jumanggy

Hahaha, yeah. I know what you mean. Yeah, 225g butter/shortening, and 110g for the icing. The "3/4 box" powdered sugar is irritatingly vague though. I suppose that means 3/4 of 450g.

The Italy series is really more of a cuisine-travel-docu, but the book is perfectly fine. I still think the At Home series and book might be a better fit. Everything really does look easy and accessible (except the, uh, wood-burning oven); it even got me trying out things like pizza. I mean, he brought the dough together in five minutes, so that gave me the confidence to try. It also definitely has an Italian tendency.

I salute you! I hope you find that perfect tomato-- and save the seeds! I've been meaning to plant some herbs once I've settled down-- should save me a ton of money and it's nice to have it handy when something needs punching up

Actually, it makes me wonder what the outcome would be if you made an oil-based cake by starting out by thoroughly emulsifying the eggs and oil (with, uh, some acid?)

Great idea for the spiral, Rob Cutting the parchment before applying the raw batter would definitely make it a lot easier. But I'm thinking chocolate choux pastry might be a friendlier medium for a large spiral (it'll have to bake already in 3D form inside the oven, though). I'm no geometry major but I think it's not possible to get a demisphere from a pac-man shape without a bit of stretching. Smearing it on the back of the mold is definitely the way to go-- your mold seems to be friendlier, as mine has supports jutting out the back, as I stated above. I hope it's still crispy even when the batter is applied thickly. Mango Tuiles (as part of a bigger project-- link goes to RecipeGullet) It's my first attempt at these "honeycombing" batters. Very sweet and buttery. I used a pair of scissors to cut them into triangles right after coming out of the oven, as the template didn't work out well (it always spreads).

Hi Amrita, you also might like to post it in the Daily confections thread Tropical Bombe (mango sherbet, with a coconut parfait center and pineapple-coconut joconde base, served with a mango tuile and kalamansi (Philippine lemon) cream): (Also in the plated desserts thread)

Thanks T2C! I can't wait to see your next plated dessert! Tropical Bombe: This is based on Michel Willaume's Delice de Sauveurs Exotique Glacé. It's mango sherbet, with a coconut parfait center and pineapple-coconut joconde base, served with a mango tuile and kalamansi (Philippine lemon) cream.

Mango Tuiles This is based on Michael Willaume's recipe, with a much easier and more reliable procedure. 100 g granulated sugar 50 g all-purpose flour 16 g fresh orange juice 21 g mango puree 36 g unsalted butter, melted In a medium bowl, mix the flour and sugar together, then whisk in the remaining ingredients one by one until well-incorporated. Leave to rest in an airight container in the refrigerator overnight and for up to a week. Prepare a stencil of a 3" circle from a piece of thick card (from a file folder) or the plastic top of an ice cream or yogurt container. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Prepare another sheet of parchment paper for the cooled tuiles. Place teaspoonfuls of the batter spaced 3" apart on the parchment. Place the stencil on each dollop and using a small offset spatula, spread the batter within the stencil so that it is very thin and even. Scrape off the excess batter back into the bowl. Bake the tuiles for 12 minutes. Peel off the hot tuiles from the parchment (they will feel like stiff fruit leather), and while warm, cut each into the desired shape with a pair of scissors. Place each tuile on the other sheet of parchment to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining batter. You can store the tuiles in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Keywords: Cookie, Fruit, Intermediate ( RG2104 )

Diana, I'd love to see you post some of the shots you've taken so far I'm not a great photographer but I am a Photoshop nut.

Hmm, actually Doddie I was actually leaning towards pork being the default meat. Filipino dishes are quite specific in what they indicate, and "karne" doesn't typically appear in the name: it really is just a generic term for any mammalian meat. Between "baka" (L. vaca, cow) and "baboy" (M. babi, pork), I believe pork wins out as the default, since beef is too expensive for frequent consumption, not to mention cow grazing lands are not that many, and in those regions, beef dishes abound (Region 4). However, a "babuyan" (pigsty) can be found in most places. But I guess the Philippines isn't such a good example for this, since many dishes usually imply the type of meat (Tinola-chicken, Nilaga-beef, Binagoongan-pork, Sinampalukan-chicken, Batchoy-beef, Bopis-pork, Dinuguan-pork, etc). Only a few ones are vague, like "Adobo", and even then pork or chicken would be the implied meat. "Sinigang" might be pork, fish, or shrimp. "Kaldereta" might be beef or goat.

Sheena, I think it looks just great Good job! (and no, I don't have a poop fetish) (PS Gee, Gourmet magazine, wouldn't that make it a Concorde?)

Hahaha, thanks. I popped them into my mouth like chocolate Pringles. I didn't have any mousse on hand, but I think these won't be able to hold anything much heavier than a meringue. I just wanted to contribute to Rob's vision. In any case, I froze the rest of the batter (the recipe sounds freezable, even if Dorie/Pierre don't say so). I have a mango tuile batter resting in the fridge. They're supposed to honeycomb, so they're quite different from these last ones I made. Very anxious about it, as usual.

I'm not sure if this gets any points, but please be kind... It's my first time to try making tuiles I used the Chocolate Cigarettes recipe from Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme. I thought it would make a good "base recipe" to get me started on the experience. To get a good crispy one, I found I had to spread it really thinly... But then I'd have to be a lot snappier at rolling them up as soon as the come out of the oven. It wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be! I got kind of firm-ish ones that became soft really quickly. Oh well, it tasted good at least, and held its shape for the most part. I suppose it won't be as hard if I just have to drop it onto a shaping template (like a curved surface or cup), and I might be able to spread it thinner. Cup'a tuile? On that note, get ready for the softest tuiles ever I hadn't gotten the hang of the whole thin-is-better thing yet, so I used an offset spatula to spread the creamy tuile batter on the backs of this silicone demi-sphere mold (baked upside-down). It was nowhere near as thin as it should have been, I felt like I was frosting cupcakes (okay, a lot thinner than that maybe). I could have painted it on with a brush, that could have worked. Anyway. Some observations: 1. The tuile batter flowed down the sides of the mold further as it baked. Not a problem (it helped thin it out a little). 2. My mold had a few silicone supports (buttresses?) going in between the demispheres, so I was never going to get a perfect demisphere, unfortunately, as they got in the way. 3. I think leaving them on the mold as they cooled kind of steamed them a little, especially since they were so thick, which contributed to the softness. Just a hunch. But there's no way they're going to hold their shape without cooling on the mold! 4. They popped out of the mold really effortlessly. 5. Had I baked them right-side up, painting the insides of the molds, I think much of it would have pooled on the bottom, making it kind of a weird cakey deal, but there's a better chance of getting a true demisphere shape. Now for the craptastic "demisphere" tuiles: Fugalicious!

I think Herme's lemon cream when refrigerated can be quite quenellable

I think the clarifications regarding neuroses are spot-on. We have a family friend who established that 4 sachets of CoffeeMate is the perfect number for a cup of brewed coffee of any size (at 5g each, that is 20g). I asked him, "how did you determine that?" He doesn't really know. I mocked him and asked him if after the first sachet was insufficient, he just knew four was the way to go. No defense. I asked him if he had tried three or two sachets. He didn't. But he won't, now, even with my tormenting him. He thinks that 20g of modified flavored food starch brings about perfect creaminess. He always has two strings of those damn sachets in his pocket, each 4 sachets long, just in case he has an extra cup. It creates a lot of waste and just looks weird to me (apologies in advance to anyone else who does this). I tell him it'll be a matter of time before he gets all Melvin Eudall on us.

Brigid, I am seriously craving that right now. I don't know what it is with butter, sugar, and cinnamon, but it just never grows old for me.. I made a Fraisier (or Ray Ventura) last Valentine's Day.. Of course the fondant on top mirrored every imperfection on the cake surface as I forgot to flatten it with some creme mousseline. Oh well

Sorry to hear that, I guess there wasn't enough in the other articles to salvage it.. (This is the one with the corned beef sandwich- er, I'm not sure if it's a Reuben- on a plain green background, right?)

I totally agree. When I was designing a book, my right finger extensor became quite sore from clicking.. I didn't want to experience that again, so I switched to a WACOM pen. Never looked back. Of course, it's not quite as simple wrt decorating, but it's good to look into treatment and prevention while it's still early. An occupational therapist should be able to help out heaps.

Probably a very old mama from Naples! (kidding)

Rob, great piping work on the beads! Okay, I'll bite... What are the right circumstances? Meredith: I don't care about sophistication, those cakes look freakin' awesome Kim: Ha! I've been known to use devil's food cake mix on occasion Madeleine: nice pie! Welcome to the P&B Forums! "Temptation Tower" Orange-Honey Spice Cake (zigazigah) with streusel, sauteed apples, yogurt cream, and apple chip. (also in the plated desserts thread)

Thank you pennylane! "Temptation Tower" (also in the Daily Sweets thread) Orange-Honey Spice Cake with streusel, sauteed apples, yogurt cream, and apple chip. I'm not the most imaginative kid on the block I know, but I just loved how it looked. I hope you guys like it

Now, now, Rob, I don't think I've ever said ube (purple yam, root of Dioscorea alata) was repulsive... Just that I didn't like it Also, I don't hate it in all applications, I love it in Sapin-Sapin: ... but that's it. It's quite a popular choice for ice cream here in the Philippines, which, yuck (in my humble opinion). Purple is not really a scary color for food to have, though none of them are ever as bright as ube halaya. Blue food... Well, I'm still trying to get over the blue ground beef from the Regrettable foods thread. (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthrea...hreadid=2753887) But I would not be averse to confections or icing in blue. But true, naturally blue food is quite rare (er, are cornflowers edible?). Terra Blue Chips? (never had one.) Anthocyanins in an alkali solution?

That's the spirit T2C I hope we will get to see pictures soon, even the ones that aren't quite so clear

I thought it was commonly called a "dosing/dosage funnel", but searches turned up mostly scientific applications. Maybe a confectionery/automatic funnel is closer to what you have in mind.

"Preferred" cake vendor sounds tempting. How many more cakes would need to be sold to pay for the monthly fee alone? (factor in professional-level photography to keep the portfolio fresh and above the other preferred vendors ) Maybe it pays for itself, and more. Times like these you just hope they have trial bases...