SummerSun

http://www.sugarveil.com/gallery/avant_garde.htm This product for piping looks unique/ possibly useful. Has anyone tried it? How does it compare to piping with a paper cone? Is it worth the $200? Thanks for your info! Summer

It's my Grandmother's 80th birthday on Saturday. She has asked me to make her an Italian Cream Cake and I have no experience with this type of cake. Can anyone advise me? Thanks inadvance

I am seeking advice or suggestions from bakers who have experience running a booth at a bridal expo or convention. I will rent my first booth this June and it is not a cheap affair. Does anyone have a word or two of wisdom or insight? Thanks so much!

Standing by highchef... srhcb- When doing these substitutions, do you substitute exact porortions, or does the recipe change completely? I noticed in the 'Wild Sweets', by the Duby's, that they mention to reserve the simmered fruit for fruit stock (apples,pears,carrots,citrus zest) to be passed through a tamis and later used as a replacement for butter or lard. Okay, obviously not a good substitute for pie crusts, but with batters maybe? Thinking of a typical oil or butter based recipe, would you instead cream the fruit puree with honey, so on and so forth? Or is the method diffent? My friend mentioned that she has had some flour issues causing texture problems with these low fat baked goods? Is it the flour causing the problem or the fat substitution causing it? My guess would be both, if so is there a way of overcoming this? Where is Harold McGee when you need him! MissAmy- Does wheylow have the same texture and raw sweetness as sugar? How do you define "decent" for your results? What were your issues, if any, that I can learn from? I am trying to get as much info as possible before in order to cut back on experimentation costs. I have a feeling this is really going to be a challenge! Thanks again for all your help.

Healthy baked goods are not in my realm of pastry knowledge, so I am seeking ideas or suggestions of a place to start learning. A friend of mine needs my help with recipe development for items such as low-fat cream cheese pound cake (hers took 3 hours to bake and weighed like 4 pounds for some reason!). Other items may include typical breakfast muffins and the like. As far as substitutions for sugar, oils, flours...I'm not sure where to start. Does anyone have any experience with this or reference to resources? Thanks inadvance.

If what's been said is not enough... When I first laid eyes on that Viking and felt its power with the switch of the on button, I was sold (for a discounted price). I immediatly put it to work for a variety of applications, and I'm sad to report that I only find it useful for gum paste. Everything that everyone, prior to this post, had to say is the absolute truth. My whip broke, can't feel the bottom of the bowl, attachments are akward and take too much time time to attach, whip doesn't go to the bottom of bowl and takes longer to whip meringues, it's ergonomically incorect, etc... But hey, it's a power-house for gumpastes (as long as you scrape the bowl a couple of times ). Needless to say, I prefer the KA. I have an entire graveyard full of them! I meant awkward.

Thank you to all for helping me cover the bases. From your links I have uncovered a couple of cheesecake recipes that I am anxious to try as well! I gather from your posts that the "spong cake" creating the short cake is a classic French genoise that borrows exclusively from French tecnique and ingredients. Out of curiosity, is there usually a soaking syrup applied to the cakes prioir to the cream being layered? Does Japanese confectionary sugar, or 10x, contain any corn starch? American 10x does, but as far as I know, the French version does not.

A local farmer in my area gave me some of his last crop of beautiful, organic strawberries of the year. I would like to create a Japanese strawberry shortcake, but don't know where to begin. As an American who knows little about Japanese pastry techniques, I could use some help solving the "short-cakie" mystery. Is the difference, from American shortcakes in the type of flour used, in the mixing, or something else? Does anyone care to share a good recipe? And since I'm on the subject of mysterious/alluring baked goods, can anyone shed some light on the Japanese cheesecake? As a side-note, I realize that these sweets are not what Japan is necessarily the most proud of or famous for, but I love them anyways! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Look out for LuQa Restaurant coming to Dallas in November. See www.dallasroofgardens.com . Sorry to hear about the LBM closing.

Secretly adding citric acid powder to the line cooks drinks...that's always fun!

Rodney CK that cake does look moist and delicious! I have a recipe for Green Tea Marbled Pound Cake that I love! I can't remember where I found it, but if anyone is interested... Yeild 1 standard loaf pan 375 degrees F 1 1/2 c. AP Flour 3/4 tsp. Baking Powder dash of Salt 3 Eggs 1c. Sugar 1/2c. full-fat Yogurt (don't skimp on the fat!) 1tsp Vanilla Extract 1/2c. Melted Butter 1 to 2 Tblsp. Matcha Powder 2tsp. Water (hot) Sift dry flour, baking powder, and salt together. Beat the eggs and sugar until creamy, then add sifted dry ingredients to combine. Next add yogurt and vanilla extract to combine. Combine the matcha and water to make a paste. Add paste to half of the batter mixture. Pour remaining "white" batter into loaf pan first, then gently marble in the matcha batter. *I used beautiful organic matcha powder and it makes a difference. Careful when combining the matcha paste to the batter as it may produce clumps and require straining the batter. The end result is a delicate green and white pound cake that smells of heavenly green tea.