Dailey

thanks for posting the picture steve!

are you referring to "the baker's dozen" book? i have that book on hold at the library and recall flo braker being one of the authors...i think. thanks

thanks again you all!

wow, from what i just read from you all, i've been doing everything wrong! i stir the sugar/water constantly then scrape the sugar crystals that form on the side of pan back down into the syrup. i've also been using the wrong type of pan and i will definitely get a digital theromemeter, why didn't i think of that before? i'm gonna give it another try, thanks so much everyone!

ooops, i guess it would help if i explained what goes wrong for me! when i boil the sugar mixture ( i used a thermometer) and attempt to pour it into the egg yolks, it either pours out verrrry slowly or turns crunchy in my icing. plus, when the sugar is boiling, it always starts to form a "crust" of sugar aroound my saucepan. i don't think that's suppose to be happening? thanks again.

every time i've tried to make buttercream that requires boiling the sugar/water and pouring into the egg mixture i always mess it up. i've tried RBL's neoclassic BC, which i heard was easier and ruined 2 batches. yesterday, i made the BC from the pastry queen and, of course, no luck. i make smbc all the time and was wondering...can i just add a couple egg yolks to my 5 egg whites/sugar and cook over stove like usual or will it not work? i'm thinking no but thought i'd ask first. thanks

i just made "white-on-white buttermilk cake" by the Pastry Queen and it was the best white cake i have tried so far, and i've tried many. the cake is heavy due to all the butter and buttermilk, its not as light as RBL's white velvet or CI white cake BUT the flavor is amazing. its very sweet, which i usually don't like, but it worked for this cake. plus, its so moist. its one of those cakes where even though you're full you keep going back for just "a little taste".

oh good, someone added my previous post to this old thread, hopefully more people will chime in! i'm making the white-on-white buttermilk cake for my MIL's birthday on thursday, glad to hear it got good reviews.

i just got this book and am so impressed already by the recipes...and i haven't even tried them yet. they look/sound wonderful. i've never heard of this women until recently and was wondering if anyone has any knowledge of this book and what they thought of the recipes....thanks

THAT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so happy to hear this, i know i don't "know" you personally but i love your work and i've kept you in my prayers everyday since you posted this information.

I don't know where you live, but the darkest cocoa I've ever seen is Hershey's Special Dark cocoa, and that is very widely available at supermarkets in the US. It is a dutched, or alkalized cocoa, and to me it tastes an awful lot like Oreo cookies. Personally I prefer dutched cocoa, but this variety is actually over-dutched, and makes for cakes that look almost black. Hershey's first version of dutch cocoa -- Hershey's European Style cocoa, was actually much better. ←

about a year back, i was on the hunt for the "perfect" strawberry cake...i never found it. i did try the cake from AR and had trouble with it, if you try it and have sucess, please come back and let us know! also, i know kris had posted awhile back that there is a recipe for strawberry cake in Wilton's yearbook, i've been meaning to try it but have to track it down first. good luck!

i made these again this past weekend with the lemon juice and it still didn't stiffen up, o well, i just added a blueberry to each tart and it looked fine. i also made pastry cream with fresh whipped cream mixed in as an alternative filling for my guest but everyone liked the original filling better. i agree, that stuff is awesome! the dough was a bit soft but i was still able to shape them into balls, i just dusted my hands lightly with flour. i love making tarts but always make sure my butter isn't too soft or the room too warm otherwise i have trouble getting them to behave!

just wanted to wish you luck tomarro! hope all goes smoothly for you. oh, and i would have to take the recipes with me. btw, made your chocolate icing you posted and, WOW, it was awesome!!!

oh good! i'm glad i didn't ruin it, gonna add some whipped cream to it tomarro and fill my tarts, thanks!

i just finished reading the other thread on pastry cream and i *might* not have messed this up as i previously thought. i made pastry cream this morning and it is now cooling in a bowl. since i've never made it before i really don't know what to expect, however, i wasn't expecting it to feel and look "rubbery"? is this correct? also, i noticed some of you mentioned that your recipes call for butter, mine did not. should i add some and how much? i'd hate to throw it away, thanks!

thanks caroline! the buttermilk glaze sounds heavenly.

I was looking over this recipe and it looked so familiar, so I pulled out my recipe book and it was the one I use. I begged this recipe from my friend who makes it once a year, delicious. I am not even a true carrot cake fan and yet I would crave this cake. The only difference in my recipe is two things, butter instead of vegetable oil and brown sugar instead of white, both the same quantities. I never knew about the buttermilk glaze though and his cream cheese frosting is different, also delicious. Funny, now I know the recipes origin. ←

thanks kate! that vanilla/butter powder sounds awesome.

i made the FC carrot cake last week and noticed it was a bit greasy for my liking. my original carrot cake recipe calls for both butter and oil, which i think i like better. anyone else notice this? i did used vegetable oil instead of something a bit lighter like canola.

kate, do you used real chocolate or just the wafers? i think i'm gonna give it a try in the near future. also, i just figured out how to cover my cakes quite well with the mmf, do you think the chocolate clay is similair in the ease of covering? i would think it would be more finicky. any thoughts? thanks

your kidding?!? well isn't that something, i thought adding the lemon juice would make it even *more* runny! thanks for the help.

i made these wonderful little tarts yesterday and they were delicious but the filling was runny, nothing like the picture from the website i got them from. the only thing i did differently was i left out the lemon juice since i didn't have any on hand. i can't figure out what i did wrong, if anything. does anyone have any ideas? i need to make them again this weekend and was hoping to pipe the filling instead of spooning it into the tarts. hmmm, its not letting me add the link. if anyone has time, the website is joyofbaking.com its under "pies and tarts" and its called "shortbread tarts with cream filling". thanks!

my mom hates soggy crusts for cheesecake so i always crush up cookies and pour them into the pan, no butter or sugar. they don't get all mushy that way.

If your butter cake is wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated a few days it does dry a bit, but not a LOT. Depends how well you wrap it. If your butter cake is in the fridge under a layer of buttercream and fondant, you don't have to worry about drying at all. That layer of fat (buttercream), seals in moisture unbelievably. This is my theory about cakes drying out. It isn't so much that the cake dries out in the fridge, it's the fact that the cake was dry in the FIRST PLACE. You don't realize it when it's warm. Another fact: butter cakes TASTE dry when they are refrigerated. I am constantly telling my clients that cakes taste BEST at room temperature. I drive this point home when I consult with brides and give them samples. I tell them to note that the cake is room temperature, and that's how it should be served. ← i agree totally, i have a friend who insists on eating my cakes cold from the fridge. drives me nuts because i know they taste dry. i'm gonna be purchasing a new refriderator when we move within the year, i'll have to make sure i get one that has good moisture control.