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Hello, I'm trying to find Pierre Herme's Vanilla Tart recipe. I have PH10 and La Patisserie but could not find it in either of those books. All I really know is that it incorporates a vanilla mascarpone cream. Any help would be most appreciated.

Anyone have an idea of why in the world this is happening? It doesn't happen often, but it does sometimes... and it drives us crazy!!! The bubbles just seem to form. We can deflate them, smooth it over, and then they're be back 20 minutes later? It's baffling... Help me figure out this problem! We certainly don't want this happening after the cake leaves the shop...

I live in New York (Long Island) and I am looking for some new desserts. I live in a studio apartment without a kitchen so cooking is not an option. I usually go to the local bakery for cookies, pies etc. I have my nephews christening coming up and I would like to bring something different for a change. All suggestions and recommendations welcome...

I was just told that March 25th is Aretha Franklin's birthday. As it happens, I've been requested to bring a dessert to a potluck that day, and I was going to make a blood orange panna cotta, as that's one of Toots' favorite desserts. Now I'd like to make something that will celebrate Aretha's b'day. Any suggestions?

I'm doing a wedding pie display this August for about 200 ppl. The bride wants pie, not cake. It's outdoors in August so it'll be hot hot hot and I am worried about my good friends egg and cream. I've never done pie for a wedding before. Anyone have any suggestions? The wedding's kinda artsy/rustic.

My neighbor came over with the two empty strawberry baskets and invited me to pick the ripe blackberries from his little patch as they would be out of town. I am not one to just eat them out of hand. My thinking was just cooking briefly with a bit a sugar, mashing and then using the result as a topping on yogurt or mixed with some whipped cream. There are not many as you can see, but if there is a simple dessert for just one or two people that springs out at you I would love to hear.

I've been asked to create a white chocolate wedding cake for a friend, whose wedding is in September (the 22nd, to be precise). All well and good, but I haven't got a go-to recipe for such a creature, and I tend to avoid white chocolate (I find myself thinking it's unnatural, like zombies....) I have access to white chocolate couberture made from Arriba cacao beans, and it's all cocoa butter with no vegetable additions (so, as far as white chocolate goes, it's good stuff). Does anybody out there have a really stupendous recipe they'd be willing to share? Or tips on how to incorporate melted white chocolate into a cake batter? Thanks in advance....

i am making an oatmeal pumpkin bundt...i had latkes over the holidays and the cook subbed applesauce for the egg and it was totally delish...the recipe i have calls for 1 cup of butter and 4 eggs...how much subbing do you think i could get away with ?? i would first like to get rid of the butter...maybe half applesauce then half oil ? i am not a baker but trying

Hi everyone, I haven't been here in a long while and when I came across this problem I knew exactly where to go! Hope someone can help. I have to make a plated dessert, creme brulee cooked on top of a cake. Every recipe I try, the brulee mix soaks into the cake. I've tried a number of different recipes to no avail. Searching the internet resulted in some great pics, but nothing more. Anyone have experience with this or a recipe I can use? The only stipulation is that the cake has to be vanilla. Thank you!!

What to make when it's sweltering? Trying to think of heat-proof confections for the summer. Every week I make 7-800 little bite sized treats that we give with the bill at the restaurant. Truffles were great for the winter, but it's getting too warm in both the kitchen and the dining room to produce and hold truffles. Last summer I made pate de fruits, which hold up well, but which I'm pretty sure gave me a splatter burn every single time I made it. Too much pain. Ive been working on some gelatin gummies that I like and that don't hurt, but they seem to get droopy in the heat as well. I've been adding agar to help the texture, maybe more agar and/or cook the syrup to a hotter temperature? How do hard candies hold up? Nougat? Humidity can be an issue but I'm more concerned about heat. Cookies are an option, especially easy to pipe or slice and bake. Amaretti? Has anyone tried cutting shortbread with the guitar? Candied nuts seem a little too simple - what else besides chocolate would make them special? What are your favorite treats that stand up to heat?

If i start using ice cream stablizers such as Cuisine Tech's Cremodan 30, is it still necessary to use eggs or will the mixture of eggs and cremodan 30 be "too much" for a recipe? i want to continue using eggs because I feel it is important to the flavor of the ice cream but i also dont want the ice creams to have a unpleasent texture. Any additional help or suggestions regarding Cremodan 30 would also be much appreciated.

I've been having trouble with whole key lime pies lately. i can make a couple hundred pounds of the baked custard with no problem for desserts in cups/verrines, but when i bake a whole pie and slice it, it just doesn't set up. i baked 2 pies a couple of days ago, sliced them, and put them in clamshells and they all caved in at the most narrow part (what would be the center of the pie. the recipe i use i think is a standard one: 1 cup key lime juice (i use nellie & joes) 8 egg yolks (i use 4.8oz of pasteurized yolks) 2 cans condensed milk i pour the filling into a prebaked graham crust, and bake for 17-20 minutes. i think that i got this recipe from the joy of cooking and adapted it to use liquid egg yolks. i'm not sure what the cause of this is. i think maybe it could be the egg yolks? i use pasteurized egg yolks for my creme brulee, and it sets up perfectly. in the past, i used fresh egg yolks and was able to slice the pie and it didn't cave in. has anyone had something like this happen to them? i'm going to try later today using fresh yolks and seeing what happened....maybe its an issue with the heat of the pasteurization

Yummy! The last image -- a cross-section piece of the arm -- is, um, interesting. http://ifun.ru/comments/joke6806.html

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I am a novice baker. Cook, yes. Baker, no. But, after creating a (and I say this humbly) fabulous 4 Layer Walnut-Spice Cake with Caramel Frosting, I am beginning to think that I can do this. So..... I'd like to make a Lane Cake to surprise my southern inlaws for the holidays. I have found a few recipes, but I was wondering if any of you lovely people had some tried and true recipes that I might be able to take a peek at. I'm thinking that if all goes well, maybe I could create "mini" Lane Cakes for our annual Christmas Party... maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. Meanwhile, to continue my baking education, I'm making a S'mores Tart that I found online that uses a honey marshmallow for the topping. I'll take pictures if it turns out.

I'm throwing a a wine-tasting potluck appetizer/dinner party in a couple of weeks: four wines with 2-3 dishes per wine, then I'm doing dessert. I am providing guests tasting/food-pairing notes for a single wine and asking them to bring a food for that wine. I've also asked that it all be finger food since there will be ~20 of us beside the pond rather than a sitdown affair. Dessert is where I could use help. I am a fearless and fairly skilled baker and am confident that I can figure out damned near anything given a decent recipe. I want to do a selection of small sweets, preferably showcasing goodies from my herb garden when possible. We will be serving coffee and tea with this, so there's no question of pairing with wine. Which is good, because that would be totally beyond me! I also want to be able to do most of the work on desserts the day before--and earlier would be better. (I've got a huge freezer and a spare fridge.) I've got bread to make too and want to get that in the oven the morning of the party so won't have lots of pastry baking time that day, although I will have some assembly time. Anyway, my thoughts run to something like: macaroons -- never made them, but I'm brave. (I'm reading the huge macaroon thread) I'd love a tried and true recipe, tips, etc. Like what's up with smacking the tray of unbaked cookies on the counter? Can I make the cookies a day or two ahead and assemble them the day of the party? The night before? Got an incredible flavor combination? (okay so many of those are answered in the huge macaroon thread) If I use a bunch of egg whites in the macaroons, is there something clever to use the yolks in? lavender shorbread -- I have a recipe I like and plan on freezing the cutout cookies and baking them off the night before. some sort of truffle -- I've made truffles, but have never made chocolate with chile for some odd reason; this seems like it might be the time. Anyone got a great recipe? (Ling? Where is Ling? I'll just keep talking about dessert here, she'll show up...) Or maybe bark since it's easier...? Maybe some chocolate-dipped dried fruit -- i've got a bunch of good dried apricots and 75% chocolate. or maybe the fruit goes in the bark...? I'd love something in tiny muffin cups topped with a fresh blueberry since my bushes are covered with what should be quarter-sized berries... i vacillate between cupcakes and crustless cheesecake, or both because they really aren't at all alike -- when I'm not trying to figure out how to do a baby crème brulee -- but am open to ideas. Someone suggested panna cotta, but with my fingerfood requirement this seems harder...although i could make shooters, with a blueberry in the middle... So... Other than telling me that I am crazy, what do you all think? Additions? Deletions? Substitutions? Thoughts about flavors, what I can make how early, etc?

Hi all. I need some help locating a good recipe for red bean cake. One of my Chinese colleagues recently got a red bean cake from home that was absolutely amazing. I'm longing to give it a try but can't get a good recipe. I did ask said colleague but his wife didn't want to part with the recipe. I tried googling but the recipes that turned up weren't satisfactory. The cake I had was "cakey" with a light, airy texture but definitely still a cake, while the recipes I've found seem to be more jelly-like requiring red bean paste, gelatine, and sugar. Do you have any favorite recipe you could share? How do YOU make red bean cake at home?

What'd ya think?

I have an order for a replica of a local, beloved baseball park to be made entirely of cake - and they want the lights to work (the stadium lights). I have not done anything illuminated in/on a cake before so if you have any ideas how to accomplish this (safely!), I'm all ears! The cake part is easy. It's the lights that are baffling me. I have about 6 weeks to figure it out.... Help! There should be at least 3 (there are 7 stadium lights total, but 3 is ok with the client) working lights. I was wondering if I should get some of those battery operated candles (the ones you use for windows at Christmas) and outfit it with an appropriate outer covering (no, I don't have any ideas for this yet. Most of the modeling is going to be done in colored chocolate and I think this little bit of heat would probably melt if I covered the outside of the candle with chocolate. And wouldn't the bulb be too big? The actual light part I'm not sure how I would do - sheet gelatin might melt so maybe I'd have to use a laminated piece of plastic over the bulb?? and, no - it's not for a bar mitzvah

Hello, I'm looking for the recipe on the cover of jacque torres dessrts circus book. I don't know the name but looks to me: creme brule vermicelli. If you got it , please submit it

OK. A wacky problem I would like to present : I am creating a cupcake installation art piece for a gallery and would really appreciate any advice on the assembling process. This is an aerial art piece which will involve suspending a linear stack of cupcakes. The stack should be around 4 feet high. I figure I need 32 standard-size cupcakes for this? I have the option of making the cupcakes on the top out of styrofoam dummies (16 or so). The bottom cupcakes will be eaten (this is an interactive art piece). My questions are: 1. What kind of icing would best stand up to compression? I am worried that the frosting on the bottom cupcakes will be squished from the weight of the cupcakes on top. I'd like the frosting mound on each cupcake to stay high (like the cupcakes from the grocery store), but I don't know if this is possible. I was thinking about using royal icing because it seems stiff, but do not know it this is the best option 2. I am using fishline string to hold the cupcakes together. I will be placing knots in between the cupcakes so that the bottom most cupcake can be removed without the other cupcakes slipping off. Is fishline strong enough for this or should I consider inserting straws for extra stability? 3. I looked into styrofoam dummies online. They seem to be rather pricey. I was wondering if there is a way to fill in a cupcake liner with cheap material and just mask the top with icing? These cupcakes will not be in close range to the viewer, so I'm looking for something that will hold up the frosting. 4. I am reading that some bakery stores use PermaIce on cakes in their display windows. I'm thinking about using this on the fake cupcakes. Is this material lightweight? And does its dried form withstand compression better than edible frostings?

hi all, What is the best way to cut cake slices like Opera. I guess what I'm looking for is to get a clean cut without having the layers looked like it has been smooched and chocolate/ganache bleeding into buttercream - sloppy looking. I've tried leaving the cake out at room temperature, then cut it with a warm knife - didn't really work. Thanks for your help!

Made a banana cake last night...tested it and it was done in the middle...took it out and after about 30 minutes, the middle "fell" and was so much wetter than the sides. Perhaps I should wrap the pan? Too much banana? I did use the xanthum gum powder which the recipe said gave it a finer texture. Thanks for your advice!

What do you prefer in your restaurant desserts? Smaller, but more creative items? Larger and extremely decadent items? Style over substance? A single theme: such as chocolate in any way, shape, or form? Love to hear your responses to this issue ...

I think I saw a tip in one of the cooking maazines recently on how to bake a layer of a layer cake so that it would come out pretty flat and you wouldnt have to trim of that top hump. Any one have an idea of what it could be? I am using the largest wilton round cake pan.

Your recommendations on where you think the best places to find and buy fall desserts and treats? (Example: Pumpkin Pie).