Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Chocolate ideas


Verbena-NZ

Recommended Posts

i posted my recipe for chocolate amaretto truffel cake in a thread entitled something like "suggestions for barbeque deserts" it takes about 10 minutes to make and got me a proposal of marriage (which i sadly declined)

strongly recommended :-)

Suzi Edwards aka "Tarka"

"the only thing larger than her bum is her ego"

Blogito ergo sum

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure what you're looking for.....but I would try a search on this site using chocolate and also looking in this forum.

GOOD LUCK!

What am I looking for........well :biggrin:

Must be able to be plated for dinner party

Not take all day{or several days}

Be fairly modern ie current flavours

Able to stand...not need to be served at and overly exact time after making it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Verbena, you have to realize no one is interested in doing your work for you. BUT, if you were to talk about what you've come up with (thru looking at books and other sources) I believe many people would be happy to give you advice and guidance, at least I would help.

What have you got so far?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Verbena, you have to realize no one is interested in doing your work for you. BUT, if you were to talk about what you've come up with (thru looking at books and other sources) I believe many people would be happy to give you advice and guidance, at least I would help.

What have you got so far?

Well I've been working on the idea of doing a fudge type cake with a liquid center.....now this isn't anything new BUT I'm after a recipe that will allow the center to hold{or not carry on cooking}

Every one that I've tried to date still carries on cooking.

I've even tried putting a seperate center in{ganache} so that it remains liquid.

There you go........anyone got or seen anything that'll do what I'm looking for!! :biggrin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you want help making a molton cake or are you looking for a completely different dessert?

I've made several published recipes for molton cakes some that just didn't work and some that worked just fine. The real trick usually comes down to the baking, pulling it out of the oven at the right time. Just slight fluctuations in temp and time can make a good recipe not work. So unfortunately it takes sometime and practice to master each recipe in each oven you use. Who's recipes have you tried that didn't work for you?

If your centers are cooking too much you need to take them out of the oven sooner. How much sooner is something you can test and make notes on until you find the results you want. As little as 1 minute can make a difference with these small cakes and that could over bake your center. I assume your remembering that items continue baking out of the oven and you can gain that extra minute or two, that could be over baking your centers.

Some tricks/hints.

Sometimes handling these soft cakes is tricky when they are hot. So you can bake them ahead of time unmold them store them for a day and just give them a reheat before serving. Some recipes are very hard to unmold with-out breaking into the center and loosing your "ooze".

You don't have to unmold your cakes imediately....you can freeze them in your molds and release them while they are frozen. That usually pops them out perfectly with-out and loss of filling. Then again re-heat (many people use microwaves to re-heat).

You can add extra "ooze" after the cake is baked and unmolded by piping ganche into the top of them.

I haven't made these yet but people over at www.finecooking.com spent sometime raving about chocolate budini's (which you could look up over there). They should be similar to what your looking for.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've tried several differant recipes and from various differant books.

A molton cake is preferable to me.BUT most of all.one that can be held or hold it's liquid center{or appear to anyway}

I need to cook it in advance and then "flash" it for no more that 2 minutes before serving it to my guests, BUT still maintain that center.Knowing how hot and how well sugar holds it's heat with fat.......... :sad: ...............I can't seem to figure it out

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not molten, but here's an idea (and darned simple). Chocolate Flan Cake:

In your favorite greased bundt pan goes half a cup of caramelized sugar

Then goes in the custard:

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

4 eggs

Then goes in the batter of your favorite chocolate cake recipe (I use Gourmet's Mocha Rum Cake although any stupid box cake works too). Bake until the cake is done (follow the cake recipe).

This is weird because when you dump the cake batter in, you are sure it is ruined, thinking you have mixed in the batter with a custard. But when you plate it, the custard has miraculously separated and tops the cake.

Heck, no need to use a chocolate cake (although I like it better). Any cake batter will do this and people are really impressed at the flan on top. Looks elegant, too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Verbena I don't understand what you want. Is everyone supposed to hand you a recipe on demand? Wake-up, things don't work that way.

I tried to help you based on what YOU asked to learn about. Apparently I wasted my time, after I explained how to make these you ignored my post and came back with ".....I can't seem to figure it out".

There's about a million plus published recipes in every language creating "gooie chocolate desserts". Open a book!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Verbena I don't understand what you want. Is everyone supposed to hand you a recipe on demand? Wake-up, things don't work that way.

I tried to help you based on what YOU asked to learn about. Apparently I wasted my time, after I explained how to make these you ignored my post and came back with ".....I can't seem to figure it out".

There's about a million plus published recipes in every language creating "gooie chocolate desserts". Open a book!

It's a forum, and I asume that means I can post questions.

If your going to start getting rude then please either don't look at my post or don't reply :angry:

I fail to see how your posts help me......I was after a recipe!!

Sure there are heaps of recipes out there.............BUT........only a few are great!, Why should I waste my time and money trialing recipes when like minded people here have already got practical, easy, cost effective recipes??

I have a problem and wanted help resolving it!!!, so where is the harm in my question?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

People here are eager to help expand upon ideas you have but reluctant to give you their own great ideas :biggrin: Look at my numerous posts asking for help with school projects, quiz questions, cooking practicals, etc. They all reply with Well, what do you know already? and Have you looked here? Can be frustrating when all you want is a recipe but in the end you'll be glad that part of it came from yourself.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, it seems that it all comes down to trust and appreciation. You can't trust the recipes you see in books? Is that the problem? Some books are good, some aren't. How do you know any better who on-line to trust? Some of the people here have written the books you may or may not have looked through. Many of them have posted recipes here on this site--how much effort did you put into searching? You asked the most vague question possible here and people have still jumped in attempting to give you all sorts of help and advice. At first blush you should appreciate that.

Try a search on molten center chocolate cake Lookey here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...+chocolate+cake

or liquid center chocolate cake

I am sure that there are several of the most world class recipes posted, including one by Philippe Conticini.

And why are you upset? People are helping you--Carolyn's post was great and so was Wendy's. People helped KateW and she didn't seem to appreciate the fact that many older, wiser, more experienced pastry chefs were willing to take her under their wings, tell her what she needed to hear, in the hope that she could fly on her own wings. Ultimately if you have commited to do something, though, you need to take some responsibility for it and make a selection or do your own homework. It is a myth that there are only a few secret, super recipes and these should be coveted and passed on--it is less about the recipe, and more about understanding the technique.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Verbena I don't understand what you want. Is everyone supposed to hand you a recipe on demand? Wake-up, things don't work that way.

I tried to help you based on what YOU asked to learn about. Apparently I wasted my time, after I explained how to make these you ignored my post and came back with ".....I can't seem to figure it out".

There's about a million plus published recipes in every language creating "gooie chocolate desserts". Open a book!

It's a forum, and I asume that means I can post questions.

If your going to start getting rude then please either don't look at my post or don't reply :angry:

I fail to see how your posts help me......I was after a recipe!!

Sure there are heaps of recipes out there.............BUT........only a few are great!, Why should I waste my time and money trialing recipes when like minded people here have already got practical, easy, cost effective recipes??

I have a problem and wanted help resolving it!!!, so where is the harm in my question?

Wow!

getting a bit heated in here.

As Sinclair said, there are tons of recipes on the net, in books,etc.

Unfortunately, recipes are things that don't necessarily yield great results. For many reasons. It doesn't mean the recipe is awful either.

Molten cakes have proved hard for me too, and I have a few really good recipes for them. I have a thread on here somewhere titled 'molten cakes'.

I live in a high altitude, that may be effecting how they turn out. Do you?

The best results I've had with them have been from borrowing a technique (kind of) Steve Klc talked about in an article about brownies from the washington post.

I baked at a high temp (450). For maybe 4 minutes for a 4 oz. mold, then shocked the molds in an ice bath.

I don't know if I would do that with china or ceramic ramekins (you might break them )

They were more molten then other times I've done them. As Sinclair suggested, maybe load them with ganache ( aball of it) to make it more runny.

.I was after a recipe!!

Sure there are heaps of recipes out there.............BUT........only a few are great!, Why should I waste my time and money trialing recipes when like minded people here have already got practical, easy, cost effective recipes??

I'm sorry, but think about this statement for a moment...

Seems kind of silly, maybe?

Easy to one person is ballbusting to another.

And if you've never tried a recipe before, there is only one way to find out ( trialing a recipe)

Good luck to you.

Hope I was of some help.

Edited by tan319 (log)

2317/5000

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I fail to see how your posts help me......I was after a recipe!!

Sure there are heaps of recipes out there.............BUT........only a few are great!, Why should I waste my time and money trialing recipes when like minded people here have already got practical, easy, cost effective recipes??

I have a problem and wanted help resolving it!!!, so where is the harm in my question?

The harm as you put it is that you're not being the least bit civil with your request for help.

A good molten chocolate cake has very little to do with the recipe, it's success depends almost entirely on the person putting it into and taking it out of the oven.

Throw some eggs, melted butter, sugar, flour, and melted chocolate together, mix them, toss them in buttered/sugared ramekins, and bake them at 425 until just before they stop wiggling when you shake them. If you want them to be fluffy you can whip the egg whites, if you want them to be richer use more egg yolks. Or just use any recipe that looks interesting.

If you over cook them, they turn out dry, if you under cook them, they turn out soupy. Make twice as many as you need the day before (they can sit in the ramekins) and just bake one at a time until they come out how you like them. They take less time to eat than they do to bake so you won't end up with a pile of them on the counter, just eat them as they come out of the oven and adjust what your doing based on how they come out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Which brings us back to what Wendy was asking Verbena, which is the relevant point--what have you tried and tested already? which recipes have you tried from which books aren't working out and then we might be able to help point you in a better direction as melkor very ably tried to do. We have no idea which chocolate you're using, what equipment you have, what's your skill level--none of that was made clear. That's what you have to bring to the table Verbena and you did not. When the pros and other knowledgeable users here, already very generous of their time, ask you (or KateW or anyone) a question in a thread you started, it works both ways.

As you can see from the link chefette just gave you, turns out a few excellent recipes for liquid center chocolate cakes, which can be done ahead and held or zapped in the microwave and may be just the thing you're looking for, are already on the site. But more importantly the thought process behind this is here as well, like in tan's last post, and so, too are very giving experienced pros who can help talk you through something if you get stuck. But we get to engage you in the process, and hopefully you'll appreciate what it means to be part of a community, rather than a mere recipe sharing exercise on the web.

This line by KateW, meant to disparage, actually defines what's valuable about this eG pastry forum--she said "People here are eager to help expand upon ideas you have but reluctant to give you their own great ideas"--and to that I say "precisely." You see, pastry and baking is a learning curve, it's evolutionary and it takes time, a long time, to get good. You might as well start taking some responsibility for yourself--which means you have the pride in yourself to bring something to the table, to report on your experiements and ideas--and when constructive criticism is offered you say, "thank you chef I appreciate the time you took to post that, but here's what I don't understand..." How you really help someone learn and grow is try to develop what's within them--and help get them to the next level--and for each person this is going to be on a different timetable, and involve different creativity and skills. KateW shows me she may be starting to get it with her last line, however: "you'll be glad when that part of it comes from yourself." All of us do talk about our own ideas and projects--and explore them with each other online--when we're not working or helping others that is.

Steve Klc

Pastry chef-Restaurant Consultant

Oyamel : Zaytinya : Cafe Atlantico : Jaleo

chef@pastryarts.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The fact is that this is a public place. There are lots of people here. people who love food, love cooking, pastry... Professional pastry chefs, food writers, Food TV people, instructors from schools, all sorts of people. Would you burst into a kitchen at a restaurant and demand that the pastry chef help you? If you were the pastry chef would you respond to that? This is not the psychic friends network where you come on line and ask someone to read your mind and make your life better. This is a public forum where people give of their time and exchange ideas. No one owes you anything. People here are amazingly giving of their time, their great ideas, their techniques, their experience. Benefiting from that is up to you. Completely up to you.

Now to your question again...

Are you a professional or a home cook? Are these cakes for 500 or 5? Are you trying to do something too challenging that might be a risk? Should you do something you have more experience with and are more confident in?

(Did I read on another eG thread that you have your own restaurant and have been a chef for 15 years?)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What makes you assume that my comment was meant to be disparaging? I think it's just the truth. And you yourself agreed with it.

And about me not appreciating the help I got on my posts here--that was totally different. I was getting upset for having my idea questioned when I already *said" I knew it was a bad idea. In the end, I came up with my very own ideas, based on everyone's input, got a 90 on my efforts, and got, last I checked, one congratulations. Sure I appreciate how I was lead to come up with something on my own but I was not looking for the tough love approach. Beggars can't be choosers though, right?

Verbena, this forum is like a tough teacher. You'll go to them with your ideas, you'll get your ideas questioned, you'll come out with a few different ideas that you now must make into your own concoction and then you'll get little to no credit for it. But you have to be happy without anyone else's approval.

If that, too, sounds disparaging, it's not meant to be, it's just my take on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Verbena, this forum is like a tough teacher. You'll go to them with your ideas, you'll get your ideas questioned, you'll come out with a few different ideas that you now must make into your own concoction and then you'll get little to no credit for it. But you have to be happy without anyone else's approval.

I don't understand the little to no credit for it line. From who? From the people here? Is this school?

I think people here have been really kind to you, Kate. Hate to be a bummer but, there have been times when I was wondering why you're in cooking school. Because you seem to be sort of passionless about cooking sometimes. It sometimes seems from your post's that cooking is just something to do.

People helped KateW and she didn't seem to appreciate the fact that many older, wiser, more experienced pastry chefs were willing to take her under their wings, tell her what she needed to hear, in the hope that she could fly on her own wings.s

'Word'!!!

.

People here are eager to help expand upon ideas you have but reluctant to give you their own great ideas

This is kind of not true. Steve has given many people, including me, some great stuff, including the Conticini recipe for molten cakes. Ditto Michael L., chefette, Brianpastryguy, et al. Right here. Not P.M.'ed.

If people aren't vague about what they're looking for, researching, etc., 'They will come'...

What happens after that is up to you, your skill level, the god's.

In the end, I came up with my very own ideas, based on everyone's input, got a 90 on my efforts, and got, last I checked, one congratulations. Sure I appreciate how I was lead to come up with something on my own but I was not looking for the tough love approach.

Congratulations!!!:biggrin:

Now you have two .

Edited by tan319 (log)

2317/5000

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, especially lately, sometimes I wonder why I'm at cooking school too. I like to cook, but I realize I like to cook on my own terms, not with some chef breathing down my neck telling me exactly how to do something...and then 9 days later having some other chef tell me something completely different.

When I mentioned not getting any credit, I meant from you all. I came up with something nobody else had mentioned (making a la minute hot chocolate with truffles and hot cream) and I felt rather proud. Not getting acknowledgement didn't lessen how I felt but I was a bit surprised.

Cooking *is* "just something to do". I don't consider it creation, or art, or anything godly. I have fun doing it, but I don't make it out to be any more amazing or glamorous than it really is. Because in the end, it is neither. Chef after chef says "anybody can cook". It's not brain surgery, as my coworkers at Ruby Tuesday used to say.

There is so much more I want to say about my expectations of culinary school, my reasons for going, and what I want to do when I get out but the baking and pastry forum is not the place.

Oh and hey, thanks for making me think about not wanting to be at school anymore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First, thank-you, to the people who understood my frustration and why I became so. I'm amazed that some people really don't understand why we come here, why I come here. I don't get paid to be here and most the time I never get a thank-you after I've spent my personal time trying to help someone else. NO I'm not a great pastry chef and perhaps you all don't value my words, BUT I certainly mean to be helpful and giving as I write.

Everyone here always writes so much better then I- I'm sincerely jealous! Best I can do at this moment is say DITTO.

Personal notes...

To kate: I have had the same thoughts Tan posted. You appear totally passionless about culinary. You talk as if your tough and can handle the realities of the kitchen, but yet you can't mentally deal with people teaching you. As if they should teach you on your terms. I suggest you skip culinary school and just go and open your own restaurant.

To Melkor: geez man, where were you when I needed a hand :wacko: You came to the points I tried to make...but my tired brain couldn't verbalize as dirrectly as yours. Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Honestly, especially lately, sometimes I wonder why I'm at cooking school too.  I like to cook, but I realize I like to cook on my own terms, not with some chef breathing down my neck telling me exactly how to do something...and then 9 days later having some other chef tell me something completely different.

When I mentioned not getting any credit, I meant from you all.  I came up with something nobody else had mentioned (making a la minute hot chocolate with truffles and hot cream) and I felt rather proud.  Not getting acknowledgement didn't lessen how I felt but I was a bit surprised.

Cooking *is* "just something to do".  I don't consider it creation, or art, or anything godly.  I have fun doing it, but I don't make it out to be any more amazing or glamorous than it really is.  Because in the end, it is neither.  Chef after chef says "anybody can cook".  It's not brain surgery, as my coworkers at Ruby Tuesday used to say. 

There is so much more I want to say about my expectations of culinary school, my reasons for going, and what I want to do when I get out but the baking and pastry forum is not the place.

Oh and hey, thanks for making me think about not wanting to be at school anymore.

Anybody CAN cook. very true.

But cooking well, with spirit and passion, people can tell the difference.

I know the chef breathing down the neck thing is aggravating, unnerving and sometimes hostile but, I found it helped build my ability to take 'IT'.

It isn't that different to have one person telling you one thing and another person telling you another in cooking. It's the same in every profession, don't you think?

Cooking isn't "brain surgery", that's for sure, but, maybe consider the source? Chef after chef saying "anyone can cook" can be taken in a lot of different way's, depending on the context it's said in. I don't think anyone can alway's cook GREAT. That's something that's either in your blood or is learned, the latter often with a considerable amount of stress and blood, sweat, and tears. It rarely comes easy.

You've spent a lot of time in this forum, Kate. I was one of the 1st people who posted on what was probably your 1st thread, when you were just starting at RT's. I was ( and am ) sincerely interested in what you do and whatever you

want to put out there for us to read.

Anywhere on this site.

2317/5000

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I started posting here long before I started working at Ruby Tuesday. A year before that, in fact. I came here from a link somewhere else, I forget where, to Malawry's diary on her cooking school adventures. I was just starting culinary school myself and was considering doing a diary also. I ended up doing that diary at Chef Talk Cafe, if you care to read those posts also. This year I do not do the diary, and nobody has asked me where it has been. I post much less frequently at CTC because there is so little traffic there and I can get my questions answered much faster.

See, I am not in culinary school to ultimately open a restaurant. I am actually considering being a personal chef, and I have made posts about that here.

I can deal with people teaching me, it's just some of the approaches I can't handle. I can't handle being beaten down, told I am passionless for just about the only thing I have fun doing in my life, being told I am ungrateful for the help that includes putting down ideas I already know are bad. And then, when I am doubting and regretting everything I've done in the past year at school, you want me to thank you?

I don't come here to beat a dead horse. If an idea is bad, and I say it's bad and I'm not going to do it, I don't need post after post saying "Yeah, why would you want to do crepes suzette? It is SO overdone." I know. I said it before you did.

Before you beat down someone's dreams, or at the very least, something someone is spending a buttload of money on (not mommy or daddy), think about what you *don't* know about the person. You don't know why I am where I am in my life, you don't know what I want to do afterward. You don't know much about my personality except what comes through on screen and we know how that can be misinterpreted.

I'm sick of the tough love approach. I can get that at school, or from my parents. Just be nice to me, please.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...