[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike.

Does anyone have a recipe for toasting sugar?

Say I want to toast 3 lbs. How hot for how long?

Thanks

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, have you ever tried nonfat sour cream? My chocolate cake recipe has oil and sour cream. I've used nonfat a few times when it was all I had. Some people notice but most don't.

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA - forgot to say congrats and your stepson and new daughter-in-law to be.

And Mike, congrats on 50! Isn't eating 50 year old cake a Seinfeld episode? Elaine eats old cake

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, interesting tip about the olive oil. I've always added some coffee as it's supposed to bring out the chocolate flavor. My chocolate cake calls for oil. Never thought about using olive. Always used some neutral cooking oil. Next time I'll try olive oil.

What kind did you use? Right now we have several different ones from the inexpensive big jugs of Spanish OO from Costco to some fancy Italian oils to some interesting Israeli stuff my brother gave me when he came to visit. All are extra virgin.

My kids would love it if I made different cakes to test the different olive oils but my wife might kick me out.

[aaronatthedoublef]

So... do they want to keep a layer to freeze for their 1-year anniversary? Will they want to keep some cake for that. It was great to pull it out of the freezer and celebrate. It was first anniversary, we just found out we were going to have our first kid, and it was my 40th, so lots to be happy about.

My two main cakes, one chocolate and one white, freeze very well. I double wrap them in plastic and then in a freezer bag (the freezer bag probably isn't needed). My boss at the Seattle bakery used to do this so she always had a cake on hand for a special customer.

You could freeze the layers and thaw them at your destination. If you're worried about them being dry you can make a simple syrup or something else to add some moisture and brush the layers with it before you frost them.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Should I be more sympathetic to our international members? They joined a group with "America" in the name of the org and are now complaining that we do not represent them because we're an "American" organization.

[aaronatthedoublef]

The price of flour (among other things) has been a recent big topic on the BBGA and I know my baker has been shifting whole grain flours just trying to keep costs down. Recently he switched to spelt and now he cannot find that. Most of his flour comes from Central Milling and he has had a hard time finding flour from them. He has switched to Galahad for now but is not a big fan of KABC anymore.

Down here in CT, the cost of gas has increased about $1.15 since since January. It may be more or less where you live but when something that basic goes up it increases the cost of everything. ANd the more touches a product goes through the more it will raise the cost.

I love working in supply chain/logistics.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I've been baking a lot. I found a neat little bakery/cafe in Sandy Hook CT. The owner is a really decent person and a genuinely good teacher. I am almost to the point where I can handle Sunday morning production. I am still slow but I am becoming faster and more consistent. Everything is done by hand except the mixing.

Both the pastry chef and the owner are BBGA members and asked me if I've ever read posts by "Mike Nolan" ;-).

It is a lot of work but a lot of fun.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Hi! It's been a long time. Hope everyone is well.

Swiss cheese is sort of an American invention. I was doing some contract work for a Swiss company and it drove them nuts that most of us think this is Swiss and, even worse, a picture of Swiss cheese has become the universal symbol for "cheese". It was hilarious to see my normally calm, cool, colleagues loose it over "Swiss cheese".

That said they always liked Gruyere and Emmantaler. Those are pretty common here. There is also Fontina and Fontal but I like the Italian versions of those better than the Swiss.

I think Raclette is typically used for things like fondue.

Where I live these are raw cheeses and haven't been pasteurized. So you may want to check for that if you are, like my wife, concerned about non-pasteurized dairy.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks!

Interesting. I saw ads for it on Netflix and now I cannot find it. Not sure why it was pulled from my feed. Might be because of my VPN which sometimes causes problems with streaming services.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Mike - how do you like the meater? Someone is offering deals (cannot remember if it is Moink or Porter Road) and I need a new leave in oven thermometer.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Did I miss it or is there no leavening? No baking powder, soda, or yeast. The eggs could give it some perhaps.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I made schnecken this week! It's the first time I've made them in years. I always think they are sooo complicated and they aren't.

One of my brother's started a text chain asking the kids what their favorite thing was their grandma made and they hall two things one of which was schnecken. And my kids did not know what they were so I had to make them. They needed a little more filling and be more tightly rolled but they were tasty.

I subbed apple cider for the water and used chopped up apples instead of walnuts since Violet doesn't like nuts and Kate wanted an "apple" sweet to serve our neighbors. Then Kate said "these would be really good with walnuts"! 🙂 Next time I will make some with walnuts, some with apples, and some with both!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Darn. Wish I'd had this in April. I made a My wife wanted a coconut cake for her birthday. It's surprisingly hard to find one that actually has coconut. I forget where I found the recipe I made.

The cake I made had me add the shredded coconut to the frosting. It's easier than pressing it into the side but doesn't give the same look. I will also toast it next time.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Violet and I made her birthday cake - Duff Goldman white, confetti cake. It's like the Cake Bible White Velvet cake but with a ton of sprinkles in and on top of the cake. I've figured out how to work with Violet. I had everything pre-measured before she came home from camp and she mixed everything up. We only had to make the cake once and we were both happy.

I think I will cut the sugar some next time as the sprinkles add sweetness. Duff's recipes in general are very sweet).

I frosted it instead of Kate. I froze the layers the night before. Then I did a crumb coat and chilled it followed by a smooth layer and then piped scallops around the top and bottom. First time I've used a piping bag in years.

Mike - if you come up with a good Italian beef recipe I'll happily try it. I've been looking for one off and on for several years and never found one. It's only in the last couple years I've seen them at all as people begin to realize there is more to Chicago Cuisine than deep dish pizza and Vienna hot dogs with poppy seed buns.

And speaking of deep dish pizza I found this article debunking the Ike Sewell story which I never believed in the first place.

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