gfron1

Here it is. This is my first one obviously, but I'm happy with it. I enjoy making puff, but could definitely benefit from watching someone else do it. I filled mine with almond cream and Armenia blueberry preserves. I probably could have scored my decorative lines deeper, but was afraid to based on the previous warnings, however, I did leave my puff thicker than I should have, so if I had gone thinner, I might have been deep enough.

Alrighty, I've had a dog walk to digest all of this info. It seems to me that if we're wanting to increase the moisture of a cake, the water content would be the least stable and sustaining of our possibilities. Again, health issues aside for a moment, whether I wrap my cake in plastic or not, once exposed to air, the water is going to evaporate at a relatively quick pace. If we looked, however, at the oil in the cake (butter, vegetable, canola, etc) that would seem to have a more lasting, stable moisturizing effect. For example - look at a genois versus a zucchini loaf. So it would be interesting to measure the difference in fats. What if you added coconut oil, palm oil, nut oils, etc.? Would any of these options have a more lasting effect on the moisture of a cake and have minimal or no flavor impact. This also makes me wonder about true moisture versus perceived (mouthfeel) moisture...but I'll stop.

Bake a cake of course!

Yes to 1,3 and 4 Kind of to 2 *Probably the biggest culprit Definitely not on 5 Thanks. It still looks good and I'll get my pics up as soon as it cools a bit.

As smoke pours out of my oven from the butter seepage...what do people do to control this problem? By the way, its looking good and will be out of the oven in 20 minutes!

I'm curious about the food safety issue, and it may be valuable if someone wants to take it on is an informative, open dialogue. It reminds me of the debate regarding non-stick cookware - educated people will disagree. You can do a quick search at the top of the page to find a handful of discussions on this topic throughout eGullet. This specific topic is more about moisture levels (just a friendly reminder).

To me it sounds like you did exactly what you should have. The only emphasis I want to make is doing it at a down time when the manager can "be present" enough to hear what you're saying.

People more familiar with the book may give you more specifics, but the selection at India Tree is pretty impressive when it comes to that type of ingredient.

Yeah...but. Going back to the original question, I would share the info with the manager. Based on the description of the restaurant, it sounds like it is a succesful and busy place. Anyone who manages a successful business knows that training is always an issue. The manager will probaby be apologetic, and hopefully take the info to improve the restaurant. Whether he/she does or not is irrelevant to whether you go back (see all of these posts above). My favorite restaurants are ethnic hole in the walls - I don't mind the occassional roach (I scoot it toward a different table), the dirty fork (I wipe it off), the dirty glass (I use a straw)...and look at how I turned out! (Geez, good thing you can't see my third ear or shoulder twitch.)

I wonder if you could use quark or one of the Middle Eastern thick yogurts to get a tart-er taste.

And with that - I'm off! I'll post the pic as soon as its done (probably tomorrow). Thanks John.

Okay, I'll bite. I know I have seen these before but didn't know what they were. A quick google search gave me enough info that I'm intrigued - they are also eaten as a savory - huh! I'd love to make one now. Anyone have recipes, tips, advice, address to send it to And the pretty ones with the swirls on top - are those just cuts in the puff?

Oils can be overwhelming, but do a bit of internet research or get a book and learn the basics. I try to get our customer to explore different basic flavor profiles - buttery, peppery, piquant, fruity, etc. and guide them through the oils that way. Once they understand those rudimentary concepts then we explore how to use each flavor profile, and finally we talk quality. Middle Eastern stores will probaby not be sampling, but hit your higher end stores to taste around. The Middle Eastern oils are definitely cheaper but there's a whole world of oils out that to blow you away. Have fun with it.

Inspired by the Hummingbird Cake thread, here's my take on Saveur's recipe. I've never had one before and I didn't get any of this since it was a gift for a friend, who 2 years ago mentioned that it was her favorite type of cake (my dessert memory is like an elephant's). Unfortunately, since it was a gift, I also couldn't get a slice shot. But it probably looks like cake inside

Tammy, I'm beaming with pride all the way from New Mexico - those are so pretty and you've really added to their fundraiser. You're super!

My bottle of aztec only has a hand-written label on it - no ingredients. Sorry.

I was just poking around in RecipeGullet and found this fantastic manifesto on measuring.

I piped my last marshmallows (curry) and man!, I wouldn't wish that torture on anyone! If I were going to pipe again, I would try to whip less so they start off softer, and just assume that I would be cutting the marshmallow when it was time to stop it flowing.

I'm asking for a friend (you've never seen me do a cake because I'm no good at it). A friend who is not a professional decorator, but is pretty handy based on other things I've seen, is doing her daughter's quincienera cakes. She's serving 300! She is looking for ideas for simple decorating that would be appropriate for the event as far as age and formality. Quincineras are a big deal (family coming in from all over the US and Mexico). The daughter is obviously turning 15 so she's too cool for Cinderella-esque decorations, but not so cool that she isn't excited about the theme. Any ideas that won't blow the budget, time constraints, etc.? Thanks Rob

On my recent trip to Chicago when I was in Vanille Patisserie a customer walked in and said they needed a cake. It sounded like a pretty fancy cake that I assumed would be hundreds of dollars. When they told the staff that they needed it in 2 days, the staff said that wasn't possible - I laughed because I had watched enough episodes of Ace of Cakes to know that the request was unrealistic. I would word the signage in a way that doesn't deter business because there will be times when you can do a cake on short notice. I would also use this as an opportunity to market yourself. For example, "Due to the artistic nature of our services, we request a minimum of one week's notice. We will not be able to acommodate all requests as a result. Please ask and we'll let you know if we can do it." Much longer than I would use, but you get the idea...

You might want to give Chocosphere a call. He does this for a living and has always been very friendly and helpful. He's shipped very fragile chocolates to me through Phoenix (100 F+) and they've always arrived in perfect condition. His # 1-877-992-4626.

Well geez. I didn't respond last night when I saw this topic because there was so much anti-Swiss Diamond sentiment, but I've had mine for almost 3 years and love it. To this day I can still flip over my morning eggs in my 8" skillet with no butter. I've used metal utensils with no effect on the non-stickness, and I've definitely not had any of the issues mentioned where foods stick to the product. So I'm not sure what the difference between my experience and others is. Another plus to SD is the lids - great deep lip with a vent on the handle. If there's any part of you that is still curious, go get the 8" skillet and kick the tires. And BTW, welcome to the Society and thanks for your first post.

On my recent visit to Alinea, the Sommelier proudly offered us filtered tap water. As a secondary option, he offered us bottled as well. We thought the water tasted like the filter was a bit old, but it didn't matter after the 10th or 15th course

It started out to be a Delicia a Limon, but I wasn't liking where it was going, so I added a sour cherry gelee disc on the bottom, weakened the chantilly and added sour cherry gelato. Not pretty, but it was pretty good. A delicia a limon is a lemon pan di spagna (genois) filled with lemon pastry cream, where the pan is soaked with limoncello. The whole thing is covered in a lemon chantilly sauce. Traditionally it is made in the shape of a woman's breast. Since I modified, I omitted the whipped cream nipple.

I run an international grocery and have tried many "available" middle eastern oils. I love the Mustafa's recommendation if they have it - probably they won't because they don't do a good wholesale program but it quite nice. We use Al Wazir for our everyday oil at home now. Its not exceptional like many of the Italian, Cretian (Taste of Crete is my all time favorite available oil), Greek, French, etc...but it has a great flavor that you can cook with or dip into. Also look for Romeo. Middle Eastern stores carry this good value ExV from Italy because it comes through an Armenian distributor in LA. Its our best seller. In the end, don't stick to one. Buy 3 or 4 and have a tasting party! Then you'll be like many of us who have a bottle for every occasion.