Thanks. Hes quite a good baker for his age making chocolate eclairs and crème brulee pie recently
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Thanks
He can make eclairs at 16?!?!
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Yes, hes going into grade 11 french immersion and is very interested in everything french.
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Ooof. Sorry to hear that. My favorite sheetpans are from Nordicware. I haven’t had any issues with them warping.
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I found the tutorial on choux pastry in the link below very useful. Some stuff I had not known before, such as using a star nozzle, not a plain one. You may want to forward it.
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Thanks I will send it to him and read it myself too. He told me that if he has to do a presentation he would like to do one on french pastries. I got him several books “In the French Kitchen with Kids” put out by Mardi Michel an Australian/Canadian who is a teacher, here in Toronto and he has baked many things from them.
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You may also want to get him a copy of “The Cake Bible” (due to be re-issued shortly). I bought a copy last Christmas for my great-niece who’s 10, and a budding baker. There are, of course, the rest of RLB’s books.
I hope he’s already learned that for accuracy and repeatability you bake by weight, not volume.
Good to know. I have some of those and will try.
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Thanks for the recommendation. Hes baked with me several times and i only bake recipes that have weights. They will be here soon. I’m excited because they live 500km north from us and we dont see them that often.
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I’ve taken some courses from her! She is excellent…
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It’s that time of year! Made the Marian Burros plum torte… https://smittenkitchen.com/2013/10/purple-plum-torte/ taking into work tomorrow for a colleague’s last day ( she is going back to school)…
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Happy plum torte season to all who celebrate 
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Blueberry whole wheat muffin tops, by request. This was a repeat of a recipe baked last month, but baked in smaller “ice cream sandwich” / muffin top pans and I got 22, baking 15 minutes at a slightly lower 350 degree temp. I froze most of the batch, but it hasn’t slowed us down much. We promptly finished off the 4 I left out of the freezer - after lunch then another round after supper.
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Here’s what epicurious has to say about the origin of the Philly Fluff Cake:
Named for the iconic cream cheese brand, the Philly fluff cake can be found at bakeries across the Northeast. Far less dense (and far more flavorful) than a traditional pound cake, the Philly fluff is known for its ethereally light, fluffy texture. The cake batter starts with a trifecta of fat—cream cheese, butter, and shortening—each playing an important role in the cake’s flavor and structure. The cream cheese gives the cake its signature tang; the butter adds richness and flavor; and the shortening is key to the cake’s light, springy, soft crumb.
The original Philly fluff cake was created by Harry Zipes, onetime of Bruce’s Bakery (named for Zipes’ son, Bruce) in Great Neck, Long Island. “My father, Harry, was constantly trying to make every item in his bakery just a little bit better,” Zipes writes in Bruce’s Bakery Cookbook, where he published the recipe for his father’s signature Philly fluff cake. “In this case, he took a basic pound cake and added extra cream cheese and lots of real butter.” Shortly after its introduction to the menu, the ultrarich Bundt cake—which also featured a chocolate ripple in the batter—became a best-seller. Its instant popularity prompted bakeries across the tri-state area to create their own versions. This recipe is inspired by the one at Natale’s Bakery in Summit, New Jersey, famous for their all-vanilla, tender-crumbed Philly fluffs. It keeps the original triple-enriched base but skips the chocolate swirl and bakes in a tube pan rather than a Bundt. Once cooled, the cake is inverted so the thicker ring faces up, providing more surface area for the generous layer of powdered sugar on top, a signature of many Philly fluff cakes.
This is one of those rare confections that only gets better with time: As the cake sits, its flavor concentrates and the crumb softens, making a slice just as enjoyable (if not more so) the next day. Eat it for breakfast, a snack, or dessert—it’s the ideal have-around-the-house cake.
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Tres leches cake with whipped topping: can this be frozen? I’m getting mixed information online, some say no, cake should be frozen without topping; but other sites say you can freeze a cake even with whipped topping. I’ve come across frozen cream pies, frosted (buttercream) cakes.
Thoughts?
Asking because my fav Mexican restaurant sells cakes whole and instead of buying pieces, I was thinking of just getting an entire cake. The daughter translated for me and asked her dad about refrigeration and freezing but he only said that I could refrigerate for 3-4 days.
Frozen whipped cream gets really gummy and weird. Not recommended.
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I just remembered that i received a photo of himwith a chocolate eclair
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My second and final pie of peach season. For this one, I swapped out 20% of the peaches for freshly picked blueberries. Looks like the BB mostly floated to the top. Will post a pic of the inside after we cut into it tonight.
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These are always gorgeous
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