stuartlikesstrudel

Is it actually possible to overwhip IMBC? I've never really taken it further than when it seems to come together and look buttercream-y, but I'm wondering if some extra minutes of whipping would get it to maximum volume and creaminess/fluffiness?

I don't suppose profiteroles are an option? They're not exactly cookie-like but are perfect for filling, and do have a *bit* of the soft texture and doughiness of a cookie. In fact, you can combine them with a crunchy topping which might help with the cookie angle ?

I'm curious as to what people are making with so much gelatine...? I have only really used it as a setting agent, where it typically calls for a few TSP max. Is there anything else it's used for in larger quantities (apart from mass-scale cooking I guess)?

Ok well we ate the cake last night and it was tasty, but there are definitely some things I have learnt from it. The cake unmoulded really well from the freezer (thanks Liz!) and held its shape. The layers all kind of blended together mainly because of the similar color and flavour. I planned for the mousse to be lighter and less chocolatey, but I didn't want to use milk chocolate or it would be too sweet with the caramel. So i used a dark chocolate mousse recipe but didn't check the quantities, it ended up being quite chocolatey. Instead of a ganache layer I did a chocolate gel, which was intensely chocolatey, but again it got a bit lost amongst it all. There were 5 components all up but you could only really see 3, so Chris you were right in the end that I could have gotten away with less layers (and dishes!). But I'm glad I did it this way because I learnt some stuff and got to try out some techniques and entremet construction that I've never had the chance to do before. And next time, with a more open concept, I will have great fun playing around with more different flavours and textures! Here's a photo of the finished cake, I don't have a cross section unfortunately, but just imagine brown and you've pretty much got it

Thanks for your thoughts, Chris and Liz. You both gave some helpful tips and ideas which I have incorporated... the cake is finished and will be eaten tonight. From tasting the components, it's not exactly what I was hoping for but it will be enjoyed, I'm sure, and I got to play with some ideas that I have been wanting to try out so it was a good learning experience anyway Chris, I loved the idea of the honeycomb... that would have been terrific as the crunchy "insert" but i couldn't think of how to stop it weeping in contact with the mousse, so i left it for this time. Similarly, Liz, your idea for hard caramel was also good, in the end I agreed with your point that perhaps the cake shouldn't be crispy. I'll give a run down after we've eaten it, but thanks

Hi everyone, I made a big batch of panforte yesterday to give out as Christmas gifts. It was my first time making it, so when the recipe said to cook until the edges were firm and the middle was still a bit soft, I took "firm" to mean quite firm. As a result, when they cooled there are now parts that are quite hard. The center is ok, a bit firm but acceptable, however the outer crust (on top and the edges) is harder than I'd like... edible, but i don't want people to have trouble eating them. So last night I left a few pieces in a covered bowl with a cup of hot water, the idea being that the steam may slightly soften the hard parts (with the sugar absorbing a bit of moisture and softening). This morning it appears to be a bit better but I'm wondering if this will cause them to mould quickly... I'm not worried if they don't last for months but I'd like to be able to give people a few weeks shelf life to eat them. Any ideas of how I might save them? It was quite a large batch so I'd rather not have to waste it all if there's any chance of redemption!

Hi everyone, A friend has requested a Rolo cake for her birthday, basically she just wants chocolate and some gooey caramel. I've decided to make it a mousse cake, and construct it upside down like some of those fancy layered cakes, so you turn it out and get a nice even top and sides (although I guess it could be done in a springform as well?). Here's a recipe that I have looked at for the general concept (not flavours though). What I've thought of is the following (top to bottom) : Choc mousse caramel layer (more choc mousse) choc sponge choc ganache (thin, mainly for an intense choc bit and nice texture contrast) choc sponge. So I like the idea of this, but I'm wondering if there's something crispy or texturally different that I can add in... something like a disc of chocolate with feuilletine or similar. But i'm not really sure what that might be. I'd also like any thoughts on the overall thing, since it's something I've come up with (structurally based on the recipe mentioned earlier). Does anyone know if I'd be able to do the final construction 24 hours before serving and keep it in the freezer or fridge? I figure that since it instructs you to chill the mousse in the freezer, it might be ok to keep it in there as long as I thaw it before serving? Cheers, Stuart.

Wow, that bread looks fantastic! Beautiful color, I bet the crust would be delicious!

Helen from Tartelette has done candy cane macarons by rolling the finished cookies in candy cane crumbs, so they just stick to the outside of the buttercream. Looks pretty, I think. Elsewhere on her site she's also played around with multiple colors and effects for the shells, i'm sure you can find them by looking through her index.

Also note that if you overbeat cream cheese frostings they go thin and you need to add more sugar to get the consistency back, which is obviously not what you want... so many recipes call for the butter to be beaten first (to get the air and smoothness) then add in the cream cheese and beat to combine. I made a macaron filling quite similar to this, using lime juice instead of lemon and called it a Lime Cheesecake flavour. People seemed to enjoy it, the tang of cream cheese does compliment the macaron shells well, even though it's quite rich.

I don't live in the U.S and don't see much of either flavour here in Australia... so both would be appealing to me, but I would likely go for the eggnog. The pumpkin one sounds nice, but when you said it was a pumpkin caramel ganache, that sounds like the flavour might not come through quite as much as I'd like, it's a bit of an unknown quantity. Whereas I can imagine what the eggnog should taste like and it seems really appealing. And I think of pumpkin as more thanksgiving as well (though as I said i'm not even part of all that culture so what do i know

I just had some leftover pizza for lunch, so this thread is quite timely! I ate a few pieces cold and then a few warmed up, and preferred the cold. Like some others have suggested, parmesan doesn't leave the same congealed texture, and I had been quite sparse with the cheese last night when I made them, so there was no danger of that. One of my slices had tomato and capsicum, neither of which were so pleasant... a bit slimy. For me the real winner was an experiment - I made a mushroom sauce/paste by cooking down mushrooms then pureeing with a little mushroom "vegetarian oyster" sauce and a little tomato paste and soy sauce... a real umami hit. On top of this i sprinkled peas (frozen peas, quickly blanched) and a little parmesan... it was a really tasty pizza without the congealed texture, and I think the mushroom paste held up a bit better than a tomato base - because it was a bit chunky, it didn't seem to make the base quite so soggy.

Ellen, can you tell us about the grated potato crust for your quiche? It sounds like something that might be really delicious and also a bit healthier than a normal crust... I also like your point about getting people to help out, benefits everyone!

Well firstly I know it's obvious but people are probably happy just to see you and are very grateful that you would invite them over. If an old friend bumped into me and ended up serving cheese sandwiches, I'd probably feel really honoured that they are comfortable serving me something so "pedestrian"... shows that we really ARE friends and don't need to impress. Having said that, I know it's nice to have something more complete to offer. I find that Indian (or at least my version of inauthentic Indian) often works quite well from dried/tinned ingredients - some dried lentils/dal and a few tins of tomato make a decent dal once I add spices and maybe some onion or garlic. Usually there is SOME kind of vegetable in the fridge that i can turn into a fresh side dish, like a grated carrot salad, or a side curry, or even opening a jar of pickles or chutney.

I've used the technique to make gin & tonic spheres, and it worked really well. The texture is not the same as other spherification, as you're making an agar jelly in the shape of a sphere so it still has the texture of agar, but i still liked them. According to the hydrocolloid recipe collection Agar is suitable for pH between 2.5 and 10, so some very acidic liquids might start falling outside that range (i think lime juice can be as low as 2) but I'm sure with some experimentation and perhaps an increased % agar you could get some nice results

The only recipe I have made is from a cookbook I like called Spice, by Ana Sortun who is a chef at a restaurant called Oleana, somewhere in America. Anyhow, I don't remember it having ANY butter in it, so I found someone who had blogged the recipe and sure enough, it seems a lot healthier than the ones you're describing. From memory, I made a mushroom-y broth to serve them in, as I didn't have chestnuts and felt like something different anyway. I think they were pretty good, and easy to work with... but it was a while ago that I made them.

I agree with everyone going for caramel, and not just because that's what a croquembouche "is". Even though you're going for top taste rather than tradition, I think caramel fits perfectly in the equation... the crunchiness is welcome against the creamy/luscious filling, and the burst of sugar is lovely with the other elements that aren't necessarily very sweet. But if you're adamant about that, what about chocolate as glue? Should provide a bit of support but without the sticky resistance of toffee.

Tony, in regards to your question of docking/puffing, some recipes (such as for mille feuille) have you put a second baking sheet on top of the pastry, effectively weighing it down so it can't puff too much. I thought this might be undesireable since I assumed that puffing up was part of the point of puff pastry, to get nice distinct layers, but perhaps this isn't the case.

I've had some delicious syrups over fruit salad - on watermelon, a simple syrup simmered with plenty of julienned fresh mint and finished with a slosh of white rum is great. And I made a vanilla chili syrup for a lime cheesecake that I bet would also be great on fruit salad. Again, a simple syrup, but this time some finely diced (or rings) of chili and a vanilla bean - it's fragrant, warming with a good kick at the end.

That's a neat trick with the fork, Edward! I'll have to try and remember that one.

I see there have already been a lot of good responses, but I just ate a mini Twix bar (MMMMMM!) and was thinking about the biscuit - to me it's very similar tasting to a plain biscuit we can buy in Australia called "Scotch Finger". It's like a shortbread, I guess, but the texture is very similar to a twix and the flavour is good. I just did a google search and couldn't find any recipes to make scotch fingers (i guess because they're quite a plain biscuit) so dunno if this is really helpful at all, but maybe it's an idea for someone

I think you've done pretty well considering you didn't really know how to plate them in the beginning... all those shots have the right idea and potential, in my opinion. A few thoughts : The first shot, I like! If anything, maybe the plate is a bit small, feels slightly cramped to me, but it's not a big deal. What about ditching the plates altogether, at least for one or two shots...? If you have nice interesting surfaces like wood, some cookies might look great resting straight on that, or maybe on a napkin. The second shot is the least successful, I think. The cup you've used reminds me of those clunky sets you find at function rooms with instant coffee! And the plate is quite small which means it doesn't sit nicely on the plate with the cookies. Also, the cookie on the cup feels wrong to me - I think I can see what you're trying but it doesn't quite work. The cookies look really tasty and enticing, so why not just use two or three of them instead of a bit pile, and play around with the crockery you've used so that you can keep the coffee (i like the idea of a hot drink in the photo) without it feeling cramped. Also, I think a latte or some other kind of drink with milk foam would look more appetising, at the moment it's a very non-descript color and looks a bit icky with the floaty bubbles on just part of the surface. The third shot is simple but effective. I've seen some photographers use half-eaten food and leave some crumbs scattered round and it looks good, so you could try that, but I suspect it might be hard to do without it looking messy. Only other suggestion is that it would be nice to somehow separate the cookies a bit cause they blur together a little since the colors are so similar throughout. Not sure how to do that though The last one I really like! The idea of cookies in a bowl actually works quite well, I wonder if you can find some more "delicate" fabric, this one looks like a tea towel (?) which is ok but I think something thinner or with a finer pattern could be effective. But i do like the composition and the homely, inviting feel. Overall I think you're doing well, and I think you'll get some other great ideas here!

I made THESE to take to a party where they were served at room temperature, and everyone loved them. A lot of people thought they were felafel (which they're quite similar to) and so weren't too "afraid" of them, and they vanished quickly! I served them with a yogurty sauce with mint in it.

E.T, your tart shells are so thin! How do you possibly do that without them cracking or getting holes?!

Pastrygirl has given some great suggestions, so I'll just add on to them (I like to make desserts that feel special by making a few components to combine, which seems fancy and isn't necessarily hard). Cornflakes and Rice krispies can both be gluten free, but check to make sure. You can make good pressed pie crusts using cornflakes or gluten-free cookies, which then opens up pies or tarts as an option too. There's a vegan chocolate mousse recipe that's pretty famous around the internet, I just tried it last week and was surprised at how decent it was (for a vegan mousse, anyway). Basically it's silken tofu blended up with dark chocolate (no dairy) and sweetened slightly. Ends up thick, smooth and pretty chocolatey. I would re-emphasise the fruit options - nicely poached or grilled fruit may be simple but are still delicious and better than just cutting it up for fruit salad. Gluten-free crumble is pretty tasty made with GF flour and shredded coconut, so you could use that as a textural and flavour element with fruits. So one example using some of these elements would be poached pear served with some chocolate mousse and a ginger or spiced crumble. Sounds pretty good to me! Or what about pastrygirl's idea of rice pudding... that would go well with fruits too.