toni

That is so helpful. I think I am dense: I'm not sure what this sentence means: "So the cakes I freeze...have to be made with those multi-million dollar ingredients that can create such a stir on foodie boards." If you have time, I'd love to know if you mean something like shortening and you were being funny about multi-million dollar and the foodie boards. Sorry. Thank you again for all the help.

On another note, K8memphis, I have been looking for a good plastic wrap for keeping cake layers fresh before putting in the frig or freezer. I noticed in your pictorial a box on your counter called Polyvinyl Films, I think. Is that the one you use before setting your naked layers in ziplock type bags? And where do you purchase it? Is it large enough to wrap 9 or 10 inch rounds cake layers? I made a cake this weekend and the wrap did not cover the cake well, but I put it in ziplocks too. I think you once said the plastic wrap should be stretched tight around the cake. The cake was easy to frost after setting in the refrigerator. Do you know how long cake layers can be put this way in the frig. because I don't want them to dry out. Is it best to put them in the freezer if it is longer than one or two days? Thank you for any thoughts on keeping the cake moist and fresh.

Thank you for adding your thoughts. That helps me a lot, and I appreciate it.

You are too kind! Thank you for the information, and I absolutely loved the thread you referred me to. I am such a visual learner. Your wedding cake was fantastic and I commend you for your patience and talent. Thank you for sharing such helpful ideas, K8memphis.

Thank you, K8memphis, for the reply. I once made a syrup that was only 1/2 sugar, 1/2 water. I'm interested in your idea, too, of adding a flavor. My frosting and filling will be a chocolate/choc. malt with cream cheese and whipping cream. What would you suggest as a flavor component to the syrup and if you would, tell me how you make your syrup and how much flavor you'd add. Thank you so much, again. Just how much syrup do you put on a cake layer and do you baste it on?

Hi, I'm not sure about when to use a simple syrup to make the cake moist before frosting. I made a chocolate cake and put the layers in zip lock bags 2 nights ago and put them in the refrigerator until I could frost today. My questions are: Is it okay to put baked cake layers into the refrig? I had read different ideas and could not remember much. Hopefully it will not pull moisture out of the cake. My idea was to have the cake cold when I frosted. Once, I used a simple syrup on a chiffon cake but do not know when it is appropriate or not. Do you baste a syrup of 1/2 sugar and 1/2 water on regular cake made of flour, buttermilk, butter and eggs? In this case, there was also chocolate. Will that help it be moist ? How long do you wait to frost after putting on a syrup if using a syrup is appropriate? I looked in some cookbooks and did not get any help on these matters and I so appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

The plastic wrap generally does not stick. There might be a tad of the top stuck but I am fixing to cut that off anyhow. Just to be clear: I use parchment in the pan to bake in. I sometimes use waxed paper in the pan to bake in but not on brownies--only cake. I use plastic wrap to flip the cooked cakes on-- doesn't stick. ← Very clear, and thanks, again.

I'm thinking cooling for 2 hours causes the crisco to set up and adhere to the pan. I usually let cakes cool for just 10-15 minutes. Then I'll shake the pan from side to side until I feel the cake loosen and will turn it out. ← That may be a solution. Thank you, emmalish!

Thank you, Mayhaw Man. No dusting with flour, huh?

I will read your reply very carefully tonight and I appreciate all details, so I thank you so much. I always make things more complicated in my mind, so any extra explanations really do help me. Do you use wax paper or parchment on the bottoms before turning over? I am wondering if regular seran-type plastic wrap might stick to the baked cake especially if the cake sets on the plastic for a while. Thank you again.

Next time I will definitely not grease under the parchment. I'd be nervous not to use any form of greasing, but maybe I should try that. Thank you.

Yes, I let the last cake set on the counter for about 2 hours before turning out, and I ran a knife around the outside edges. Thanks for responding.

I would appreciate any advice about preparing cake pans before baking. I tried searching for information about what to put on the pans but nothing came up, so I apologize if this is a topic covered in the past. The last 2 cakes I made had the bottoms of the cake and the sides sticking to the pans and then those parts of the cake fell apart. One cake was a chocolate one and the other was a yellow one. In the past, I don't remember if I used butter, crisco, or an aersol spray to prepare the pans. I know they even have a no-stick spray with flour in it but I have never used that. For the last 2 cakes I wiped crisco (solid) on the pans before dusting with flour. I also used parchment in the bottom of the pans and wiped the parchment with the crisco before dusting with flour. I would love to hear what is the best preparation and what you use. Thank you so much in advance.

Your recipe looks really interesting and good. I missed any comment about how it tasted to you.

I thank you for your input. As always, Toni

Thank you, DerekW. After your response, before putting the flank steak in the oven, I shook off the marinade it was in, layered the pieces on the racks and then added a few shakes of hot sauce ( I had Franks Red Hot) to the left over marinade (there was only about a cup after marinating for 22 hours) and then brushed it on the pieces of meat and put into the oven. You mentioned just shaking off the marinade. I made beef jerky many years ago and that was the method I used. Then I started pressing the marinated slices between paper towels to take off the extra marinade. I don't know why I did that other than I keep reading and there are different ways people do it. So, in the hopes that more flavor is transferred to the meat, I simply shook off the marinade this time as you said. I really appreciate your input. I decided to use the Pure convection mode of my oven. I set it at the lowest 135 degrees which means its about 155 for a regular oven. It is now 12 hours and I will wipe some beads of moisture off the meat and probably let it set about 8 hours in the oven with the oven off. I would love to hear what temp. you use and how long you cook and simply let the jerky set out. Thank you, again. It smells great!

Thanks so much! By the way, anything special you do to make it a little hot (spicy)?

I just put in Whittington's jerky in Johnson City, TX on google and I got the phone number. The lady answering the phone was so nice and she said the jerky could stay in the paper bag for days. Thank you again.

Thank you so much, slo_ted for replying. I have not been able to locate the website using the spelling above or a couple variations. Could you please check the spelling for me? I have used with apostrophe and without, one "t" and 2 "t's". In case I can't get the website, was anything said about how long you could keep the jerky in a paper bag? Are all the pieces thrown into the bag together and touching one another? I was wondering if I should put paper towels around individual pieces. Thanks again!

I'm hoping someone can help me with storing the beef and turkey jerky I have just made. Should it be kept in the refrigerator? Do you keep it wrapped in paper towels in a zip lock bag and keep it at room temp. or what? I want to do it right as I have invested a lot of preparation and cooking time. Thank you in advance. Oh, has anyone made it on the hot side? I'm not sure what I should add to the soy sauce and the other regular spices to make it hotter.

That is the most amazing dessert! I would love to know what the layers are. Nice job!!!

I thank you, Markk for your suggestion. I even thought about inserting the probe into the oven receptacle first but was scared of that. I will try it now after your comments. Dave, I have a question. It sounds like you are not searing the roast as you simply say to place in a pan. When you say that the temperature probe goes in through the side, I think of the part that has a tougher skin on it. I put the probe on what I think is the end part that is pure meat. (cut part) Is that where it should go? I like your idea of the wine. Marlene, today at Wm. Sonoma I found the remote thermometer you spoke of. It was half off, so it is worth trying. I had a different one from a cooking supply store for a few years and was always paranoid and anxious when it didn't seem to register correctly. But I decided to give this one a try after you mentioned it. I like recommendations and thank you very much.

I froze my 3 bone 7 lb. prime rib and then put it in the refrig. on Thurs. for Mon.'s Christmas cooking. It was great. Enjoy it. After our dinner, my husband proclaimed with a huge smile on his face that he would like prime rib 4 times a year!

Need say no more. That is a beautiful prime rib, Marlene! I cooked my prime rib on Christmas and it turned out great. I followed Marlene's and HKDave's advice as I ran into a problem with my temperature probe. I have a Dacor oven and had never used the temp. probe before. Oops! (one should not wait to try something for the first time on a big day.) The probe plugged into the outlet in the oven just fine. Then I pushed the "Probe" button on the outside of the oven and the display flashed "PRB" which meant the probe was not inserted properly. Time was of the essence and I could not play around anymore than the 10 mins. I already wasted, so I abandoned the probe and heated the oven to 450 degrees convection and then put the meat into the oven and cooked it for 10 mins. and then turned the oven to convection 300 degrees. It took about 2 1/2 hours for the 7 lb. prime rib to be medium rare and it was absolutely fabulous. Thank you for everyone's ideas and opinions. It really helped. Anyone else have problems with a temp. probe. I have no idea what could have been wrong. The probe was in the center of the meat and the plug at the other end of the probe was inserted into the outlet on the side of the oven. It is very hot (duh!) and it was hard to raise the lid of the outlet and continue trying to insert the plug, but it did seem to click as it pressed in all the way.