etalanian

It must be used more frequently (and much more readily available) in So Cal than in the Phila area. I've never seen it at the Restaurant Depot here. I wonder what it is about it that makes it more popular out there?

Hi, I do that and would be happy to answer some of your questions. Where do you live? You can PM me and I'll be happy to give you my email address so we can communicate on this issue. Eileen

I never heard of manufacturing cream before. Is that a West Coast thing? Never saw it on any of the product lists from my suppliers. Curious to know what it is, though. Eileen

Yes, but will it have the melt-in-your-mouth sensation and wonderful flavor of butter??? Just can't imagine using it. I know, I know...there are many Crisco supporters out there; I just can't help getting in a little raz. Eileen

My family is really particular about their cakes, so if I can't bake one for them, I go to Night Kitchen in Chestnut Hill or Whole Foods. Both use butter and bake from scratch. Exquisite cakes aren't inexpensive, but in my book they are worth every penny. Enjoy both of the events! Eileen

That's very good advice. When I had my bakery I maintained my pricing so that my overall FOOD costs were around 20-25%. You don't want to go over that, because you have to remember that you still have rent, insurance, utilities, delivery costs, employee wages and taxes, etc., and on top of all of that you still need to make a profit. Your wholesale customers know where they need their products to be priced in order to maximize their sales. So pricing is often a ritual involving a discussion with your customers and scrutinizing your own costs and pricing needs. Find the best prices for your supplies. This sounds silly, but many people will get everything from one supplier because it seems most convenient, but they are paying a premium for this. Often you can find much lower prices on different items from various suppliers, and it can end up bringing your costs down significantly. Good luck! Eileen

Congratulations and best wishes! There is a nice little shop near my home that sells cakes, cookies, pies, tarts, brownies, etc., and is in about the same space as you will have. Seems to be plenty of space for her to bake, sell, and have some tables. She also serves soup, salad, and sandwiches at lunch. I haven't been in the commercial end for a few years, so I don't know about the convection oven you're talking about, but you will need a large refrigerator, at least a 20-quart mixer, regulation sinks, stainless steel work table(s), one or two rolling racks, and ingredient storage space. A freezer is nice to have so you can bake several of the same flavor cake layers at one time for wedding cakes or special orders, or if there is a special price on butter from your supplier. All of this equipment is available second hand, in very good condition. When I had my bakery I used a full rolling rack convection oven. If you aren't familiar with them, they come with special rolling racks that have heat-resistant wheels. You slide baking sheets onto the racks and roll the racks into the oven; the racks hook onto a device that turns the rack 360 degrees continuously as the baking occurs. Very nice to have if you are doing any kind of quantity. You can bake cakes this way, as well as cookies, brownies, cupcakes, or anything else you want to bake. But you would use this for large-quantity baking. What kind of volume are you talking about? Will you be providing wholesale product to other businesses in the area? Try to anticipate what you will be doing so you buy equipment that will handle the volume. Good luck! Eileen

Make some applesauce cakes; you can freeze them and serve them later. Eileen

I went to a bread class with Peter Reinhart years ago for a Book & Cook event in Philadelphia. He made the Struan bread at that class, and I have been making it ever since. I use brown rice when I make it. It is amazing in it's understated sweetness, dense but still light texture, and full depth of flavor. My family hovers around the kitchen waiting for it to come out of the oven. It's gone in hours. If you can manage to save a loaf, it's great in French toast. And it ain't bad toasted, either! For those who don't want to work quite as hard as Bill does, the original recipe is made with yeast, not a natural culture starter, and rises in a few hours. Thanks for starting a thread about it. Eileen

Restaurants often have plated desserts with icecrem and sorbet. Can't think of a reason it wouldn't work or be delicious. Eileen

I use a combination of KA unbleached flour and cake flour. I also use a European-style butter, which is lower in moisture than regular butters, and I don't use any shortening. My crusts are always light and crisp. Butter crusts taste much better than shortening crusts, IMHO, and they don't leave that nasty greasy coating in your mouth the way shortening crusts do. I think you may have overworked the dough; that's the single biggest reason pastry crusts are tough. Also, you're right about over baking; pumpkin pie crusts aren't usually blind-baked first. If you are interested, my recipe can be found here. You shouldn't assume you can't make pies. You just need some good recipes and a little practice. How did you make the lemon meringue pie? Eileen

I make Gerbet Macaroons using Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal instead of grinding almonds myself. Making TPT is time-consuming, and using the almond meal makes producing TPT exceptionally easy. I have found it at Whole Foods Markets. Eileen

If you don't mind going out of the city, Alison at Blue Bell is an outstanding BYO. The food is exceptional. And if you tell them it's your birthday, they'll write a message in chocolate on your dessert dish. It's a really special restaurant.

Depends on the kind of pumpkin you are talking about. The kind we ususally use for H'ween doesn't have much flavor, so you might be really disappointed if you go through all of that work. If you really want to make a pie from scratch, I recommend going to a local farmer's market and buying a pie pumpkin. There are sevderal varieties that will work, and they can tell you which ones they have for sale. Good luck! Eileen

Chewy, chewy, chewy! A chewy cookie will still be chewy even if it's slightly flattened before it goes into the oven, as long as the sugar/egg to butter ratio is correct. And as long as it isn't baked to death. Try adding a quarter cup of molasses to your chocolate chippers - it brings out the flavor of the chocolate and adds some depth to the flavor of the dough. Eileen

It's a hand-cranked grinder that attaches to a countertop or table. It has a grater barrel, like the mouli graters, and grates the nuts into a fluffy mass instead of an oily mess. Helps to make bery light cookies and pastries. If I remember, I'll set mine up and photograph it tomorrow, then try to figure out how to put the photo into this thread. Eileen

Thanks for all of those links, Charlie. Especially the BYOB map. Eileen

You'd have to do a little trial and error, but I'm sure you could make a pound cake with mascarpone. It doesn't have the gums and stabilizers that come with Phila Cream Cheese, so you will need to make adjustments. Let us know what you come up with! Good Luck! Eileen

Hate to sound out of the loop, but what's the Snack Bar???? Eileen

We call them Hello Dolly cookies in our house, too. butter grahams coconut walnuts SCM chips 6 layers here, not 7. But really popular. Eileen

It looks to me like you have the wrong ratio of eggs to cream. Try using 2 yolks for every cup of cream. And 1/4 cup of sugar for every cup of cream. Then a pinch of salt. And some vanilla. Scald the cream if you are using a vanilla bean and let the bean steep in the cream, covered, for 15-30 minutes, then scrape the vanilla seeds into the cream. I always heat the cream and liaison it with the egg yolks; it helps the sugar to dissolve. Don't over beat the yolks and sugar, if you do your creme brulee will have a foamy top. Try using brown sugar or tubinado for the brulee topping. I always bake my creme brulee at 300 degrees in a water bath. They have always turned out beautifully. Good luck. Eileen

Not useless at all, Fanny! As long as you give us the results from your very vanilla experience. Eileen edited for typo by eileen

How much cakey part was there to the crab cupcakes? Was it a cornbread base? A biscuit base? A savory quick bread base (similar to an onion cheese quick bread)? It's fairly common to make little hors d'oeuvre bites by baking a savory quick bread in cupcake or gems pans. You can play around with any savory quick bread recipe to accomplish this. Eileen

I was in Morocco in May and shipped a tagine home. it arrived in about 100 pieces. I went to the tagine web site listed in this thread, and ordered one, but it still hasn't arrived. I ordered one a couple of weeks ago from Sur la Table - it's by Emile Henry, and I made a great-tasting tagine last night. It's heatproof, so I can use it to cook on the stovetop. It worked really well. Eileen

You don't at all need a book or web site for increasing your recipes. You can double most any basic cake recipe and bake it in a sheet pan. Exceptions to this would be cakes made with separated eggs, if you're not a baker, I would stay away from those until you get some more experience. Gingerbread is popular with kids, also if you make a white sheet cake, take out a little of the batter and mix some cocoa into it and swirl it in to make a marble cake - kids love that. Oatmeal or zucchini cake dusted with a little confectioners' sugar would be easy and the kids wouldn't be bouncing off the walls from a lot of sugar-filled frosting all afternoon. You can sprinkle a little brown sugar on top of some of the cakes before baking to reduce the need for frosting. You can also decrease the flour in recipes like chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies, and add an egg or two, and bake them as bars. Be sure not to overbake them, or they will be crunchy and crumbly. Kids love these things. Here's a recipe for chocolate chip bars from the book "Chewy Cookies" (it's my book, so I'm not violating copyright) that you can double, triple, or quadruple if you have a 20-quart mixer. You can also replace half of the flour with whole wheat or a combination of whole wheat with a little oatmeal: Butterscotch Bars 1-3/4 cups brown sugar, firmly packed 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1/2 cup unsalted butter 3 large eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, preferably unbleached 2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts 2 ounces real semisweet chocolate chips Preheat a conventional oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil and brush it with softened butter. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, mix the brown sugar and baking soda for about 20 seconds, until evenly combined. Add the butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat for about 2 minutes, until the mixture is light in color and smooth. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the flour, walnuts, and chips. Beat on low speed for 20 seconds, until the mixture is evenly blended. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to be sure the dough is evenly mixed. Spread into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, reversing the baking pan halfway through the baking time. The top will be lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool. ------ And if you make chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie bars, you can replace half of the white flour with whole wheat and they'll never know the difference. Good luck! I love that you are thinking about baking these things from scratch and not using chemical-filled mixes for the kids. Best, Eileen edited by eileen to add the recipe. and to add the recipe name.