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Kathyf

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Everything posted by Kathyf

  1. Frutta Prima from Albert Uster - great product and great service. http://www.auiswisscatalogue.com/store/mer...ITPOWDER/204159
  2. I never bother with the corn syrup recipe anymore - never had any luck with it. I use a recipe from a Michigan decorator and it's never failed me. One thing to remember is to not overmix it in the beginning. Stir until the chocolate and glucose are barely blended, then add the water and barely mix again. Yup - I said water. I know it breaks the water in chocolate rule but it really works. When you get to the kneading stage you don't have to knead it very long at all. Remember to knead it on a firm surface and don't pick it up and squeeze it instead or you'll end up with oil coming out of it. I've had that happen once when it was really warm and I just kept working gently and it quit. I do add a little gumpaste or tylose to it when I'm making roses or figurines. I use Baker's white chocolate for mine. Here's the recipe from the chocolate goddess; Marysol’s Chocolate Paste 1 lb. white, bittersweet, or semisweet chocolate. ½ cup Glucose 2 tsps. Ice Cold Water Gently melt chocolate. Stir in glucose and mix together lightly. Add water. Stir together [again, don't overmix]. Spread mixture out thinly, onto plastic wrap. Cover the clay with plastic wrap and allow to ripen overnight. The following day, knead well, cover and allow to set overnight again. I'll admit, sometimes I skip this last kneading step, and the consistency always turns out great. This mixture can also be tinted with paste or powdered food coloring. P.S. If you live in a hot/humid region, you might want to work in a little gum paste into the clay for a little extra insurance. BUT, I ONLY do this with White Chocolate, Bittersweet and Semisweet Chocolate always set up very firm, so gum paste is not necessary. Btw, I prefer to use Lindt's chocolate, but Baker's brand is also reliable.
  3. I sub unsweetened applesauce for 2/3 of the oil in my carrot cake. Can't stand the thought of dumping all that oil in it! For an added bonus you can claim you're eating fruit and veggies instead of cake ;o}
  4. The photo shows the gold tube but when I spoke to the guy he mentioned they were out of the gold but had silver. I didn't give it a thought and said silver would be fine. Silly me. Hopefully it won't be a problem but if it is a little saran wrap or cellophane will solve it.
  5. Good news- the new toy works great. To give it a real test, I started with fondant that has been stored at about 60º. With the cold fondant it was about the same to push out as slightly microwaved fondant coming out of the Wilton cookie press. Zapped the cold fondant for about 6 seconds in the microwave and it worked beautifully. It still takes some hand strength to work it but the gun has a trigger that can be easily operated with two hands. I bet kneading some Crisco into it would make it even easier but that experiment will have to wait for another day. It feels much sturdier than the Wilton press and is much easier to operate. The small red and black clay gun dies work in it - I used a bit of damp fondant to stick the small disc inside one of the large dies. The gun fits in Earlene's wood stand better than the Wilton press. The only down side is the barrel is aluminum and that could cause some gray to come off on the fondant, similar to some pasta machines. I was using leftover dark tan fondant so can't tell. If some gray does come off I'll just wrap the fondant in saran wrap before I drop it into the barrel. The barrel is 15" long and 2" wide - I only filled it about 1/4 but I bet it would hold 4 lbs of fondant easily. The dies that come with it are large enough for average sized borders so you wouldn't have to buy the extra set unless you want more variety. http://www.clay-king.com/itemkikeg.html When I talked to the guy about the size he mentioned they also sell silicone rolling pins. Got the 20" one and had to play with that before I get back to work. Grabbed the fondant chunk with damp hands to toss it and decided to see just how non stick that pin was. Works great - rolled the fondant out like it was dry. I also bought a couple of MKM stamps but they're wood and may not be food safe. I may use them to make a couple of silicone patterns when I find a few spare minutes because they would make great borders for men's cakes.
  6. It's dummies. Some spend months working on their cakes.
  7. Yow....there's one that's more reasonably priced! AND it looks just like a cookie press/caulk gun!!! You'd probably have to buy the additional die set for $18.95, as the dies that come with the press are sort of on the skinny side...... ← I did buy the extra set And a really cool 20" silicone non-stick rolling pin. And some fun looking stamps....And then I ran back to my corner before I did any more damage to the debit card
  8. http://www.clay-king.com/itemkikeg.html That extruder looks interesting - haven't tried it myself but if it works for clay..... I'll let you know - I'm going to order it because I wrestled with the Wilton one way too much this past weekend. I called to find out the size - 15" long. They are currently out of the gold model but have an identical silver model.
  9. I had the same problem last year and it totally puzzled me until I realized I had just started using new and heavier cupcake pans and the ones baked in those pans were the majority of the cupcakes that were shedding their liners. So I did some experimenting with baking times and ended up going back to my old lightweight pans. What I figured out with the experimenting was underbaking was the biggest problem that was causing the liners to pop off. The heavier pans bake slower and the edges of the cupcakes were much lighter. I loved the look of them but they were extremely soft and the liners didn't hold. Even baking longer in the heavy pans didn't help much. Since I started baking about 1 minute longer than I used to, I've had very few problems.
  10. Rolled fondant can be delicious or it can be incredibly nasty. Depends on the recipe used or the type purchased. For anyone to condemn fondant as a whole unless they've tried all the different types, would be rather.................... unfair. Sort of like condemning chocolate as a whole after tasting an inferior chocolate product. There's good chocolate and bad chocolate with a whole range in between. Same with fondant. Almost every fondant hater I've run into has been one of 3 types; 1. They're scared by it because they are unfamiliar with how to work with it. 2. The only kind they've tried is Wilton 3. They've read that it's nasty and never tried it themselves. Good quality fondant put on a cake properly does not get hard. It is firm and slightly chewy but easy to cut through. My advice to someone questioning fondant is try it your self and decide for yourself!
  11. I bought one from a decorator in Kansas City who used acrylic piano hinges so it folds flat. It uses a 250 watt heat lamp from above and no heat needed from underneath. Now, if I could only find the time to play with it. If you'd like, I can put it together and take some pictures of it. Maybe that will be the kick in the tush I need to make some time to play with it. And yes, Ruth - you're right.
  12. Wonderful cakes everyone. It's fun to see what everyone else is doing. Anne - your chocolate cake is unique and elegant - one of my new favorites. Do you mind if I try something similar when I get the chance? I'll add to this thread by sharing one of my favorite new cakes - http://www.kathyskakesllc.com/weddingcake122.html
  13. Spelt is definitly not an acceptable/safe substitute for wheat even though some sites claim it is. I have done quite a bit of wheat free baking and prefer to use oat flour. It has the closest comparable texture and taste to baking with wheat. But you'll have to ask them if they can use oat flour because sometimes it's grown in rotation with wheatand an extremely allergic person might have a problem due to that. If oat flour isn't an option for them they can try 1/2 rice flour (either brown or white) and half tapioca flour. I don't care for the taste of soy flour- it leaves an odd aftertaste that's hard to get rid of.
  14. actually im surprised as well, even with the buttercream you use..ive never been able to successfully freeze decorated cookies without them running ← Thawing them in the refrigerator makes a big difference - keeps the condensation from forming on them that makes the colors run.
  15. The original recipe I have calls for 2 oz of the liquid red you can find in almost any grocery store. The Wilton red no taste in water that Chris mentioned has worked well for me too. Or 2 ozs. of red airbrush coloring.
  16. I'm very familiar with this recipe because it's an old family favorite. We always have called it Waldorf frosting and it tends to separate and look a bit curdled after sitting at room temp too long. I've had really good luck whipping it for 5 to 7 minutes until it resembles a very stiff whipped cream, adding 2 tsp whipped cream stabilizer and whipping for another minute. If you can't find the stabilizer you can use 1/4 cup powdered sugar OR 2 T cornstarch instead. I prefer the stabilizer because it doesn't change the taste. I'm not sure I'd trust Waldorf for wedding tiers though unless you can keep it chilled until shortly before the reception begins. It's held up well on sheet cakes so when a couple requests it for a wedding I suggest they use it on sheets. I realize sheets are used more commonly in areas like mine where weddings are large so that may not be a good option for you. Another option I've given couples is to frost the cake in another icing and left a bowl of Waldorf to be served with the cake similar to adding whipped cream at the last minute. Most wedding slices don't have a lot of frosting anyway and Waldorf is so good they'll be happier with a big spoonful. Our family always used it for chocolate loaf cake - buttermilk pound cake baked and sliced like bread and smothered in Waldorf frosting. Its also used for red velvet cake in the midwest. I'd never heard of cream cheese on red velvet until I found the internet.
  17. I used to freeze them decorated, bagged , and stacked in rubbermaid containers for a florist who kept them on hand for cookie bouquets. They were frosted with buttercream (the butter, crisco, powdered sugar kind) and royal icing. She thawed them for a couple hours in the fridge and they did fine. I was really surprised the reds didn't even fade.
  18. I use about 90% mixes and 10% scratch and have been in business for 13 years. I tried several scratch white cakes when I first started selling, including the cake bible recipes. I wasn't impressed by them and neither were any of the guniea pigs that taste tested them. Not a single one. One of my most complimented cakes is a combination of one mix and one scratch recipe. It would be much easier to make either the mix or the scratch, but combining them gives me the best result so that's what I do. For me it's about excellent flavor, neat slices, and satisfied customers. Although I must admit to a wicked inner chuckle when a chef and pastry chef said the half mix half scratch cake was the best they'd tasted. Everyone has different taste in foods. Although I don't understand why, there are some people who don't care for broccoli. And although I don't understand why, there are some people who prefer a dry scratch white cake that needs to be soaked in syrup to a nice moist mix. Same as I don't understand the people who like carrot cake mixes - with those I prefer scratch. Guess it all comes down to what we grew up with and what our personal tatse is. I'm not going to try to convert anyone to my way of baking. Why do a few scratch only bakers think they need to convert anyone who use mixes?
  19. I think we might have told her as long as it has some form of Oreos in it she can't go wrong ;o}
  20. For a 10" crust 2 cups crushed oreos - just the cookie - no middles 1/2 cup butter 1/4 cup sugar You can buy boxes of crushed oreo crumbs in most groceries. Cut the above in half for an 8" crust.
  21. I do alot of cheesecakes but I don't know if I'm your's or not Jamerican Diva. That depends on what form of chocolate you have to offer. Does this help? >;o}
  22. Thanks Wendy. Mighty D - the maple sugar is expensive, especially if you have to mail order it like I do. I've just worked it into my pricing and so far maple lovers don't seem to mind. I replace the sugar in my cheesecake with it and make maple leaf sugar cookies in the fall.
  23. I second the maple syrup suggestion. If your recipe calls for sugar you can get excellent maple flavor by replacing all or part of it with pure maple sugar.
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