Wendy DeBord

Sethro.........any chance you might have a photo of your bamboo leafs in action? Sounds very nice..........

I think that's the best answer! No one has tasted your menu, why not give them a tease off of it? You'll have plenty of time in the future to dazzle them with more creations. I don't think you should add anymore work onto your load. Use the K.I.S.S. approach.

I thought the madeleine recipes in Paris Sweets were the best I've made or tasted anywhere, to date. I didn't make the earl grey flavored one though. The core recipe for the madeleines are perfect so you need to adjust your flavoring to the taste you want. I don't think these should be crisp on the outside at all. If you reach that your inside is bound to be dryish.....I'm definately wondering what that bakery in Philly is doing. I bake them until they just done and barely begin to take on color to retain their moisture when they've cooled off.

That's as good as any art museums exhibition! ......I wish this exhibition traveled from city to city, it should.

I haven't had a chance yet to make any new frostings. Mette........everything, every food comes down to personal taste and what your used to or attracted to. I could say the same thing about traditional Asian bean paste pastries.........I just don't really "get them" taste wise. But others love them and for them I'd make bean paste filled pastries. I think you get used to items tasting a particular way. What I'd choose myself to eat or put into my dessert cakes is different. Like you, I use ganches and whipped cream, etc... You won't see an item on my dessert menu that contains buttercream. I use buttercream frosting, pretty much only for 'decorated' cakes. Back to the pastry tips.............yes, I agree that they must be using much larger tips in conjuction to a stiff frosting. Pastrymama, I guess I should mention that I'm not new to decorating. I'm really talking about very specific little details that set one decorators skill set apart from anothers......or recipe that makes something easier or harder to handle. The color scheme I'm definately aware of. They do use beautiful palate choices! I've tried my whole life to be aware of that. "Also the Cupcake Cafe pipes the petals of their roses straight up and just curves them around each other instead of piping them angeling out." That's definately one of the finer details I want to observe.

Thanks for that tip! I'll certainly look for it.

Maybe I'm alone on this, but I see a diifference between Cupcake Cafe's flowers and Wiltons. They each pipe out flowers, but the length/ height/structure/3D depth of Cupcake Cafe's buttercream petals are exceptional to Wiltons. I've been practicing piping flowers dirrectly on my cakes and I haven't figured out how they do this so well. I can't seem to contort my tip and bag to achieve the angles they get on the backside of their flowers. Making a rose with-out being able to turn the rose in your hand is pretty difficult. I can't make my right hand work in every angle. It's really hard for me to believe they pipe all their flowers right on the cake..........maybe only the 2D ones? MkFradin are you saying dry buttercream flowers in shape? Mukbo, you can try to learn thru books on your own.......... and theres many private cake decorators that teach from their studios if your looking for a source other the Wilton.

Well technically alot of people have already done the work for you. Almost every book or recipe tells you what the finished texture is supposed to be like. Just seek out recipes for softer cookies. I've got several books on my shelfs that specificly list soft cookies and or cookies for ice cream sandwiches, try: Big, Soft, Chewy Cookies..........by Jill Van Cleave. Bigfatcookies, by Elinor Klivans. Rosie's Bakery Chocolate Packed Jam Filled Butter-rich No-Holds-Barred Cookie Book, by Judy Rosenberg. A Bakers Field Guide to Chocolate Chip Cookies, by Dede Wilson. Great Cookies Secrets To Sensational Sweets, by Carole Walter. I also like thin crisp cookies holding my ice cream. Tuiles can be used quite decoratively as a sandwich cookie also florentines taste great in this application. Madelines would work too depending upon how you did this. I do a really old fashioned dessert that's pretty popular which could be used similarly. Have you ever had those wafer cookie refridgerator cakes? It's basicly a dark chocolate cookie with whipped cream sandwiched in between cookie layers. The whipped cream in time softens the hard cookies and it tastes pretty good. You can do many riff's on that..........from using flavored whipped creams to semi-fredos to ice cream. I found a dark chocolate cookie that tastes verys similar to those purchased cookies in (I think) Sherry Yards baking book.......if your interested I can give you more details. Also Martha Stewart has a small section in her Desserts Book on frozen desserts. I've had success with them enough to tell you to check that book out too, she may have an answer/recipe for you.

Ok so I'll admit I've done my best over the years to avoid making buttercream flowers. Mainly because I wasn't seeing any designs using them that I really loved and it just never occured to me to figure out how to use them better. I LOVE the way http://www.cupcakecafe.com uses their buttercream flowers. To me, they take them into another dimension that really excites me! Yesterday I had a bride ask me to make a cake that is very similar to Cupcake Cafe's style. The photo she showed me didn't have any credits on it, but I'd definately guess it's their cake. So I need to learn how to make buttercream flowers like they do and it's something I've longed to really learn. The frosting I use just won't let me pipe out such 3d flowers. Can someone suggest a recipe they have that definately will hold? Also I'm seeking any advice and tips you all might have on doing similar designs/flowers as that bakery. When I look at their photos the depth they achieve on their flowers seems exceptional and exceptionally heavy to place on the edge of your cake. I know using my frosting the only way that weight would hold is if it remained cold, the minute it warmed to room temp. I'd have a avalanche. Do you think they are piping a base under their flowers to add to the depth of appearance they get on their borders? How do I pipe out flowers and get the bends they do? For example they have daisy's that look folded in half to squeeze into their arrangements. It almost appears as if they piped them dirrectly on the cake..........but I don't think I could hold my bag at the angles they achieve doing that. How about their mums............look at that great dimension they get........how can I achieve that?

Last night I was looking thru some older Art Culinaire books and I came across Pierre Herme's Chococlate Rice Pudding with Caramelized Rice. It's in issue #54 page 45. The ingredients for the rice pudding part of the recipe are: 3 c. milk (that's 3/4c. less then what's published in Chocolate Desserts) 1 1/4 oz. granular sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1/2 c. arborio rice 7 oz. Venezulan chocolate finely chopped 1 3/4 oz butter 2 oz. white raisins, re-hydrated I hope this helps clear things up.

How can I disagree with what's been written before me...........I really can't. (I've seen her advertisements) BUT I will say: theres ALOT of bakeries in my area mass producing wedding cakes that can't do sophisicated cakes like Watsons. I know decorators that can't reproduce something acurately at all. There's alot of cake decorators and bakeries out there that can't and don't do much more then a grocery store type of cake. TONS of bakeries out there!!! You all know what I mean!! There's also a lot of chefs put on the spot to do a wedding cake. My current chef had to do a wedding cake for a party before I began working for him. Something like that kit would have been great for him to use.....and he's not the only chef I know who's been forced into making cakes that shouldn't have been. BUT the catch really is in the price. I think it's sort of funny.........why not, Watson has found a way to make a couple bucks........hats off. If you have the money to buy one of those kit's you have enough to go to a decent cake decorator. As you all recall we get several people a year inquiring here on how to do their own wedding cakes.........and they want to do it for various reasons..........let them and help them........they won't want to do it often.

I love occasions like this, (when I'm making a variety of sweets) to use as an excuse to finally try some of the many recipes I've printed off eG. For example: I've wanted to try some peanut butter fudge, here. JFLinLA's coffee brownies are delisssssshious and theres a couple other items I'd like to try, here. Chefette just posted a caramel buttercream recipe that's got me salivating, here. And theres been a number of cakes I'd like to try all of which you could make into mini cupcakes and put a pretty piped flower or sugared flowers on (that would look great on your tier). Look at these: strawberry cake, malted milk ball cake, white chocolate cake. Theres alot more! Someone recently mentioned Claudia Flemmings chocolate caramel tarts.........yum! Oh and take a good look at the "Chocolate Desserts By Pierre Herme'" thread here if you want a ton of GREAT recipes. Why not try something new and if your feeling generous, come back and tell us about the items you made and what you thought of the recipes. We're always interested.

Actually I think you were on the right track in your opening post. Everything sort of depends upon just how difficult that pattern is. Is there a repeating pattern to the lace? If so, you can make a small simplified stencil and press that into your cake. Similar to pressing in an object to space out your swags. I once did a scroll that kept giving me problems with it's angle by cutting and shaping the scroll in copper sheeting and that helped me keep the size the same and all I had to do was focus on the angle everytime I pressed it into my cake for an outline. For me (and hopefully you too) I found just that little bit of guidance (keeping my size and angle) enough to let me free hand as I normally would. You could make yourself a couple press stencils (stencils is the wrong word, I mean metal shaped scrolls you can press into the cake) to use, that would be easier then one elaborate one. What to use........I found a roll of copper sheeting at the home improvement store that I use to cut my own cookie cutters from. You want to find the right gauge thickness so it's easy to bend but not too easy so it gets out of shape as you use it. Maybe seeing the copper I use might help, look here.

Here's the link to Chefettes recipe: here. Let's keep this thread on chocolate and that one on caramel please.

I'm trusting you. Whats the technique? Do I swirl it in after it's cooked or put it in while cooking it? Plus the brown sugar or sans bs?

I have to add a note of thanks to Robin. I had oatmeal for dinner last night and I tried brown sugar on it instead of the old white...........wow, I dig that combo. Great tip!

Oh Tepee, that's wonderful! For people who don't know just how small those pots of dust are..........aprox. what's the measurements on that cake?

Sure.............what can I possible add to that stream of WOW's............hat's off Annie! Thank-you for taking the time to teach everyone as you made that beautiful cake!! I learned something along the way too. I've always been scared to put fondant on a cake that got wider/heavier at the top, like your pots. Plus you cut it off at the top, scarie for me! I would have taken the fondant over the cake from the other dirrection so it covered the top of the pot.........and that never looks as clean. So now I know it will hold, thats great. You really nailed the clay color (plus you got it in the chocolate plastic too), can I ask you which pastes you mixed to get it? Those straws look auesome how much bigger and stronger are they then regular straws?.........I need to buy some of those.

I've seen strawberry extract at my local grocery stores, but I've never tried them. Perhaps someone else here has, anyone?? I think if I was in your position (with-out access to comercial pastes), I'd try it. I'm not familar with the product you linked us too, sorry. It seems interesting, I wish they had a photo of it and gave a few more details about it. But I can't really comment on it. I still kept 1 1/2 c. puree, mine just happened to be reduced down puree ready to be used as a sauce on a plate, not watery/soupy like what you get when you freshly puree strawberries. If I was making this at home, I'd probably buy those frozen strawberries that come in a can or very overripe berries, over perfectly fresh berries.....to squeeze in more sb flavor. There's also dried strawberry powder you can buy (I think Sweet Celebrations carrys it and for pro.'s Uster has them). But that's not in-expensive either. 'Too taste', I taste the raw batter and smell it as I go. I can tell you that with a subtle flavor like strawberry in a cake batter your better to error on the stronger side. To make it stronger, too taste I added purchased strawberry compound. You could use extract. hth? Oh, I thought whipped cream was the perfect accompaniment to that cake. It contrasts nicely with the density of the cake.

I'm sorry, I guess I got away from your original question. I used to do individual baked alaskas using a beehive design, all the time at another CC. Theres a photo of this in Bo Friebergs book (if you own it). It's basicly cake with a scoop of ice cream then the meringue piped around it which gets torched. The hive is set in a clear pink tinged sauce on the plate and I think he puts an edible flower on top of the hive. Simple and elegant. I think it would be much simplier then piping out a hive, then drying it and filling it.......and equally as tastie. Piping these out those centerpiece cakes was rediculously fun and easy. I think they looked best when I didn't try to keep them perfect....actually if you whip thru it rather organticly they'll look more natural/elegant imo. Piping out individual beehives you have to work fast and close to your freezer. I also like meringue powder for items I freeze, verses fresh meringues. The powdered stuff is so durable and freezer hardy.

I agree, I think the brand of peanut butter will definately impact your item, your testing should get very interesting if you change out brands. I'm picky about peanut butters, when I taste test them there really isn't much grey area there for me. Unlike some ingredients. I do buy Jiffy for home use, I love it for peanut butter cookies and p & j's on ritz crackers. At work we have the worst non-name brand stuff (it rips the bread apart when you attempt to spread it).......you really can tell the difference not only in taste but the texture of my pb cookies....their dryer.

Oh my gosh...........here they come Tepee, everyone just needed a little rest before they posted. So much to say............Keith............you did that in rolled buttercream! Unless they've tried it, no one can appreciate how well done your cake is. I couldn't even get it on a cake with-out leaving horrible imprints. I like your shoes better then mine Dailey......and you have to share how you did your striping on your shoe box? and did you stencil on your purse cake pattern after the fondant was applied to the cake or before?........is that silver dust painted on? The stripes/pattern on my shoes are just strips of different colored chocolate plastic laided next to each other then rolled out to become one sheet. Jason, I want a taste of that cake! .......does that bakery have a website?

You can see what I used and details about it here. To post photos, check this out. The one thing that stumped me about posting photos was that the size of the photo must be at or under 640 pixels. I didn't have or know how to use any of my software on my computor to change my image sizes. I wound up installing a more sophisicated photo editing program then what came with my camera. But I know there are free software downloads you can use on the net, which you may have to download to edit your photos. Our Technical Support Forum contains alot of info. on this topic. That forum is on our main page lower then our Pastry & Baking Forum.

That's really cool, I think you need to make the ladies a cake to eat at that viewing too (so when Mom is bragging they can swoon over the taste too). It's a beautiful cake Tepee! I wish I could have seen it in person too. You just can't appreciate the difficulty of the scale of your cake in a photo. I also like your color choices...........very modern yet traditional. By the way, what exactly does your lettering say? Is that happy mothers day or something else?