miladyinsanity

I don't know what's a babka, but I do know that sometimes butter causes the cake to stick due to the water content. Maybe try it again with oil? Or line the pan? Or grease and flour? Certain cakes require UNGREASED pans, like Chiffon and Angelfood Cakes.

I remember Pam R talking about Shmoo Tortes in her foodblog, Abra. It's chiffon cake in some kind of mousse, I think. Maybe google up a recipe? Seems pretty easy to make, since you already have the cake.

Japan, Korea, the more northerly parts of China and Mongolia. And you're right. Southeast Asian. My bad.

I've been told that you can steep them in relatively flavorless alcohol like vodka to make your own vanilla extract.

I do that too. For the Durian haters, it's not Asian. It's South Asian. I've met many a North Asian who thinks it's disgusting.

I'm using a metal rolling pin, and I like it a lot. I've never had issues with sticking.

Yep milady, I meant 200USD, I do have nice co-workers, it's a farewell gift as I'm taking a few years hiatus from the corporate world. So many more interesting baking toys in the US than there are here, I guess our market is too small. I love shopping online. ← Lucky lucky girl! Maybe it'll help if you tell us what exactly do you do make most often?

This is a bit late, but yes, I believe they do. But the kind of palm sugar they use might be different. I do know the one JustKay referred to is different from the Thai one, for instance. Does it count as crepes if I just diluted chocolate pancake batter with water and 'turned' them into crepes? I'll have a pic of a sort-of mille crepes in a couple of hours--it's chilling in the fridge.

Thank you.

Thanks! And, you know, it ought to go in the gilding the lily thread.

What's a Black Bottom Pie?

Seconded. At the same time, I understand Anna N's "depends!" A sushi chef is probably able to do things that a chef trained in classic French cuisine is not. A pastry chef might not be as skilled in the other side of the kitchen.

I started this fine day with chocolate pancakes. Three of them. If I eat a dozen, I'm sure I'll have Out-Linged Ling again. But just in case I don't, I've had 2 pieces of Valrhona Manjari, a slice of Swiss Roll and a pear already.

I like my raisins, but I tend to eat them by the handful, not cooked with anything else. I like them plump, chewy, a bit tangy and not too sweet. I bought these green and rather elongated and slender ones once, and loved them. I won't eat the black ones though. Golden is my usual choice.

Why, Chianti? Because it'll help keep the puffs puffy?

A candy thermometer is fine if you are checking only the temperature of the liquid in a pan (and are using a straight-sided pan) but not for the internal temperature of food in the pan ← Thank you, Ruth. I hope you find a solution quickly.

Ah, not to be gauche, but you're in Singapore like me, right LittleIsland? There's a difference between 200SGD and 200USD.

...Wouldn't this apply to any kind of thermometer you intend to use? I've an induction cooktop, and I'm planning to get a candy thermometer.

But Abra, you don't have to tell him what it is until he tastes it, right?

I agree too. That's what I look at, not the nutrition table, and like Dana, put it back if there are too many Big Words with Too Many Syllables.

A year? The cream puffs all disappeared before I could get my hands on them. I am very sad. So I've had Valrhona chocolate, one slice of the sponge roll, and half a dozen chocolate meringues.

Nina, I was brought up in a home like yours in terms of what was on the dinner table. I'll always be grateful for that.

Don't be too surprised if the day comes when you no longer want them. This time last year, my New Year's resolution was to eat a minimum of 3 servings of fruit, and 3 of vegetables every day, plus to just generally improve my eating habits. So one day in late February, when the grocery, the night before, had had only bright green bananas and I was in banana withdrawal, I decided to treat myself with something I only rarely would allow myself to have. You know those little powdered sugar donuts that come 6 to a package? I had a passion for those things. There was a time in my life when I had them for breakfast every day, and often had to talk myself out of a second package. (And not always succeeded.) Mid-morning at work, I broke open the package, poured myself a fresh cup of coffee, and proceeded to chow down. Ugh. What had been a craving was now a loathing. They tasted heavy, strange, and artificial, and I couldn't stand them. I even had a second bite to make sure I wasn't imagining things. But it had happened: my palate had changed because of all the fresh fruit and vegetables I was eating, and I no longer have any desire to have anything to do with them. That's a good thing. I think. ← Yeah. I used to buy every single thing in the cookie aisle at the supermarket on a rotational basis. Oreos (I loved these), Pocky (I can get pretty much every kind of Pocky here, especially if I hit Meidi-Ya or one of the other Japanese supermarkets), anything that had chocolate or caramel etc. Now I'm a snob and I don't eat anything that wasn't made by me. Well, rarely anyway. I haven't yet lost the craving for McD's fries or hash browns, though. Every time I pass, I think about buying them, but it's a every six months, if that, craving. It does get easier the longer you stay away from them.

Melissa, I think it's called Screwpine leaf. You'll need to try Asian supermarkets for it.