RuthWells
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Posts posted by RuthWells
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I made nougat for this first time this weekend. It is not photo-worthy, but it is tasty! I used a Jacques Torres recipe and subbed hazelnuts for pistachios. The recipe yield was huge -- I assume it will keep well for a while if I wrap it airtight?
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I use a large rectangular tupperwear box, inverted over the dough, with a bowl of hot water along side (still under the box). Low-tech, but it works.
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i guess i'm just trying to give advice to a home cook who might not have easy access to dextrose or glucose powder.
Yikes, does it show?
Thanks for the additional info and suggestions, Sethro, and thanks Alana for your ideas as well. With the kids (and I) heading back to school next week, I probably won't have too much time to play in the near future, but who knows!
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i always just do it to taste. granted, when it is frozen it often won't be as strong, but i find you won't add too much this way. also, you don't want to add too much because of the affect it has on the freezing temperature of the sorbet. too little and your sorbet could be icy...too much and it won't ever freeze.
hmmmm...some rule of thumb, eh?
ROLF! So basically, the rule is to play it by ear.
The texture of the sorbet is perfect as-is; I'm assuming that reducing the alcohol will make it icier. C'est la vie.
ruth, if you reduce the alcohol another option to create a "smoother" product is to add something like a stabilizer...this can be in the form of corn syrup or glucose or egg whites or other more technical stabilizers specifically for sorbets and ice creams. the corn syrup and glucose aren't inherently sweet (on the taste buds) and perform like sugar and alcohol in that they raise the freezing temperature so the result isn't as icy.
slippery slope, eh?
Interesting. I do find corn syrup to be inherently sweet; perhaps I could sub some of the simple syrup called for with corn syrup? (I'm assuming that corn syrup has more stabilizing power than simple syrup?) And here I thought I was asking a simple question!
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i always just do it to taste. granted, when it is frozen it often won't be as strong, but i find you won't add too much this way. also, you don't want to add too much because of the affect it has on the freezing temperature of the sorbet. too little and your sorbet could be icy...too much and it won't ever freeze.
hmmmm...some rule of thumb, eh?
ROLF! So basically, the rule is to play it by ear.
The texture of the sorbet is perfect as-is; I'm assuming that reducing the alcohol will make it icier. C'est la vie.
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I'm drooling reading everyone's posts! I made orange-basil sorbet this weekend from a recipe in an old issue of Fine Cooking. Next time I'm going to reduce the Grand Marnier -- the booze overpowered the basil flavor. Does anyone have a good rule of thumb regarding alcohol proportions in sorbets?
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You could just make the mousse part and eat it straight!
Ah, but then I'd still have all this lemon rind to cope with.......
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I've kept peel for a year, it's okay, but it loses it's oomph. Not frozen, just wrapped well.
That's great to know, thanks!
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I have extra candied lemon rind I'd like to store for future use. Can it be frozen, or is room-temp airtight the best way to go? How long should it hold up? And finally, how do y'all use it, other than as a garnish?
TIA.
I don't know how long you could keep it, but I would think it won't go bad quickly. I made a recipe from PCB Creation that had lemon mousse with candied lemon peel folded into it as a component. Here is the recipe.
That looks cool, but a bit beyond my available baking time and energies at the moment, unfortunately.
I was thinking I could fold some chopped rind into a lemon pound cake, but it sounds good in a mousse, as well. -
I have extra candied lemon rind I'd like to store for future use. Can it be frozen, or is room-temp airtight the best way to go? How long should it hold up? And finally, how do y'all use it, other than as a garnish?
TIA.
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Coconut vanilla rice pudding with chocolate croquettes. I was going to make the croquettes with tapioca soup, from the recipe in Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, but I couldn't find any large pearl tapioca locally, and didn't want to order any.
Oh, yum. I must try this one!
I've been eating hunks of lemon chiffon cake (that fell out of the pan -- grrrrrrr) along with Pierre Herme's lemon cream (thanks again, Patrick!) and fresh berries. Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
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Theoretically you can patent a recipe, but it costs a lot of money, and a patent will only be granted if the technique or product is considered truly novel and nonobvious. When this issue first came up, I briefly searched patents at the US Trademark and Patent office, and couldn't find a single patent on a recipe like the kind you might find in a cookbook. Most of the patents I found were for things like methods for producing pork patties or instant pudding.
Most law firms would charge $5-10,000 to even file a patent application with the USPTO, and of course there is no gaurantee the patent will be granted. And then if you ever wanted to sue someone for infringing on your patent, that would cost more money, and there's no gaurantee of success. It appears to me that for the average professional baker/pastry person, the only way to keep you recipes is simply not to share them, but even then there is no way to prevent someone else from "reverse engineering" your bright ideas.
Do you have RLB's Pie and Pastry Bible, Patrick? She has a recipe for Lemon Pucker Pie that she either patented or trademarked, and I can't remember which (and am not at home to check it out)..... The story was that the recipe was such a hit when she developed it, she seriously considered producing the pies commercially and selling them, hence protected the recipe legally. Though the only legal protection may have been for commercial production purposes.
Annie, I'm hoping one of the partners in your doctors practice can get you your results quickly, and am so glad the cat came home! Things are looking up........
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^The pistachio and white chocolate semifreddo looks and sounds delicious!
The garnish on the bottom edge of the dome cake is just candied walnuts.
Today's dessert--I tried this butterscotch pudding recipe I found online and it totally sucked. I don't know what I did wrong, I mean, it's just pudding and I followed the recipe exactly. The pudding had a grainy, unpleasant texture from the cornstarch. I ate two ice-cream bars out of frustration. Grr.
At least you had a fall-back dessert on hand!
I don't care for cornstarch, either, and try to stick to egg-thickened custards and such. The first time I made a 10x-sugar based frosting (just a few years ago), I was appalled and outraged at how much of the cornstarch in the 10x I could taste/feel. Never again! -
That dome is lovely, Ling -- what is the garnish around the lower edge?
I haven't been doing much dessert-ing lately, but did fulfill a birthday request from Hubby over the weekend. He's a serious pistachio-holic, so we came up with pistachio-white chocolate semi-freddo, served in a coconut-pistachio tuile. If I were do to it again, the tuile would have a lot less coconut and be more thin and crispy, rather than thick and chewy. Yummy none the less!
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Oh, Ling, I'm so jealous! They all look fabulous and now my tummy's growling........
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I've been eating pieces of Exotic Orange Cake.
The layers, from bottom to top, are: honey almond cake, caramel vanilla bean cremeux, honey almond cake, orange bavaroise, Passion Fruit/Mango gelee. The cake is coated with more orange bavaroise.
Lord, that's beautiful. How did you get such a clean cut, Patrick? There are no mousse smears on your almond cake!
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I haven't had much time to bake recently, but I did manage to play with making basil ice cream this weekend. Wow, is it good! You taste vanilla first, and then the basil sneaks in underneath and lingers on the tongue. A definite keeper.
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Also, my non-chocolate loving friends found it way too decadent and only ate a biteful or two...
I don't think I have any non-chocolate loving friends, LOL!
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I was planning to attempt the plaisir sucre a few weeks ago, but got sidelined. For when I have time to bake again, though -- what do ya'll think of preparing the plaisir sucre in smaller portions (almost like minis)? I have a number of family members who have to watch their sugar intake, and I'm trying to help them exercise portion control.
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...so I diligently buttered every nook and cranny, even though the bundt pan was already nonstick.
Bundt pans are notoriously difficult to grease adequately, even the non-stick ones. What works for me is a liberal coating of a non-stick spray which includes flour, such as Bakers Joy or Pam With Flour. Some people swear by a homemade concoction of shortening, flour, and water (I think). I feel that the sprays do a better job of reaching every nook of the sculpted pans.
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It was designed and executed by Bob Bennet of Miel Patisserie,
Unfortunately for us Philadelphians, Chef Bennet is *formerly* of Miel Patisserie.
Edited to try to stay marginally on topic -- I'm not crazy about fondant covered cakes from a taste perspective, but I actually like the judicious use of fondant appliques over true buttercream. It adds another flavor and texture note that I enjoy.
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Kerry, I'd love to try the nougat recipe, thanks for posting it. Question -- is there any substitute you can recommend for the edible rice paper? Will heavy, coated parchment work, or will I be picking pieces of paper out of my candies?
I'd probably butter the parchment to make it easier to peel off. Let us know how it works.
Okey doke. My parchment is silicone-coated, and I'll give it a liberal greasing too boot. Will report back.
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Kerry, I'd love to try the nougat recipe, thanks for posting it. Question -- is there any substitute you can recommend for the edible rice paper? Will heavy, coated parchment work, or will I be picking pieces of paper out of my candies?
Confections! (2006-2012)
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
Thanks, that makes sense. Your chocolates are beautiful!