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Ciambellone (Ring Cake) is an Italian favourite of mine and I would like to recreate it at home. Can anyone help? Thanks

I'd like to bake lots of individual cakes and cheesecakes. Instead of fumbling around with a ton of 3" pans, I'm looking for something like a muffin pan where the cavities are 3" in diamter and maybe 2" high. Also something like this, but again, in 3" instead of 2". And preferbaly something with more cavities, like the size of a full sheet pan. Does anyone carry something like this?

I have been approached by a bride who is allergic to wheat, butter and eggs. I can handle the wheat allergy, but I am stumped by the other two. Looking for suggestions for the cake and for the fillings. The cake will be enrobed in fondant so that works. She also wants the whole cake (for 80) to be allergy proof so what ever is left she can eat. As every one should be able to enjoy cake any suggestions Thanks Karen

I have every size and shape of cake pans imagenable(sp??) except for a angel food /chiffon cake pan. I have never made these type of cake before but i am craving some lemon chiffon cake Has anyone baked this cake in a bundt pan or regular pan?? Pleae help the more i am thinking i can't make the cake the more i am craving it!

Here's a few pics of the cake I made for a Chinese New Year's party. It's the first time I've done modelling; as it's year of the dog I made a few doggies. Dogs, kennels, lanterns and firecrackers made from modelling paste, 'grass' of royal icing mounted on a plaque. The cake itself turned out gargantuan. The bottom layer is chocolate (as per 'Finding the Best Chocolate Cake Recipe' thread, Epicurious tweaked version), middle layer is Amanda Hesser's mother-in-law's Almond Cake which I read about on Amateur Gourmet and top tier was a hazelnut cake. The chocolate cake was excellent, quite rich, the almond cake very nice too and a keeper. I made some whipped white chocolate/creme fraiche ganache which went between one layer, however second batch curdled on me, as did the white chocolate ganache which I had been planning on covering the outside. Originally, I was planning on hanging down the side some red fondant banners to look like traditional chinese new year banners (like the ones in this pic but when things started going pear shaped, I scraped that idea. So going to Plan B, I made some chocolate plastic which I'd never done before. What a waste of 300g of Lindt couverture! Oily melted chocolate everywhere, with the plastic of a peculiarly teeth-cementing texture. Never making that again. Frustrated, sweaty and tired with less than one hour till party time, I swore never to work with chocolate again, rushed to the shops and got some double cream, whipped it into espresso cream, which worked beautifully and tasted great. Perhaps someone could advise, given that whipped double cream tastes great, is easier to make than buttercream and stands up to being left at room temp for almost as long, I'd say, as buttercream, what are the advantages of using buttercream over whipped double cream? Despite my oath above on never to work with chocolate again, any tips on how to make (whipped) ganache without it curdling would be appreciated. When I made it the night before, left in fridge and whipped morning after, it worked. However, subsequent attempts without leaving overnight curdled. Or could it be that I was using creme fraiche, which seemed more watery than heavy cream? Wishing you all a healthy and prosperous Year of the Dog.

Forgive me if we discussed this and its buried somewhere in the topics... I can't find anything on it. This is one of my favorite desserts so I was really surprised to find that I don't have a recipe for it. I love cohee zeri, especially the one with a bit of cream on top. Does anyone have a recipe they could share with me?

any one have any suggestions

After decades of relying on the B&O Expresso in Seattle for their chocolate raspberry torte for major occasions, I fear I may have to look elsewhere. Several reports on a diminishment in quality and loss of their main pastry chef have me concerned. Does anyone have a suggestion for an alternative that could satisfy a very serious and finicky chocoholic? The only one I can think of myself is Fran's. But I haven't sampled their chocolate raspberry cake (a custom order) in 12 years.

I have been charged with making dessert(s) for a Tuscan dinner. I'm thinking cantucci with vin santo. I've found a recipe for a very simple apple cake that might also work. Anyone have any other suggestions?.

I made RLB's Lemon Glow Chiffon Cake today, as I have done numerous times before. I believe I did essentially what I always do. I got a result, though, that was a surprise (and not a pleasant one). Instead of a tube pan, I made the cake in two nine-inch rounds. They were beautiful out of the oven, and cooling them with the toothpicks to keep them elevated worked just fine. After depanning them, though, I discovered a quite-yucky yellow rubbery layer on the bottom. Peeling off the parchment didn't take care of it--I ended up slicing it off, along with some acceptable cake. That gave me a cake sample to have my husband taste. (I don't eat sweets, so I rely on his taste buds for feedback.) He said it tasted good, but was a little dense. The rubbery part tasted like lemony rubber. What did I do? If we weren't due at some friends' house in an hour, I'd make it again, if for no other reason than I'm not going to let a cake beat me . . . But it will be Monday before I can bake again, so I'm asking for your diagnosis.

I am making a birthday cake for a friend of mine. I wanted to try a white chocolate espresso filling without it being too sweet. So i wanted to try this ............making a white chocolate ganache cooling that and whipping it and adding some more whipped cream to make it less sweet and light. So this is the big question will this method work??? I just wanna avoid making imbc.

The largest wedding cake I've had to make was for 350. I've seen much larger wedding cakes, but never really bothered to figure out how it's done since "I would never get an order that big". *ring ring* "Can I make an appointment for a consultation? My wedding is in April and I haven't been able to find anyone who can make an eggless wedding cake! How many guests? About 700". Me: *jaw drops* She may simply want a much smaller cake completely for ceremonial purposes since there will be lots of other desserts served. It's an Indian wedding and for many of my Indian friends, cake is not traditional for them so it's often an after thought no matter how lavish the wedding. But what if this bride IS interested in a cake large enough to serve all 700? How is that even accomplished? I picture myself lifting cake layers with hydrolic lifts (ha), icing a 10" high tier with spackling tools, using plywood (ok haha, masonite) halfway through the tiers for support, and PVC pipes for dowels with one large or several smaller central dowels staked all the way through. Definitely assembling on site. But rolling out fondant to 50" evenly? I guess I'll need to buy that sheeter faster than I thought though that would only help me up to 30" (btw, any of you own a fondant sheeters? If so, I have questions for you). And what about the other 100 things I'm probably not even fathoming right now?

My sister is obsessed with this chocolate souffle cake at a restaurant chain called Yard House. I tried to duplicate it using the molten Chocolate cake recipe by Vongerichten. * 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter * 6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, preferably Valrhona * 2 eggs * 2 egg yolks * 1/4 cup sugar * Pinch of salt * 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour I used 70% bittersweet Valrhona. And it came out successful, but my sister still prefers the Yard House cake. She said she tasted the "bitter" in my cake but not much of the "sweet." I'm not much of a cook and I want to fix it for a dinner party on Saturday without attempting it beforehand. So how should I sweeten it up? Do you recommend I increase the sugar or should I downgrade to 65% Valrhona Semisweet, or any other recommendations? I'm only giving myself one more attempt.

Hi everyone, hope to get some advice from pastry chefs regarding cake and mousse rings. Is material and thickness that important? That is, aluminum Vs stainless steel, and thin metal Vs slightly thicker ones. Been using rings from Europe made of stainless steel with a weld seam, instead of a bolt seam. Its pretty good and the stainless steel is of good quality too. Right now, I've got 2 scenarios to consider: (1) Purchase imported ones like Mafter or De Buyer at around US$3.50 to 5.50 for the sizes I'm looking at. BUt I'll have to buy it from Singapore and lug it back to Thailand in a few suitcases to avoid the 15% to 30% tax on European goods. (2) Get it manufactured in Thailand for the same price and if I choose to use a lower quality stainless steel, can get a 40% reduction on price. Using a European ring as a guide, my guy in Thailand has made several rings of similar quality. I've not been seen the cheaper quality steel yet, but reckon it'd be slightly thinner. Would a lower quality stainless steel affect the ring's performance and durability ENOUGH to make a noticeable difference on the bottom line? A majority of the rings will be used only for preparing entrements, and only 1 type will be used for baking. Any advice and help on this issue will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Does anyone know a good place in NYC (or Brooklyn) for RED VELVET CAKE? Need a suggestion ASAP (for Valentine's Day), as Mary on Jane's supposedly closed. THANKS!

I'm making a good friend's wedding cake for a late June wedding. My grandmother and I made my wedding cake, and I am certain that with the planning and organization I'm going to dedicate to this project, I can create the simple cake that my good friend would like. My grandmother and I used cake mixes for my cake and, while they tasted fine (better than any other wedding cake I've eaten - I'm not sure that says much), I think I would like to bake this cake from scratch. The logic behind this decision comes in part from the taste factor, but my main concern is ability (durability) to travel (the wedding site is over an hour away) and ease of icing. I'm thinking that I need a cake with a fine crumb - wouldn't that help with both the durability and the ease of icing? She's currently deciding between a chocolate cake (not sure on the filling we'd opt for with this) or a lemon cake with raspberry filling and lemon buttercream. I have read other threads about wedding cakes, about the best white cakes, etc., so I know how broad and deep the pool of knowledge is here at eG. If you have any suggestions as to what type of cake recipe I should be looking for or, better yet, a recipe you would suggest, I would truly appreciate it! Thanks! Lauren

Hi, Shorty Leonard was a well known chef in Shreveport over the past 30 years. Shorty died in 2003 after a legnthy career in several well known Shreveport restraunts. His claim to fame was his famous or infamous Black Forest Cake. This is my wifes favorite desert of all times. This cake did not have cherrys like most Black Forest Cakes have in them. I have been looking for a recipe that is close to Mr. Leonard recipe. If anyone has his or one that is close I would appreciate a little help. It is Valentines Day and I am trying my best to find the recipe to make my wife of 27 years happy. thanks, lukestar

Briefly, DH's school asked me to make desserts for 2 concert & dessert evenings with 200 at each evening. I already do quite a bit of baking for them but not on this scale. Most of it has to be prepped ahead but can be assembled the evening of. They had asked for cakes but after having a think I suggested individual desserts. I was thinking it might be easier for storing and would look more upscale. I was thinking about Pavlova and cream puffs that could be frozen until the event and then finished on site. Maybe a Napoleon kind of concoction. They had asked for chocolate cake. I was thinking I could make up sheet cakes cut into squares ahead, then layer them with piped buttercream and drizzle the top with ganache. Do you have any other suggestions? Which fillings could I prepare a day or two ahead, pipe onto or into a dessert the evening of, and then have sit at room temp for an hour or two until they are served? Can I do that with a mousse that has gelatin in it? My guess is not, but I could be wrong. How do pastry creams hold up? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome.

article from the LA Times ... please note: this article is no longer available: as of 6/3/2006 Do you use black sesame seeds in your desserts?Tell us all about it, please! I like the recipe in this article for Layered green tea and black sesame cheesecake ...

I'm making the double chocolate bundt cake from Food & Wine to take to a party--the hub has a can of cherry pie filling he wants me to do something with--he loves cherry pie and doesn't mind this icky storebought stuff... so do you think the pie filling would work in the center of the bundt cake? sort of like the tunnel bundt cakes people used to make=--or do you think it would just ruin a decent tasting cake (that'ds sort of what I think) Zoe

I was helping a friend develop a "pumpkin pie" pastry cream for a special project he was working on and it turned out quite tasty. We had about half the can of pumpkin pie mix left so I decided to make some pumpkin pie truffles. I used E. Guittard white chocolate (31%) with heavy cream and pumpkin pie filling and it turned out way too sweet for my taste so I added some sour cream to tone the sweetness down. Even after a few hours of setting a room temperature (72 F), the texture was still much to soft to work with. It still tasted very sweet with very little pumpkin pie flavor. I decided to let the ganache set in the refrigerator overnight to see what happened. The next day I went back to the kitchen to enrobe my Chambord and Kona coffee truffles and checked the pumpkin pie ganache. The ganache developed a much better pumpkin pie flavor and set enough to form some rounds, but softened very quickly at room temperature. I placed all of the rounds in the freezer for about an hour and brought them out a dozen or so at a time to enrobe in dark chocolate. I was going to enrobe the pumpkin pie truffles with white chocolate, but the ganache was already much too sweet for my taste so I used the same dark chocolate that I used to enrobe my Chambord and Kona coffee truffles. The truffles well received by all so I think I'll keep them in my recipe collection for other pumpkin-friendly events. I may try using creme fraiche next time. Here's the recipe I used: 16 ounces E. Guittard white chocolate 6 ounces pumpkin pie filling 2 ounces heavy cream 4 ounces sour cream 1 ounce unsalted butter Chop the white chocolate and place in mixing bowl Bring filling, heavy cream, and sour cream to a simmer Pour cream mixture over white chocolate and let it rest for a few minutes Stir until all of the chocolate is melted and the mixture is uniformly combined. Stir in butter until well-combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and cool in refrigerator.

I hope you all can help me with a little recipe archeology. My wife has a childhood memory of making a pumpkin pie which had marshmallows (presumably melted) actually mixed in with the pie filling. The marshmallows weren't on top, and there weren't marshmallow chunks in the pie, it was completely incorporated. She'd like to try to make it again, but we can't find a recipe like that. She made it as a small girl when she was in Girl Scouts, so it was probably a pretty simple recipe. I've searched around the web and I haven't come up with anything that looks right. We could probably try to invent something, but since the goal is replicating what she had in her childhood, it would be better to find the actual recipe. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Do any of you have a recipe like this buried away somewhere? Thanks!

When it comes to pies I am no so good but for this particular one I'd like to get the recipe to make it at home. I went to this Russian bakery in the middle of a Jewish commercial centre where they had these marvellous baked piroshkies made with soft and crumbly dough (the crust reminded me of a soft biscuit) filled with cherries. Does anyone here knows what I am referring to? Thanks

I need to make a display to house 150 cupcakes. I've got the design figured out where I'll be using either particle board or foam core for the bases of the square platforms of 8X8X8, 12X12X12, and 16X16X16, stacked largest to smallest on top of each other. I'll need to cover the "boxes" with some type of fabric. What is a good, easy to clean linen that would work well with the design? I was thinking satin, but that can be pricey and not too stain resistant to buttercream. Is their a such thing as a good restaurant safe cover all that would work well for this sort of contraption? I would prefer to be able to wash and reuse but that could be costly as well.

Ok I am wondering if anyone can help me find the right formula. I want to bake a pumpkin pie but not in the traditional sense, I am looking to make something that is a cross between a pumpkin pie and a sugar pie. Basically a pate sucree dough with a pumpkin filling that has that wonderful texture and sweetness that you can from quebec "Tarte au sucre" (think pecan pie without the pecan's) is there already a recipe out there like this, if not I was thinking of taking a sugar pie recipe and subbing a percentage of pumpkin or squash puree in it? Can anyone help? thanks