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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).

I'm dreaming of a pumpkin pie that incorporates a thin layer of chocolate to the crust, a Black Bottom Pumpkin Pie I suppose. Traditional black bottom pie recipes call for a custard filling that is not baked after assembly, so I'm worried about what will happen to the chocolate if it's baked along with the pumpkin filling. To further complicate matters (maybe), I'd like to use a graham cracker crust. Any suggstions for how to pull this off?

Time Magazine article This is an extremely interesting article on how the R & D of the Cheesecake Factory comes to their decisions on what will sell in their restaurants ... Do you think that they have done this type of dining experience a disservice or is it all quite commercially "brilliant"?

Hi, Back when I had a bee in my bonnet about making my own dim sums from scratch, I bought some special dumpling flour from the local Chinese shop. I don't know when I'll get around to making the dimsums, but I thought I might use this flour for baking cakes, perhaps? Is that a bad idea? Could someone tell me what the protein content of dumpling flour is? As far as I know from Googling, it is a low-protein flour, so I don't see why it shouldn't work as a substitute, either in whole or in part. Thanks!

I'm exhausted from the weekend's wedding work, and tomorrow I have a small 8" cake due. It was a last minute order and I should have said no, but I didn't. I have several "leftover" layers from half-sheets I did this weekend (I do three layers of cake when I build my cakes, and I use 2" pans so I torte each one in half). I could cut 8" circles from these sheets and assemble the cake order without having to bake a separate 8" cake (which would mean getting up very early tomorrow). Aside from not having the browned crust "edge", is this a bad thing? We do it for little 3" cakes all the time, but I've never done it for a larger layer cake. Whaddya think? Can I sleep in a little longer tomorrow or do I get up and bake....?

I have a question for everyone concerning a couple of things I have run into in my travels, these last few years... Recently I have seen some incredible, I mean absolutely killer stuff out there recently pulled off the four corners of the place we call planet Terra. The question I propose has more to do with composition vs. continuity, just exactly how concerned are you when you hook some thing together, are you more concerned about aesthetics, (as seems the current defacto trend) or are you thinking of "how does this thing actually eat". What's going on when I run a fork thru this dessert, for some this is a trivial concern, but to others here at ground zero, like Jeff Bubin of Vidalia, it is very much of a concern. a few years ago, someone noted that my dessert's looked too perfect, almost manufactured, they said what they had in mind was a more "handcrafted custom look" I thought about it and actually, did pull back off and toned it back a bit. I don't suggest that we follow Amernick's lead, and suggest that everything should "not look exactly perfect", I only state that we are in the biz of compiling a product that most usually, people first eat with their eyes. My philosophy is simply this-Taste is everything, tricking it out any which way after the fact is the easy part. I welcome your opinions... Michael

Hi Fellow Egulleters, We had our very first Dessert Tasting Party. Eventhough we were nervous about getting all the desserts finished on time, everything went smooth. Everyone seemed to have really enjoyed all the desserts and the evening was a great success. Here are some pictures of the two dessert tables. Les and Jeff

New York Times article Is saying Pichet Ong will be opening 'PONG' in the fall ( he will also be having a dessert cookbook published by the end of the year.) in Manhattan Sam Mason, the pastry chef of wd50 in NYC will be opening his own Tapas, desserts and drinks bar/restaurant in the SOHO section of NYC . These ideas have been in the works for a long time, Mason talking about it as long ago as 12/03 (Fader magazine) and Ong has had perhaps as much savory restaurant experience as pastry. Along with Will Goldfarbs 'Room 4 Dessert' dessert bar which opened in November (?) ((Look for a FOCUS feature on him soon)), this concept looks like it's ready for more action. I'm all for it. Good Luck to all! Sam Mason website Pichet Ong website

My soon to be 4 year old daughter has requested a chocolate strawberry cake for her birthday. She would like it to have "pink" icing and chocolate covered strawberries on top. It will need to serve around 20 people. I was thinking of making the America's test kitchen sour cream chocolate cake, but need ideas for the filling and icing. I'm looking for something delicious but not too rich. My kids don't mind a nice bittersweet ganache, but I'm not sure the rest of the kids present will appreciate it. I'm hoping that our delicious local strawberries will be beginning to ripen by then (It is at the end of this month) Any inspiration or ideas?

We have finally downloaded the pictures from the wedding which I did the cake for. Thanks for all your help. She just wanted a simple cake with real flowers and I think it turned out ok for an amateur.