RodneyCk

Ahhhhh...wonderful website Melissa, thanks, lots of variations here. Janet, thanks so much. The cardamom addition made me drool. I am always stumped for a good dessert to pair with Asian cuisine. I do not typically like the "gelatinous" type desserts, lol, that are typically accompanied after Asian inspired entrees, so this is a keeper. BTW, I read the intro to your pie "work in progress" book the other day. I love all the historical background, a very interesting read and so sorry about the publishers. Hang in there and keep plugging away. I would definitely buy your book.

Such a simple dessert that packs a wallop! Or is that dollop? Bad pun aside; I know this French creamy custard exists in many forms. I recently had the chance to dine with a friend who was a pastry chef for Townhall, a San Francisco restaurant. Since they knew her, we were treated like royalty and consequently given many samplings from appetizers to desserts. My favorite was their signature dessert, a butterscotch chocolate pot de crème. Yum. I still think about it. I went online to see if I could find a similar recipe or a base for duplicating myself. Ready to hunker down and roll up my sleeves in the testing kitchen, I actually came across an online newspaper that interviewed the owners of Townhall who gave the paper the recipe. Someone grew a snout and started to squeal. I can not find the original article, but did find the recipe on another website. The link to the recipe is below. I know there are many, many variations on this classic dessert. I was wondering if anyone else had a favorite they would like to share. Butterscotch Pot de crème recipe http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_..._n15361945/pg_2

MGLloyd, I am not all that concerned with coloring myself, but since I am mimicing the original coffee house orange muffin, which was very orange, I want to come as close as possible. Currently, Sarah Phillips of baking911.com found this thread and is currently helping me get on track on her forum. She is a wonderful baker and author and someone I respect greatly because she knows a lot about the science behind baking. I love reading her forum, there is a lot of information there and she is always willing to help. So, she has given me one of her muffin recipes from her book which I am going to alter the flavor, replacing with orange zest and extract and use as a base. I plan to bake these off over this long weekend hopefully and will report back with my results, so stay tuned!!!

I don't think this is correct or I am buying back alley cake supplies. "Pssst, buddy, over here. Look at these beauties...*opens his big black raincoat*.. I got some dragees and non-pareils in a dime bag, what say ya?"

I actually did not see this, but someone told me about it. Yes, indeed they did strip the fondant off the cake before serving. I would imagine it was a crusting buttercream which is why it stayed on the cake. This probably means an American powdered sugar frosting, emphasis on the powdered sugar to get it to crust. Yuck! It's like fondant on fondant.

LOL...nope. Not even bacon grease can save fondant.

I grew up in Indiana as well, and my grandmother use to fry up the bacon, and then use the fat to fry the eggs. They are to this day, the best eggs I have ever tasted. Many people are grossed out by this. They just have not tried it. A friend of mine uses it in his pastry crust. Best crust I have ever tasted. It is also, I believe, the secret ingredient in Jiffy pie crust, another Indiana favorite. I make my own crusts, but my grandmother use to use Jiffy doctored up with more shortening or lard. She made the best pies. She also used it to fry chicken, again, the best chicken ever. I miss her jars of bacon fat sitting on the kitchen counter. I always knew something good would come of it.

I was wondering if anyone would get that reference. Actually, to stay on topic, I should have said; "It puts the buttercream on the cake.....OR IT GETS THE FONDANT!!!"

LOL... Hey, it is an obsession with a coffee house muffin. I am sure THAT is more disturbing than artificially coloring baked goods, merstar, it borderlines on a cake, but the crust was more muffin like, a bit harder in shell, but the insides were definitely cake-like. I have to figure out how to get some of the qualities of each. Thanks for the recipe though, I will look it over.

Muffin update...this just in. Well, the next step was closer; at least I am on the green now. I used the recipe version 2 above using the marmalade instead of the zest and corn syrup. I also used 1/3 cup instead of 1/4. They baked up nicely, not to high, not to low. The texture was not right though, but getting there, at least closer than the first batch. It had sponginess to it. You can probably see this in the dissected muffin. If I had a pointer, I would point to it. I am not sure if that is because of the creaming method or the all-purpose flour, or both. I remember the coffee house muffin having a course (but not corn meal course) texture that was very even throughout, so maybe bread flour or self rising flour would do the trick. Then again, I don't think the creaming method would play nicely with the bread flour. I need to research this or maybe someone in the baking field could help. The flavor was not strong enough, although it was not sour, present, but week, just needs a boost. I don't think the marmalade is going to cut it for this recipe, not what I remember and may in fact be causing the spongy texture in this particular recipe, not sure. I think the original 4 T of zest would work better. I like the amount of extract, not bitter at all. I did not put enough food coloring (used the liquid kind) so next time I will boost it using gel colors to get that dark orange color. At least this recipe I can color, the last one was just brown crust, lol. So, back to the drawing board I go. I want to make the recipe above Cadbury suggested using the whole orange to see if I can strip elements from it or use it as a base. Any suggestions would be great. As always, thanks for listening, lol.

I certainly don't want to eat anything that taste like poo. It is one of those topics that one personally has to weigh, good for me or how hungry am I...hmmm? It is also one of those topics that ignites a field of fear and spreads like wildfire, sort of like "OMG...are these egg whites cooked in the Italian meringue buttercream? OMG...you leave butter sit out on your counter?..OMG!!!" *sigh*

OMG...thanks Cadbury, this will help a lot. I will try this recipe. I know Jean Blanchard above mentioned Gale Gand doing the same thing. I am assuming from the eggs and flour ratio that they are cake-like muffins, which is good. Is this correct?

That is another point I was going to make. My instructor is suffering from carpel tunnel syndrome from being in the business so long as a cake decorator. After each class, I can see why she suffers. Piping takes just about every muscle in the hand, placing it in constant tension for long periods of time, sometimes all day. I am a massage therapist by practice, so I know what happens when muscles are overworked and stressed. So, if someone was ever looking for an argument for fondant, that would be one, lol. In regards to the Cook's Illustrated white cake, yes, it is a very light, tender crumb. I would say you are looking for something close to the true "buttercake". Pass on the James McNair cake, because he literally took the CI cake and changed the leavening and flour ratio and just made it a bit dense, although still maintaining that angel food cake quality. The Joy of Baking, on their website, they have a white buttercake, separating the eggs to give the cake a light appearance, not true white, but yet maintains the buttercake qualities. I have not made it yet, but it sounds like it the direction you are headed. Back to decorating... I agree that making a fine-lined cake is even more difficult than a pipe bomb. I am perfecting my smoothing techniques, wielding several spatulas of varying sizes like machetes, perfect leveled tops and a lot of dipping paintbrushes in water to correct the borders, lol. There are faster and easier ways to coat, to even make them smooth like fondant, but it requires a crusting American type powdered sugar frostings (the "cake ladies" are all over this technique), which is actually like a homemade fondant really, but I refuse to compromise taste and blood sugar levels. “It puts the buttercream in the bucket…It takes off the buttercream from the cake…”

Kris, I could have written what you said, lol. It appears we are on the same path. I too have my very own "Cake Everything" book in which I painstakingly created, the most inclusive cake recipe/manual that can not be purchased anywhere. I even, after blood, sweat and tears, created my own dark chocolate cake recipe because I could not find one I preferred. Everyone that tastes it, I swear, responds with "Wow!" If you are looking for a good light, textured, fluffy but with a good tooth white cake, then try the Cook's Illustrated white layer cake. I also have a slightly altered version out it from the James McNair's Cake book that makes it denser, if that is your ticket, just let me know. That light, dissolve on the tongue texture you described from mixes is due to all the sugar in them. Sugar is a tenderizer and turns the structure into cotton candy in the mouth. It is like biting into air, lol. Experimenting with recipes and flavors is the best part for me, although decorating is fun as well. I like cakes best that are simply decorated, fine lines and very little adornment. Honestly, I hope it does not revert back to frilly swags and spaced tiers. Let’s keep the Rococo period in the past, lol. Best...

Here is the new and improved recipe, hopefully. I reworked the recipe and changed the method, adding in food coloring, because I believe they colored the muffins to give them an all over orange appearance. These should rise in a more cake-like fashion. I also added an option for zest/light corn oil or marmalade, either should work nicely. I should get around to testing the recipe in the next few days. Extremely Orange, Orange Muffins Muffins: 2 1/4 cups flour 1 1/8 teaspoons baking powder 1/8 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups sugar 2/3 cup vegetable oil 1/4 cup orange zest** 2 tablespoons light corn syrup** 2 eggs, beaten 1 1/4 cups water 2/3 cup evaporated milk 2 1/4 teaspoons orange extract 1/8 teaspoon orange food coloring 1/8 teaspoon yellow food coloring Glaze: 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup orange juice **Note: Alternatively, you can replace zest and corn syrup for 1/4 cup of marmalade. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. In another bowl combine the corn syrup, eggs, water, evaporated milk, extract and colorings; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat sugar on medium-low and slowly add vegetable oil and zest; mix until well combined. On low speed, alternate dry and liquid ingredients by adding 2/3 of the flour mixture, then half the liquid, half of the remaining flour, the rest of the liquid, and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined, do not over beat. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes. While the muffins are baking, prepare the glaze by bring sugar and juice to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat; stir to dissolve the sugar and simmer until the mixture is thick and syrupy. It should reduce to about 4 tablespoons. After the baked muffins have cooled 5 minutes, brush the tops with the glaze; then serve.

Not in the least, you were a big help. I think we are after different results. I am changing my tune to a cake-like muffin, either using a creaming method or the pastry method of mixing. The learning experience is the best part about it, although frustrating at times. As far as the orange juice concentrate, I think it produced an ok flavor, just not the flavor I had in mind. It was intense on a medium to low note on the flavor scale. I am looking for something on the higher end, sweet with piercing pronounced orange, probably like those in the extracts and marmalade, which is where I am headed later in the recipe construction. First though I am going to work on texture and getting that down, I think finding the right "orange" flavor will be the easiest thing, famous last words, lol

Ok everyone, it looks like there is a lot of work to be done, lol. Here is my first attempt, recipe as above, except for replacing the orange juice with orange concentrate. I also replaced the orange juice in the glaze with orange concentrate. Not good, no. First of all, the texture was not at all what I was after. It turned out very brown on the outside. This could be due to the dark, non-stick muffin pan I used. I only have regular pans in the smaller muffin size, so looks like a trip to the store. The texture on the very outside, the crust, was like a corn dog crust. The inside was more like a hush puppy texture (digging from the South here.) It also sunk in the middle, leaving a big air pocket/hole in about half the muffins. You can see this in the photos. This tells me that there is either to much leavening, or not enough moisture to balance the weight of the sugar. The smell and flavor was a little off, which was my first clue I would be putting my celebratory dancing shoes back in the closet. I think the orange concentrate is to powerful, almost sour in smell and flavor. The zest, using 2 T, did not even come through, like in the original which steers me towards the marmalade theory, because I distinctly remember seeing and tasting zest in the muffin. The orange sugar I like, but I need to switch the sugar to a larger crystal sugar and/or use less of it, or omit. I don't remember it being on the muffins at the coffee house, so I think it will go, but saved for another dessert or kind of a muffin down the road. The glaze I like, in texture, but not using the orange concentrate, again sour. So, I need to rework the recipe. The coffee shop's was near cake-like, lighter crumb, lighter in color, almost the color of a darker variety orange (or at least the way the supermarkets color it) and moist. This muffin, as you can see, was brownish and middle of the road moist with a dry, toothy crumb. *sigh*

Here is the one I have. I found it here on eGullet, no food coloring. http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1542.h...806dfc056dafe27

LOL... It is really the only way you could drink that concoction.

Come to think of it, neither have I. Is this like some weird sci-fi channel thing?

Dates and nuts??!!!??? I almost threw up in my mouth. lol. Actually, kidding aside, that sounds great, but of course not what I remember. However, in lieu of the marmalade, which I have not ruled out yet, I was thinking that maybe it had a more mandarin orange flavor, again a more spirited tang. I was using those cans of mandarin underneath my couch to prevent it from moving, now they have another purpose. I have so much testing to do on these.

You can easily replicate that choco-pan flavor by adding chocolate candy melts or chocolate plastic into the fondant. It still has THAT texture though.

You have just described what I call the "Starbucks Syndrome" where countless people judge other coffees by Starbuck's quality. Mind you, this is the place that forgoes the barista and uses a push button where liquid goop is plopped into a cup, Whaala, Espresso! I blame the lazy consumer. I blame Rachel Ray. I blame the politicians, the economy and chain stores. It is all part of the food chain, business eat business. As more lazy consumers settle for second best and something cheap, due partially to the failing economy and just being lazy, they perpetuate Wal-mart type bakeries into churning out crap, which in turn forces the local bakeries to uses mixes and things in a bucket (more crap) just to compete, which in turn is perpetuated by a perky TV host who just hasn't got the time to do anything, like cook, but finds time to teach us how not to, quickly. It's all crap. What a world...what a world.... I maintain my stance that fine artesian products will make a return, because how much crap can people take?

Now that's an idea, and it would give it that tang I remember. I am testing my original recipe this evening and if it is not up to par, I will keep this in mind. Thanks!!! Jean Blanchard, thanks and I would have replied thinking it had a pithy taste if you had not commented it did not. So, what is the texture like in your recipe? I assume it would be a bit thicker, mealy.

Cake to the end!!! I am obsessed with them, so many variations. It is true, you do get the taste of whole or partial fruit in a pies and tarts, but the essence of fruit can be crafted into a well-made cake easily. Cake gives you many more options to balance flavors on the tongue. I think most people think of them as sugar bombs because there are a lot of really "bad" cakes out there. Plus, most people, when they walk into a room and see a cake, immediately smile and light up like a firecracker. Must be all those birthdays remembered, such a celebratory dessert. P/S: the cakes of choice you described sound sort of lame to me. I mean a German chocolate cake is like the milk chocolate of chocolates, never was fond of them. Now a good dark, moist Devil's food...mmm.