I just made these chocolate sandwich cookies with goat cheese and fig jam and they're really good!

http://pastrystudio.blogspot.com/2008...

I think your problem is that you didn't beat it long enough for it to cool. The process for making it work is that you want to whisk at high speed for a long time to get it to cool and firm up. You then have to work quickly once you get it to the right firmness because it wants to set up at that point. Shortcutting that process is what kept it from working for you this time.

meta
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Great! Let's hear it for Christmas harmony!

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Theoretically, 1 cup + 2 T cake flour = 1 C AP flour, but I've never tested this theory. I think you could try it without a lot of risk in those recipes.

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Buttercream can always be rescued. When buttercream breaks it's usually because the butter is not at room temperature and is added too fast. So what helps is to heat it lightly over a flame and beat it mercilessly. Heat it just enough to melt a bit, but do not let it get soupy.

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Couverture is high quality chocolate that has a minimum of 32% cocoa butter. The higher percentage cocoa butter gives the chocolate more sheen and a firmer snap. It's used mainly by professionals for dipping, coating and molding because it gives a smooth, thin coating. It must be tempered to stabilize the cocoa butter.

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If you can give some clue about the proportions of ingredients, I can probably help you figure out the servings. I've been looking for a good recipe for the last few months. If you've tried this and recommend it, would love to see it.

meta
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Leucadian, yes, you have a good point. I agree there are differences in flavor between the apricot pit kernel and the bitter almond. The commercial brand Lazzaroni Amaretti di Saronno are made with apricot kernels, but I've also seen recipes for that use bitter almonds. (And thanks so much for the compliment! It's new and I'm loving it.)

And rabaja, I'd also love to see your recipes. Are they Italian?

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Moisture is the enemy of baked meringue! But you can freeze egg whites. You might want to freeze them in quantities that you can use. One egg white equals about 1 oz.

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The best method for making meringue is to start with egg whites that are at room temperature. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on medium low speed. Add cream of tartar or some other acid such as lemon juice or vinegar, which stabilizes the meringue by preventing the bubbles from bursting once you stop beating. When they are foamy, increase to medium high speed and continue whisking until they form a soft peak. Slowly add sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time and continue whipping until meringue forms very stiff shiny peaks that hold their shape. Be sure to bake as soon as possible because meringue will start to deflate fairly quickly when handled. Bake in a 180 degree oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

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I've used the kernel inside the apricot pit to make Noyau Ice Cream from Lindsey Shere's Chez Panisse Desserts. Noyau is just the french term for the bitter almond flavor. The ice cream is absolutely delicious. Just take a hammer to the apricot pits and there you have it!

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The ratios in the Moosewood recipe look funky to me (even without the sugar typo) and it sounds like a lot of batter for a 10" tube pan. I would test the other recipe, which can be baked in an 8" square. Tube pans are to ensure even cooking when baking recipes that produce lots of batter. Without the metal tube, the center would not cook as quickly as the edges. Let us know what you wind up baking!

meta
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It's all about flavor and texture! Generally, shortbread cookies have the highest ratio of butter to flour. Butter cookies still have a lot of butter, but have a higher proportion of flour. Sugar Cookies have a greater flour ratio and are therefore a more sturdy cookie, which makes them good for decorating.

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This is kind of strange. Shrinkage in blind baking is usually caused by improper chilling of the pastry prior to baking, overhandling or stretching the dough and/or baking at too high a temperature (over 350). Sometimes using a glass, ceramic or non-stick surface can also contribute to this and docking the dough also helps to alleviate shrinkage. But it sounds like you did everything right! I'm thinking perhaps too much liquid in the recipe. Perhaps you may want to try another pate brisee.

meta
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Here's a pretty reliable recipe:

http://www.leitesculinaria.com/recipes/cookbook/golden_caramels.html

If you're going for a chewier caramel, you're shooting for about 248 degrees F.

You should temper the chocolate if you want them to look nice.

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Actually, glass is a great conductor of heat. The best reason for using a glass pie pan is so you can detect the even browning on the bottom of the pie.

If you are using the same size foil pan pie pan, you shouldn't have to adjust the time. But as with all baking, check it often to be sure it is baking evenly. You'll know when it's done when the crust is browned and the juices are bubbling. I would place the foil pan on a baking sheet to assure even browning of the bottom crust and to make sure the pie is on a study platform for ease of removal from the oven.

You can certainly use the convection setting. Just reduce the temperature 25 degrees and watch the baking time closely around 2/3 of the way through baking.

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Sometimes it can break down because of excessive stirring or excessive heat, which can cause the starch cells to rupture.

The classical method for making pastry cream is to whisk together the eggs and sugar, then add the flour/cornstarch (I use equal portions of each) and combine thoroughly until mixture has lightened in color. Temper in the warm milk and cook to a gentle boil over medium-low heat, whisking constantly until thickened. It should take about 1 minute to come to a boil. Then continue to simmer until smooth and thick, another 1 – 2 minutes. Take off the heat, add vanilla and butter, stirring gently to combine. Once the pastry cream has been chilled, don’t whisk or it will break down the starch. Hope this helps.

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Bravo! I love this topic. I just so happened to be writing about Peach Melba last week and was thinking about this very thing wrt to Pavarotti. Love learning about the history of cuisine.

Stella Pasticceria e Caffe here in SF claims that Sacripantina was a favorite of Pavarotti and there's another story about a big bite of Apple Crumble with cream he swiped off another's plate. Perfect!

meta
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I've been on a watermelon jag lately. Maybe you can start with this watermelon drink from Traveler's Lunchbox?

http://www.travelerslunchbox.com/journal/2007/7/10/melons-of-memory.html

It's really easy, delicious and refreshing. I made a straight 1:1 ratio for the simple syrup but you may want to stick to the recipe.

meta
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Well, it's important to feel comfortable about enjoying the product. But I honestly never heard of anyone suffering any consequences. Good luck!

OK, I'm just trying to make sure I understand. You ordered 2 slcies of peach pie, among other things, and they gave you a whole pie? How in the world do these people stay in business? How much is a slice? That IS incredible generosity.

I've made Shere's Noyau Ice Cream without toasting. I've never seen instructions to do that but if you want to go ahead, I would lower the temp to 300 - 325 to slow down the roasting. You don't want to change the delicate flavor.
The ice cream is incredibly delicious, by the way.

Blanch them! Bring a pot of water to a low simmer. Glently lower the peaches into the water. If the peaches are ripe, it just takes a minute - you don't want to cook them! The way you know they're done is if you drag gently on the skin, it quickly pulls away. Plunge immediately into an iced water bath to cool and stop the cooking process. The skins then come off very, very easily.

Since vanilla extract has an alcohol base, add it once the custard is off the heat source to achieve full flavor. if using vanilla bean or vanilla paste, add to the milk and then heat.

If you have an instant read thermometer, this would be a good time to use it. I tend to cook it to about 165 degrees F, pull it off and keep stirring. Residual heat will usually take it to 170, which is about right, but you have to watch it very, very closely because at that point the temperature rises very quickly and when it's at 170 you have to cool it immediately. It's trashed at 180.

A charlotte is a molded dessert, with sponge cake or lady fingers lining the mold. The classical filling is bavarian cream, but can be any custard, cream, mousse or fruit. For Apple Charlotte, the mold is usually buttered bread and the filling is simply apples. So the primary difference is that a trifle is layered and classicly has liquor of some sort.

Thanks so much for this. I really appreciate it.

I haven't made this, but if you love chocolate and can prepare the components over time, I'm sure you'll find it worthwhile.

Does anyone by chance own Desaulniers' Desserts to Die For? I loaned mine and never got it back, and I want to be able to make the Cranberry Crostata.