Clarissa's Profile
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
Yeah, I tasted a bit. Not bad but not the best texture. Next time, I'll do better.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
I used exactly 25% less agave than sugar. But I used a bit of applesauce for some of the oil (I know, over-tinkering) and maybe that had some natural sweetness. Or maybe, as I get older, I'm more sensitive to things being overly sweet? Although I do love sugar so very much....
I should have lowered the oven temp, but didn't. Luckily checked the cake a lot so it didn't get over-baked. That said, I should have been more on top of the whole thing as I was making it. If I had it to do again, I would have only done as advised, and changed one thing and not several. Even after many years of baking, I'm an amateur who needs to be careful about messing around too much with things.
Thanks so much for your advice. Next time I do this I'm going to do what you said. I haven't given up on agave, but I am going to try to be more on top of the whole thing.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
Thanks so much! I was a lot less grumpy after I decided to serve the cake to my family instead of throwing it out. But I don't often tinker with things, and of course Rose Levy Beranbaum's book taught me, many years ago, that this chemistry thing needs to be respected. So I disrespected the chemistry, and the chemistry gods punished me.
Merlot jelly sounds amazing. Sorry you had to toss it.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
Update: Tasted a bit from the bottom. Not bad at all. A tiny bit sweeter than I like, but texture is fine. Hopefully I won't start projectile vomiting now. J/K. As the other person said, I killed off the salmonella.
This is what I get for trying to be a little healthier. Feh. From now on, I will embrace sugar and white flour and eggs.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
Hey -- thanks to everyone for your replies. Sounds like it might not be a great cake, but it won't make us sick. So I'm going to sneak a tiny taste before icing it to see if it's okay to eat, texture-wise.
I appreciate the responses. If anyone sees this and wants to warn me of any safety issues, please do. For the time being, I'm planning on serving it. Hopefully the icing will cover some sins.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
Thanks! So glad I don't have to make another one.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
That's it. The sugar coagulated the yolks. Yes, the remaining half of the sugar was in there. Too late to add the yolk, but I'll taste a tiny bit from the bottom and see if it's okay for everyone to eat. Not much yolk wound up in the strainer -- maybe 1/3 of one of the three, or even less.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
Bummer. Thanks a lot. I may taste it from the bottom and see if it's ruined, since I did strain it. If it won't make everyone sick I may still ice and at least serve to my immediate family. They're not so choosy.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
The applesauce wasn't totally smooth. Just touched one of the lumps and it reminded me of when I've cooked yolks to bring them to 160 or whatever. Like they got partially cooked. There are very few of the lumps and I strained them out, but it is curious. Maybe I should toss it. Don't want to make anybody sick.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
So you don't think it's safe to eat, or you just don't think it'll have a good consistency? Because for this crowd, if it's not a safety issue, it'll be fine. But if it's a safety issue, I'll toss it.
You're right. I did too much tweaking.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
Very little was left in the strainer. Apparently it wasn't all the yolk that did this. And the bowl and beater were very clean -- I hadn't used them in a month or two, and they were washed before that.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
Whole eggs, vegetable oil, some applesauce, vanilla.
Can a baker give me some insight into my cake experience just now?
I'm baking a chocolate cake I've made many times. It's oil and cocoa based. This time, because one of the people who'll be eating it has sugar issues (borderline diabetic but does eat sugar sometimes), I substituted agave for half the sugar. I'd put the wet ingredients in a bowl and got interrupted. When I went back later to mix it, there were some yellow lumps. Yolk colored, but pretty rubbery. It's as if there was some chemical reaction that made these little rubbery bits. I put it through a strainer before folding it into the dry ingredients, but can't figure out what happened. I also want to make sure it's nothing wrong that would make it bad to eat, but could find nothing online about this.
Any idea why this happened? And, if so, is it okay to serve? The eggs, by the way, were quite fresh, so it's not that. The wet ingredients sat out for less than an hour and it's not terribly hot in my kitchen.
Broken fridge -- Worcestershire sauce
Thanks, all. It's all psychological -- because the fridge was all hot and smelly from being off for a week during warm weather, I felt funny about using it. But if it requires no refrigeration, that means the same thing in all climates, so I'm definitely going to use it tonight.
Thank you all very much for the helpful responses!
Broken fridge -- Worcestershire sauce
Thanks! Being cheap and lazy, I didn't feel like having to get more.
Broken fridge -- Worcestershire sauce
My fridge broke for a week. It was about 65 degrees in there, and stinky. I tossed almost everything, but there was a very large bottle of Worcestershire that I saved. Can it be used? I need some today. Thanks.
Cream-based glaze -- does it need refrigeration?
I baked cupcakes that are glazed with a brown sugar glaze (cooked cream, brown sugar, butter and vanilla). Froze them. I may need to deliver them a day in advance. Do they need to be refrigerated or can they stay out for a day?
Frosting cupcakes to leave at room temp
Yes, a simple glaze may do. i did some googling today and several sites said that even a butter or cream based topping (frosting or ganache) would survive for a few days because the sugar protects it. The ganache idea would make me nervous, but it makes sense that butter would survive. Maybe even milk. Not sure. Checked Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible and she claims her cream-based glaze does okay at room temp for a few days. Not sure.
Frosting cupcakes to leave at room temp
Thanks for the ideas. What about a simple glaze? I think simple will work best for this guy.
Frosting cupcakes to leave at room temp
Thank you! Great suggestion about changing covering to frosting. If I do a confectioner's sugar icing with milk, can it stay at room temperature in summer? Or does the milk spoil? As far as filling them, what kind of thing do you mean? Thanks so much.
best Kosher wine to have with oysters?
Wow! Not cool. Kosher wineries can sell (and market) to the non-kosher customer base. I left this board years ago because there were too many self-appointed kosher police hounds here.
Frosting cupcakes to leave at room temp
I'm making cupcakes for a friend who's making a road trip. Since it's August, I'm concerned about what to frost them with, because they'll be out at room temperature for several days. Is there anything tasty that won't spoil? Thanks.
Saigon Grill - is the coast clear?
I don't know if this belongs here, but it is a Manhattan question. I don't cross picket lines but I'd love to go back to Saigon Grill. There are no people outside these days but I don't know if anything was settled. Does anybody know what's going on there? (sorry if this question isn't allowed)
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Saigon Grill
620 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024
Las Vegas with some dietary restrictions
Thank you both for your responses.
Eric, he's staying on the Strip without a car, so he wants to stay in that area. He'll be at the Mandarin Oriental. I know he'd prefer to stay away from Asian food. I told him what you said. I also think that, at high end restaurants, it's usually easy to have restrictions, because there are usually options and they're often open to working with diner's requests if it doesn't compromise the dish.
Josephnl, I appreciate your suggestions and will pass them to him. I'd heard of Scarpetta and had been planning on suggesting Bouchon, as well. I'll look up the others.
Thanks so much!
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Bouchon
3355 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Las Vegas with some dietary restrictions
Friend is going to Vegas. He's kosher but is okay about eating in non-kosher restaurants, as long as he can avoid meat anything (including stock) and shellfish. So he's looking for great, high-end places where there are vegetarian (and even fish, as long as it's not shellfish) options and special requests are okay. tia
Princeton
We wound up going to the Peacock Inn and loved it. Great service, wonderful food, lovely atmosphere.
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Peacock Inn
20 Bayard Lane, Princeton, NJ
Princeton
Just did a Chowhound search and discovered Elements. Sounds a little far, but great.
