SweetSide

The combo sounds divine and something very much like what I had done once. Mine was with salted peanut dacquoise. All other components the same. What's your order of assembly (ie, where is that dacquoise going)? And, can you post or pm me the recipe for the dark caramel buttercream? I have a caramel one that I've used in the past and I didn't think it was intense enough...

B because A doesn't have an opinion. It's "Well, I don't know. What do you think? Really, I'm not sure. Can we try it this way? No, that's not good. How about something like this... No, the other was better.." At least if someone has an opinion how something should be done, you have something to work with. You learn from it, or show you know more and change it. Or, like K8 said, you go with C and work for yourself.

And then your mind will turn to mush and all your tastebuds will die... Honestly though -- if you have kids, I've gotten some cute ideas out of that magazine that I have translated to real baking... I don't know why I get the magazine though -- it's addressed to my father who passed away 32 years ago in NJ, and I live in CT...

Have a cake board handy. Can be a cardboard, a large flat (no rims) cookie sheet, anything flat and sturdy to hold the cake. You'll need one for each layer you wish to torte off. Determine the number of layers you are going to split it in and then run the large serrated knife through at the appropriate point, but don't remove the cake layer. Once cut, insert the knife into the cut and lift slightly - just enough to begin sliding the cardboard or tray in. Continue moving the knife through the cut and following the with the board. The object is to get the board into the cut fully. Once all of the top layer is on the board, just lift it away. Repeat for any other layers.

I only use disposables. At work, it's just pipe and toss. At home, depending on what I've piped, I may wash the bag for another use or two. If it's buttercream -- toss, too greasy. If it's meringue -- easy to clean, so I reuse.

I'm with K8 on this one -- I'm thinking that this is pourable fondant based on the ingredient list. ← So how would you make it pourable? What liquid would you add. It's very stiff. I'll try to take a picture to show everyone. I'll also call the place I purchased it from to see what they say. ← Pourable fondant is used warm. Heat it to about 105F to 110F. Test the consistency by dipping in a spatula and letting it run off. It should form thin "sheets" as it runs off the spatula, and you should be able to see through the sheet. Too thick and it will glob on your cakes. Too thin, and it will just run right off. If at 105F, it is still too thick, add some corn syrup to the mix to thin it out. Go slow -- its one of those things where a little goes a long way.

I'm with K8 on this one -- I'm thinking that this is pourable fondant based on the ingredient list.

Or how about filling with a strawberry whipped cream stabilized with a small amount of gelatin? Or with a strawberry white chocolate ganache?

Gorgeous flowers gfron1! I've seen you do them before I believe... Did you post how you did them somewhere, or can you post instructions? I think they are such an elegant garnish.

Based on the above, is it safe for me to assume that I can use either dutch-process or regular (Hershey's) cocoa for a Chocolate Pound Cake recipe, the ingredients of which are: 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder Pinch of sea salt 4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated 1 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature I have both types of cocoa, though I have more dutch-process than regular so I'd rather use dutch-process. ← That's right -- since there is no chemical leavening, you can use whichever type of cocoa you prefer.

How about a Charlotte with the pirouettes as the mold liner instead of ladyfingers or sponge (or backed by a jaconde layer to prevent leaking). You could include different layers of bavarian if you want to play with the flavors. Raspberry, coffee, chocolate, orange... You can still tie it with a pretty ribbon...

I've never had the buttercream separate because of whipping the egg whites too long, and for big batches, I've whipped for 15 minutes at least. With all that sugar, it would have to go a long time. I have had occasion, in a 90F kitchen, when the meringue just wouldn't cool down. I put a shallow bowl of ice water under the mixing bowl (touching the mixing bowl) to cool the bowl off some, then remove it when the meringue seems to be cooling down. I have had the meringue begin to curdle because of cold butter (opposite kitchen -- only 62F). In this instance, I warm the bowl up with a blowtorch, in moderation. Remove heat when you start to see the buttercream smooth out.

Great demo -- should help a lot of people with questions! One little tip to add -- when combining the water and sugar to make the syrup, for those who are new or not comfortable at making a sugar syrup. Put the water in the bowl pan first, then add the sugar. More sugar dissolves this way without the need to stir. Little tip my chef instructor passed on.

It was 4-5GBP for 100g of chocolate. That is $34 to $42 US per pound of chocolate. Not unlike the prices here for good chocolates. At $45/pound where I was working, 1 average size truffle was about a buck. No, not cheap, but not outrageous.

Sounds great -- I love lemon and raspberry (blueberry, too). What did you use for a glaze? Was the white chocolate just tempered white? Thanks!

Pierre Herme has a dark fudgy cake in his Chocolate Desserts book. Not very tall, but dark and moist, much like a brownie. You'd need to make 3 of the recipe (which would require 27 yolks and 15 whites) to get what I would consider a TALL cake, so you may still need to sell that second child... For frosting, I don't have a really fudgy one...

Cool -- I love the stamp too. They do sell stiff rubber rollers, like a printer would use for ink, much like these here CLICK. Still not sure on the food safe issue, but at least it isn't furry like a paint roller. If it can pick up the fine grooves of a fingerprint, it should work for your stamp.

Maybe. It depends on how deep you want the curd to be. Assuming that the internal diameter of the crust-- the volume you want to fill-- is 9.5" (assuming the crust takes up 1/4" of the internal diameter of the 10" pan), and that the FC recipe yields 2 cups of curd (which is about 28.8 cubic inches), your filling will be 0.4" deep. In other words, a cylinder with a volume of 28.8 cubic inches and a radius of 4.75" will have a height of 0.4". ←

I THINK you may be overreacting some, but not being in the biz very long and not having seen the article itself... It would seem to me that if you've never baked a cake before, that this proposition would end up being expensive. You have to buy all the equipment to frost, board, and dowel the thing. I'm doing a cake now on which I will make no money when I consider I had to buy all new pans since I don't have that size. Yet, that is my investment for future orders. And, even such that I know how to create a wedding cake -- I wouldn't even want to do my own. Who needs that stress right before the wedding? There have been other articles in other magazines that show you how to do your own cake. As well as books on the subject. So I'm guessing it isn't going to have any impact on the bridal business. Perhaps by word of mouth, the message will be OMG, don't ever try to do your own, I did, and it was a disaster. Perhaps the author was right -- it is an efigy of the bride herself, as she goes down in flames and has to hire a cake artist at the last minute for twice the price to bail her out...

No, still go by weight. 1 teaspoon of powdered gelatin weighs 2.33 grams. Each Tablespoon weighs 7 grams.

Definitely -- never thought about that until you wrote it down. I do both of these (by instinct?) and it works so much better. On my list, add: Blowtorch (used for all kinds of things) a long spackling knife for cakes -- get at a hardware store or paint store thermometers -- fast and accurate instant, candy And may I re-emphasize -- get GOOD cake pans. Matte aluminum, heavy weight. I'm in the process of buying all new pans because the good ones are so much better than my old ones. Don't even have to level most of my cakes.

Coconut must go in the cake. If someone tells me coconut cake, I want coconut cake. I run angel flake through the food processor. It also keeps the cake moist. Then for icing, there are alternatives -- coconut swiss meringue buttercream, 7 minute, lemon buttercream. Sometimes I press large toasted flakes into the side (more elegant), sometimes untoasted angel flake (more homey).

Glad they helped! It wasn't me though -- the eGullet crowd got me through that one. Never a flop since! And, it's nice to know that another baker was saved the despair of a sunken cake!

OMG -- the names the French came up with for some desserts! Reminds me of another thread discussing a particularly un politically correct name for a specific meringue dessert. Sorry, going off topic....