RuthWells
-
Posts
703 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by RuthWells
-
-
I thought I'd see whether I could resurrect interest in this thread by bumping it back up. I read it all the way through yesterday and was completely inspired. Just for fun, here's the most ambitious cake I've done recently. It was for a young friend's first birthday party, and it's decorated with mousseline (Italian meringue) buttercream and piped chocolate decorations (a la Whimsical Bakehouse).
What are you all decorating these days?
-
Cupcake batter, right off the spatula.
-
A friend of mine is attempting to make custard tarts and is having trouble with her crust. She asked me what she was doing wrong, and my only guess was too much butter, but I am not experienced with these things, so I thought I would ask here!
Apparently, she doesn't follow a recipe. Here is what she says:
"I think I roughly use the formula of 1 stick of butter to maybe 1 to 1/12 c
flour, sometimes an egg yolk. Cutting in the butter with knives (since I don't
have that kitchenaid), making the ball and then trying to roll it out and fit
it into the pan.. that kind of thing. I don't have an exact recipe or
technique which is why I think it doesn't totally work. I'd like for it to
maintain the shape of the fluted tart pan. But for me the buttery edges start
melting and sliding inside."
Does anyone have a recipe that sounds similar that works well, or an idea why her technique isn't working?
Hi Amccomb,
This is just a guess, as your friend doesn't tell us *when* the crust starts slipping and sliding (in the oven, before the oven....). But all tart (and pie, for that matter) crusts benefit from a hard chill before going in the oven. This relaxes the gluten in the flour as well as "sets" the edges so that they're better able to retain their shape when the pan hits the hot oven. I hope this helps!
-
Individual shortcakes with lemon mousse (actually, Italian meringue folded with lemon curd) in place of whipped cream, strawberries, and blueberries. Yum!
-
sorry not to respond before...the passionfruit mousse is (I think) originally from The Cake Bible...called Fruit Cloud, I believe. Just substitute passionfruit puree for the raspberry.
and let me know if i'm wrong and it is not there...i'll hunt it down.
Hi Kit,
Is this the Cake Bible recipe where you essentially fold a fruit curd or puree into an Italian meringue?
-
Two stale Starburst squares from my kids' left-over Easter candy. Strawberry flavor.
-
I think if you make up a business name and have a credit card, you can order from the site with no problem. When my husband and I were doing a lot of amateur car racing, we would order from B2B sites all the time. We made up a racing enterprise called "Lobux Racing" which existed in name only and never had a problem.
Really? I may give that a try. I actually do have a fictious name registered in my state and a business bank account from when I was doing free-lance accounting. Of course, the name of the business doesn't sound anything like a bakery business!
-
whaaaaaa? those prices are crazy. and the site itself has really overpriced stuff. For cake pans, basic round (all sizes) or square, bakingtools.com is the place to go!
I was having a lot of fun browsing this site until I realized that are business-to-business only.
-
I've also had great luck with a chocolate souffle cake that she recommends for a roulade.
I will "second" the chocolate souffle sheet -- it's my standard for Passover bring-along desserts. Light as air and so flavorful!
-
I just bought a copy of The Cake Bible! Would anyone care to list some of their favorite recipes from this book? There are so many wonderful recipes, I don't know which one to try first. Thanks
I love her orange chiffon cake, Bert Green's coffee cake, white spice butter cake, chocolate oblivion truffle torte, and her mousseline buttercream is my standard buttercream. If you make the chocolate torte, be sure to make the raspberry sauce/puree to go with it -- heaven!
-
Psst -- if you PM Wendy, she'll send you instructions. I figured out how to get a few pix posted by accident a while back, but couldn't tell you how I did it for love, money, or pastry.
I wanna see more pix!
-
shortening only adds some flakiness, lots of trans-fats, and zero flavor
There is a non-trans-fat shortening being offered by Crisco in the market -- I wonder whether there is an equivalent available to the trade? I've only ever attempted all-butter pie crusts, but am interested in trying a part-shortening based on Wendy's tests.
Wendy, as always, you rock!
-
Really well-organized mette, congratulations. Two thoughts to add for those trying at home:
1) sometimes the top rims break because they are molded too thin--even after filling with a second layer--it can help to leave the bowl to set inverted after you've tapped out a coat, propped up a bit to allow cool air to circulate;
2) on the two-color balloons, the warmer dark chocolate (higher temper point and working range) may have pulled the milk chocolate (lower temper point and cooler working range) out of temper as it was setting if it was trapped inside. same thing could happen with dark and white chocolate. that's why when molding, it can help if you apply the warmer (dark) effect first then mold or apply the white/milk layer after.
Great tips, Steve, thanks!
-
Graham cracker does not appeal to me. Vanilla wafer cookies does as well as almonds. Any other suggestions? What about a garnish?
Ginger snap crumbs?
-
We had friends over for dinner this weekend, and I went a little dessert-crazy: lemon meringue tartlets from "Sweet Miniatures", chocolate truffles dipped in bittersweet chocolate and in white chocolate, and an improvisation using chocolate souffle sheets, raspberry mousse, and fresh raspberries. Hard to cut cleanly but very yummy!
-
I'm curious as to whether anybody else tried using flour or cornstarch as a thickener. I find that it's much more foolproof that way rather than relying purely on the egg yolks for thickening.
I think the deal-breaker here for me would be whether the flour is discernable in the finished curd, either by taste or by mouth-feel. What's your take on that?
-
Well this is the first time I've written in egullet. I'm a little intimidated by everyone's skill level so please be patient. I'm trying to get croissants down. I've tried a few recipes, it seems that the traditional amount of butter rolled in is 28% of the detrempe. So far my croissants are flaky and tasty but distinct layers are lacking. When I try to peel my croissant apart ( my preferred way of eating them!) I don't get the really thin layers, instead they seperate where I rolled them up.
Also most recipes say to cut the triangles and then stretch the triangle out further, why is this.
I really want to understand the science of a really good croissant as well as shaping techniques and recipes. Speaking of which has anyone tried the whole wheat croissant from the Pie and Pastry Bible, are they heavy?
Looking for flaky perfection,
Hannah
Hi Hannah! I tried croissants for the first time a few months ago, using the recipe and technique from Baking with Julia. I found the instructions very clear and easy to follow, and I got great results. If you have the book, or can get it from the library, I highly recommend it.
I'm having trouble picturing where you feel you're going wrong -- could you say a little more about the texture you're getting, or better still, take a picture for us?
-
Super demo, Mette, thanks for posting! One variation that I have tried with the balloon molds is to rock the balloon in the chocolate to achieve a kind of tulip-shaped cup with petals along the top edge. But I've never considered using tupperwear and the like; thanks for the inspiration!
-
Ruth, what's FWIF?
FWIW = For what it's worth.
Also, I had a lot of trouble trying to cut them into rounds: hard pieces of chocolate made the soft dough crumble when cutting.I had the same trouble -- slicing the dough was an exercise in (mild) frustration. They were so delicious, though, so that won't deter me from making them again!
-
Okay, question about the Korova cookies... I have been wanting to make these since I first saw this thread, but it is time for the Cookie of the Month Club! Every month I send cookies to my boyfriend's Grandma and my little brother, so I was thinking about the Korova cookies. One problem... Grandma has dentures and only raves about my chewy cookies... in the recipe, it says they are crumbly, but that last picture makes them look chewy. Any thoughts?
Hi Katie,
They are actually a sable cookie; when I made them they weren't crumbly, exactly, but they did have a sandy bite. Alinka's pix do look very moist and chewy, which was not my experience. FWIW!
-
Yup....got a website.......
at the bottom of my post, just click the word, "card", and when the window pops up, you'll see
my URL.
My website needs some serious updating......it's one of my priorities in the next couple of weeks.
Aha, thanks for the instructions. And OMG!!! Your cakes are stunning -- what exquisite work!
-
Georgeous cake!! Dare one ask whether you have a web site showcasing your work?
-
Hi Ruth. It went "ok". I'll try to post a pic this weekend. I still can't remember how to upload pics from my camera so I have to get my husband to do it for me.
Cool. I'm in the Philly area as well and would love to see more of your work......
-
The big difference to the other recipes is her method of baking. You put your oven rack in the top third of your oven. Double pan your parchment lined cookie sheet. Preheat to 475F. When you put the macaroons in you drop the temp to 425F and set the timer for 8 minutes. Drop the temperature by 25 degrees every 2 minutes till you get to 350F. It works a charm! Between each sheet you need to get it back up to 475F so there is a but of waiting but well worth it. Can you tell I'm excited?! If you try this please let me know how they turned out.
I made macarons with one of the pastry chefs at Miel Patisserie a few weeks ago (I had a training day there, which I have to get around to posting about!!) and was intrigued by their method -- baked at 325* with no variations in temp. The trays end up sitting/drying for 10-15 minutes while all the batter is piped, but they don't *deliberately* allow for drying time. They use mostly fresh egg whites, a pinch of dried egg whites, 10x sugar, almond flour, flavorings, etc. They also double pan, and they bake on Silpats. Rather than steaming the baked cookies off the pan with the water-under-the-parchment trick, they turn them all belly-up when cool and then spritz them lightly with water before filling and sandwiching them. I was given a cache of the freshly-baked, filled chocolate macarons to take home with the strong admonition that they were to "cure" for 24 hrs. in the freezer prior to consumption. In the interests of science, I ate one before curing and many, many after curing and I must concur -- the curing is an essential step.
Gotta find the time to see if I can replicate these macarons at home. They were my idea of perfect -- smooth, slightly rounded tops, small feet, perfectly chewy texture.
Tales of a Cake Decorator
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
Kathy, your cakes are stunning! Thanks for posting.