John DePaula

Kerry, I think there certainly would be an interest in this since the subject of tempering is raised quite often.

For tempering chocolate without a machine, check out this thread Tempering Chocolate with Warm Water. I am also in the Use Real Chocolate camp. Callebaut is fairly easy to find in grocery stores, usually repackaged in bulk near/in the gourmet/deli/cheese area. Of course, there's also Valrhona if you want to spend the bucks. Online chocolate can be purchased at Chocosphere but be sure to ask that the chocolate you buy isn't going to expire anytime soon... Since this is such an important event, I highly recommend that you do a practice run about a month ahead of time. You want to be sure you've got the tempering technique down pat plus you'll also get a chance to see how long your chocolates are likely to last i.e. shelf-life. GOOD LUCK AND CONGRATULATIONS! ETA: If you're doing a lot of bars at one time, and this is taking a long time, you may need to check that your chocolate is still in temper all the way through. Yes, it can fall out of temper and then you may need to re-temper.

Wow, that's just so gorgeous! I'm off to the other thread to collect the recipe... Beautiful photo, too!

Thanks for the great link to La Glace bakery in Copenhagen, John. I loved looking through their cakes! ← Just love investigating the pastry traditions of other places... Thanks to Mette for providing the identity of the pretty little confection!

træstamme (tree trunk)

No, Trishiad, that doesn't make you selfish at all! Recipe development takes a lot of time, and I mean a LOT of time. I don't mind sharing my expertise whenever I can, but when someone asks for a recipe of a product I make or a technique that makes my product unique in some way, then I have to draw the line. Having said that, 99 out of 100 times people don't realize how much work goes into making a professional level product. Recently someone asked me for my recipe for dacquoise. I thought "Sure, why not." But it took a lot of time to get it typed out, and in the end it turned out that this "simple" recipe was just far too complicated for the recipient to even try. So, I agree with Golden Brown: keep some simple recipes on hand and supply those when asked. And like Sugarella, I never mind telling someone from where the inspiration came. Just my 2 cents.

Wow, those look so decadently delicious!

Just a thought, and this may be way off in left field, but what if you sprayed just the thinnest coat of dark chocolate onto the dacquoise (both sides) to form a sort of vapor barrier to protect the crunchiness? If you don't have access to (or want to bother with) a sprayer, you could use a pastry brush.

I'm using a laser thermometer from Thermoworks. Fairly reliable piece of equipment. The battery power was low though. That might have been my problem. Shane ← Ouch! I think these aren't recommended for sugar work (ironically) because of the difference in surface temp/internal temp. I think someone recommended the Taylor Classic Candy Thermometer in another thread.

Ditto what K8 said. Also, I'm wondering if lining the storage pan with paper towels will help to keep them dry as well by absorbing any excess moisture...

You're quite welcome. Glad to help.

Interesting piece on Splendid Table Sally Schneider's Essential Plumped Dried Fruit Or if you prefer to listen to that show (February 18, 2006): Splendid Table Audio Archive - February 2006

I bought several types of strawberries from Raintree Nurseries in Washington state. Profumata was one, I think. Anyway, they are very flavorful and good producers, though quite a bit smaller than supermarket berries. Buy some netting too; otherwise, the birds and squirrels will eat them all! Guess they know a good thing when they see it!

Ok... so I hate to be super-dense here but bottom-line it for me: In your opinion, would I be doing anything wrong, legally or ethically, by printing a recipe for which I had altered the ingredients and method/description AND also inculded an attribution of the inspriation?

I think I understand... And I agree with you about "the decent thing to do" since I did say my inspriation for the recipe was M. Herme. Thanks again, everyone.

honey, corn syrup and glucose (which is just corn syrup with less water (there are wheat based versions, too, but I don't like the taste)) are natural, though you should verify that sulpher-dixoide isn't used as a preservative. obviously, honey can impart a strong flavor so only use it when you want that in your end product.

Oh...those just look wonderful! I can almost taste them now!

1) 4 days is too long, I think. Usually, overnight will suffice. 2) Did you use any invert sugar (corn syrup, glucose, honey, etc.) in your ganache? This helps prevent sugar crystals from forming and also has a natural preservative effect.

Thanks, everyone. I thought that was the case but just wanted to be sure. Ciao.

My granddad was a strawberry farmer in Louisiana. He grew the most luscious and beautiful, not to mention delicious, berries you could ever hope to taste. It's been a l o n g time, but I seem to recall him saying that the best berries are grown using pine needles as mulch. I'm sure it's a lot more labor intensive to grow berries that way, but Man! they sure are a lot prettier than that black plastic stuff!

Okay, folks, I'm looking for a little guidance here concerning copyright laws. I really really want to do the ethical and legally correct thing, so I'm asking. Recently, someone requested that I share a recipe for something that incorporated her product: hazelnuts. This recipe was to be posted on her web site. I worked on an adaptation of a recipe by M. Pierre Herme. The pertinent facts are: 1) I attributed my version as a recipe adapted from one by M. Herme. 2) My recipe was not a copy of his. There were changes to the ingredients and method, but I concede that the inspiration was a recipe by M. Herme. At what point does it become "my recipe" so that I can put my name to it? By the way, since there was a question about this we decided NOT to publish the recipe. Thanks for your input.

I don't know if this is germane but in France, and other parts of the world as well I imagine, they mark the type of flour on the package. For example, a fine grind flour for pastry would be 'Type 45' and for breads they might use the coarser milled 'Type 55.' I think that the equivalent for American all-purpose flour would be 'Type 65.' Expats in France feel free to correct me if I've erred. Does this apply to your situation? Hope this helps.

Thank you so much, Patrick. I've been admiring your beautiful photos for quite a long time!

I find it interesting how dacquoise recipes seem to vary widely by baking time. ← When I went to pastry school, we were given a syllabus of recipes on the first day. No baking times were listed, only temperatures. When we asked how long to bake something, the answer was always the same: until it's done! The reason is that different ovens bake at different speeds. Maybe the oven is vented, or not; maybe it's a convection oven, or not. The moral of the story is: baking times given in recipes are only suggestions and can vary, sometimes widely. Your experience with your oven may be the best guide.

Thanks, Ruth. I just tried one of these that had been refrigerated overnight and the meringue was delicate and crunchy. I enjoyed the light crunch and thought that the texture of the meringue with the ganache was perfect. I also tried some of the "leftover" cookies that I made with the remaining batter. These had sat out covered overnight. They were softer and a more chewy. Still good but surprisingly different. As the recipe says, this dessert is intended to be served cold and I agree.