Kim Shook

Kerry, wonderful blog. My armchair traveling is going very well! Any chance on you sharing your cake and icing recipe with us? I have been having chocolate cake issues lately .

Actually that note regarding not refrigerating is something that I put on the recipe just a little bit ago - that is my webpage of recipes that I keep. I just assumed that that was the problem, but wanted to check with the people who are better at this kind of stuff than me !

Well, crap. I decided to do the recipe from Abby Dodge's book The Weekend Baker - went out and checked the book out of the library. Got home. I didn't have sweetened condensed milk . So I decided to do lapasterie's recipe. No shortening . What I did have was boxes of Baker's unsweetened chocolate (crap chocolate, I know, but it was on deep discount at work - we aren't going to carry it anymore - and it's what my in laws like in their crappy fudge ). Anyway, I made the recipe on their box: Baker's Chocolate Frosting. Tasted fine, spread fine. So I want to know what I did wrong. I decorated the cake and put it in the refrigerator. Today - even after it sat out all day, the frosting was much too stiff and dry. It had, like, solidified. Is it the recipe - or the refrigeration - or the fact that I used melted chocolate and not cocoa??? I was pissed at myself, because I was trying to convert canned frosting eaters - and I don't think that it worked.

The first time I made Mr. Kim spaghetti, he asked for Parm. cheese. I said I had forgotten to buy cheese. He said, "don't you keep a can in the fridge all the time?" I said, "Oh, you mean Kraft? I have something that tastes the same as it." I went to the kitchen and got a grater and a cardboard cereal box and grated it directly over his spaghetti. He thanked me. Ate ALL of his meal and never, ever requested Kraft parm. again. How could I not marry a man who put up with such a bitch as that?

Funny, snarky little off topic re: Full Kee. At the store where I work, I was talking with this guy who was being very critical and snide about Richmond restaurants (with cause, I know) and mentioned that he was a former chef who just cooked all of his own foods because he couldn't get what he had been used to in San Francisco here. I mentioned Full Kee and he just rolled his eyes and said that it might be ok for Richmond, but not for someone from the Pacific NW. Yadayadayada. This guy was buying lots of 'gourmet' items and wine. Monsieur Horsesass' marsala of choice? Paul Masson .

10x is just "PC talk" for powdered sugar.....we tend to shorten names whenever possible. Sorta "baker's shorthand" if you will..... If you've ever had frostin' outta the can, you know ganache ain't it. There's kind of a gooey sugary fudgy thing going on that isn't going on in ganache. When you whip ganache, it's more of a "moussy" texture than a ooey gooey fudgy texture. In the future, if you ever want to "translate" recipes, from grams to ounces, or vice versa.... this is a good tool here. ← That is a very cool site! Thank you for the link. I have bookmarked it! Kim

The recipes are: Ginger Cupcakes w/ Ginger Frosting Chocolate Bar Cupcakes Spiced Latte Cupcakes Mounds Cupcakes And the assorted ones are: Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes Lemon Cream Cupcakes w/ Coconut Jelly Filled Cupcakes w/ Peanut Butter Frosting Peanut Butter Chip Cupcakes w/ Chocolate Ganache

Thank you so much, lapasterie! Kim

RE: lapasterie's recipe - can anyone translate? It sounds good! RE: ganache - maybe if I were to chill and then whip it, it might give me the fluffy, gooey-ness I am looking for RE: Cooks Illustrated - I always check it out of the library. It is on my wish list, but no one has gotten it for me yet - I could check it out tomorrow Thank you! Any other ideas? Kim

Ok, I want a good, old fashioned gooey, fudgy frosting (not a new fangled icing/buttercream ) recipe. I want the look and feel of a canned frosting, I guess, only with really good chocolate flavor. I don't like the blandness that I always think cream cheese adds, but I want that thickness. Is this possible or am I just trying to recreate a childhood memory with adult tastebuds and doomed to disappointment? Kim

Well, good God! Just imagine that you are seeing that little emoticon that is slamming it's head against a table. Chefpeon, that is remarkably beautiful. I really want to be able to do this stuff. Everytime I see something like that I am just so in awe! Kim

no

So what is the difference between bagged and not bagged and why would the not bagged be safer?

I finally figured out how to post pictures and thought I would post some of my endeavors: Ginger Cupcake w/ Ginger Frosting: Chocolate Bar Cupcake: Spiced Latte Cupcake: Cupcake Assortments: Mounds Cupcake:

Bryan, that sounds wonderful. Would you post some pictures when you have a chance, I'd love to see them!

Wow! That is truly impressive. Whatever the kids are saying now that means "off the hook" ! How hard were those fans to do? And how long before serving did you put them in the dessert?

Well, I have finally cracked the image gullet code and here is a picture of the cake: Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of a slice, so you can't see the layers and the filling !

I was wondering the same thing. I thought is was very cool, though. Both thoughts are academic. The price is out of my range completely !

In just about every foodblog, there is a moment where I am personally touched by a photo or a sentence. Sometimes it is about food, sometimes not. It's just when something reaches out and grabs me. Your pictures of the petroglyphs was that moment for me this time. Thanks so much for that and for the whole blog. I am an armchair traveler and this is one great trip!

You know, I still hear this - and from people who should know better! "French food is all about tons of butter and gloppy sauces". My mom thought this until she went to France and stayed w/ my uncle there in Paris and the South of France. Now she just bitches about the quality of food available here !

Good God! I never, ever thought about this - even after spending my teenage years eating at friends "kosher-at-home" houses (you know - the ones who eat cheeseburgers at Little Tavern, BLTs at your house and all manner of Chinese food, but at home they are strictly kosher )! That means (following this realization to it's logical conclusion) no drippings gravy on mashed potatoes, either. No wonder my buds loved eating at our house on fried chicken and pork chop night !

We really, really need a drooling emoticon! How simply beautiful that breakfast is - pristine really is the right word.

I washed them, but got them v.v. dry. I did slice them in half before egg-ing and sugaring. I think that I just put them on the cake too far in advance. Next time I will save that step until I get where I am going. Ta!

I just finished a test batch of gingerbread cupcakes with lemon frosting. I used a mix and canned frosting - I do this a lot when I am just testing combinations, it goes together quickly and even if it isn't what I want to end up with exactly, it does give me an idea of if it will work or not. Anyway - I really like the combination of the gingerbread and the lemon buttercream. I don't really have a wonderful go-to recipe for gingerbread and would like to know your recommendations. I like the Cooks Illustrated baking book for many things - had anyone tried their gingerbread? Also - I have made basic buttercream - how do I make it a lemon buttercream. I am planning on topping with a little X made of candied ginger and candied lemon peel (I do know how to do that )

This is exactly what I did .