digigirl

I got the DuFours puff pastry at Whole Foods on Westheimer last week. It was $9.99 - I didn't notice the weight, but it was one piece of pastry. Baked up beautifully and tasted good, but at that price, I will definitely have to learn how to make it myself!

I am on a quest for the perfect muffin top / topping. I have done them with streusel toppings, and I have done them where I dip the just-baked muffins in melted butter then dip into a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. However, the dip method is good right after baking, but turns soggy after sitting for a while. The streusel works pretty good, but I'm told it may be keeping my muffins from rising as much as they could. How do they do those gourmet muffins you get at bakeries and restaurants where they are huge, giant mushroom tops with crispy / crunchy / sugary tops? And they stay that way even after sitting on your counter overnight and going into the microwave the next morning. Any suggestions?

Ah, well I suppose I had just made a guess of what it would be like based on your picture, and didn't read your description closely enough. Don't get me wrong - it was good, just wasn't the texture I expected. My boyfriend - for whose birthday it was - loved it. So it was definitely a success! Thanks for the recipe, Patrick!

Ah, here we go:

Well, here is the cake. It came out okay, but not as outstanding as I had hoped. I'm sure that has everything to do with my inexperience and nothing to do with Patrick's recipe! The flavor was pretty good, although not as strawberry-y as it could have been with the extract / compound I didn't have. But it was much denser and didn't come out as light as Patrick's picture looked. I ended up having to put the batter in the fridge yesterday for a while before baking, so I'm thinking that may have had something to do with it. Anybody else have any suggestions as to why it might have come out so heavy? I'm trying to post pictures, but for some reason they are not appearing. Hopefully they will show up in the next post.

Kris, I made the cake yesterday but we haven't eaten it yet so I can't yet tell you how it came out. I was unable to find the strawberry extract - the only thing available in the local markets was Imitation, so I just went with really reduced strawberry puree. We'll see how it goes. But, it went together nicely and I'll have pictures tomorrow as well as a review!

Hey, don't forget to let us know what you decide on and post some pictures of the end result!

Oh - one more question: I will be making this cake the day before his birthday. Is this type of cake something that should be refrigerated overnight, or would it be better to just frost it and leave it out? I know some cakes are better after refrigeration, but I haven't done a lot of cakes, mostly cookies and muffins and such.

Thanks for the details, Wendy. Very helpful! And thanks for that link Patrick. I don't think I have time to mail-order anything so I think I'm just going to try it with an extract. I'm thinking to use your recipe, Patrick, adding the extract and doing the reduced puree ala Wendy. And frost with a whipped cream frosting with bits of strawberry folded through (maybe just in the middle layer, and plain on the outside). I will try to be organized and take a picture before it is demolished! That's always a challenge as the guys in the house tend to descend like locusts as soon as the baked goods are ready! I really love this board - being able to talk to accomplished bakers such as yourselves is soooooo helpful and makes me feel much more confident about trying an unknown recipe like this! Thanks, guys!

I'm so glad to have found this thread! My boyfriend's birthday is next week and upon some investigation, I have discovered strawberry cake is his favorite. I would like to make him a fabulous home-made strawberry cake and knew egullet was the place to go! Sure enough, here's this thread! Couple of questions on this recipe - I am soooo not a pro and really only got into cooking in the last 6-8 months or so (baking is my favorite). Forgive me if these are stupid questions. I'm not a fan of fake strawberry flavored things like jello, so I'd rather use the compound, but from all the places I've seen so far, it only comes in bulk sizes, the cost of which is out of my reach right now. Has anybody tried something like this strawberry flavor? Or what about strawberry extract, would that work, also? If so, when would it be added in order to adjust to taste - after the batter is made? Wendy - for the reduced puree - did this change the amount you used, i.e., did you use 1 1/2 cups puree after reduction, vs. 1 1/2 cups puree that is then reduced? I'm assuming it's the first option, but just want to make sure I'm understanding correctly. Thanks in advance for any info anyone can give me!

I'm happy to say that I don't have to claim this one. It belongs to my ex-husband and our roommate at the time (many years ago). There was some ad running on TV then that featured a summer sausage exploding in a microwave. Our Heroes, watching TV, see this ad, look at each other and think - "Hey! We have a summer sausage AND a microwave!" Off to the kitchen they go. To their disappointment, the summer sausage merely cooks in the microwave - no explosions. Not to be thwarted, they analyze. Let's see - sausage doesn't explode because it isn't a truly sealed container. What can we cook that IS a completely sealed container - how about an egg? Yeah, that'll work. Sure enough - the egg explodes - creating the most disgusting smell, the likes of which you do not ever want to experience. Now enter me, returning from work. I come in, I take off my shoes - then I stop. "What is that smell?" I ask. The house smells strongly like lemon but with an icky sulphur aftertaste. The boys look at me innocently and shrug. I go into the kitchen, take one step (in my socks, remember) - and shoot across the incredibly slick floor and slam into the opposite wall! The boys, being the responsible types that they were, cleaned up the exploded egg mess, but of course, The Smell remained. So, thinking quickly, they employed Lemon Pledge as an air freshener - sprayed liberally all over the top of the linoleum flooring in the kitchen! Voila! Instant waxed floor.

Hey, I just ran across an article at Cook's Illustrated comparing semi-sweet chocolate chips and immediately thought of this thread. Their top choice for chips is a brand called Tropical Choice. A quick googling shows a lot of places that carry them online - looks like you might find them at Whole Foods Market, otherwise you'd have to order. Second place went to Guittard Super Chips, third place to Ghirardelli and 4th place to Nestle. All of those were in the "Recommended" category. In the "Not Recommended" category were Merckens, Hershey's and Baker's. An old article - 1998 - but interesting, nonetheless.

Or how about getting some really big fat straws (I think I've seen some at party stores), seal one end somehow and then fill with soup. Not really *on* a stick but *in* a stick - pretty close!

A few more comments on the New Zealand Maori idea to entice you. You asked for silliness...... Here's what you do: go to this link and watch the Haka (Maori war chant) they perform http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/r...000/2403885.stm Then, once you've got the idea (I think maybe you can even order video tapes that will teach you Hakas), you teach everyone the Haka at the party. Definitely lots of silliness and laughter will ensue! The Hakas are all about overexaggerated motions - stomping, gesturing, and grimacing - sticking your tongue out all the way with your eyes all wide, etc. Trust me, it's fun and way silly. And, it really works too! Get you all fired up, as it was meant to do when they went to war. Y'all will be all jazzed up and ready to party after the Party Haka. Another tidbit that might be just some atmosphere enhancers for you. When we went to the Meeting House, they explained that the House represents the spirit of the ancestors - the peak of the roof symbolizes the spine, the windows are the eyes, and the door is the mouth. They had cool totems (don't know if they call them that or not, though) carved into the support poles. It was all very energizing, perfect for a party!

How about going the same direction, but veering down under? When I went to New Zealand about 10 years ago, we went to a Maori Meeting House and they did a dinner and show thing for us. It was very luau-ish in that there was the roast pig in a pit and the Maori culture is somewhat Polynesian-ish to us ignorant Americans - only much more exotic and unusual than the typical Hawaiian thing we've all seen. The men did awesome Maori war chants which involve a lot of stomping, chanting and grimacing and the women did some kind of dance with these little spinning balls. Unfortunately, I really don't remember the food that much, I was much more involved in the show. However, since Lord of the Rings, New Zealand is very hot right now so there is probably lots of information available about the Maoris, their culture and food out on the Internet! The quickest possible googling gave me these links - I'm sure with a little more time you could find much better: http://www.maorifood.com/ http://www.newzealand.com/travel/media/sto..._storyangle.cfm http://www.willowbank.co.nz/kotane/experience.asp Bottom line - you get a similar feel, but more exotic with some different props - kiwi birds instead of pineapples, etc.

When? and where? I just moved here to the Houston area last year, in the northwest area (Cypress) and there are no good stores close. I have to go all the way downtown to the Westheimer store to get to CM and with traffic and everything..... well, let's just say I've only been there twice. :( It would be GREAT if they put a CM on the northern side...... Can't wait!

Btw, I found this online - 5lb for $12.39 plus shipping: http://www.spiceplace.com/product_info.php...products_id/293 However it also shows "Out of Stock." Maybe Ghirardelli is discontinuing the regular chips since they have the double chocolate ones now?

Are the Ghirardelli chips really that much better than the usual supermarket brands? I've had other Ghirardelli products and didn't find them to be that exceptional. Good, but not so much better as to justify the much higher cost. Especially the cocoa - when making homemade hot chocolate mixes as gifts for Xmas, I tried all the brands I could find and Ghirardelli's was not nearly as good as some of the others. Now, I can see that for baking it might be different - with the addition of butter and sugar and all that good stuff. Maybe I'd have liked Ghirardelli better for that than for the hot chocolate. Just wondering.....

You can get the loose baggy kind at Sam's Club, if you have one near you. I saw them last time I was there. Very likely they have the tight kind also, but I haven't specifically seen them.