achevres

balex, it is not a different question at all. The two (boulangeries and lingerie shops) are actually intricately related. One is to remind us not to buy the other. These are the kind of posts that make egullet so special to me. This brightned a very dreary afternoon (at work) for me.

I made the Burnt Sugar Cake Burnt Sugar Cake posted by snowangel as a practice for my daughter’s 12th birthday. The party is next week. We loved the cake—the flavor is absolutely delicious and I want to thank snowangel for posting this cake, which I had never heard of. My daughter read that her kids liked it so she voted for it as the first practice cake and it is a winner. I also made the frosting, which is a soft caramel and soooo good! I have some comments and a question at the end. I think that there are some mistakes with the recipe as written. I will admit that I read the beginning of the recipe several times before starting, but not the end… First, the ingredient list calls for 2/3 c white sugar, for the burnt sugar syrup, but in the instructions calls for 1/3 c. After trying 1/3, I figured it was 2/3c, because that made a thicker syrup. I used ¼ cup water for the 2/3 c sugar. The creaming of butter and sugar and then adding yolks and vanilla part is the usual butter cake beginning. When I added the cold water it became very curdly and I thought, this is the most unusual cake I’ve ever made. I added the 2 c flour and mixed that in. Then I came upon the oddest part, whipping the whites with ½ c flour and the baking powder. Also, the instructions don’t talk about the salt, so I added it to the batter bowl. Now back to the whites (I re-read and re-read—I wished I had read it before so I could ask on this board!) I decided to press on. Well, flour and whipped egg whites make..glue, which I threw out. I separated 3 extra whites and whipped them. I added the extra 1/2c flour and the baking powder to the batter and then folded in the whites. I baked my cake in a 9x13 inch pan for 35 minutes: toothpick clean and pulling a bit off the sides of the pan. The cake was not very high. The taste, like I said before, was fantastic. The mixing order and the water as a liquid still puzzled me. I searched my many cookbooks. Two had recipe's for Burnt Sugar Cake. The Pioneer Lady’s Country Kitchen, by Jane Watson Hopping (1988), which is of old fashioned recipes. It did have a Burnt Sugar cake, and cleared up the old-fashined method. This book's cake is almost identical to the one posted. (except for the vastly reduced amount of syrup-only 2 ts, 2 eggs instead of three, only 1 ts vanilla and, horrors, no salt). Here is the method in the book, after the water is added. Two cups of flour are mixed in first “with a few strokes” then the ½ cup flour with the baking soda (and the salt, I guess) are beat in with a few more strokes. Then the whites are folded in. In other words, my gut reaction was correct. But I still didn't understand why to mix the baking powder with only part of the flour. Joy of Cooking (Rombauer, 1975 edition) also has a Burnt Sugar Cake (and calls it a "taste sensation"). In this book they do a more traditional method of creaming butter and sugar and adding yolks and vanilla, then alternating the dry ingredients with water and finally folding in the whipped whites. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (Cunningham, 1981 edition-a favorite cookbook) has a 2 velvet cakes which are very similar, that is a butter cake with water, but they both have 1/2 c cornstarch added to the flour. I'm making the cake again, but really want to try the 2-step method (as recommended in The Cake Bible (Berenbaum, 1988) and also in The Best Recipe (editors of Cook's Illustrated, 1999) of mixing the dry ingredients with the butter and a small amount of the liquid, then adding the rest of the liquids. My question is, I haven't seen a 2-step method cake with both yolks and whites. In The Best Recipe's recipe for white cake, they say just add the whites without whipping, and of course they explain why. My inclination is to treat the yolks like the fat they are and add the whites with the other liquids. Any helpful thoughts? Also, the Burnt Sugar Cake recipe as posted seems to need editing or clarification.

I have pistachio paste that I couldn't resist buying, but I'm not sure what to do with it. I got it to make ice cream, but the recipes I have don't start with paste. Any ideas or recipe sources on ice cream or other desserts with the paste?

Thanks for the Chocolate Challah recipe! My favorite use for Challah is french toast and I it seems the chocolate version will make even more ambrosial French toast. I dry out the slices first, then the next morning dip them in a mixture of melted ice cream, eggs, cinnamon and a dash of salt. Soooo goood. They also freeze great and I reheat them in the toaster. Thanks again, Anita

Aidan, I think I found them--and in several sizes. The link is below. And please post the chocolate challah recipe. I can't get that thought out of my mind now! http://www.happyhomepage.com/cgi-bin/happy...exact_match=yes

Also availabel at Country Kitchens--under "wafer paper." $15.79 for 100 sheets (8X11). Shipping is $7 no matter what size order. http://www.countrykitchensa.com/cgi-bin/e8...t&618152tmplt&1

I have used the airbake, silpat, teflon sheets and parchment. I don't like the airbake too much--I think because cookie recipes are not developed on those sheets, so I always have to adjust time and temperature. I haven't thrown them out yet, however. I used parchment for years. I liked it, but you can run out. It is still handy to have to line cake pans. I also use wax paper for cake pans. I got a Silpat as a gift and I like it but it doesn't fit perfectly in my American sized baking sheets (the regular ones, not the air-bakes). I haven't been brave enough to cut it. Has anyone cut a Silpat with good results? Also, I have found Silpat is almost non-stick, but not 100% non-stick on everything. Some bottom crumbs have stuck to it--nothing mayor. I hae found Silpat and parchment similiar in their non-stick qualities. My favorite by far are the Teflon sheets: absolutely 100% non-stick, inexpensive and easy to cut to size. The cookies literally slide out the liner. http://store.teflon.com/nostik.html

Just to clarify... the alfajores I made were "real," a cornstarch cookie sandwich filled with dulce de leche, only I made them small. I read about the coconut version but chose not to do it to make them less messy to eat at a party. Let us know how your alfajores turn out!

I made alfajores with dulce de leche some time ago. They were a huge hit at 2 separate parties. I suggest you assemble them close to serving time--not the day before. I made mine small and cut them with the large end of a cake decorating tip and then filled them by putting the dulce de leche in a pastry bag and piping the filling. After an extensive internet and cookbook search I decided to be brave and make the dulce de leche by simmering the unopened can in a pot of water for 2-3 hours. Put the can on its side and make sure its covered with water at all times. Use a regular can-not pop-top. It was delicious, cheap and (almost too) easy. This is the way South Americans have been making it at home for decades, with no problems. Frankly, I think the other recipes seem too much work for something you can buy for a few dollars more. Good luck!!

The best burger I've ever had was at the The Terrace at Melrose, the outdoor cafe at The Stanhope hotel (995 Fifth Avenue--right across from the Metropolitan Museum). It was $20 and worth every penny. Good fries, too.