sugarseattle

i agree with the refrigeration thought...we make 3 days of quick breads 2x per week with no great loss by the third day. also, we get our scones all ready to go...cut and such, and freeze about 1 week's worth.

i guess traditionally, the tres leches cake is a one layer cake topped with whipped cream; however, I've torted it with whipped cream in the middle. I also like Annie's suggestion of a diplomat cream...and I agree with her concerns of the cake being too sweet. I often make my tres leches with evap milk, cream, sweetened condensed, and whole milk (making it a four leches ...i think it lightens the syrup so it doesn't get too sweet.

isn't it a problem with the egg, rather than the thickener, that causes the weeping with pastry cream? if you want to go eggless and you want to freeze and thaw, you can also try instant starch, which is a cold set product. i find freezing regular old classic pastry cream works fine if it's in it's final destination and is in a small unit...like a little filled tartlet or a filling in a little cake. freezing a bucket of pastry cream just doesn't work for me.

i'm on my third set of creamer containers for our bakery/cafe. The first one leaked everwhere and wasn't dishwasher safe. The second one exploded, I don't know why. And now we're on our third one and every day at least 2-3 customers can't figure out how to work it and end up accidentally emptying it over the condiment station. Help me find a brand that will work and call this chapter over! Would like the following features: - dishwasher safe - small-ish capacity as we are fairly low volume - black/gold/silver/white - easy to use - good cold holding ability Thansk!

I have absolutely no problem with the concept of raw apples in a fruit tart...the crunch of them against pastry cream (or even better, with caramel pastry cream!) sounds really good to me, inventive even, not amateurish. However, I would probably slice apples skins on, and remove the pit, not the other way around. Although I have seen beautiful tarts with thin apples sliced horizontally with the pits. Orange sliced horizontally with their skins can make nice garnishes, but not as the main part of the dessert. I think why it may seem weird to put apples on a fruit tart is you usually see fruit tarts in the spring, where apples, although readily available year round, are usually reserved for the fall.

we get people bringing their s***bucks cups into our shop, and we usually point out that we serve fabulous coffee and espresso drinks, and then say jokingly "for next time you come in". it is hard to break people of habits. One barista I was thinking of hiring said when people did that in her shop, she would give them one of her coffees, saying "you should taste our coffee...it's so much better" I thought that was a great idea. I should have hired her!

you shouldn't have to use gelatin with classic chocolate mousse (chocolate, eggs, cream, vanilla)...chocolate is the setting agent. However, if youre recipe is using milk, you're right to dissolve the espresso with the milk...just use like 1T per quart of mousse to start. you know what's funny, is that living in seattle, if I use the word "espresso" or coffee in any of my desserts, they don't sell...I totally have to use the word mocha. Must be coffee overload

one of the chefs i worked with used to toss the nuts in honey, then put them on a sheet pan in the oven until the honey caramelized, then he would toss them in a bowl with a little regular sugar until coated (and add a touch of salt and whatever seasonings), then lay them on a clean sheet pan to dry. you could probably substitute some sugar syrup for the honey if you wanted to keep that simple. what about corn starch? don't manufacturers use it to mold gummy bears, then shake off all the excess? i think the butter is maybe causing some of the stickiness..because pure sugar will carmelize hard as a rock, but maybe the butter prevents it from getting all the way hard??? maybe reduce the butter? in the open air, any carmelized product is going to melt, so you just have to prevent it from melting in the sealed package.

i have always wanted to try those caramel marshmallows from vosgues chocolates, but never had. last week i was making vanilla bean marshmallows, and realized I had some caramel and thought I'd give it a go. first off i brushed all the corn starch off the top of the marshmallow sheet. Then i melted down some caramel and poured it on top. then i let it sit for a while to harden. I then tried to cut the sheet into little bites, but the caramel at room temp was too chewy, so i decided to freeze it. then i removed the sheet out of the freezer and cut it, then put it back in the freezer. the next day, i pulled it and brought it to room temp, got some chocolate (i used coating chocolate because i'm terrible at tempering), then started dipping the marshmallows. about half way through the sheet, i started noticing caramel oozing out of the chocolate, so i put a little more chocolate on the oozing pustule, but it just kept leaking out, then out of another area, etc. i tried to patch, but now i've got so much chocolate on the outside it doesn't taste very well... i thought about dipping while the marshmallows were frozen, but i've had troubles with that in the past...the chocolate cracks. so i wanted everything to be at similar temp. any thoughts? perhaps there's some simple thin way I can encapsulate the caramel? maybe i need to think about one of those chocolate tunnels?

i am totally using that black bottom cupcake recipe for my new chocolate cupcake recipe. For vanilla, i'm not so sure...i think vanilla cake (which would be coconut, lemon and red velvet) needs to be all butter. I did try a batch reducing the eggs and we'll see how that works out.

any sort of fruit mousse would do...just sweeten the puree with a little sugar, add some gelatin, and when the banana is partially set, fold in whipped cream.

i never grease with genoise or sponge cakes, but always grease with butter cakes.

your cheesecake may have been overbeaten, because the cracks are the eggs rising and falling...or you may have overbaked slightly. you can easily mask this with a cream cheese mousse...using the paddle, whip a bit of cream cheese with some sugar, then gradually add some whipping cream until the mixture is homogeneous, then switch to the whisk and whip to stiff peaks...you can use the mousse to spackle the cracked top of your cheesecake (but not the sides). it will be whiter than the filling (so it will show when you cut it), but it will at least make the top look nice. then, since you're dulce de leche, if you have any caramel substance, you can drizzle this over the cheesecake. i do this all the time because it makes a nice white backdrop say for lemon curd or whatever you want on top. a good ratio is 6oz cream cheese, 2 oz sugar, and 12 oz cream with about 1T vanilla added after beating.

Yeah, I always inject...it makes cupcakes fun.

Because I'm always running short on time, I sometimes find myself scooping a few cupcakes out of the same batter I make layer cakes out of. Sometimes, it works, but a lot of the time my cupcakes dry out before I have a chance to bake new ones. It would be great to have a cupcake recipe that would keep for 2 days frosted and finished, so that I can keep up with the demand for variety my customers seem to want. I am currently storing my cupcakes in the refrigerated case. I would love either a batter that can hold for a few days so I can bake/frost as needed, or a freezable cupcake that I can thaw/frost daily. I want a cake that is fairly springy and light, almost chiffon like. I am fairly certain my problem stems from using a recipe suited for layer cakes. Currently, both my chocolate and white cakes are butter cakes using the high ratio method. Should I try an oil based cake? What about a cake using the creaming method?

i have been so far softening with my fingers, almost massaging it over the dough, but I think when i get into more large scale production, I'll do that over a parchment lined sheet pan, and then flip it over onto the dough to begin the folds. I just sold my sheeter, but i think it's totally possible without it...I am not afraid

Finally, beautiful croissants! Just thought I'd post photos of my croissants reheating the next day. I finally was able to achieve the nice crust, super flavor, and nice layers. Still having a bit of an issue with butter leakage, but I think that will probably go away in time. I think the butter leaking is due to the butter cracking slightly during the rollout, so I'm going to try to be more conscious of butter temperature during the last fold...perhaps not leave it in the fridge as long. I"m excited to have the nice outside texture...which I'm pretty impressed with because I don't have a proofer! I just sprinkle a little water on the top during proofing and then egg wash before baking.

I totally agree that these are lacking in any artistic value, and I just don't understand the criteria for judging them. I guess you could say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and good art is not necessarily visual in a certain specific way, pretty or ugly. But I definitely don't think good art is the grand total or showcase of all possible technical proficiencies, like a watercolor explosion. You could argue that these are works of technical proficiency, but is technical proficiency a sign of good art? Picasso, although technically proficient in drawing figures chose to push his artistic sensibilities further to create works that were not necessarily directly representational; rather, representational in a more cognitive or even emotional way. Good art is supported by good technique, not the other way around. I have always believed good art should make you think and feel at the same time, and I know that food has the ability to make me do that, even food pushed in the direction of sculpture, but I seem to think the works that are being presented at the competition are simply ego-centric works of pastry/confectionary bravado that make me think the chefs were working off a checklist of techniques rather than searching through their souls for inspiration that will be meaningful to themselves and their audience.

if you want caramel on top with a little sinking through, why not make caramel(carmelized sugar, butter, cream, salt) and bake the cake separately and when the cake comes out of the oven, schmeer it with caramel. the warm cake will melt the caramel and some of it will likely sink in, and some will remain on the top...

what did you use for the "rice"? I've had success using a very flexible jelly roll cake which held it's shape pretty well...it was a little difficult to cut, but I found freezing it and then cutting with a serrated knife dipped in hot water made nice clean cuts... I've also made the nigiri style sushi by making coconut cakes rolled in coconut and then making the fish out of raspberry jello with a little bit of cream. People go crazy over the stuff!

Having just been approached by a potential "crossover" (aka tech person who is passionate about baking), I definitely concur about needing a pitch, other than, "I'm passionate about baking..." For me, having just opened, we can't take on the additional responsibility of teaching somebody the craft. Chefs like me are looking for someone wanting not to do the "passionate, creative stuff" we're looking for the grunts, the ones willing to sit and scoop muffins for hours on end, consistently and efficiently. To me, it seemed better to redirect this person to a larger company, where there's more chance to do simple tasks, so it's important to really research the companies you're interested in pursuing to know what they're all about, and how they do business, and most importantly, how you would fit into the occasion.

chips usually have dextrose, which allows them to hold their shape during baking, but then can make chips taste waxy when they're not just fresh out of the oven...i love treating myself with choco chip cookies made with nice couverture! YUM!

i made a coca cola cake, which was interesting that you baked it with mini-marshmallows, which sort of floated to the top to create the semi-bubbly texture of coca cola. But there was very little coca cola flavor...the frosting was cocoa/powdered sugar mixed with coke...but still not enough cola flavor. I do have a little vial of cola extract...you can buy it at beer making supply shops. But I haven't added it...If you're trying to make cookies, you're going to run into a texture issue because you don't usually add too much liquid to cookies...I say using the cola extract in something like a snickerdoodle type crunchewy cookie and mixing in some mini-marshmallows seems like it would give a good approximation. Also, a big part of coca cola flavor is caramel color, which is super easy to make by just burning some sugar straight, then diluting it so it can be poured. MMM. you know what would be interesting with the whole root beer thing, is some sort of approximation of a root beer float

i agree with the "more butter" I often add a touch more butter when I want a firmer pastry cream which is made with the same process, and it's nice because it doesn't get all "jello-like" which is what you risk if you use gelatin.

i agree with alicia on the pomegranate...that is such a popular flavor right now that it would be good one to be published. that sounds good with a pistachio cake and vanilla bean buttercream to me.