LittleIsland

Hey Ling, I guess on the brownie scale this must mean you lean firmly towards fudgy rather than chewy ? When you replace some of the flour with cocoa does it make the brownies even fudgier and with less of a chewy crumb? OT but I just got a can of Hershey's Special Dark (new to our supermarket!) so I want to use it somewhere.

Actually helenjp, like you I was trying to make my brownies less sweet - but I also found beyond a certain point it affected the whole taste of it and and was no longer so pleasurable to eat. (Gave away a few batches that just didn't work out when I cut the sugar too much - apart from the texture issue you mentioned, the taste was just too non-brownie-ish). But one thing to try is subbing some unsweetened chocolate in recipes that call for semi-sweet. And, when you eat them cold straight from the refrigerator they don't taste as sweet as when you eat them at room temp. Or I guess the secret is eating them in moderation.

I agree with you on this - they sound fabulous but without even tasting one, my teeth are already aching! My thought on this was to make a less sweet brownie (than one you'd eat on it's own) so perhaps for the KA recipe I might sub some unsweetened chocolate for the semi-sweet.

Prasantrin, that caramel brownie variation is exactly what I want to try once I nail the base brownie recipe (Been looking at the version in allrecipes which uses boxed cake mix to rave reviews) What I want to know is, was the bottom layer a little drier? Would you perhaps rather freeze the bottom layer for a while to harden it, then spread the caramel layer and top brownie layer on, then bake the whole thing? Can you let me know when you've found the ideal caramel recipe for it? Also, if I were going to make the caramel from scratch just for this, would I simply add the additional cream right off the bat instead of cooking to the right temp. and then melting down with additional cream? I fear if I did this variation I'd only be able to eat a couple of pieces and have to give away the rest for the sake of the waistline.

Awwwright. So I didn't get around to trying the OTF and Chewy Brownies recipes because I got sidetracked by : 1. Double Fudge Bourbon Brownies (on recipegullet) - didn't really like the flavour and a tad dry 2. Another chewy, cakey brownie recipe I found online (I think someone said it was Pam Anderson's, I can't find the link now but will post when I do, in case anyone's interested) - not bad but still not quite there Then I did Kerry Beal's brownies which indeed tasted (and felt) like World Peace cookies masquerading as brownies (or the other way around ) but not in fact my ideal brownie. And then I tweaked Dorie Greenspan's Classic Brownies recipe from "Baking" but I messed it up - so, another 4 batches of brownies distributed. After a few days of Brownie OD, today I tried the Double Fudge Brownies from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking - and the family loves them, as do I! (this even before being chilled or rested in the fridge for any length of time) They are really nice and chewy while being at the same time fudgy. The only thing I really regret about this is my deplorable camera skills. If anyone's interested in trying it out for comparison purposes, let me know and I'll look into how to post the recipe without violating copyright. I really like the flavour and texture of these (I think the whole wheat definitely gives it terrific body while not being in the least cakey) but can't comment against the OTF and others talked about here.

I recall from one visit to a Korean restaurant a delicious salad made from jellyfish and a variety of crisp, julienned vegetables, with a very garlickly, tangy dressing (which was very light and clear though), and I think topped with sesame seeds. Can anyone help with this? I'd love to be able to replicate it. Thanks!

Wow, wow and wow! What a lot of gorgeous and talented work! Very creative, Kate.

Thanks merstar, CanadianBakin' and jende for answering my questions. Shall try the Chewy recipe as written, since I've finally managed to get some unsweetened chocolate today. And if I have time I'll try the OTF ones too. Any votes for Dorie Greenspan's Classic Brownies from her latest book Baking from my home to yours? I did them a few days ago and so far they've come closest to the texture I'd like, but for my taste (and I recognise this is utterly personal) could do with slightly less sugar and with a little more chewiness (after a couple days in the fridge). So am also going to try to tweak that. For the record I also did the Supernatural Brownies yesterday (ummm so that's 5 batches in 4 days) but didn't like the flavour from the dark brown sugar. Texture on second day not bad but still not quite there for me. Ok the doctor has banned eggs for 2 weeks but I'm thinking 2 eggs spread among 16 brownies of which I'm only tasting 1, hardly counts as eating eggs does it...?? I wouldn't want to get off (err or is that on?) the brownie wagon, I'm on a roll!

Oh I forgot to add that I was quite happy with the sweetness level of the Chewy brownies using slightly more than half the sugar and the sem-sweet chocolate instead of unsweetened. If that's any help...

Can someone tell me if the On-the-Fence brownies are chewy? I love chewy, don't think cake-y brownies are worth eating. Also, I guess cutting back on the amount of sugar would affect moistness but what about texture? I've tried the Chewy brownies recipe twice now, but because I couldn't get to the shops to get unsweetened chocolate, had to use semi-sweet. I also increased the cocoa by 3 tablespoons. I cut the sugar by half but increased the butter to 5oz... ok I know by now the recipe has morphed into something else completely, but just wanted help troubleshooting. What I produced was slightly dense, a tad dry (even with decreased baking time) but not really chewy. I guess I could try baking the Chewy recipe as written and then go from there, but all brownie recipes are too achingly sweet for the family. So, am in search of a less sweet, intensely chocolatey and dense, chewy brownie... anyone have a recipe for one?

I believe konnayaku jellies have a slightly chewy texture which accounts for the possible choking hazard.

Would love to try these, what temp to bake at? And, what do you think would be the effect of subbing whole grain pastry flour for AP? Or just some if not all?

She explains below that alum is Potassium alum (potash), called "pak fan" in Chinese. So maybe try your Chinese suppliers? I know when I eat these, I can taste the ammonia quite clearly, so I'm thinking it might be a necessary ingredient... but I'm no expert. I'm only glad we can find these (relatively) easily in Singapore still.

Maybe it should be chunks of frozen WPC dough instead of the baked cookies... then you might get a brownie with (hopefully) chunks of soft (rather than crisp) cookie in it. Hmmm have some WPC dough in the freezer, must try!!

Fanny, good luck, I think you're going to do great with all the advice! Since Kate referred to the thread I started, I thought I'd throw in my 2.5 cents. Knowing better now, I don't think I'd have the gall to call what I did (and am still doing) a "stage" anymore . I now refer to it as my "kitchen attachment". I finally went in November for a couple of weeks and continue to do so once a week, but for only a half day. Since I was invited to do so, the baking pastry team at the hotel was extremely accommodating of my hours. Thank goodness it doesn't involve washing up, as a kitchen hand is assigned to do that! What I learned and now continue to practise (the advice Chefette gave in the other thread was right on the money): - Offer to help with anything and everything provided it looks within my ability, and if it doesn't, offer to learn. Always keep busy doing something, which won't be difficult, rather than just standing and watching (which is uncomfortable anyway) - I weigh and measure ingredients, help them with prep work or mise en place, and if I'm a good girl I'm allowed to use the dough roller and roll and fold croissant dough or mix up a batch of batter, that sort of thing. - I don't try to discover and memorise recipes as I figure there are enough of those out there; instead I try to observe, try my hand at and learn as much as possible about technique, "secret" tips and ways they have of doing things that are different or new to me or just stuff I haven't dared to do at home. I figure the "practical" stuff is more important than the recipes - Observation, observation, observation - even while doing something... while paying utmost attention to what I'm doing at the moment, of course - Ask lots of questions but not while they're looking under pressure - Don't be afraid to show what you know but present it in a non-presumptuous way, if you know what I mean - because that enables them to figure out what they can allow you to do on your own or with minimal supervision, and put you on the right track to learning or improving certain skills - Also don't be afraid to tell them what you'd like a chance to learn to do or to try - When doing something in their kitchen for the first time even if I've been used to doing it at home, I will reconfirm quickly how they want it done (e.g. creaming butter and sugar) and how they want the final result to look, and never assume anything is the same as what I've been practising as a home baker My husband asked me what value there was to spending my time weighing and measuring ingredients and I told him it was invaluable just being in the kitchen and able to see and listen. I know I have the unusual luxury of going in every week (until such time as the HR dept decides enough is enough, haha) so I don't feel under pressure to learn as much as possible in a given time, but treat it more as, perhaps, a workshop that I attend every week or even my personal leisure activity (that I don't have to pay for!) If you go in with the attitude that, no matter what you are asked to do, you are going to be learning something new... then you will really enjoy your stint.

I've been TRYING to get my mac feet to bulge out but mine alway remain vertical!! And, Mukki, your gingerbread macs look very very pretty.

Why would cookies need baking powder? And, if I wanted to make gingerbread men that didn't puff or spread, would I leave the baking powder completely out of the recipe, or reduce it? And what about the baking soda?

No photos, but I have been having these terrific Butter-nut Blondies served warm, topped with vanilla ice cream drizzled with this delicious butterscotch sauce for a number of nights this week... gotta stop soon, the waistline can't take this sort of punishment!

I have no idea, but I just want to say I love your name, very funny Are you really?

Yes, I believe many have, from posts upthread... some recipes specify italian meringue and some swiss. Some folks feel italian meringue produces a more stable macaron with better texture. Guess it's all down to experimentation and experience.

Hi there, can only try to help you with what I've found from my own mac experiences: Evaporating egg whites: I found this to be too complicated and didn't always have old egg whites on hand. I find it easier now to simply sub about 10% (find your own comfort level) in weight of powdered whites for the egg whites, then adjust the final batter by adding a few drops (say 1/4 tsp of water) at a time until you reach the correct consistency. So it means I always have a too-stiff batter which I then adjust a little at a time. This is great when I'm adding liquid colouring or flavouring, I don't have to worry about it liquiefying my batter too much - I add the colour/flavour first and then continue adjusting consistency with water. What is the correct consistency of batter? Using all the helpful descriptions on this thread, I've found practice and more practice will give you the best feel for it. That will tell you how much water to add to the final batter - and when to stop. Measure the whites AFTER the evaporation. But if you sub powdered whites as described above, you don't have to worry about this. Subbing brown sugar - sorry can't help you on this but again if you routinely go for a drier/stiffer batter, you can fix the final batter by adding drops of water until it reaches the correct consistency. Texture of ground nuts - yes sieving makes the cookies smoother and more delicately textured which is what you're aiming for. Or else you could have lumpy macs. In my macs you can't really tell they're made of ground nuts - I don't know if that's correct as I haven't eaten any other macs than my own, but I'm assuming you don't want nutty chunks. Can't really help you on your question about oil content from subbing different nuts - perhaps someone else can. I know Patrick mentioned subbing different types of nuts with no problem. And regarding baking temperatures, I also got really confused and found the best thing to do was experiment with my own oven to find the best result for my environment, humidity, oven performance, etc. I really think this one is hard to say since everyone is dealing with different variables when it comes to the oven. So I just picked somewhere to start, and adjusted from there until I got a result I was happy with. On your question about the internal temperature of a perfectly done macaron - I think it might be making this a little bit more complicated than it really is. Like yourself I was intimidated by so much information and it was very easy to lose track given the sheer volume of advice on this thread despite the fact that every single bit was helpful. And yes almonds are an expensive ingredient to experiment with so I, like you, wanted the best advice in order to maximise chances of success. However, there is only so far everyone's experience can go and then it's a matter of diving off the deep end and paddling like mad from there I'm still trying to figure out whether it makes an appreciable different if I spend hours drying out my TPT. But I haven't made macs recently as I haven't had time to do the dreadful grind/sift/grind routine - yes I have to re-grind the almond meal that I buy as it's nowhere fine enough. Anyway, good luck. They really are wonderful things to eat and to give away - once you get them somewhat right.

I am trying to instill in my kids (4 yrs and 1.5 yrs - ok the younger one is a bit too young) an awareness that there are other kids out there who are not as lucky as they are, who do not get to go to bed with a full belly every night, who get fed when they are hungry, get a drink of clean water when they are thirsty, and who have a surfeit of toys and books and people who love them. A sense of empathy. Some amount of social responsibility. Of course, we are merely at the start of a long journey. And I agree, so much easier to get what you want by being nice rather than nasty. The world doesn't owe us a living, something a lot of younger folk could stand to remember nowadays. ugh, I sound OLD

How wonderful K8, thank you for taking the time to show us. Really really helpful. Last week I was at the hotel's pastry kitchen and they showed me how to stretch strudel dough by stretching 2 corners of the dough over 2 corners of the cloth-covered table. That way you have one entire short side of the dough "pinned" down and you can stretch the rest of it gradually, the way you demo'd. They managed to stretch what looked like an equivalent amount of dough, over the entire table (about the same size). Also was told it helps to rest the dough in the refrigerator overnight before stretching and filling, and to freeze the rolled strudel overnight again before baking - must remember to ask why when I go back next week. (But then again for their production work most everything is frozen either before or after baking) They also did not spread the whole pastry with butter and cinnamon sugar/nuts - only the strip where the apple filling goes. Apparently the reason is to avoid soggy pastry which will happen if there are too many layers of melted butter. But yours looks (really delicious) like the version I remember eating long ago - where there are layers of filling throughout the roll. I really want to try this for Christmas... it's amazing how one visual demonstration can demystify a process so quickly. Thanks again!

Thanks so much Anthony... will try.

Well K8, the boys ate it and loved it but I didn't like the graininess on my tongue ... so eventually finishing most it off was no problem but then I don't want my next batch to be the same. Anthony, I cooked the brown sugar together with the cream and butter as the recipe specified. Boiled it for quite a while. But stirred constantly - I guess too much. The next day (before all of you replied) I put the stuff back in the saucepan and addded corn syrup and tempered in an egg - which were ingredients from another butterscotch sauce recipe - since I thought the egg might help thicken the sauce and the corn syrup might help the graininess. WRONG. This time the stuff developed chunks of browned bits throughout - I think they were like burned bits but they didn't taste burned, they were sort of tasty, hahaha - but the lumpy stuff I eventually poured over the ice cream was definintely NOT the smooth, thick sauce I was aiming for! And, aprilmei - straining would not have helped because the whole thing was too far gone. Looking at most other recipes, they mostly all call for all the ingredients to be boiled together. Am I wrong in expecting to be able to produce something that looks like the stuff we can buy in the jars but that would taste infinitely better?