RuthWells

What temp was the corn syrup when you added it? The choc was likely warmer than the syrup, and I'm guessing the syrup "shocked" the chocolate into cooling down significantly; hence the thicker consistency. Next time, you might try adding the corn syrup during the melting process so that you've got a consistent temp throughout. ← Well actually before this batch I accidentally added the corn syrup before microwaving and it seized. For the second batch the corn syrup was room temp. ← I'm not sure why that is. A lot of chocolate glaze recipes have you melt the corn syrup and chocolate together, though I always use a hot water bath or a double boiler. Maybe the corn syrup promotes the scorching of chocolate when you use the microwave method. What I would have done in your situation, when the glaze turned stiff, is put it in the hot water bath, try to bring it up to 100F or so, and see if you can get it thin again. If that didn't work, I would add a little hot cream. ← I agree, Patrick.

Plastic caps from, say, pan coating spray works pretty well as a cutter. ←

What temp was the corn syrup when you added it? The choc was likely warmer than the syrup, and I'm guessing the syrup "shocked" the chocolate into cooling down significantly; hence the thicker consistency. Next time, you might try adding the corn syrup during the melting process so that you've got a consistent temp throughout.

Those look delicious! I am by no means an expert in macarons, but I do get the best "feet" when I use an Italian meringue. The other tricks that are important are not being shy about knocking air out of the meringue while you incorporate the almonds -- unlike most meringue applications, you really do want to lose a lot of the air. For a final texture of the batter, think a loose toothpaste. From the high domes of your macarons, it looks like you got more "puff" than you want. As for the smooth tops, the Italian meringue will help that as well. I also recommend letting the piped trays of cookies sit on the counter to dry for at least 30 minutes before you bake them. The drying makes for more surface tension on the top of the cookie, which keeps the puff down and gives you a nice tight top. Good luck -- let us know how your third attempt goes!

I don't have pix, but inaugurated my spanking new copy by baking the Chunky Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chippers (but with smooth peanut butter, as that's what I had on hand). Big, huge enthusiastic thumbs up from my tasters, ages 8 & 10. This cookie has a wonderful toothfulness from the oatmeal, a hint of sophistication from the cinnamon and nutmeg, and the old-fashioned comfort-appeal of peanut butter and chocolate chips. Perfect late at night with a glass of cold milk. Also good for breakfast.

Wow, Viva, this is positively inspirational! I too do a monstrous amount of baking during the holiday season, and do do a lot of stuff ahead..... but not THIS far ahead! You've inspired me to start on my menu planning and at least get some buttercreams and cookie dough into the freezer.

I've been meaning to make the cardinal slice forEVER. Good thing the holidays are coming.

The drawings and instructions in "The Cake Bible" (in the special section at the end of the book) are very user-friendly and a good place to start with basic piping techniques. There is also a good Wilton book available at Michael's crafts -- it's the one with the cake with all the pink roses on the cover -- which is very helpful with basic piping techniques. I'd suggest that you play around with teaching yourself as much as you can, then filling in with a Wilton class. Some tasks, such as piping roses, just make a lot more sense when you see them in action, but will make even more sense to you if you have some basic piping skills first (which you can easily teach yourself).

I'll second that -- I am a merely home baker (though an ambitious one) and as a croissant first-timer, I found the BWJ recipe to be very rewarding.

Dorie, are there any updates on your signing/travel schedule? I don't want to miss any updates that might have gotten buried in other threads...

Oh lord, you're killing me, Patrick. In a very good way.

Last night I made the Croque-Tele cookies from Dorie Greenspan's "Paris Sweets". It's a simple sable cookie, made with ground almonds and plenty of butter, and a soupcon of salt. They're very good, and I have no pix. It occurs to me that every cookie I've made from this book is a winner; I should try more of them!

I'll be first in line in Philadelphia! To heck with waiting for Santa to bring me the book!

I'm trying to be patient and wait for Santa to bring me this book, but ya'll are making it very difficult!

Has anyone made Alice Medrich's chocolate mousse which uses water instead of cream (or other dairy)? <Not trying to cause trouble, really! >

WOW, those are gorgeous! I'll be right over!

I do very well with an oil-plus-flour spray, applied verrrrrrrrry liberally. Pam's version and Baker's Joy both work for me, but you gotta use a LOT.

Hi Squirrelly Cakes, I am curious about your diabetic angle food cake recipe -- I've been afraid to try a foam cake with a sugar sub (worried about the stability of the foam). How do you approach this? ← Hi Ruth, Sorry I should have been more specific. I don't make them sugar free, I make them normally. I know you can purchase sugar free angel food cake in the U.S., not that I have seen in Canada though. I don't bake sugar-free, I find it a huge disappointment and I have tried about every sugar substitute out there. So I prefer to not offer a product of less than satisfactory quality. I'm of the same philosophy, SQ -- I've been disappointed with almost every sugar-free or sugar-substitute recipe or tweak that I've attempted, and I feel that a small piece of the real thing is much more satisfying than a big hunk of something that's not up to par. That being said, I will say that I've had reasonable success substituting Splenda (the regular flaked Splenda, not the "for baking" product) for some (half to two-thirds) of the sugar in lemon curds and lemon custards. The lemon is strong enough to block most of the Splenda aftertaste and the product has fewer bad carbs than it did before.

Hi Squirrelly Cakes, I am curious about your diabetic angle food cake recipe -- I've been afraid to try a foam cake with a sugar sub (worried about the stability of the foam). How do you approach this?

Hi, Heleen! I have made the RLB fondant quite a few times, and it's very user-friendly. Do try to make it a day before using it, as she suggests, to allow it to rest. And don't roll it out too thin -- it is very stretchy. And finally, I find the the taste to be absolutely fine. Have fun!

Leave it to Patrick! Gorgeous!

Make sure it's digital, that it measures both grams and ounces, and that you and zero it out with the bowl still on it. I love my little Salter ($50 from Willy Sonoma).

Hey there, Mister, if I can post a cake here, so can you!! It sounds lucious.

Is this this one from Whimsical Bakehouse that I posted some time ago? It is a bit sweet, but I like the crumb a LOT.

I filled a wedding cake using the egg-rich recipe I posted a while back, and it worked out fine -- no squishing out of lemon curd when the cake was cut, even on the 12" tier. But if you want a lemon filling that is pretty much gauranteed to be firm enough, you could do a cornstarch-thickened lemon filling, as you would do for a lemon meringue pie. ← Patrick, do you have any pix of the wedding cake to show off? I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd love to see it!