Qui

Do you mind sharing your cocoa cake formula? I have been having some trouble with my chocolate cake lately and have been experimenting on different formulas. The recipe I have right now is good for cake layers, but not so good for cupcakes, a little dry for cupcakes, in my opinion. Thanks!

Hi all, I am looking for places that make custom made silk screens. I think that's what it is called. I have used them before in plated dessert situation where it's a piece of blue material that has you custom logo or image on it. You put it agaisnt your plate (flat surface), with some cocoa paste and a squegee, you transfer the image onto your plate. I have contacted a couple places that make them, but theirs are set in a wooden frame, and it needs to stay stretched in the wooden frame all the time. I am a little confused here, because the one that I've used before is just a small piece with the image on it, and it doesn't need to be stretch in a frame. I am pretty sure the chef called it a silk screen, or it is a different thing? Please help, thanks!

Thanks for the evaluation! I plan on doing a taste and performance test on different couverture after the holiday, should be a fun project... maybe I will have more question for you when the time comes...

I have recently been introduced to something called a coconut milk powder. It's a freeze dried coconut milk that's suppose to have the purest coconut flavor. It's a formula developed by Will Goldfarb and you can find this product on willpowder.net

I recently got into a conversation with a co-worker about chocolate and I am curious to find out which is your favorite chocolate to use and why. At our bakery, we have a few brands of chocolates for different applications. The reason for me to start this topic is when my least favorite chocolate turns out to be my co-worker's favorite chocolate. Is this just a matter of taste? Or is there somekind of ground rules on deciding what's a good chocolate. To me, it's the flavor and the texture (mouthfeel). I am not an expert on chocolates, but over the years have had enough opportunities to use a few different brands of chocolates on different applications to notice the difference in term of flavor and texture. Personally I like Callebaut/Cocoa Barry and Valrhona. I prefer Valrhona when making very chocolatey desserts, like a rich chocolate mousse. I like it's cocoa powder for a rich, chocolatey devil's food cake. If it wasn't for the cost, I would use Valrhona is a lot more applications. E. Guittard - I like it but I've only used it for candy making like ganache and enrobing. It has good flavor and good viscosity. Shaffenberger - I think this chocolate is a little too viscous and sometimes it get difficult to use. Des Alpes by Albert Uster - I am not too crazy about it's flavor, I think it's a little sweet and in my experience a little tempremental. I have difficulties tempering this chocolate on several occasions (that may just be my lack of skill in tempering). El Ray - I have only used this for tempering - for showpiece purposes. Peter's - Do not like the flavor at all and very viscous Cocoa Noel, Weiss, Michel Cluziel, Felchlin etc, just a few more out there that I haven't used before. What have you used and what is your experience with them? Thanks!

← What model badger airbrush do you have?

Thank you so much for such a wonderful report! Now I regret not registering for that class earlier... bummer!! For the chocolate glaze, did he use cocoa powder or couverture? The chocolate glaze that I use right now has gelatin in it and it holds its sheen pretty well, and it uses cocoa powder. I was just wondering if using couverture might give it a better taste and texture. Do you know where we can find the plexiglass circle? I use cardboard circle as leveler right now, the plexiglass circle looks like a good tool to have.

hmm... I have been trying to access the site using the link and also doing goggle, but everytime it says that the IE cannot display the page... hmmm... obviously none of you have any problems... what could it be?

I have been interested in requesting to stage to restaurant/bakery for a while now. I would like to go to some well established bake shops/restaurants primarily in New York City or Vegas to stage for few days or maybe even a week. My question is: how do I do it? Should I just write a cover letter along with my resume to those places? How long do people usually stage for? What do you expect at a stage and what do they expect of you? I am hoping that some you out there who has either done a stage or accepted a stage could give me some pointers. And if your bakery/restaurant would accept a stage, I would like to know too I am a passionate and dedicated pastry assistant, with over 6 years of professional baking and pastry experience, and always wanting to learn more! Thanks!

Thanks for all the answer. I am now able to explain to others a little clearer.

I am very interested in finding out more about this magazine, but having a hard time accessing the website. Would you be kind enough to provide the complete web adress? Thanks!

Are edible gold leaf really made out of gold? I have been asked this question many times, and everytime I can't explain it properly. I remember being told once that it's made out of real gold, and that gold is digestable. Does anyone out there know how it's made? Thanks.

does anyone has a good cider donut formula?

How was your experience at that class? I wanted to take that class with Norman Love, but registered too late and the class was full. I attended a class earlier this year and absolutely loved it. Eagerly waiting for the next year's schedule, I can see myself registering for a few... I just got back last night from Chef Norman Love's class on entremet, petits gateux and chocolate decor, and I think you said it very well, Alanamoana. I am not a professional, but a very serious, enthusiastic and skilled amateur. I spoke with Chef Love by phone before registering for the class, and I highly recommend that anyone with doubts do the same if at all possible. Only the Chef will know in detail what skill level he/she will be expecting of the students. The staff at the school, while well-meaning, just won't have more than a general sense of whether a class is "beginning" or "advanced." That said, I felt it was my responsibility as a relatively inexperienced member of the class to at least comport myself as a complete professional -- to pay close attention to the Chef, to work cleanly and as quickly as possible (and I was glad to note that I was not the slowest in the room), and to engage fully in the experience and give it my full commitment. I think I pulled it off well -- Chef did not coddle me, but he did keep an extra eye in my direction while we were working in teams, which I appreciated. At the end of the day, I don't think I was out of place in the class, and I don't think that Chef Love thought I was out of place there, either. It was an extraordinary experience for me, and I would hate to have missed it out of misplaced trepidation. ←

your lemon ricotta poppyseed muffin sounds delicious, care to share your formula?

If you were to go all the way to Paris, and have the intention of taking a pastry class, why only settle for classes targetted for home cooks. I personally do not find much difference in between home cook class and pro class. Most likely the same chefs are teaching those classes anyway. Many many chefs never even have the opportunity to go abroad to learn, so if you have the chace, I say go for it and take a pro-class, you will come out learning a lot more.

I was just wondering if I could use the same technique on jaconde. I have recently come across some jaconde transfer sheet that you can bake with. I was just wondering if I could use the same technique to do that. In which case, would I still use colored cocoa butter? or should I use stensil paste (tuile paste) instead? Could I silkscreen directly onto a silpat?

very interesting post. I have always wondered how they are made. Now I can do it myself... simply amazing! Thanks!

Just a question of baking method for creme brulee. Conventional oven: it is possible to bake at 210F with no water bath? or should it always be baked in a water bath? Convection oven: no water bath at 300F. can you bake with water bath? will water bath in convection do harm or it is just not necessary? Just a general question on water bath... does it matter what temp your oven is when you bake with a water bath. I have seen recipe having ovens at 300F, 325F 350F, even 375F. I understand that using a water bath is to regulate temperature for even bake, so that the temperature of your product would not exceed boiling point. Thank you very much!

Thanks for all the input. I just baked off a batch today, and will find out how they come out tomorrow.

I want to have creme brulee on my retail line, and my boss does not like the idea of baking them in the aluminium remakin. He thinks it looks unfinished... basically, he doesn't want to have anything to do with aluminium stuff... so I thought of an idea of making the creme brulee in fleximold, freeze and unmold it into a pastry shell... then caramelize the top... so you will see the custard floating on top on the shell... I have seen it done in some cookbooks, but I have tried a few formulas with no great success... the custard turns out not firm enough, it's not ozeey, just a little lose, and I'm sure I cook them long enough... this is the formula I use... 225g heavy cream 150g milk 82.5g sugar 90g yolks 1 vanilla bean Bake in water bath @ 350F I was thinking about maybe adding some whites into the mixture or maybe more yolks? Just wondering if any of you have experience with this and any input will be appreciated. Thanks

I am definitely interested in the French Pastry School as well. They have some classes designated as "suited for the food enthusiast", implying that the other classes are more geared toward professionals. Of course, the "professional" classes interest me more than the others. I am not a professional, but am a very experienced and passionate amateur -- would I be crazy to tackle one of the more hard-core classes, do you think? ←

I myself am looking at some continuing education classes too. I think French Pastry School is on the top of my list right now for pastries. Their continuing education classes are targetted towards working professionals and a lot of them are taught by professionals from the industry. as for bread, I will definitely go to SFBI - San francisco baking institute. Let us know what you decide.

I have just recieved my 2005 and 2006 copies. Looks good. Basically it's a compilation of all the hand-out given by the instructor to students. It includes recipes with instructions, instructor's bio, any explaination/instructions by instructors, some recipes have pictures, the packet is about 150 pages. It also include evaluation sheet and info about their sponsoring companies, which I don't really care for. For $50/cd, I think it's a pretty good price for those of us who were unable to attend those classes personally. I'm glad they made the CD, because I have written to them a few times to request for that. Would be nice if it was a DVD, where you can see the demo and everything.

Butterscotch Pot de Creme sounds delicious... willing to share your formula?