Fibilou

Quite right ! I've had more memorable meals in tiny 12 seater neighbourhood restaurants in Japan than in Nobu.

Thanks for the Wittamer tip Paul, now on the top of the "to-eat" list

Very looking forward to it - I cancelled CCS ! We'll probably have the lunch menu with wine for 49e

Paul, thankyou for your recommendations, I have just reserved for 2 at Bruneau for lunch on Friday

You are so lucky to get veal sweetbreads by the way ! They're illegal in the UK. I've got a recipe for a delectable dish I had at a 2* restaurant a few years back (John Burton Race) somewhere about the house, I will try and find it and PM it to you if interested.

I love sweetbreads, they are quite simple to cook but need to be poached lightly in milk first. I'm not sure what would happen if you don't but I was assured by a butcher once that it must be done. All I do is cut off the extraneous fat, poach gently in milk until just cooked then egg, crumb and fry briefly. Delicious, but a very strange texture !

This was my second attempt at making bagels. The first was many years ago and such an unmitigated disaster I haven't bothered since. However, Anne's lovely bagels ignited my interest and I don't think they came out too badly. The recipe was a bit of a rehash from Bo Friberg's Professional Pastry chef, and the poaching was in a mixture of honey and water.

I am now thinking to make a batch of the swiss meringue to coat the cakes and some IMBC to use for the piping - thinking that the swiss will be slightly looser in texture and therefore easier to use for the silky coating, the italian will hold better for piping. What do you think ? Could you also clarify what you mean by RLB's buttercream, and if you could give me a link to the recipe I would be grateful.

Now, don't get me wrong, I ADORE Branston (but only the chunky version - smooth seems to completely defeat the object of calling it pickle) but for me it's got to be in either a cheese or a ham sandwich with thick white bread. Nothing fancy.

Hmm, thankyou for the above info. So I will kind of adapt this to a "what's the most effective recipe for getting a really smooth finish on the cake ?". I'm not after a fondant finish, it's definitely got to be a buttercream finish as it will be very unusual here in Blighty The cake is going to be based on this picture, but bigger and with 4 tiers based on grass, flowers, sky and the birds on the top. I am thinking of maybe piping grass in a variety of green hues onto the bottom tier, but the "flower" tier will have a smooth green b/c finish with piped buttercream flowers. So I would need a recipe that you think will stand up to being both smoothed and piped. Alana, I like the idea of the creme pat based one, do you think it would stand up to this sort of use ?

I am an English pastry chef; I am making a stacked cake for an evening reception and am getting recipes from a Martha Stewart magazine. I am wanting to get the perfectly smooth frosting finish. The recipe I have here is based on a creme patissiere into which butter and swiss merginue is folded. Is this the usual type of recipe desribed over here as "american style frosting" ? It seems rather odd to me to use milk in frosting, and I would usuallly make a cooked buttercream based on meringue italienne. I would appreciate any tips and recipes.

That's interesting - here in the UK cakes are priced by the finished product, not per portion. I have my own cake decorating business, I have never heard of anyone pricing per portion, unless for cupcakes or mini-cakes. Usually prices over here also reflect the cost of the stand and knife as well.

Just seen this gem on a banqueting menu "Vanilla creme brulee glazed with a caramel topping"

i believe that trip was to Fulda (in Bavaria ?)

It's a pleasure ! Knew you would like the piccies

Isn't she fabulous ! it's the only blog I read.

I hope this is in the right place; I had the great fortune to go to Pierre Herme's afternoon tea at Claridges recently. The flavours were Satine (orange, creme fraiche and passion fruit), Ispahan (raspberry, rose and lychee but I think we all know that !) and Carrement Chocolat (chocolate and praline). I went with another pastry chef pal who treated me for my birthday Sweet sandwiches : The Ispahan one was a raspberry and rose gelée; the satine a passionfruit one and the chocolate was a fairly solidly spread chocolate praline mixed with pailette feuillantine for the crunch. We didn't think that these were as sucessful as they might have been - the fillings didn't really work with the plain white sandwich bread - it would have been better on maybe a honey bread or brioche. Scones and pastries: scone flavours were some with raspberries, some plain and some chocolate. They were served with clotted cream, rose jelly and an orange and passionfruit curd. The gateau are Ispahan, a mille feuille of chocolate and puff pastry and the shot glasses were filled with orange segments, a passionfruit jelly (whih was a little too rubbery) and creme fraiche. It was topped with tiny shortbread cubes. Macarons In rose, chocolate and I think raspberry

Here is the Easter Saturday my fiancé and I enjoyed. The "juice" is half freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juices mixed with sparkling wine and some ice. I got some lovely unsalted italian cream butter to go with the bagels, which were my first atttempt (very proud !). The salad is a mixture of oranges, pink, ruby and white grapefruits which were very ripe and juicy - quite unusual from a British supermarket ! My Bagels The main event - vanilla crepe soufflé with poached pears, grilled nectarines and poached dried peaches.

Foie gras lucullus Lobster Sea Bass Lamb Coeur Macaron Close up of rose and rapsberry macaron dessert Rose Ice Cream Petits Fours I really hope that worked ! I have not yet eaten in a Ducasse restaurant; however the quality of the food, the attention to detail and the cleanliness of the flavours suggest to me that they have an excellent chef at the reins now. There was not one disappointing dish in the entire meal, and the orange mousseline petits fours (in the centre of the petits fours photo) deserve a special mention.

Trying to work out how to post my newly uploaded pictures....

Mine would be my mother's cheesecake recipe - an uncooked version made with cottage cheese, whipping cream, lemon rind and meringue. I hate all other cheesecakes, only Mum's will do ! Light as air and absolutely delectable

Thankyou all, I have plenty of liquid glucose (picked up on the cheap !) so will have an experiment.

Thankyou a trillion times ! I will let you know how they work out.

You've got to visit Fazer on the Kluuvikatu for the most fabulous pastries and chocolate - and some of the best people watching in the city. Also the daily luncheon buffet in the American bar at the Hotel Kamp is great value for money for a truly luxury establishment.

I went to Germany at school (a long time ago ) and while over there had a stew which had large, fluffy dumplings which had crispy squares of bread in the middle. Despite numerous replication attempts, nothing has come remotely near.. please help me in my quest, they were so yummy !