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Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)

Afterburner

By Afterburner
in Pastry & Baking

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s_sevilla

s_sevilla

Posted
Posted

I have got to work on my presentation skills....everything looks so good. Aside from that, I made puff pastry for the first time, going a little overboard and making a 10 lb. batch (but hey, why not?). For my utter lack of experience, I'll have to say it came out very nice, though I have to work on my handling of the finished product. First batches in the oven puffed up very nice, doing a few as an atomic lemon curd filled tartlet, and then some straws simply glazed with apricot jam. The giant workstation Roul'pat saved my arse this time around, and I don't think I will ever make danish dough or puff without one.

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alanamoana

alanamoana

Posted
Posted
i always just do it to taste.  granted, when it is frozen it often won't be as strong, but i find you won't add too much this way.  also, you don't want to add too much because of the affect it has on the freezing temperature of the sorbet.  too little and your sorbet could be icy...too much and it won't ever freeze.

hmmmm...some rule of thumb, eh?  :hmmm:

ROLF! So basically, the rule is to play it by ear. :wink:

The texture of the sorbet is perfect as-is; I'm assuming that reducing the alcohol will make it icier. C'est la vie.

ruth, if you reduce the alcohol another option to create a "smoother" product is to add something like a stabilizer...this can be in the form of corn syrup or glucose or egg whites or other more technical stabilizers specifically for sorbets and ice creams. the corn syrup and glucose aren't inherently sweet (on the taste buds) and perform like sugar and alcohol in that they raise the freezing temperature so the result isn't as icy.

slippery slope, eh?

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RuthWells

RuthWells

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Posted
i always just do it to taste.  granted, when it is frozen it often won't be as strong, but i find you won't add too much this way.  also, you don't want to add too much because of the affect it has on the freezing temperature of the sorbet.  too little and your sorbet could be icy...too much and it won't ever freeze.

hmmmm...some rule of thumb, eh?  :hmmm:

ROLF! So basically, the rule is to play it by ear. :wink:

The texture of the sorbet is perfect as-is; I'm assuming that reducing the alcohol will make it icier. C'est la vie.

ruth, if you reduce the alcohol another option to create a "smoother" product is to add something like a stabilizer...this can be in the form of corn syrup or glucose or egg whites or other more technical stabilizers specifically for sorbets and ice creams. the corn syrup and glucose aren't inherently sweet (on the taste buds) and perform like sugar and alcohol in that they raise the freezing temperature so the result isn't as icy.

slippery slope, eh?

Interesting. I do find corn syrup to be inherently sweet; perhaps I could sub some of the simple syrup called for with corn syrup? (I'm assuming that corn syrup has more stabilizing power than simple syrup?) And here I thought I was asking a simple question! :biggrin:

RuthWells

Lemonade & Kidneys

Sweet Pleasures

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alanamoana

alanamoana

Posted
Posted

ruth,

i wasn't completely clear...corn syrup and glucose aren't inherently sweet...relative to granulated sugar. they have different levels of sweetness.

yes, corn syrup should be better than simple syrup because it has less water. so less chance of iciness.

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Sethro

Sethro

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'm not aware of glucose or corn syrup having any stabilizing properties. I also don't think that the purpose of adding egg whites to a sorbet base is stabilization, although it does affect the texture in other ways.

In terms of sweetness, corn syurp is about 70% as sweet as sugar, and glucose about 30% as sweet.

If you are really just trying to make an already perfect sorbet base a little softer, I would sub about 15% of the sugar with dextrose. If ice crystals are a problem, subing another 15-30% of the sugar with glucose powder is a good way to increase the dry mass.

Edited by Sethro (log)
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alanamoana

alanamoana

Posted
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i guess i'm just trying to give advice to a home cook who might not have easy access to dextrose or glucose powder.

re: stabilizer...just a definition mix up on my part, sorry.

I'm not aware of glucose or corn syrup having any stabilizing properties. I also don't think that the purpose of adding egg whites to a sorbet base is stabilization, although it does affect the texture in other ways.

In terms of sweetness, corn syurp is about 70% as sweet as sugar, and glucose about 30% as sweet.

If you are really just trying to make an already perfect sorbet base a little softer, I would sub about 15% of the sugar with dextrose. If ice crystals are a problem, subing another 15-30% of the sugar with glucose powder is a good way to increase the dry mass.

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RuthWells

RuthWells

Posted
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i guess i'm just trying to give advice to a home cook who might not have easy access to dextrose or glucose powder.

Yikes, does it show? :wink:

Thanks for the additional info and suggestions, Sethro, and thanks Alana for your ideas as well. With the kids (and I) heading back to school next week, I probably won't have too much time to play in the near future, but who knows!

RuthWells

Lemonade & Kidneys

Sweet Pleasures

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tan319

tan319

Posted
Posted

You can find Dextrose or powdered glucose ( NOT by Pastry 1 or Patisfrance) in many world markets or Asian grocerys, ones that sell real Asian product.

It usually comes in a can.

Like what chestnut paste would be contained in.

I've never used these as substitutes for Pastry 1 products but wouldn't hesitate if needed.

Hope this helps.

2317/5000

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lexy

lexy

Posted
Posted

Lemon meringue pie

gallery_22182_2693_23540.jpg

Cutting the lemon/the knife/leaves a little cathedral:/alcoves unguessed by the eye/that open acidulous glass/to the light; topazes/riding the droplets,/altars,/aromatic facades. - Ode to a Lemon, Pablo Neruda

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gfron1

gfron1

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Posted

I made a mousse cake. Basic genoise soaked in peach infused simple syrup, layered with strawberry and then vanilla/peach mousse, topped with just a bit of hibiscus gelee for some tanginess, and wrapped in an oat jaconde, decorated with deep fried peach skins. The cake was just okay, but the fried skins were really great - I'll have to work on making them not look like bacon, but there were very tasty!

moussecake1.jpg

moussecake2.jpg

Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

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Patrick S

Patrick S

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I made a mousse cake.  Basic genoise soaked in peach infused simple syrup, layered with strawberry  and then vanilla/peach mousse, topped with just a bit of hibiscus gelee for some tanginess, and wrapped in an oat jaconde, decorated with deep fried peach skins.  The cake was just okay, but the fried skins were really great - I'll have to work on making them not look like bacon, but there were very tasty!

moussecake1.jpg

moussecake2.jpg

That looks and sounds delicious, gfron! The oat jaconde sounds very interesting too. Tell me about it. Is that an almond cake with oats added, or do the oats take the place of almonds?

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced" - Vincent Van Gogh
 

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gfron1

gfron1

Posted
Posted

Thanks Patrick. The oat jaconde is the culinary brilliance that happens when you accidentally are out of almond flour! Ploughing ahead as I'm apt to do since my store is the only specialty food store in town and we don't carry almond flour...I grabbed my oat flour. I actually preferred the taste to the typical almond flour version, but the texture was a bit less refined - not necessarily bad. I'm still playing with ways to have my jaconde release from its textured silicon mat, so I'm not sure what the culprit was that caused a less than perfect finish on this batch - the batter or the release (brushed oil and flour). And like I said, it was tasty.

Chef, Bulrush & Squatters in St. Louis, MO

BBC Write-up

Smithsonian magazine story

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Sethro

Sethro

Posted
Posted
the fried skins were really great - I'll have to work on making them not look like bacon, but there were very tasty!

You can roast or boil the peaches, then slide off the skin and leave it to dry on parchment. Once they're dry, brush them with egg whites and dredge them in supefine sugar (just like candying herbs), and arrange them in curls by draping them on a drying rack.

That way you still getthe crunch and the flavor, but the colors are really beautiful.

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Grub

Grub

Posted
Posted

My first cookies... :smile:

gallery_28832_3508_672.jpg

Orange Zest, Cream Cheese and Chocolate Chip Cookies. From this RecipeZaar recipe. If I'd known it was this simple, I would have tried it a long time ago.

Orange and chocolate always struck me as a good combination. These cookies are really quite tasty, but fairly rich, though. Didn't actually have chocolate chips -- just morsels, so maybe the cookies look a little larger than they really are.

Everything in the thread looks amazing... I think I'd better spend some more time perusing it, heheh.

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Ling

Ling

Posted
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Yesterday, I tried making a Chinese pastry called Thousand Layer pastry. It is filled with red bean paste. They're also referred to as spiral pastries.

I followed a recipe off the internet but the proportions seemed a bit off (one dough was too dry, and the oil dough was too wet.) So I fiddled around with it a bit and they turned out OK, but more tweaking needs to be done.

gallery_35727_2396_301074.jpg

Lorna Yee

the cool kids at belltown lofts

The Cookbook Chronicles

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Kim Shook

Kim Shook

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As I said on the dinner thread, I have JUST figured out how to post pictures and having only a regular (not digital yet) camera, I will have to post desserts that I have gotten the pictures back from! Not too far in the past are:

Strawberries-and-Cream Cheesecake:

gallery_34972_3570_297617.jpg

shaloop's Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake:

gallery_34972_3570_489627.jpg

Chocolate Bar Cake:

gallery_34972_3570_302064.jpg

gallery_34972_3570_299660.jpg

And finally, this really, really pretty, I-am-so-proud-of-my-bourgeoning-decorating-skills, but totally tasteless from mix cake:

gallery_34972_3570_104488.jpg

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11579268...3570_217736.jpg

Kim

Kim's Cookbook

What Fresh Hell is This?

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Ann_T

Ann_T

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Posted
Taking inspiration from the Spice cake thread, I wrote my own recipe today. It turned out quite well--baked in a loaf pan with a slight, perfect domed appearance and no cracks. It had an even, moist crumb.  :smile:

spice cake with brandy caramel sauce

gallery_35727_2396_70449.jpg

Ling, oooooh please may I have the recipe? I'm a sucker for anything with a caramel sauce.

As I said on the dinner thread, I have JUST figured out how to post pictures and having only a regular (not digital yet) camera, I will have to post desserts that I have gotten the pictures back from!  Not too far in the past are:

And finally, this really, really pretty, I-am-so-proud-of-my-bourgeoning-decorating-skills, but totally tasteless from mix cake:

gallery_34972_3570_104488.jpg

http://forums.egullet.org/uploads/11579268...3570_217736.jpg

Kim, you have been holding out on us. Beautiful cakes.

I made an apple pie last night using apples off the tree in our yard.

gallery_27944_2966_418944.jpg

Foodblog: Vancouver Island
Thibeault's Table -  Blog

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