iii_bake

HI Guys, Recently my perfect buttermilk cake came out flop. The top taste chewy with toffy like texture ( it is dry, not sticky). The cake itself was coarse.. It is like uneven heated. This happend a few times. first i thought it was the oven. I had it checked and changed the Thermostat. Somehow, the cake still came out the same. The top which used to be evenly brown with fine texture turned out only brown in the middle. The texture was coarse and tasted like crisp toffee. The only culprit i can think of now is the baking soda that may be expired. This buttermilk cake used baking powder 1tsp + baking soda 1/2 tsp. The baking powder is new... Can anyone think of anything else that could have gone wrong here? I have been making this cake for years with perfect result. I made banana cake this afternoon also ( with Baking soda), it came out with the same top texture. SOS. iii

Scones Question ...SOS I made cream scones, they are perfect except that they have a bit stick to the teeth taste. I tried to avoid dry scones, those that make you thirsty. So once they are brown and the top firmed but not crack-y.i took them out. Any scone expert who can tell me if 'a bit' stick to the teeth thing normal? If not, how to fix it? should i bake a bit longer? They taste n look gorgeous though. Thank you

I will keep a closed watch on this, thanks

Thanks for all your input. About freezing, is there any dessert that freezing will change the texture ecen after thawing? About the roulade, i will pre-role the sponge when it is still very warm and leave to cool so that i can role it easier afterwards. My wonder was that if i need to leave the sponge to cool completely on the silicone sheet...what do you guys do? Further, if you are to butter n flour the silicone mould like any toher type of moulds...what benefit do we get from using silicone. Pardon my ignorance, iii

Hi I have been collecting the silicone cake and pastries moulds but not so certain how to unmould it. I only work with silpat. I made my jello in a rose shape mould the other day and it came out smashed. ( I flipped the mould...thinking it would simply slip out!) Then i made sponge cake for roulade on the silicone baking sheet and it stuck! a) How exactly do you work with silicone sheet or mould, especially when it comes to mousse, jello, cheescake or any fragile stuff? b) if i bake the sponge and have to wait until it cools sompletely on the silicone sheet so it will come off easily...will i still be able to roll it without breaking the sponge? c) any tips on silicone choosing...i ran inot a company selling a "not-pure"silicone mould ..made in China...and learned later that after a few uses, it started to releases smell as it is not 100% food grade. d) any other tips will also help. SOS iii

The company says it stresses on natural ingredients...i have not checked the package out...but from what the chef said, it's natural. One kg can make 100 macs. It is faster, more reliable and so less cost. I have tried macarons from many shops in many countries i went...i had to admit this one from the ready made is almost flawless. ( i had just one it was so good it did not take time to find the flaw!)

I went to the Food exhibition here in Singapore and found this Patisfrance Macaron. The chef was Demo-ing and it took 4 minutes to whip up. I had one mac he made...it was great....chewy...not that sweet. The chef said..the company is the first to make this and one good point is that it is not as sweet as the make your own version. Amritabala...have u gone there? You can PM me if you need more info.

Tuesday with Dorie This is another site devoted to Dorie's Baking. ( Was it mentioned here anywhere?...i got this from Dories' site, or am i blurred?) It is interesting though. iii

have you changed the tray, the tray position, the lining, the oven, the oven setting 9 including fan vs without fan? These things affect the result a lot. Not sure if this helps though, Still, happy baking ( huh) iii

Lovely, thanks

No pictures????

Post some pictures please....

I made someting like you suggested ( got the idea from the irish coffee cake)...but the reasule is not exactly the same though. Thank you for advice, if i cannot manage to get this done nicely...i will have to pour the caramel at the end ...thanks again

thanks for your responses: Analyse this....please Pound Cake Base: Flour 135 g baking powder 1t salt 1/2 t butter 100 g sugar 120 g egg 2 milk 100 ml espresso powder 2t Chopped raisins 1C Topping: Brown Sugar 150 g Butter 75 gm Flour 4T According to the recipe...the topping is suppose to be sprinkle on top before baking. The cake will have the gooey caramel lightly on top, a part of it seeps into the cake itself. I tried putting the topping half way thru...the caramel is then stick on the top ...cannot seep thru. All my raisins sunk to the bottom...i floured the raisins and chopped into small pieces I thought...it was the caramel that brought the floured raisins down to the bottom with it...but even with the topping put half way thru...the raisins still sunk!!!! The finished cake should be moist and a bit gooey. I made it thre times....the batter curdle twice, came out perfect once...but the caramel n raisins things did not work out. what might have i done wrong????? SOS ( I wish you can try this...it is extremely delicious!) iii

I have a cake recipe called Coffee Raisin... It is a coffee flavoured pound cake with raisin...The cake is vey moist with butter scotch flavour here n there. Recipe calls for : brown sugar 1 cup scant, butter 7 TBSP and Flour 4 TBSP. Cream the butter, add the sugar and then flour....then sprinkle on top of the cake. Have anyone seen or worked with such a topping before..it is too less flour to be struesel, isn't it? I made this twice already and the topping sunk down together with all the raisins... I tried this at the balery and it is so delicious. I need advice, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee iii

Cannot agree more on the feeling better after some slapping!

Cannot recall if i read this from the magazine or from the VDO itself, it says with the technique, the air is incorporated into the dough... As i said, i saw a japanese lady did this as well... With the instructions and also in the VDO, the dough became smooth and no traces of those shagging looks....i made mine, the dough passed the window pane test but it was still wet.... I did the slapping for more thatn 20 minutes...too long, i know...maybe i did not lift the dough high enough.

I read about Richard Bertinet's sweet dough technique in Gourmet Mar 2008...even with the pictures for some steps it is still difficult for me to follow...Thank god Gourmet has the VDO...after checking it out...the slapping and stretching of the dough are just the same way i saw a Japanese lady made her dough in the TV show. Richeard Bertinet sweet dough VDO Has anyone seen or tried this? Any comment or report? Looks like fun iii

did the vanilla seed sink to the bottom?

This is terrible! (I made larb last week myself, btw) Sugar chopped mint leaves? ...whatever that is...!! Ginger? No! ← Sorry...it is sugar and chopped Mint Leaves. Still terrible though huh!

Hi Guys I have been spotting many Larb recipes in magazines lately. The Jan issue of Donna Hay also covers Larb, given the Basic Recipe ( they call it BASIC recipe) as follows: Olive Oil Pork mince Garlic Grated Ginger Small Red Chilli ( Fresh) Lime Juice Fish Sauce Sugar Chopped Mint Leaves What do you think on the ingredients and also on the publisher of ( any) recipes that can introduce any dish without the basic knowledge of the dish? ( I am not sure if this is the case of lacking the knowledge or the "borrowing" of the name to be honest) I myself do not see the resemblance to the real larb. iii, again

May I also add that (stir)frying helps heighten the fragranace of the herbs n spices blended in the curry paste? I saw the term"crack" the first and only time in Thai Food of David Thompson...i have never heard of the term before...i looked up in Crack- Merriam Webster and still unable to match the word. I heated the coconut milk to get the oil all my life and it is my wonder. can anyone help with this? Thanks

Hi, Isomalt may be scored with a knife while it is cooling to make a sharp edge. The scored Isomalt may be broken just like glass. You may also use a hair drier, heat gun, torch or microwave to soften the partially cooled isomalt to allow for trimming, polishing, shaping, bending or molding. It helps to use latex gloves to keep the surface clean and insulate from the heat. Tim ← got to work and learn more with this...Thank you Tim. Do you, or any of us here, ave advice on more reading or researching?

Yes...extremely humid! I will try adding glucose then. The sharp edge as referred to...is just a piece of rectangular bubbled isomalt with straight sharp rim like it was neatly cut...unlike the one when it is cracked ...broken from a big piece. ( hope this explantion gives better picture ) Thanks for your advice.

Thanks HQ. Now i have to go back and check if my local baking suppliers have one of this. You have not mentioned the cloudy problem and the cutting (into neat line sharp edge)...do you also have any hint for that? Thanks again, a whole lot. iii