RWood

A going away cake for a friend's last day at work. She wears pink almost everyday, so I knew what it had to be. Flowers are wafer paper, cake is a chocolate stout with ganache and white chocolate buttercream

Some cookies for Halloween and the World Series

I've had that happen occasionally, and it seemed to be when my caramels were a little too soft. The last batch I made came out a perfect consistency (I gave up relying on a thermometer since they are never right and use the ball in ice water test), and I only had one have a corner leak. When they would come out too firm, they never leaked.

OK, Here is what I can remember. Figs: 1 pt figs, halved 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 T honey 4 sprigs rosemary Toss together and pour into a shallow baking pan. Cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 15 mins until soft but still firm enough to pick up. I covered them to get more juice out of them. Remove figs to cool and reserve liquid Cornmeal Cake 3 oz butter, melted and cooled slightly 1/2 cup + 2 T flour 1/2 cup cornmeal 1/3 cup sugar 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 3/4 cup creme fraiche 1 whole egg 1 egg yolk 1 tsp vanilla Combine dry ingredients. Whisk butter and creme fraiche together, the whisk in egg, yolk and vanilla. Fold into the dry. Melt together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 oz butter and 2 T honey. Whisk until smooth. I used these large soup cups we have, so I got about 6 out of this batch. I would guess a 4-6 oz ramekin is about the same. Pour just enough of the brown sugar mixture to cover the bottom of the ramekin. Arrange figs cut side down. Divide batter between ramekins. Bake at 350 until golden brown and caramel is bubbling around edges. Test with a toothpick to make sure cake is done. Cool for a few minutes then invert on a plate. These warm well later on as well. The syrup was a combo of the juices from these figs and some I had roasted in red wine, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean and sugar that will be in ice cream. I reduced it slightly then strained it. Here is the buttermilk ice cream I use if needed 2 cups heavy cream 4 yolks 3/4 cup sugar 3 cups buttermilk 1 cup creme fraiche 1 T lemon juice pinch salt Basic anglaise, then cool before adding the buttermilk, lemon and creme fraiche. I really like this better than most of the others I've made. I'm a sucker for creme fraiche anyway

Sure, no problem. I will figure out everything I did and post it tomorrow when I get back to work. Everything is there and I am computer-less at the moment. Trying to type it all out on this phone will make me cross-eyed

I asked for a few baskets of figs for ice cream, and I ended up with a whole flat. So I made this for a special this weekend. Fig Cornmeal Cake-rosemary and honey roasted figs, buttermilk ice cream and a red wine fig syrup.

i personally prefer 3" tall pans. I don't like wimpy cake layers. I make a lot of wedding cakes, and I shoot for a 4-5" tall tier. If I have to trim down the layer, I want to make sure the cakes are still tall enough to split. The only pans I use that are 2" are the 4" pans, I've never seen them 3" tall.

Simple dessert for a special this weekend, got in some great free stone peaches. Caramel roasted peach with a creme fraiche polenta cake, sage ice cream and peach coulis.

No problem Jim. I made 11 flavors I think. Raspberry Butter Ganache (all dark) Mimosa (white with champagne and orange) Lime Coconut (all white, came out of Greweling's home book) Peanut Butter Dark and Stormy (I used Greweling's flavors, but used a different base, and added finely minced candied ginger as well) It's in the leopard shell Passion Fruit (dark shell with white/passion fruit) Fresh Spearmint (dark shell with white and fresh mint) Absinthe (all dark with Pacifique Absinthe) the green fleur de lys Dark butter ganache with vanilla bean Mexican Coffee (dark with coffee, vanilla bean, cinnamon and kahlua in the white coffee bean) Chocolate dipped squares are honey vanilla caramels with fleur de sel I had also tried a small batch of ganache trying out the new Dulcey blonde from Valrhona. I just made it like a white ganache and added a little sea salt and and some of the Jack Daniels that is made with honey. Not sure if I am that crazy about it. I didn't have a mold ready for it, so it didn't get to use it. I still need to work on it.

Thanks! Yes, really bad, especially when it was really humid here the first day I molded and about six of the molds bloomed. Was so not happy. Fortunately, I check that before I fill now, just in case.

Not the best photos, but at this point I at least took a few. Some of the over 600 chocolates I made for Rolls Royce at the Concours d' Elegance in Pebble Beach this week. I was given confirmation last week, so I did these after working at my restaurant job all day. Kinda zombied .

I have made gingerbread before. It was during the holidays. I've never made saffron or mulled wine, but those are some ideas . Here are the last few. Lemon, Creme Fraiche Cherry, Pistachio, White Peach Sorbet, Honey Roasted Fig, Banana.

I have to maintain 6 ice cream flavors plus a sorbet for our sampler we offer. In the summer, that's a lot. So, there's been a break in wedding cakes for the next couple of weeks, and I've started stocking up. These are a few of the flavors I've been making: Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cherry Almond Chip Kahlua Espresso Blueberry Nutella Hazelnut Fennel Apricot Sorbet And more in progress '

I was taught to cover my custards when baking. Creme brulee, flan, pot de creme, etc. It keeps moisture in and prevents the custard from browning on top. I've seen it done with both foil and plastic wrap. Now, my assistant bakes the brulee's where I work now. He doesn't cover anything. The tops do brown a little, but they are caramelized, so it doesn't really matter. Obviously, it isn't necessary, and I've seen a lot of recipes that just say to place in water bath and bake. I think it's personal preference. I think covering each individual one is just a waste of time. I've always done it in a hotel pan, usually about 15 ramekins, and cover with foil.

The chocolate mousse I make starts with a pate a bombe (made with honey instead of syrup), and I melt the chocolate with either water, coffee, juice, etc. I think it's 2 oz for 7 oz of chocolate. You could try reducing the wine to concentrate it, see if that gives you a stronger flavor. You could also use a little gelatin to help set it if it's not firm enough.

Thanks, I'm glad it's over. Hectic week, got sick. But, it all came together.

Stack of books wedding cake from today. I think the couple are teachers.

Thank you Kim

I just go by appearance. I open the door where the ice cream extrudes, and check the texture.

I made a large batch of butterscotch ice cream a couple of weeks ago. I don't have the book with me, but in looking up the recipe online (if that one is accurate), I made mine a little differently. I made the butterscotch sauce first, cooking the butter and brown sugar, then adding cream, salt and some Jack Daniels. Then I made the ice cream base and added the sauce to it. The texture came out great. I will say thought that I have had problems with ice cream made with butter in them. I have a commercial machine at work that spins a batch in about 5-7 mins, so I had to learn to watch it or it can over churn. Ice cream with butter I tend to under churn, just so I don't have the butter blobs form. That has helped quiet a bit.

Thank you so much . I've worked in pastry for a long time, but have just started getting serious with gum paste flowers. That's my third peony. I like the way it came out.

I get them occasionally. If the yolks are good size, I count them as two. If they seem small, I don't worry about it. If I'm using it as a whole egg, I just count it as one egg. I've never noticed any issue with doing that.

You have very good taste

Another birthday making my own cake . Chocolate chiffon with pecan cinnamon dacquoise, caramel butter cream and chocolate ganache. I covered it with chocolate fondant and the lace is made with Sugar Dress. It gave me an opportunity to try out the Sugar Dress. I haven't had anything to use it on yet. The peony is made from gum paste, and dusted with several shades of orange petal dust and edged with super gold luster dust.

It's been a while since I made it, but I think the flavor they claimed it had wasn't there. And I wasn't happy with the texture. I think CI has some good recipes, and some not as good as they claim. For a while I thought that the butterscotch chips would give the flavor I was looking for, but after trying a couple with them, it's too fake. I like brown sugar with bourbon as the base for it. The recipe I linked above says to caramelized dark brown sugar, which can be iffy since it's already dark. But, I like that flavor.