kthull

Lesley, my aim sucks, so I had to stop pouring with the motor on. I inevitably hit the beaters, shot sugar strands around the sides of the bowl and then definitely got lumps. Whisking by hand was the only way I could get around that. Doing it while the bowl is still attached to the KA eliminates the need for a second person and I've yet to get lumps that way. And maybe it's just my mixer, but if I poured down the sides (with or without that pour shield) a good deal of the syrup would congeal at the bottom of the bowl and never get worked in.

I go to 245 with my sugar syrup. And maybe I'll get the courage to use my fingers. Steve, I have a question on technique. I can never seem to get my syrup between the beaters and the side of the bowl (KA 6qt). So instead, I've resorted to hand whisking while I slowly add the syrup, all the while with the bowl still attached to the KA. Then, when it's all in, I pop the whisk attachment, beat a couple seconds on high, then switch to medium until it cools. This has been working, but am I limiting my results this way?

Joe, thanks for the kind words. I just did my niece's Communion cake this past weekend and will be adding those pics soon. Just don't know how I'll top hers next year when it's time for my daughter's cake. In addition to cooking the larger batches longer and at a lowe temperature, you might also try reducing the amount of liquid just a bit, unless you're making a dry caramel. If that's the case, you don't have much choice. As for the cold water test, Steve Klc has a great description on a post about the testing for soft ball stage in a discussion about Italian Meringue: I just can't bring myself to doing it...I would fall into the chicken category. I like my nerve endings!

Just an educated guess here, but I'd suspect it was a combo of the doubled recipe, the size of your pan and the heat source. If you made the double batch in the same size pan as your successful single, then you have a thicker layer of caramel and it will take longer to cook away some of that moisture. If you have a pan that's wide enough to yield the same thickness of caramel as you're cooking, it's possible that all of your pan is not directly over your heat source, yielding uneven cooking and less efficient evaporation.

I look forward to testing Jan's recipe, hopefully within the next couple weeks. It has some stiff competition though. People were swooning at my niece's communion yesterday. They're all so used to the stuff that passes for an occasion cake...all looks, no taste. I used the Wooley recipe as a 2-layer half sheet with a straight vanilla pastry cream filling, frosted with white chocolate italian meringue buttercream. I was a bit nervous that the cake layer would crack when I put the second layer on...it was close, but it made it. All around great performer.

Joni, the main theory behind the Cooks Illustrated prep was that beating the whites, which most recipes call for, results in a cake full of holes. You say you haven't tried the recipe you posted...will you to see if you like it?

The vanilla pudding addition amounts to 17% of the weight of the flour, so the yellow from the pudding doesn't make a noticeable impact on the whiteness of the cake. Of course, I've never baked with/without to see the actual impact, but it's good and white.

Ok, I'll start. This one comes partially from another forum, resulting from a similar "in search of..." threads and also using much of the technique from the May 1995 Cooks Illustrated issue (that said, I don't know if it's legal to put in the eGRA). Not sure it's "the best" but it has wowed anyone who's had it. Sorry it's not in weights. 1 cup whole milk, room temp 6 egg whites, room temp 2 1/2 tsp vanilla Mix together and set aside. 3 cups sifted cake flour (never tested with AP) 2 oz instant vanilla pudding mix 4 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1 1/2 cup sugar 12 tbsp unsalted butter, softened In mixer, mix dry ingredients to combine. Add butter and beat at low speed until resembles moist crumbs. Then add all but half cup of liquid ingredients and beat a medium for 1 1/2 minutes. Add remaining liqued and beat another 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat another 20 seconds. (The timing is specifically from Cooks Illustrated and I've never varied from it.) Bake in 2 9" pans at 350.

Sorry, IMBC = Italian Meringue Buttercream

Incidendtally, this cake makes THE BEST cupcakes. And I think I finally got my IMBC method down last night. My wife liked the combo and she's my toughest critic. I think I'll try a white chocolate IMBC next. On the sheet cake test, I also tried out a white chocolate whipped cream frosting that really surprised me when matched to this. Tasting the frosting alone seemed too heavy on the white chocolate (used RLB's recipe) but when on top of the cake, somehow that white chocolate overkill was wiped out. Nice, but I don't think it would be sturdy enough for the real cake I'll be making this weekend. Perfect timing on the thread! And I'll also throw my 2¢ in about non-pros posting: since I'm not a pro, how else would I learn everything?! This place is so newbie/non-pro friendly. If you want to be afraid, try posting on a webmaster forum! They can be down right mean.

As far as times went, cupcakes were done at 24 minutes. The 8x3 round went a full hour and a half. I'm guessing that one is a goner.

Ok, so my daughter just sprung this on me: she wants to bring cupcakes to school in 2 days for her birthday. Wendy, have you ever done this recipe as cupcakes? I have 36 in the oven as I type this and will start testing for doneness at 20 minutes (still hanging around the 275 mark as close as my oven will let me). Alongside that is an 8x3 that will serve as a cake topper to my niece's communion cake for this weekend. Same question: have you baked cakes this deep with this recipe?

I don't know if any cakes made it to day two or not, but I managed to keep mine around long enough to taste it 48 hrs after defrost and it's roughly the same as yesterday. Seems like it's starting to lose just a hint of moistness.

Wendy, I was so happy with my current chocolate cake that I was hoping to bring some competition to this thread. But respectfully, I concede. This cake has a fine crumb, super moist (I've saved some to test tomorrow too) and a nicely chocolate flavor. As mentioned by someone else, it's not overly sweet, which to me is a plus since it'll be frosted. The cake I've been using was, what I thought, the richest chocolate tasting cake I've had. Its down side was its stickiness. Very difficult to work with. By contrast, this cake slices up rather cleanly and it has a smoothness of flavor, whereas my other cake had a sharpness/tanginess to it in comparison which I hadn't noticed before. I give this one a 5. For those of you who claim to have better, please ante up. Edit: forgot to add time and temp: 55 minutes at 275 for the 12x18x1.

I have the test cake, plus my standard cake both thawing in the fridge and I'll slice it up and have a series of unfrosted taste tests with the family and neighbors this afternoon/tomorrow. I'll definitely have some feedback. I have to say the batter was a dream to work with, but I was nervous...I doubled it and it was a bit dicey in my 6qt KA. I baked both cakes as 12x18x1 sheets (edit: both gave enough for an additional 9" square, basically the same height as the sheet) and froze both for the most equal comparison. The winner will move on to become my niece's communion cake and my daughter's birthday cake. This is fun!

The part that tripped me up is the "flavorized" part. As for more info, I asked and I'm waiting to see if the person will offer any. As for where the request came from, at my site I offer to do what I can to find sources for ingredients, equipment, whatever. This being the first one that had me stumped, and seemingly a vegan thing, I was hoping some of you might already know what this is. From what I could dig up this morning, it's the "vegetable whipping cream" is a dairy-free whipping cream substitute so I'd also think a vegan stabilizer is in order, as phaelon56 suggests. I do know they have vegetable-based gelatin, but again it's the "flavorized" and even the "fonds" parts that got me. Thanks.

Hi all. I had a request this morning for help in finding "a supplier of flavoured stabilizing blends (fonds) for vegetable whipping cream." I don't have more information than that and didn't find anything with a few different searches, so I thought I'd ask here before digging deeper. Thanks!

The 1 month timeframe is very generous...should be no problem here. And for all you non-professionals out there, fear not: I'm one of you. Glad to hear this works in sheets as that will be my test, without the coffee, and using Droste Dutch-processed cocoa. I'll probably bake this on the weekend. I'll also bake my current "best" so I can compare the two side by side. I also agree on the weights. I think anyone should make it a goal to weigh the items out if they have access to a scale and add that to the volume measurements. If I'm first, I'll definitely do it. And you say to give the cake to the neighbors! As if that's an easy thing to do... All kidding aside, I'm already the most popular person on the block.

Yay! I'm glad you started this Wendy. Is there any established time frame for trying the recipes to get reasonable feedback or should this be open-ended? Should we do a separate thread for each type of recipe or keep it all in here? I will definitely try this one out, but I would bet the coffee adds a lot over the h20. The recipe I'm currently using adds hot coffee as well and so far it's had the richest flavor of all the chocolate cakes I've tried. My wife's gonna kill me. There goes the diet! Edit: Have you ever tried this as a sheet cake? Would a sheet cake be a separate category from rounds?

Wow, Wendy. You really go all out on your buffets. Would you say this spread is a typical one for you? Looks great and I'd bet the guests have never eaten so well! Your cakes set me drooling. Thanks for the pics!

Hmm. Not entirely sure, but here's a link to germandeli.com where they sell a product called "Cheese Cake Cream with the following description: In any case, you might wish to contact them and see if they can either suggest a suitable substitute or point you in the right direction.

Wendy, the brand is Boyajian and you can buy direct from their Web site: www.boyajianinc.com They only have a handful of citrus oils and about the same amout of flavorings. And I've no idea if the oils are as good as the flavorings when it comes to candy making.

Yes, I catch it too at times. I did a zabaglione once in a stainless bowl over simmering water and I couldn't eat it, the metallic taste was so heavy. While pot/pan may be a big factor, it still doesn't answer to the glass bowl situation Wendy mentioned. I wonder if the whisk could be the culprit. I did a lemon cream this past weekend and didn't catch the metallic, but I do know that I used my newer whisk.

I've decided to tweak my lemon cheesecake. I'm going with the lemon cheesecake in a hazelnut-graham crust. But I'm altering my garnish to the following: approx. 1/2" layer of lemon mousse atop the cheesecake; thin layer of lemon gelee on top of that. Piping on base and top with Italian Meringue and into each slice, a half-moon hazelnut tuile. I've never really taken my cheesecakes beyond what the recipe offers, so I'm eager to see how this turns out, especially with the three differing mouthfeels/intensities of lemon and the added crunch of the tuile tying into the flavor of the crust. I guess I've been reading the gullet too long to just do the norm.

I figured this thread was mainly aimed at pros, so I hadn't chimed in. For our family dinners, I'm going with a few lemon cheesecakes on hazelnut crusts. I'll top them with Herme's lemon cream and then finish with candied lemon peel atop whip cream rosettes.