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Mario just did a segment on Food Network with a recipe called virgin's breasts. Eric Ripert has nun's farts in his book and Nancy Silverton has nun's breasts. Any other strange desserts out there that you've heard of?

hello everyone, i'm making a wedding cake for some friends for sept. 25th (still a beginner, though have had experience in pastry production, more finishing tarts, etc.) and my friend wanted something like the one in this image (by Cheryl Kleinman?) she really wants this kind of simple, elegant, modern look. http://www.newyorkmetro.com/shopping/guide...ery_cakes/4.htm 1. how does one create that type of real flower sprays and attach them to the cake? this is one of my biggest stresses since i'm not sure of the timing for getting the flowers and putting them on the cake. the bridesmaids' dresses are lavender so i'm thinking of using purple/lavender flowers mixed with 1 or at most 2 other colors (any suggestions?) that would go well. 2. how far in advance should i make the cake/filling and assemble it? 2. keeping loosely to that look, how does one create the pleats in such a cake? does one use rolled fondant, sugarpaste, marzipan or?? does one do them one band at a time? how does one attach them to the cake? or do you band the pleats on a sheet of (marzipan) and then adhere it to the cake? 3. one of my concerns, if it is perhaps marzipan, is allergy to nuts. 1 tier of the total 3 tiers of the cake (12", 9" and 6") i'll be making with almond and the other 2 tiers will be sans almonds to cater to those with allergies to nuts. if it is marzipan pleats, what can i substitute on the non-nut layers? 4. what should be adhering the (fondant)? should i be using buttercream? 5. what's the best way to color the fondant (or marzipan or whatever it is) a light green? 6. after putting the (fondant) on, i can't refrigerate the cake, right? how do i deal with the fact that the pastry cream in the cake needs to be refrig. and the outer layer needs to be room temp.? i need tips and help in understanding how to decorate this cake most efficiently since i'm working full-time while making this cake for sept. 25th. thanks in advance for your experience and help in any and all of the above issues!!!

If you were preparing dinner for a very special occasion in your home this summer, what would be your list of desserts to choose from? Recipes, ideas, thoughts and anything that can help us learn from each other are welcome.

Last night I got a call from that pain in the ass chef (the one that causes me all the headaches) I went from being his employee to his dessert supplier. 1 guest complained "How dare he charge $5.95 for 2 bites of tiramisu!" , I listened to him , but was cursing him in head. I use these rapid molds purshased from Kerekes they are 4 oz. individual round molds, pretty much standard in our realm. I have 3 sets (105 molds in all) as well I have other shapes. 4 oz. production molds My Tiramisu is flavored intense, so what do I do? change the size for this one guy (I'm only charging him $1.75 each). I have costed them out for this size. I really want to tell this guy that this is one customers opinion and that you cant expect to please everybody, no one else has complained except him and this customer. I feel the problem is he does nothing to the desserts, puts it on a plate with sauce and calls it a day. The real question-on both sides of the spectrum, as a pastry chef are these too small (or perfect) and to the consumers, would you make the same complaint? When is a dessert considered too small?

There was an article (p64) in the Star Ledger 8/27 about "Marc's Cheesecakes." Anyone been? They sound wonderful. Which places in NJ have the best cheesecakes? Who remembers the cheesecakes they served at Weequahic Diner?

I'm having a barbecue for 30 people and I'm a bit stuck about desert. I'm planing to make tomato and goats cheese tart to start, barbecued leg of lamb with sauce vierge and then..... I was thinking about Summer Pudding but I would need to make a couple of really large ones and I'm worried they'd collapse when I turned them out. And I really can't make 30 individual ones. And I only have a small fridge :-( Does anyone have any bright ideas for either a way to make Summer Pudding, or some sort of alternative easyish desert? I don't mind it if needs to be prepared in advance (in fact that might be a good thing) The tart is very cheesy so I'm looking for something with a bit of a tang to it to balance the richness. ANY help appreciated!

Has anyone ever had this? I saw it advertised at the Ground Round recently. It made me think about how they're made...Are they actually breaded frozen bits of cheesecake that you dunk in the fryolater? (shudder) I was tempted to try it but would really only want a sample...

I've tried five of Steve's desserts in the past week, three at Café Atlantico ($7.00 each) and two at Zaytinya ($5.95 each). My love lies in France, and I mean that quite literally, so first on my list of priorities was the classic french dessert Baba Au Rhum, or simply "Baba" at Café Atlantico. It's served "in a modern Latin style," meaning there is Jamaican rum, spices and "panela," which is basically pure cane sugar made from evaporation. The cream is tangy, not sweet, and this is a traditional but interesting rendition. Coconut is served two different ways in "Coco En Dos Formas" at Café Atlantico, and this simple, elegant dessert is accented by a "mango salad" and a "vanilla-lime Gelée," both of which surpass their understated names, and deliver the proper acidity to compliment this interesting dessert which - tragically - reminded me of Coppertone on the nose in the same way that Rossini's William Tell Overture reminds me of the Theme from The Lone Ranger. The Yogurt Cream at Zaytinya is a brilliant, must-have destination dessert. Layers of apricot, top-and-bottom, sandwich a brilliant "Samos Island Muscat-vanilla gelée" (the yogurt). This is a WOW dessert by my way of thinking, simple, but beautiful in every way. It's served in the same vessel as the "Coco En Dos Formas" dessert listed up above. If you go to Zaytinya, then get this. A trusted friend told me about it, and this reminds me of why I trust her. Ooh, bébé, the Warm Chocolate Cake at Café Atlantico is goood. Labeled "Bizcocho <a sponge cake> Templado <warm> de Chocolate con Banana," it's a three-ring circus of this wonderful cake which at once seems like ganache, a souflée and a flour-based cake. The banana foam was another take on creme (all three creme presentations at Café Atlantico were slightly different), and the banana-lime salad was a dazzling sidecar to the decadent chocolate cake. And then of course the Turkish Coffee Chocolate at Zaytinya, made with cardamom foam (espuma), was every bit the naughty diet-breaker. Literally cut from the same mold as the Bizcocho at Café Atlantico (it's served in the exact same shape), this is even richer, with less cutting acidity though it's tempered by Raki, a traditional distilled Turkish drink made usually from grapes. It can come across as a platitude to say things are "well-conceived," but all five of these desserts were, in fact, that. There was a little plug-and-play action going on in terms of the actual molds used to make the cakes and parfaits, but nobody would ever notice. These were brilliantly thought-out desserts. Let me finish by saying one thing: you would not do yourself a disservice by going out to get these desserts first, and then worrying about your savory courses afterwards. Nontraditional? Yes, but who cares. They're worth it, especially at these price points. Bravo, Steve, Rocks.

First, I've never been to Italy and all my information comes from books and Italian restaurants I've patronized in the States. That's why I seek info. here, I need help. Is there a difference between a French macaroon and Italian amaretti? The things I notice as different: is the French place two together with a filling in the center, the French use many flavors and the Italians don't and many recipes call for ground amaretti inferring that these cookies are crisp. Perhaps I've looked at too many recipes because I can't find anything consistant ie. proportions or almond flour vs. almond paste. Please, help me so I can identify and make authentic amaretti. Also, I have some other challenges. I'm expected to make a "almond and chocolate cake" and mini Italian pastries that must be totally completed one day before serving. As far as an "almond and chocolate cake" I've seen none in my Italian cookbooks that really fit that description closely. Some authentic Italian cakes have chocolate and almonds in a cheese or whipped cream based filling that are supported by either a pound or a sponge cake. Have I missed something, is there a "almond and chocolate" cake (not torte) that is "known" in Italian dining? Lastly, mini pastries...that can't be put together on the day of the event only the day before is a challenge. So far all I can think of doing is a take on traditional Italian flavors like almonds, pistachio, lemon and building items that would probably never be sold in an Italian bakery unless someone can update my knowledge on Italy and it's pastries. Thank-you in advance.

Americans deep-six desserts at dinner One result, according to the article, "Mini Desserts." Houlihan's now, but I'm hoping the trend will catch on. I understand the economics of large desserts at large prices, but for those of us trying to cut down calories and minimize sugar intake, it's either smaller desserts or foregoing dessert. I'm all for mini desserts.

Some of Joyce White's thoughts on the meaning of soul food -- not to mention a coconut cake recipe -- can be found in today's Daily Gullet. Enjoy!

Ok, I know this is sacriligous, but I need some help. I'm planning my menus for Rosh Hashannah, and most of meals will be meat based. This means I can't serve dairy-based desserts. Does anyone have experience using soy milk to make pastry cream or ice cream? If it's doable, I'm thinking about that as an option.

I'm suckered into providing desert for a Thanksgiving dinner. It has to be Pumkin pie. There is no recipe in the recipes section (only a cocktail, which is not the same), or doing a search Tricks (other than use tinned pumpkin), hints and tips? Special spice mixtures? Who has the best pumpkin pie recipe? One year I left out the pumpkin, heresy I know, but it seemed an improvement.

Hello...its been a while since I baked much so I need some help. I need to make 4 pound cakes which are to be served in individually wrapped slices. I have to make at least some of them two days in advance (min. 36 hours before serving), because I have commitments which prevent me from baking more than one cake the day before (live in Japan, tiny oven takes only 1 medium sized cake at a time...). They need to be moist, of course, and also slice cleanly 36 hours after baking (without dragging or crumbling) and present an attractive cross-section... Current plans:...replace about 1/3 flour with almond meal, pour citrus or coffee or tea syrups over hot cakes before storing, avoid fresh fruit which might mold. Thoughts: potato flour would make them softer, but would it ultimately make the cakes too dry? Should I be wary of too many eggs, as they can also make a cake dry out faster? Cut back on whites only?? I'd appreciate comments on long-keeping tips, and also, of course, any great ideas for ingredients!

Well I have to write a dessert menu as part of the project for this advanced pastry class and I'm pretty happy with it all except the one that is supposed to be hot and made at the last minute. I had crepes suzette (yawn). The problem with this is that I also have to draw it and while I'm somewhat familiar with it I don't know how to draw it and photographs of it online are scarce. I also have a feeling everyone else in the class is going to pick crepes suzette. So, what else can I do? No, I do not have to make it...simply write up a description, with a price, and draw a picture.

Just wondering, and would appreciate any tips, advice,greatly. I'm trying to make it so that there's the least possible time before plate up, if i decide to go with it. If I did, i need to finish off in around 2 minutes, in a micro. Possible? Thanks, in advance!

Sugar is a dessert bar, a supposed cool, hipster hangout place. We had finished our sushi at Sushi Samba and felt like dessert. Sugar is only a few blocks away so we walked. We arrived at 7pm on a Saturday night, so it was not crowded. We were greeted by the eye candy hostess and seated at a booth. She left us with the comment, “you have the booth for 1 ½ hours, after which it is reserved” Wife made the comment that it is a good thing the lights are low as if you were to turn them up the place would look like someone’s badly designed basement. A true comment. But hey, we were there for the dessert, which I believe is created by a pastry chef who used to be with Charlie Trotter’s. The menu is a fun play on words with desserts such as the desserts we had of Banana Karenina and Et Tu Frute? Or such as Pearadise Lost, The Interpretation of Creams, MacDeath By Chocolate. Nice booze selection. Under each dessert listed are suggested drinks. Wife choose champagne, I choose a (don’t have the whole name) Don PX which tasted like a raisin liquor. This was delicious, I could have just drank this as my dessert. Wife is dairy free and hence she choose a fruit based dessert, she did have it w/o the caramel/dairy topping that was supposed to come with it, so I don’t think her dish would be a fair review. That’s fine, onto my stellar dessert. Chocolate chewy meringue (sp?) with carmelized banana slices, with carmelized banana pudding, surrounded by a hot fudge that was more dark chocolate taste than milk chocolate. All slightly warm. WOW WOW WOW. Incredible. Sugar is sure a nice place to end the dining portion of one’s evening. I usually don’t have a sweet tooth, but after my great dessert, I’ll be back. Sugar – A dessert bar 108 W. Kinzie (just west of Clark) Chicago, 312.822.9999

"We haven't had fish cakes in a long time"... How do you make fish cakes without carbs? No potato, no batter, no crumbs for coating. Can't do chinese style, since that is basically held together with cornstarch. I made them like quenelle. WHizzed some raw fish, egg white and cream for the base, then added flaked cooked fish, sauteed onion, parsley seasoning. Shallow fried. Taste was great, and they held together fine, but the texture wasn't quite right - slightly grainy, and without the smootheness and unctioness that the potato gives. I don't want to use Atkins pseudo bread or flour products. Any suggestions?

I have been invited to a theme party for a friend's birthday, and the theme is Dungeons and Dragons. Having refused to don the elfbabe costume, i decided to get into the spirit by making a jello dessert to bring. Those of you who have had any exposure to roleplaying games may be familiar with a classical monster known as the Gelatinous Cube which was a large, cubical (well, duh! ) transparent jellylike thing that would sweep down dimly-lit corridors and engulf hapless adventurers. (Well, yes, I'll admit I had my RPG phase in highschool too. ) What I am trying to achieve with this dessert is a fairly large (preferably about 10-12 inches high), freestanding cube of largely transparent jelly with little amusing adventurer- type things suspended in it. I have a source for little gummy sweets shaped like body parts (left over from Halloween stock at the shops I think) and was going to make little Indiana Jones whips from thin liquorice strips and so on. I guess what I am asking for help with stems from the fact that I have never in my whole life made a gelatin dessert, much less one this ambitious. Should I make the solution stronger for better upstanding-ness? How do I suspend the objects randomly in it without bubbles? How does one avoid layer-marks in the final product? How does one make such a large cube without a mould? What flavour/colour should I try? I would very much appreciate any help here. The party is in two weeks and I fully expect to do a lot of experimenting after work from now till then. Thanks everyone!

I just returned from a trip to Lisbon and would like to play around baking some Portuguese pastries. Does anyone know of an english language book of portuguese pastry recipes, or an online source for same?

A dessert I had last night at the Mark Hotel here in New York City reminded me of what a sucker I am for showmanship in pastry. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a dessert service as much, and was hoping maybe we could all share our tales of wildly elaborate and impressive desserts. The very clever New York pastry chef Chris Broberg, who was long at Lespinasse (during both the Gray Kunz and Christian Delouvrier eras) and later at Petrossian (working with Philippe Conticini), has been at the Mark for about a year now and has really whipped the pastry program into shape (there's definitely something of a dream-team coming together in the Mark's F&B department, which I'll post about on the NY board at some point). I'd been meaning to stop in for the longest time, and finally a promotional dinner for Mandarin Oriental hotels (the Mark is a Mandarin Oriental property) presented an easy (and free) opportunity. The dessert that Broberg did for this dinner was a chocolate dome. It looked like a pretty normal chocolate dome: a half-sphere of chocolate with a semi-hard, shiny chocolate coating and a nice gold-leaf decoration in the middle. It was surrounded by pieces of candied fruit and such. This was, at first, a little disappointing. I thought for sure Broberg wouldn't mail it in like this. Then again, an Upper East Side hotel with a rather low-key restaurant -- maybe he's just collecting a nice paycheck and living the good life. Or maybe for a banquet he just isn't going to do the good stuff. But when the waiters put down the dessert they said, don't eat it; the chef will be out to "explain the dessert." At this point things took a turn for the better. Broberg and some of the line cooks appeared bearing pitchers of hot liquid chocolate, essentially the super-rich hot chocolate you'd get as a beverage at L'Aduree or Angelina's in Paris. A cook went over to the dessert of one of the women at our table and started pouring the chocolate onto the dome. He did this for about 10 seconds as a pool of chocolate started to surround the dome. Which I thought, hey, was a pretty cool touch. But then, totally unexpected -- poof! -- the whole exterior of the dome started to disintegrate! And then, as the cook stopped pouring, the whole center part of the thing kind of collapsed into something that looked like the moon after being wrecked by a continent-sized asteroid. There were audible gasps, woahs, and holy-shits from most every person in the room. Inside the dome, it was revealed, was a whole other deal of crunchy nutty stuff and cocoa nibs all mixed in with the dome's fluffy chocolate interior and the gooey hot chocolate sauce. Well, I'll be damned if that wasn't the most impressive dessert presentation I've ever seen. Not to mention at least three women (and one man) offered their bodies to Broberg after the meal (which is a lot even in a room full of media people). I should add, this dessert was actually quite delicious on top of all that.

Pastry chef by default. Just out of culinary school, i scored a job in the kitchen of a new restaurant. The restaurant is the brainchild of the Exec Chef and Chef de Cuisine of The Oakroom at the Seelbach here in Louisville. These guys decided to go out on their own, and their reputation (only AAA 5-diamond restaurant in the state) is what they're building on. They quit the hotel and opened their own spot. The slogan/motto is: "New Southern Cooking, Old Southern Charm". I was going to be a "salad bitch". They hired three of us for pantry, promising to eventually rotate us into the hot line. But, shortly before opening, although we had been told they would probably farm out the desserts and just have the pantry people plate them - one afternoon, Chef said: "which one of you is comfortable with desserts?" One of the girls said "I'm not really comfortable with that," - to which Chef replied: "Well, at least you're honest." The other one said nothing. In a moment of delerium, i heard myself saying "Chef, i can do that." Now, keep in mind, i just have a "culinary arts" degree. I consciously did not pursue a pastry & baking degree. I like savory food. I like the heat and the fire of the hot line. It was a pretty surreal moment, but i remember thinking here's a way for me to distinguish myself in their eyes. So i went home that night and did lots of research and came in the next day with a list of desserts i thought would fit with the restaurant's theme. I pretty much got shot down. We're doing six desserts, but only one of them was exclusively my idea. So, as a result, i've been refining the recipes and platings of the desserts mostly picked by the Chef. They're pretty good, and people seem to like them, but fairly soon, we'll start doing dessert specials, especially for the tasting menu. Here's what we're serving so far: Brown Sugar Pear Poundcake with Poached Pears - The cake is Ben and Karen Barker's (Magnolia Grill) recipe, with the addition of pears poached in port. The menu consultant named this dessert "Drunken Pair". The sauce is a sassafrass anglaise. Bourbon Bread Pudding with Sorghum Sauce and Sorghum Creme Fraiche. Warm Apple Clafouti - this is basically apples cooked in sugar and butter and cinnamon, lined up in a boat-shaped single serving dish, and covered with a thin batter, almost like a pancake batter, and baked, then topped with powdered sugar and locally-produced gourmet "bourbon-ball" ice cream, with a curly molasses tuille as a garnish. Classic Creme Brulee with Fresh Berries - this is the best creme brulee recipe i've ever tasted, it's fantastic. I sell a LOT of this. "Bluegrass Napolean" is a sweet biscuit made with the addition of "sourmash flour" - the dry leavings from bourbon-making, ground into a flour (it's kind of purple), added to the flour in a buttermilk biscuit recipe. The biscuit is halved, topped with a berry trio that's been marinated in bourbon and sugar, and hand-whipped cream. Chocolate Chess Pie - this is my biggest seller so far. I'm not a big chocolate fan ( I HATE melting chocolate!), but this was the one dessert that was my idea, and people seem to love it. It's topped with the whipped cream and mint, and i plate it with a strawberry flower and mint leaf. So....for a special, my first instinct was coconut cream pie. Anybody have any ideas? Any comments on what i'm serving so far? I'm also serving a Godiva Chocolate biscotti as an amenity with the check. Gimme some southern ideas. I want to do a sweet potato riff, maybe a sweet potato creme brulee, or a sweet potato cheesecake (although Chef says cheesecake is "so 1998". Heh.) By the way, i've already experienced all those things i've heard folks moan about....no burners available to melt chocolate...ovens mysteriously turned up in the middle of baking something, resulting in burned product...shooed off the hot line after helping prep entree food but still needing a burner to reduce sauce....frustrating, very frustrating, but rewarding when you find a way to get around it. Can't spare me a burner for a double-boiler? Then i'll melt my chocolate - very carefully - on the edge of the grill

I've gotten into this fruit pie kick a few weeks back and decided to get some fresh apples since it's one of the last weeks before the weather breaks. Anyway the orchard had Mutsu's and Empire's. I used half and half for my pie. I also added a few tablespoons of AP to the apples just in case there was some extra moisture. The pie turned out wonderfully but when I cut into it there was literally 1.5C of liquid My measly 2 Tbsp of AP was pointless. So, I pulled the first piece out and tilted the pie over the sink to drain the liquid. The pie tasted good but I didn't care for the texture of the apples. Kind of rubbery. The taste was good especially since I used my Vietnamese cinn from Penzey's (yummy). I am curious what could casue so much liquid to be released. Was it the orchard fresh apples, the type of apples? I normally use Mac's and Granny's which are purchased from the market. The texture is wonderful and zero liquid. Any ideas? Just for kicks here is a pic mid bake

Yes this is what the Japanese eat on Christmas, or most likely Christmas Eve. For more information of Christmas in Japan look here: https://classes.yale.edu/anth254a/article_b.../WSJ_911217.htm Kentucky Fried Chicken is already with their Christmas menu, place your order now! http://www.kfc.co.jp/xmas2003/ and here is a selection of Christmas cakes available from the 7-11: http://main.sej.co.jp/03/2003_1102_xmas/index.html

I have never tasted sweet potato pie. How different is it from pumpkin? I have been looking around at recipes, and I'm finding them many and varied. I'm finding they use a lot of heavy cream. Can I use evaporated milk instead? I just bought a ton at Costco as I use it for my pumpkin. So? And? Any loved recipes?