Wendy DeBord

As I recall Herme's recipe calls for old whites, fresh whites, plus the dried whites. The idea of raw whites sitting out to loose some moisture doesn't seem right to me (I picture the top layer hardening and nothing changing the rest of the bowl). Why not use a percentage of dried whites in that case? I think it's about loosening up the alum in the whites (or aging them) because they do whip differently then fresh whites. But you can achieve that leaving them in the cooler for days too. I also think that your height is in dirrect coralation to how thick your batter was when you piped them. The thinner the batter the more they spread. Which is the biggest problem with the majority of recipes I tried...they were just a hair too thin (less then 1 white too thin). That's why using some dried whites is brilliant, you can change your density. Perhaps I'm ignorant but I don't find macarons to be the ultimate cookie and perhaps that's why you don't find them all over the place (Americans don't buy them because they aren't familar with them). It's not an American type of cookie, period. My relatives like the "macaroon" cookies they sell at the grocery stores. That's really a coconut flavored sandwich cookie! Also Dorie Greenspan writes for home cooks. She's become the "interpetor" for the great French chefs. And as such she tries to simplify dirrections and change weight measurements into imperial ones. In the case of macarons theres a feel for the right consistancy and that's my guess as to why she didn't include a recipe for them in her last book. Not that they were too difficult to make. I find them far more difficult to store with-out cracking the tops then to make....they are a bit of a pain. And I think that's what most Americans would think too.

Pim, you can buy almond flour in small quantities at many places online. Maybe the easiest would be www.kingarthurflour.com P.S. I hope you'll make a couple recipes from that collection. Then come back and tell us about them.

Loufood, I'd love to know as much as you can find about about anything at Herme's! I think his work is brilliant. As for drying, I've followed recipes with and with-out. Following what-ever the recipe called for. I think that making macarons is really about hair splitting details, technique and recipe. The smallest detail makes a noteable difference in your finished product. As to dry or not- and how long to dry, it is something you have to discover in each recipe. If I've dried them before baking, I've never done so for 3 days! On silpats or parchement (I'd guess parchment would let them dry too much)? Only a couple hours at the most, I have always followed dirrections on this step, then either liked the recipe or never repeated it. I can (think I) understand how he's arrived at that length, but I've never done that much experimenting. As a pastry chef I've never had a job that would allowed the type of in depth study of repeated product production that happens in a bakery situation.

It's been several years since I've made macarons. I used to make them alot. I tried just about every recipe published, or so it seemed. My favorite is Herme's. But I did have to make some changes. I added more dried egg whites and less fresh, that made a huge difference in my piping consistancy and the look of my finished product (it looks like his photo). When I baked his recipe exactly, they were much flatter and didn't look like his photo. I didn't have a gram scale at the time I was making these so I had to convert all his recipes. Sorry about the weird decimals, to some extent you have to guess where .86 lands on the scale. When guessing, lean toward a drier product. I changed Herme's macarons: 19.75 oz almonds 33.86 oz. xxxsugar 10.20 oz. whites .75 oz. powdered whites Follow his proceedure. I found it was better to use the hotter oven temp.'s in the "sole" oven description (even though I was using a convection oven at the time). Although he doesn't mention it in the "sole" dirrections, make sure to double your pans.

The one near my home has at times had long lines out the door. So while waiting for a chinese take-out one evening my Hubby and I popped in to check out their store. My first opinion inside the store was "wow is that over priced", way more $$ then other ice stores and I'd rather get a 1/2 gallon at the grocery store. The reason for the huge lines, poor lay-out or they actually designed it this way to make them look packed. We won't be trying this place, I think it's designed for the under 20 crowd, nothing really appealed to us.

I don't think I've ever noticed someone selling it (TPT) already mixed. I always buy my almond flour and mix the two myself. It's a breeze this way and you can mix together larger amount and hold it so it's always on hand when you need it. Most serious foodie places sell almond flour by mail, but I'm sorry, I'm not familar with your area. Lucky you, how did you come across old French recipes hand written? I think I'm jealous! P.S. TPT is still used in many modern pastry books. It's the basis of several items I know no other way of making.

I'm a baking book junkie. I have tooooo many to count. Let's just say it's vertually impossible to find a baking book at the book store that I don't own. I have 3 bookshelfs that are 7' tall by 3' wide, with 6 shelfs per unit and they are full. Don't tell my Hubby but it's about a $4,000 a year habit, not including magazines. Hey it's a write off, that's one of my excuses.

How about a baking trick that has changed my baking? Letting go of baking "rules" and using my own common sense. Little tip:Making egg sauces or creams- never adding the sugar to the egg. Instead dissolve the sugar in your liquid then temper it into egg.

It's charming, I bet everyone loved it.

Your right, a cobbler has a cobbled top of a biscuit type batter. What she's refering to is a pandoudy (although I'm sure my spelling is wrong) where there is crust underneath the fruit as well as ontop of it. P.S. I've NEVER heard of any crust or cobbler being placed in the center as you've written. It would remain doughie and gross in the center. It always goes on the bottom or the top to bake properly. You could put a crust on the bottom, a fruit layer and crust on the top plus a crumble for texture.........but only 1 layer of fruit.

The only place I recall seeing these (she had a couple that I thought looked good) was in an issue of Martha Stewart, a while ago. Perhap they're posted at her web site.

I honestly think Elegant Cheesecakes has to be mixing their choc. plastic with fondant. I LOVE her work and try to study it. I saw an tv article featuring her shop and the texture she had and the way she handled it, it was definatly not straight choc. plastic, no way! The wrapping/gift theme might have started when she began using chocolate plastic (it's a logical thought), but I'm certain she's past using straight choc. plastic to wrap cakes. You don't want to mix the choc. plastic with fondant? It's pretty good and much easier to handle. You could also mix marzipan with choc. plastic.......at least I can't think of why it wouldn't work. Yes, you can color marzipan (think about all those cute little fruit shapes they make). I'm sorry, I didn't mean to detour your plans. I love working with choc. plastic, you can do amazing decorations out of it very quickly. I hope you'll try it on some part of your cake.

I'm more of a purist, I wouldn't use mint or citrus zest in a watermelon sorbet. They would over power the watermelon, too much for me. Love the idea of Absolut Citron! O.k. please tell me more about this "pese de sirop" I'm not familar with it? If it adjusts the baume why don't you just make a denser syrup? It makes me think of corn syrup...............

If you have advance time I think it would be eye opening if you did a small sample. It's not nearly as soft as fondant and it's much harder to roll thin and handle. Coating a regular soft cake might be a nightmare cutting into portions. Personally, I wouldn't coat a reg. cake with it, with-out mixing it with rolling fondant to make it softer. Also you know that it drapes differently then rolled fondant and when you do your sides you have to fold them over vs. how you smooth down fondant. Tinting chocolate requires non-water based colors. Also I'd go with a med. weight crumb coat. If your too thin it won't adhear nicely on all the surfaces. Storage, it will get condensation in the refridgerator just like fondant. But you can dab it dry with paper towels if it's not too wet. But the cooler it is the harder it will be. Storing at room temp. you can do that as earily as you want as long as your cake and crumb coat won't be affected/staling.

Theres' several different textures you'll get with your ingredients and techinque. There's a hard meringues which dry on very low heat over a prolonged period of time. Which is what I think you were looking for when you say a better result was drier. Also japonaise and dauqoise (which I can't spell). The last two contain nuts finely ground like a flour or another ground dry item like coconut. Unforunately I need to research this because I can't tell you off hand the exact differences between them (which is why I like working on line it forces me to think and define things I would ordinarly wouldn't bother with). These two "meringues" will give you a softer end product then a traditional hard meringue, they also will be thinner. Some might skin over the top a bit and they also are baked at a higher temp. and not meant to dry out but to form more of a sponge cake layer. I'm not certain how you worked your recipe but if you did it exactly as written- your likely to have some problems. The egg whites should be whipped with the vinager (although I'd use cream of tartar instead) and slowly add your sugar while your whipping. Then fold in your nuts and vanilla (although I add the vanilla while whipping). But it sounds like you've done everything right (for a daquoise) but you have the wrong recipe for what you want (a dry meringue). That's my best guess.

Nutcakes- I use them for certain cakes, mainly in full sheet pan sizes. No, they don't make them to fit inside cake pans and your right-don't cut them. I absolutely love silpats. They are very necessary in a professional kitchen. Many items are practically impossible with-out them. But the question was about baking cookies on them and there are cookies that won't work on these. I just bought 3 (full sheet pan sized) from www.cakedeco.com for under 20.00 each. The best industry/wholesale price I've seen on them is 24.00 and in retail stores I've seen them for 36.00. The prices have come down as the mass marketing has increased.

I think you meant silpats Elyse? Yes, silpats are not perfect for all cookies in fact don't bother using them unless the recipe calls for them. Parchment is the perfect liner for easy clean up, it's very rare that it's not the perfect surface. As far as pans- forget the air ones or any other. The best are also NOT the most expensive. Go to a local restaurant supply house and buy yourself aluminun half pans. They're perfect and last forever.

The places (clubs/restaurants) I work at like to buy everything thru their sources (net 30). But if I only need alittle, I could buy it myself. Thanks.

Bri- I'd love the recipe when you get a chance. I'm really looking forward to making some new items with my new molds. O.k. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind. I put my frozen custards on my sables (1. when they defrost won't my sables get soft soaking up the condensation?), but if I defrost them first, it will be harder to move them with out nicking. What's the best proceedure? Then I brulee them, (2. doesn't it have to be a flat shape?) can I make pyramid shaped ones work?

I'm delighted to read that (I threw it out way back when). I had avoided recipes calling for it, it just didn't make sense adding a tsp. of something that mild. THANK-YOU for clearing that up for me! Can you tell me who supplies it wholesale? As in a bigger distributor.

Silly- but I really have no idea how rose water should be. As in, I purchased some YEARS ago and to my supprise, it was really nothing. I couldn't imagine it flavoring anything, it was beyond mild (I could hardly smell it in the bottle). Is that how it should always be? Did I buy an older bottle perhaps?

I've done brulees as layers in tortes, but now that I have my new flexible molds it's time to make them free form. I can't recall seeing a brulee recipe that holds a shape, can you dirrect me to one? (I have most of the pro (and amatuer) baking books, if they were published in English in the 20th century) Didn't Bri mention one on the mini pastry thread?

I have the perfect pie crust recipe. You'd have to try to make a mistake with it, it's so fool-proof. It doesn't look that good on paper reading it, and you can smell the vinager in the raw dough. BUT I promise you it's the best crust recipe out there (no you won't taste or smell the vinager in the finished product). It's a large recipe, but you can break it down to what ever size you want: As is, it fills a 20 qt hobart, that's about 12 double crusted pies. 6 lbs fat (you can use all butter or 1/2 shortening or all shortening, it tastes good with any choice- I use 75% butter to 25% shortening) 9 .5 lbs ap. flour mix together until the fat is pea sized not finer, set aside. In a large measuring cup mix together: 6 lg eggs 5 tbsp. salt 2/3 c. apple cider vinager *****This is important******* With those ingredients (eggs, salt and cider) in your measuring cup, then add enough water so it comes up to measure 6 cups. Dump the liquid into the flour and fat combo, mix to incorporate and it's done. You can work with it right away, although it's easier to handle when it's cold. If you don't use this recipe, one of the most important things that's over looked (after which fat and using a light hand to cut it in) is your moisture. If everything was done perfectly (cutting in your fat) and you add too much water you'll loose the flake. If you don't add enough, it will have a nice flake, but be very hard to work with (ripping as you roll it). Anyway, I hope you'll try this recipe and agree with me about it's taste and ease. Let me know if you try it, o.k.?

http://www.loranoils.com/Products.asp? has quite a selections of oils. I'm having a problem with my link, sorry.

Do you have any specific idea what type of management position or company interests you in the food business? For instance with your intelligence and your history private caterers or party consultants would be willing to mentor you without any further education. After re-reading your original post, I'd guess your dream job would be something like a F&B director at a Four Seasons? Still I wouldn't think you'd have to spend too much time furthering your education, but it's necessary if you want the corporate way.