shivohum

Can one find a croissant in New York to measure up to the great ones in Paris? Or even come close? So far I've tried Balthazar, Ceci-Cela, Patisserie Claude, and Payard, and come away anywhere from seriously disappointed to being merely mildly pleased (the bakeries above are listed in that order). Any ideas on some truly great croissants?

Thanks. This is really helpful! Does anyone have any other ideas?

Yeah after I had my problem result I thought about this very possibility. It was just weird because Sherry Yard's book is great -- I probably just didn't do something right (like incorporate the eggs properly into the ganache); if it had required straining, I thought she would have said so.

Nope, the original recipe called for whole eggs... in fact, I had had the same thought during the recipe and double-checked.

Hrmm... I seem to recall, though I could be wrong, that the ganache was only lukewarm when I poured the eggs in. So that doesn't *seem* to be the problem. As for incorporation, the recipe said the eggs should be "gently stirred into" the ganache. I thought I did that and it seemed to achieve homogeneity. But is there some way I could have tested more thoroughly for that? Thanks.

Suppose I had two or three weeks, and I wanted to intensively learn as much as I could about how to cook or make pastry or both, starting from a novice level. I wouldn't need a degree or any kind of marketability -- just highly rigorous and intensive instruction (8-10 hours a day?), and good kitchen space in which to be instructed. Any recommendations on what might be my best options? A cooking school course? Private tutor? Special trips to a cooking program in a foreign country (I'm in the US)? Oh, and I should add that I'm interested strictly in vegetarian cuisine. Any help much appreciated. Thanks!

Hi, I tried baking a chocolate whiskey torte from Sherry Yard's "Secrets of Baking" (a generally excellent book). The problem was that the finished product had little bits in it, which I think were bits of cooked egg white, since there's nothing else in the recipe that could have that texture. I'm trying to figure out what went wrong. It's just cream and sugar heated and poured over chopped chocolate to create a ganache, then a couple of room temperature eggs whisked with some whiskey and then poured into the ganache. Then she advises pouring the mixture into ramekins, but I put it into a bread loaf pan instead, and then put that in a larger pan and filled it partly up with hot water, also per recipe. I baked at 325, the recipe temperature until the torte was "firm to the touch," again as per recipe, and then let it cool slightly before serving. But then the egg bit problem... any ideas on why this is happening? Thanks!

You know what they are. Like fresh Krispy Kreme donuts (and here I reveal a bias), they are not necessarily elegant (or inelegant). They are not necessarily artistic or good-looking. They are not necessarily sophisticated or trendy. What they are is ecstatic: desserts that make your heart dance and your blood pound, desserts that crash into you with the fury and joy of a Beethoven symphony, and for a moment make you believe (or confirm your belief!) that life is worth living. It could be that astonishing slice of chocolate cake, or that unbelievable scoop of fresh ice cream. It might be the sheer sinful beauty of a caramel dessert or a slice of pie so divine an angel might have made it... What are the desserts (and, if you have them, the exact recipes) you would die for?