Place Cash and Ribbon Also, because this is our first time putting on an event like this, we would love to hear comments about the likes and dislikes from events that you've attended in the past. We want to make this comfortable for everyone.

Yes, there is a huge difference in the two types. The bulk type has a different make up, most already contain the eggs. Most of them you just add water and oil. While the bagged are ok, for anyone who likes cake mix cakes, the consumer type is far better. Most full scale bakeries use the bulk because it's cost effective and easier to make large batches. I've tried both and will gladly keep buying the consumer blend. (I use both scratch and doctored mixes.) You'll have to try it for yourself. I would say if you doctor the consumer box, then plan to doctor the bulk too.

Thank you everyone! You've been a big help!

Good morning all. I have a client who is requesting a vegan cake. No problem there, done those before. This is for a wedding and will be 3 tiers, top only to be vegan. I typically use a shortening based 10x icing with soy margarine for a portion to lighten up the taste, real vanilla and almond for the flavors. My bride and groom, although swore they liked it the day they tasted, have now decided that it's too heavy and would like something lighter. The design on the cake is very simplistic with a base ribbon and gum paste roses to be zig zagged on the tiers. Do you have any suggestions for a lighter vegan icing that tastes good enough for non-vegans to eat, will hold up to a wedding cake, can sit outside in Cleveland August heat, and is either ivory or white? Thanks in advance!!!

Thanks for the info. Those flowers are beautiful. Actually, I'm looking for non-crystallized flowers. I finally had a local florist call me back and got a price that way. Thanks!

Does anyone have a good supplier for edible fresh flowers? I need to get pricing to finalize 2 contracts and no one seems to be calling me back. Any help would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks!

The butterflies in this photo were made with very thin gum paste. http://www.aboutthecake.com/1604b7660.jpg They were painted with luster and petal dust mixed with alcohol. They're put together with royal icing and propped while drying. For the super realistic ones, use the wafer paper and edible printer ink, but for a less realistic use the gum paste so you can make them very thin. Fondant typically won't go this thin. Regardless of what edible format you use, they're going to be fragile.