Agreed. You should try adding it to her Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte. The flavour is great.

In The Cake Bible RLB states that the way to concentrate strained raspberry puree is to nuke it; better than cooking it stovetop as there is no caramelization.

She also mentions that lemon juice brings out the flavour.

I used to take baking every Monday morning to our team meeting. We used to sit around for an hour, eating, drinking coffee, and discussing what was on our plates (no food here) for the next week. It was great for team building.

I remember one funny incident when one of the guys bit into a salambo (choux puff filled with rum pastry cream and topped with caramel and pistachios), and a bit of cream shot out and hit the next person.

Cynsa, you took the words right out of my mouth ! :)

Do you place the molds upside down after coating them, to drain off excess wax? I agree with Cynsa about too much wax.

Take away the 1Tbsp flour and 1Tbsp sugar and you have RLB's Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte, which I've made many times and highly recommend. Of course, his proportions may be different from RLB's.

I had to make a birthday cake last Saturday, and used "Lutece" from Cocolat as inspiration. One of the people at the party does not eat chocolate late in the evening, so I left out the chocolate glaze.

I started with RLB's Génoise, adding orange zest to the batter. The smell when sliced was amazing. I used Medrich's buttercream recipe (fewer eggs than RLB's (I was low on eggs)), and spiked it with Ameretto (same as the soaking syrup). I stirred some ground roasted almonds into the buttercream that went between each layer. The whole thing was covered with buttercream.

The cake went over very well. We really enjoyed the taste, as well as the crunch provided by the almonds.

Smart man! :)

Sorry Buttertart! "My" recipe is . . . BETTER! <insert tongue-sticking-out emoticon here>

I find that pressing the cracked part of the cake down to level it does not work for me as it makes a lot of crumbs, which are messy to deal with. I prefer to trim the top of the cake. I use all of the trimmings as quality control - if they don't taste good, I throw out the cake; I have yet to throw out a cake :)

I do only a single layer of glaze.

Cynsa, thanks for the chuckle. Me a Zen master? I just muddled my way through, with the aid of you, Pilinut, and TrewQ (who has once again disappeared).

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of baking canelés. The combination of crisp exterior and custardy interior is wonderful. I should get back at it again soon.

Roxlet, have you ever had one?

I'm amazed! I thought you had every important book in that Great Library of Joisey. You need to buy it for recipes other than the Reine de Saba. "Lutece" is a layer cake with génoise and walnut buttercream, covered with a chocolate glaze and decorated with caramelized walnuts.

It sums it up well, but it does not compute - I always thought bakers were generous people who liked to share the stuff they made.

Are you considering making them? You COULD beat Buttertart to it :)

You will just have to make some yourself, BT.

May I suggest that for The Man's birthday you make "Lutèce" from Cocolat. Walnuts! Need I say more? I made it many years ago, and it was good.

Hey Cynsa, glad to know that you're back in the baking saddle. I made some chocolate orange madeleines yesterday, and had the batter resting in the 'fridge for longer than usual, so it was really stiff. This time all of the madeleines, without exception, had humps. By contrast, the batter for a batch I made earlier in the week (but not containing chocolate) was not stiff, and there were precious few humps. How long do you let your batter rest?

You really do subscribe to Buttertart's "Belts and Braces" philosophy, using flour, butter, AND a spray. I use only butter and flour.

I wonder what the result would be if you used beeswax to coat the madeleine molds.

Pilinut, I hope you managed to stock up on vanilla in Manila.

Looks great Mme La Doyenne.

I have the book but don't remember the recipe. Do you bloom the cocoa?

I tend to avoid recipes that give volumetric measurements, but if I do come across an interesting recipe, I use the conversion charts in "The Cake Bible" (my most trusted source), and then write the weights into the book if I like the outcome.

I remember one ridiculous recipe, which I did not make, that called for 1-3/4 cups plus two Tbsp of flour lightly spooned into the cups.

It's much easier (and more accurate) to weigh everything. I never use measuring cups for dry ingredients.

Butter blends easier if you beat it first, then add it to make the buttercream.

I've made cream puffs many times, on parchment as well as directly on a baking sheet, and have never had that problem. What recipe are you using? The others in the picture do not puff much either.

4 yolks and 7 whites, baked in two 4" individual soufflé dishes. It is too much soufflé for some people........but not for me!

If you want a lighter soufflé that will puff up more, fold the lemon mixture into the egg whites, not the other way round.

I prefer to bake a soufflé for 9 minutes at 425°F, which gives you a slightly runny centre as opposed to a cakey texture.

The article mentions using the mixer for folding......how do you use a mixer for folding?

Loblaws carries them.

That's Pilinut's secret conduit (........ssshhh)! She gave me a rather fine vanilla bean when we met in SFO.

Buttered.

Hi Pilinut, thanks for the response and the vote of confidence. The molds have no smell at all, so I'll just rinse them, as you suggested.

Your "sealing" them with beeswax for storage is a great idea; thanks! I will do the same after the next batch.

I have a friend whose curiosity about canelés was piqued by my description, so I'm going to be sending her some with a friend who will be visiting from Vancouver. I think it will be better to put them in a box rather than plastic, so they don't get rubbery. Do you agree?

Bummer, being stuck in Manila with no vanilla ;)

I'm going to be making canelés again within the next few weeks and was wondering: the last time I made some was about two years ago, and per canelé protocol did not wash the molds. Should I wash and season them now before using them?