ChocoGrok

Woa! Big wake-up call! Thanks for putting things in perspective with the math. I did not know that i did not know....a case of "didn't know" squared But, this is my first wedding cake, you know. I'm thinking about using these glassine baking cups http://beryls.safeshopper.com/278/10564.htm?208 Has anyone had problems with these cups sliding?...or the grease coming through and staining the fabric platform they are presented on?

Thanks Lorinda! Another question: the bride would like to include red berries in her cupcakes; however, since her color scheme is tiffany blue and chocolate brown, the berries will need to be hidden by frosting and blue decorations. I was wondering if there is any way to incorporate the berries. Would it be OK to assemble cake + fresh berries + frosting ahead of time? How long would the gestalt last in a fridge? Also, she reallly likes Chockylit's "Blueberry & Raspberry Ricotta Almond Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting" ; however, does not want to include the almond meal because of nut allergies. Is there a good non-nut substitute for the recipe: http://cupcakeblog.com/index.php/category/...dients/berries/

Thanks! I've been a big fan of the Chocklit site. I read her recipes when I get hungry. She does awesome work

Thanks K8 and lorinda! Also, this is a littlle off topic, but I also have the task of filling these cupcake liners with something delish...and something that freezes/thaws well and will hold its own in warm weather. I was wondering what the winners are for wedding cake and frosting recipes. The bride would like one set of chocolate-based cupcakes and another set of vanilla-based cupcakes. I am given creative leeway with flavorings after that. I tried searching for a thread on this topic (i.e. favorite wedding cupcake recipes) but it's being evasive. I am thinking about using Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Cherry cupcake recipe, as mentioned in this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...4778&hl=cupcake but I have no idea if the recipe freezes well. Also, I would like to replace the ganache with a fluffier frosting that is pipeable and stores well. Any suggestions?

K8, I am looking for rounded foam core boards. Can you recommend a source? Art supply stores or home improvement stores? Also, would stuff advertised as "cake drums" work? They are 1/2 in thick vs. the 3/16 in foam cores I've been seeing. Thanks!

Very pretty!! ← Nice! I've been ogling these: http://fancyflours.wordpress.com/2007/03/2...pcake-wrappers/ For someone who can afford to spend $400 on wrappers

Wow! Fabrics, ribbons, styrofoam of different sizes and shapes….this just opens up a whole new art project…and a really big challenge for my floppy decision-making skills . Thanks for the pix, calipoutine and lorinda. I really like the use of thin columns that is shown in one of the photographs; however, I am uncertain about construction…particularly the stability. I am concerned that one of the legs might buckle or slip from under the plate, creating a cupcake avalanche. I’m thinking this would be the case for columns vs. wider styrofoam drums since there is less surface area glued to the platform. Is there a reliable glue/ bonding agent someone could suggest? Is there a trick to getting all the columns to be exactly equal in length…I am trying to avoid a tilted platform caused by a slightly longer leg? Is there way to ensure that the tops of the columns are completely flat so they are flush with the platform when glued? I like the idea of using light-weight foam core boards; however, I am wondering if will they be sturdy enough to support the large number of cupcakes (i.e. 300)? I have this nightmare of the platforms warping under the collective corpulence of many richly-dressed cupcakes….then creaking, teetering, and snap!...the tower sinks like the titanic. K8…love the concept of a cupcake cuddler. I was wondering if you had the link to the stenciled stunnericious ones? Also, I'm thinking about making a ginormous cupcake as the cake topper. Much like this: http://www.surlatable.com/product/547901.do However, I am wondering if there is a DIY way to make this without the mold? Maybe use a very large paper coffee filter (like the ones a Dunkin Donuts store would use)? Dunno if this is feasible. Would the filter retain the ridges when the cake batter is poured in? Will the "cake" bake evenly with so much volume? It seems that there is a reason why bundt cakes and angel food cakes have the hole in the center, yes?

Hello I have been asked by a friend to make a wedding cake for 300. She would like to have a Cupcake Wedding Cake. I have have been looking into cupcake display stands. They seem to be pricey, particularly for their one-time use....approx $60 for a 6 tier stand that will display about 150 cupcakes. I was wondering if there is a way to constuct a display stand out of raw materials. It seems like the commercially available display stands are made out of plastic discs and columns. Has anyone tried hot glue-gunning these materials to form something that functions like a stand...is this stable construction? I was wondering if there are other creative and aesthetically pleasing ways that one could choose to display 300 cupcakes. Thanks!

Stamping! http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...676&hl=stamping

Thanks everyone for the leads.

Help! I'm trying to locate a source for cocoa butter. I've checked the local Trader Joes and Whole Foods, and they do not carry it. Is cocoa butter an item that needs to be ordered from a speciality store? Thanks!

Milk from local cows sounds promising. A friend of mine came back from france and his suitcase was full of euro-paraphenalia ....among which was a big bottle of absinthe, thyme jelly, and this 400g Cailler chocolate bar. The label on the bar reads "Cremant, Chocolat Noir Extrafin-Extrafeine Zartbitter-Schokolade". The bar is wrapped in silver with gold lettering. The % on the back reads "Cocoa solids: 46% minimum"

An extension of the "Glass Cake" idea....besides being an homage to garnish (because the floral decoarations are the only thing "technically edible"), it is possible to put text on the glass. A Sharpie can be used to script the lyrics of the couple's favoraite song or piece of romantic poetry on the glass.

I recently received a large bar of Cailler chocolate. I was wondering if anyone has opinions on the quality of this chocolate and its use in desserts. For example, would it make an acceptable ganache or should it be used for piping small decorations?

I love the idea of a symbolic cake! Here are some very *wacky* ideas, but perhaps one of them can be used as a springboard for something practical. They are listed in increasing order of wackiness. 1. An ice sculpture of a wedding cake. It is, after all, water in the solid . You could tint the ice pink which would nice under the sun, or cast colored light on cake at night. Ice also serves as a wonderful matrix for embedding flowers. Some intricate patterns can be created when casting flowers with ice. Fruit x-sections may also be used. I believe Martha Stewarts did something similar with petal-embedded ice vodka bottle holders. http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/m...sc=taxonomylist 2. A glass cake decorated with gumpaste flowers. This may be fashioned by stacking cylindrical glass vases (turned upside down) on top of eachother in decreasing size. The glass cake can be used as a scaffold to hold hand-fashioned gumpaste flowers. The flowers can be elaborate since they are sitting on glass. Since there are only 30 guests, it is possible to make 30 pieces. A lot of beautiful gumpaste work has been done by eGulleters and they provide very helpful advice. Gumpaste flowers can also be ordered from various sites. (i.e. http://www.cakevisions.com/FlowerMain1.htm). Note that gumpaste flowers are edible, but are often too beautiful to eat. They last for many years and can be taken home as wedding favors. 3. A layered shot glass cake. I do not know if restrictions on alcohol apply to OA members; however, here is idea that is fun for the younger crowd. Layered shot or "Pousse Cafe" recipes can be found at internet bartending sites...for example here is one of a Banana Split Layered Shot (http://www.recipezaar.com/185363). Arrange Pousse Cafes on wedding cake platform. Shot glasses may be etched and taken home as wedding favors.

Happy Bunny Day everyone I just got around to posting the photos of my play with gumpaste Here are my "cherry blossoms" (sans reproductive organs ) chillin' in a plastic egg carton. I'm glad I found another way to reuse egg cartons: the cups are good for maintaining a rounded form of the flowers and I could press the gumpaste against the ridges of the cups to give the backside of the petals some ripples. The front dozen blossoms have already gone through a make-up session with my paintbrush. I took the picture half-way through the painting session to show the before and after. The pink-tinged white petals are looking a little tie-dyed to me. It is difficult to make the flowers look realistic, eventhough the paint does give life to tinted gumpaste. So I made the Black Pearl Cake (front cake), but found that I liked the black-on- white look of the black seseme seeds on whipped cream. So I stenciled a longevity symbol with the black seseme seeds and made blossoms with white chocolate and a transfer sheet with a black floral scroll motif. You can see that the cherry blossoms are decorating the cake sitting in the back of the photo. The cake is covered with pink fondant to provide a backdrop for the blossoms. This is my first attempt at using fondant, hence the reason why the photo is taken from far away...so that one may not see the bumps in the fondant. And here, at the risk of showing the "cellulite" , is a photo of the cake from up close. It shows the flowers, some of which are sitting comfortably in the nooks and crannies (btw, any advice on how to get rid of said nooks and crannies would be appreciated ) Thank you everyone for your input! My friends loved the cake and were impressed by the presentation. The flowers were collected by a 4-year old girl. She started picking them off the cake as if she were in a field of daisies. ...speaking of which, I tried to glue the flowers to the fondant using royal icing. Unfortunately, the flowers did not stay very well. Do I need to decrease the amount of water in the royal icing to make a thicker glue?

I appreciate the diverse points of view offered by those kind enough to help out a novice play with her gumpaste. Methinks the Wilton controversy has a strong propensity of surfacing when a new kid is in town Thank you for providing links to your work. Pastrymama's creations are whimsical and make me smile. I love lorinda's moth orchids. JamaicaDiva and K8, your weddingcake demos are the reason I decided to try my hand at gumpaste in the first place...I read your entries sometime last year, and periodically revisit your demos when the right-side of my brain wants a good read. With nduran's caveats in mind, I procured a minimized "collection" of Wilton tools: flower cutter and flower tool set (includes ball tool)...and also a non-Wilton exacto knife . If i'm not too embarassed, I will post pix as I progress. I could not find petal dust...I'm hoping that colored paste, solubilized in vodka, is OK for the painting part? Also 2 questions: 1. How does one shape stamens? Or do people use artifical stamens for their flowers? 2. How does one attach gumpaste flowers to a fondant-covered cake? nduran, your philosophy is noted...little me had a German piano teacher and an Italian violin teacher who avidly promoted this point of view. Later on in college, I questioned why I had to spend 2 semesters learning an entire 6 steps of the Viennese waltz...that is, until I saw my ballroom dance instructor sweep across the dance floor.

Thanks for the input. I would like some advice on how to bring color to the flowers. Do you use the powder kind and then apply the paint after shaping? Or tint a batch and then shape?

The gumpaste work done by you Egulleters have been beautiful and inspiring. I am making the www.epicurious' Black Pearl Layer Cake...an intriguing mix of wasabi, black sesame, ginger, and chocolate. So I'm thinking that gumpaste cherry blossoms would sit nicely on this cake with an asian flare... not to mention give me an excuse to play with gumpaste. I have never worked with gumpaste, so I went googling for a crash course on how to make simple flowers. Most of the hits, however, directed me to books or to workshops (tuition for some of these courses can cost $600!). My questions are: 1. Can gumpaste work be self-taught or are the techniques so complicated/difficult that they require formal coursework? 2. If instruction is needed, what is the most cost-effective way of learning gumpaste work (video, manual, online forums , etc)? Is there an authoritative book on gumpaste that I should invest $$ in? 3. There are gazillion tools out there for sugar shaping and sculpting...cutters, veiners, molds, brushes, sprays, knives, rolling pins, etc. If I wanted to put together a starter kit for me, which tools would be deemed "essential"? I would appreciate any input. Thanks!

An update on my exercise in patience...i let the white ghiradelli clay sit overnight and no more oil! It kneaded just fine and here is the clay shaped around a cheesecake. I was so excited I made some dark chocolate clay roses to doll it up. Thanks everyone for your help!

K8memphis, nichi is right Thanks for running the experiment, you goddess you.

Shucks, I should've rationed my Ghiradelli for another go...then I could run the experiment with the microwave and less corn syrup. I'll save the mess I just created just to see what ripening over night will do. Will report back tomorrow. Maybe all this mess needs is time. Heh...leave it to white modeling paste to teach me the virtues of patience . There isn't a chance that I can add the cold water now just as a last ditch effort to rescue it, is there? Thanks for all the feedback. It's comforting to know that I have not fallen from the grace of the chocolate gods.

I'm making white chocolate modeling clay using following recipe: 1. melt 10oz white chocolate in a bowl placed over hot, not boiling, water. 2. remove from heat and stir in 1/3 cup corn syrup with rubber spatula. Blend until syrup is incorporated and mixture forms a ragged ball 3. transfer ball onto plasticwrap and form a disc. allow to rest uncovered for 2 hours before shaping. 2 ingredients: chocolate plus corn syrup...a no brainer... child's play, right? (chocolate clay is in fact a popular kid's project). Well, I tried this twice. First, with Hershey's white chocolate chips. After stirring in the corn syrup, I got a mess that was oozing oil. I kneaded and kneaded the mess, hoping that the oil would be incorporated. Instead, more and more oil came out and the chocolate become grainier and granier....my hands felt like they were going through a DIY spa treatment, with all the oil and the microparticles. I discarded the glop thinking that it was the vegetable oil in the Hershey's formulation that did me in. I repeated the procedure with a large block of Ghiradelli White. I chopped it before melting and was very conscious about keeping the temperature below 100 degrees. I stirred in the corn syrup, transferred the ball to a plate, and shaped it into a disc. Then I noticed that a layer of oil was starting to form. I ignored it, hoping that the oil would be somehow miraculously resorbed. Instead, more and more oil started to form and now I'm back to the same nightmare. Asking if anyone on this forum has made chocolate clay successfully is a rhetorical question (and perhaps even insulting ). With only 2 ingredients, there can be a small finite number of reasons that explains this oily mess. Did I stir the corn syrup/melted chocolate mixture too much? Did I not stir it enough? Should I add the corn syrup to the chocolate before I melt it? Am I using the wrong kind of chocolate? Do I have bad karma with chocolate clay? Argghh. Any help would be appreciated. Cheers!

Just checked out the K9 website, SB...nice idea! Looks like I'll be baking for a four-legged hero as well. highchef- thanks for posting the praline recipe. Please send me your favorite praline recipe. I'll send both and hopefully my soldier will report back with the crumbling status of each. K- i'm interested in baking pecan minis and the peanut butter cookies. It looks like you have the tried and true versions for both. Please post the recipes! I figure the pecan pie would go well with the Thanksgiving festivities. Have you tried baking them with a layer of chocolate in between the pecan layer and crust? The pecan layer would hopefully keep the chocolate from leaking out, and the heat would melt the chocolate to make the dessert nice and gooey. I'm thinking about doing this, but don't know if this is a good idea.

Help! I tried piping with joint compound to make the fake frosting. The "frosting" lost its shape within half a minute. Did i purchase the right stuff? "Sheetrock" brand "All Purpose Joint Compound - Patch interior drywall and plaster surfaces. Finish drywall joints". Do I need to mix something into the joint compound to get it to stand up?