sugarseattle

I usually keep it 4-5 days, but do the smell test to verify. What I've found that it seems to freeze ok if it's in it's final place (in a cake, napoleon, etc.), but when it's just frozen on it's own (like in a container) it does separate. One of the many mysteries of baking chemistry I suppose it's because I use corn starch which is supposed to weep when it's frozen. I believe that using modified corn starch doesn't have the same properties of weeping, but I'm afraid to use it. I bet if you churned pastry cream into ice cream I would be knocking at your front door.

i believe there's a recipe in The Ultimate Candy Book.

If you qualify to purchase from a wholesale supplier, you can probably get what is known as 5+1 frozen pie cherries, which, although they fluxuate in price, can sometimes be as low as $1.50/lb. You'd be buying about 25lbs of them, but they make awesome cherry pies. I believe the 5+1 relates to the cherry/sugar ratio so I think it's 5 parts cherries to 1 part sugar. I personally vote for staying away from canned cherry pie filling; some of the ingredients can be a little preservative-ish. However, if that's your preference and your recipe works with them, you may be able to find them in 10# cans which will be substantially cheaper.

We did this one Thanksgiving after I learned about it in animal science at UC Davis. We did it the FUN FAMILY WAY by putting the cream into a big jar and then we would shake it until we got tired, then pass it to the next family member. It was a good way to break the ice at sometimes tense family gatherings! It's also fun to do things the old fashioned way and compare the different results in quality. I think this is a great way to get rid of almost spoiled cream and I'm totally going to remember it in the future!

i just made some cherry crumb bars with a filling that I made out of some sour cherries (frozen) that I cooked up with a little cornstarch and sugar until pie filling consistency, then I added some crushed fresh bings and some rehydrated dried cranberries. I think layering the flavors got me more cherry-ness than I would have gotten with sour cherries alone. So something like that might work to marble in a cake or use as a filling, depending on your desired result.

i LOVE the Theo bread and chocolate bar...it reminds me of this place in san francisco that used to sell flat pieces of fried sourdough bread with dark chocolate on them. sourdough and chocolate are so interesting together. i also like the chocolate dipped marshmallows sticks at chocolati, because even though they're not homeade marshmallows and not necessarily totally gourmet with super fancy chocolate (they use guittard), they are really great to have a couple in the car for when you hit traffic and then say"oh, i can have a marshmallow lollipop" and then smile and enjoy.

i like pernigotti a lot, it makes great mochas and is very chocolatey without being assaulting. very smooth and velvety. i also like callebaut cocoa for it's similar richness and dark velvety color. i like to smirk when I used to see new bakers come into our shared kitchen space with a big bag of hersheys, and then wonder why their chocolate cakes don't taste chocolatey enough. then i'd show them the two cocoas side by side and they'd understand why since hershey's is like beige compared to good cocoa. the next day the bag would be sitting in the entryway with a big "free" written on it.

the flourless torte in the cook's illustrated baking illustrated book doesn't require folding so you don't have to worry so much about being overly gentle with whipped whites. i really like that recipe because it's only got 3 ingredients.

i had a similar problem, but what I noticed rather than the gelatin stole the flavor was that the gelatin was all I tasted, so I ended up masking the flavor with another flavoring agent, such as more vanilla. maybe there's something you can do there, like for example some banana extract with your bananas, or some lemon zest, just something...

Yes I agree with your motivation to try to spare your children the heartaches and battleground conditions of the commercial kitchen, but probably one of the hardest lessons for parents is to let their children make their own choices in life. I truly believe parents are there to guide their kids through the journey of life providing tips and pointers along the way, but mostly standing back and watching their kids begin to make their own decisions and possibly mistakes. However, this is very easy for me to say as I don't have kids, but my parents were have been extremely supportive of every decision I have made thus far in life, and I can't tell you how good that makes me feel.

those sound really interesting. i can't wait to hear about how they turn out. i wonder if a little citric acid added at the onset might have prevented the browning.

this might be a totally crazy idea, but can you water down the icing? or perhaps make some sort of gelled liquid (corn starch and water) and mix it in. or maybe some clear fruit juice. lemon juice tends to give the illusion of lightness? I agree with k8 that adding some type of non-dairy whip will lighten it up...you could replace your frosting with the non-dairy whip or try to fold it in(but you may run the risk of separation while mixing and potentially in the cleveland heat)

what ends up happening is your overhead for retail ends up being higher because you have to pay somebody twice, once to make the goods and twice to stand there and sell them. Whether that's you or an employee, your overhead is simply higher. Plus with retail you have waste and with wholesale you usually don't have too much waste. also, with wholesale, in theory you're basing your pricing on volume discount, but then you also have the cost of delivery. Pricing can get complicated quick! For example last year I sold my brioche for $1.10 wholesale and $2.50 retail at the Farmer's market. I unfortunatly never analyzed the numbers in depth to see how I was doing. However complicated it sounds, if you figure your costs for wholesale building in a profit, and then multiply your wholesale price by 2.2, you're probably safe.

White Satin brand is beet sugar. I know this because last year when cane sugar prices went through the roof after Katrina, I had to switch to beet sugar. One thing I notice is that raw beet sugar stinks. Not sure what it smells like, but it's a little "feety". However, for most uses, I haven't noticed a performance change from the cane sugar, just the putrid smell when I'm measuring the raw sugar, a smell I've grown to dislike. I did notice on a recent trip to Paris that the sugar had a little bigger crystals than that in the states (I use reg. granulated). I thought that the slightly bigger crystals would add a nice texture to certain cookies, much like kosher salt is good because it doesn't always dissolve all the way, leaving little salt pockets which are really nice in a sweet treat. Organic sugar (and evaporated cane juice as well) seem to have nice uneven crystals which seem like they'd cut through butter very rustically. Also, organic sugar doesn't smell like feet, so I'm trying everything possible to replace beet sugar with organic sugar. I find it interesting how many subtle differences there are in such a simple ingredient. Flour is even more complex.

Congratulations on having the guts to follow your passion into the world of food. As you've no doubt read for users on this forum, you will lose money and go out of business if you don't price your products correctly. Here are the top three ways to be successful in any business. - have a great product that will stand out among the rest - spend as little money as possible (this means you should be able to assess the financial risk of certain business investments such as how pieces of equipment will help you earn more money) - hire really great people (so you have to be able to assess whether you are up to the challenge) Pricing your products based on what the market will bear (called market-based pricing) should only be used as a guide to see how your prices stack up to the competition. Yes, you are new, but your business won't last until you get a handle on how much it costs to make your chocolates. Trust me, I've been pricing my products without looking at my costs for 4 years, and you'd be suprised how many little things add up to zero profit. I recommend categorizing your expenses, and then setting some goals for them. Here's what I plan to use when we re-open: 30% rent, utilities, insurance, etc. 30% ingredients and packaging 30% labor (this means you AND your employees) 10% profit (can be used to re-invest into the business) Invest in some software to track your costs (we use quick books, but there's other software specifically for recipe costing), and set aside some time at the end of each month to see how you're doing. Also, you might want to start a journal to see how you're spending your time...delivering, etc. Delivery is a huge time sucker, so you might want to consider an order minimum as you move forward. So, yes, I agree that you are just starting up and while right now you might be willing to do this to just get your name out there, it is really important that you set the stage for future profitability so that when your name is out there, you will be able to STAY in business and continue to follow your passion. Best of luck, and again, congratulations.

i always use clabber girl baking powder for my scones and actually never noticed a metallic taste. But I did notice that once when i ordered rumsford my scones didn't rise as much and had an almost flat flavor. i usually mix up the batter, cut and freeze about 1 week's worth and bake as I go. I tried tweaking the recipe, but was never able to get the good results I got with old clabber so I ended up pitching the box and going back to business as usual. that is strange that you get a metallic taste. I do cream scones (well, 2/3 cream and 1/3 milk) and have never noticed that. I wonder if you don't notice it in your cakes because there's also a lot more sugar in cakes than scones? Interesting post. Thanks for sharing.

now you've gotten me totally interested. as somebody who loves cotton candy and purchased one of those home "spun" cotton candy makers, this pashmak sounds very intriguing. I have a few questions... - is pashmak hand-spun, or can you get a special maker to make it, or can you use a cotton candy machine? - mutton fat is in which version?

How about my "deconstructed chocolate chip cookies" - Make your favorite choco chip cookie recipe with a touch more flour to reduce spreading. don't add the chips to the batter. - scoop and bake. - while cookies bake, chop chocolate and clean up your mess. - remove from oven and put a little indentation in the cookies with a spoon. - while cookeis are warm, fill indentation with chopped chocolate, which will melt into the indent. - you can also fill the indents with ganache, which will give you a more truffley filling. i like these better than classic choco thumbprints because I really like the dough of basic chocoalte chip cookies, plus I like how all the chocolate is in the center so you won't get jipped(sp?) if some of your cookies don't get enough chips.

My assistant once dusted salt on top of my shortbread instead of sugar. luckily I tasted it. She also once added peppermint oil instead of peppermint extract to the shortbread. Needless to say our eyes were watering as they baked. Talk about EXTREME MINT! ChefPeon, I hear you with how inexperienced help can sometimes be more of a burden than an asset. As we all know, baking involves a lot more than just following a recipe. I just think you can't expect someone with no experience in the kitchen to be able to keep up with someone with tons of experience. What I end up doing to help the situation is have them do mundane repeatable tasks like cracking eggs, or lining sheet pans, or dishes, but that takes a little pre-organization because you don't want them to be just standing around waiting for the next job. Oh, and about the cream, a little dried nonfat milk (about 1tsp per cup) added to the cream before mixing usually stabilizes. I never add sugar until I start seeing a little body forming in the cream, and I never add vanilla until the end.

maybe since the strawberries are so sweet, they need a counterpoint. How about making some lemon curd and putting it at the base of the prebaked pie/tart crust and then arranging whole strawberries on the top. Perhaps just lightly dust with powdered sugar, or melt some jam and brush onto the berries.

I have had this idea for s'mores bars for a long time and never tried it...Here's how I think it will play out... - crushed graham crust (like you would use on cheesecake base) - milk chocolate brownies (maybe with bittersweet chunks?, or bittersweet brownies with milk choco chunks?) - fresh marshmallows, piped directly onto the cooled brownie surface - a dusting of either powdered sugar or maybe even cocoa powder

I've decided I'm ready. It's time to start entering my recipes into a very basic recipe costing software. I want to spend about 100-200 bucks for this (which I know is very cheap). I've tried a few (living cookbook, dvo, star chef), but nothing is clicking. These are the major features i'm looking for - costing - sub recipes and recipes - exporting a shopping list and/or prep list - basic inventory functionality

i had the most amazing pithivier at citizen cake in San Francisco. It was filled with dark chocolate frangipan and a very clean pear compote type thing. it was da bomb!

even though its only a couple of days, you might have better luck freezing the layers. just double wrap them in cello and freeze away. you might even torte them before freezing because then you can just frost them frozen. I know purists think you can't frost a frozen cake, but I've never had a problem with weeping.

for 25 scones, about 4 oz each Oz Oats 23 Oz Apf 37 Oz Baking powder 2.5 Oz Salt .6 Oz Brown sugar 16 Oz Buttermilk powder 1.1 Oz Butter, cold, cut into little chunks 16 Oz Egg 5 Oz Vanilla 1.5 Fl. Oz Cold water, add as needed 10 Honey butter glaze oz honey, any variety 8 oz butter, melted (can be refrigerated or frozen) sorry for funky format. Anyhow, I guess forgot I use all brown sugar now. You can substitute prepared butermilk for the powder/water. I just find it's easier to have the powder on hand. I use these to make a sandwich style scone around frozen blackberries (or peaches with a little cinnamon & sugar) I am sure you could add toasted nuts or dried fruits. Yum. So in stand mixer, put oats, all dry and butter and blend until resembles coarse meal. Add eggs & vanilla, then water (or prepared buttermilk) until desired consistency is reached. Let rest for 5-10 mins then roll and cut into triangles. Let chill then bake about 350 for 20-25 mins until they're golden and center springs back quickly. Let cool 5 mins then brush with honey butter glaze. Glaze works best when it's not all the way melted when it goes on.