gumpaste roses

making gum paste flowers usually requires a bit of equipment. i'm writing this post under the assumption that you have it. if you don't, read this to get the general idea of your desired out come. after that, wing it, and see what you're capable of.

you will need, gum paste, a small rolling pin, confectioners sugar, rose petal shaped gum paste cutters (like a cookie cutter), maybe an exacto knife, and a bone tool for thinning out your edges.

roll out your gum paste and color it whatever color you want. if you're using a liquid food coloring a little bit of cornstarch might be necessary to keep your gum paste at the right consistency.

first, take a piece of gum paste about the size of a dime, roll it into a ball, and then give it a dull point at one end, it should look like a fat candy corn. this will serve as a base for your flower.

roll out your gum paste very thin, (using confectioners sugar like you would use flour to keep dough from sticking).
then just cut out your forms, you'll need four to make a small rose.

starting off

then use your bone tool, shown with the petals below, to thin out the edges of your rose petals. the soft round edge of the bone tool can be rubbed against the edges of the petals without snagging if the gum paste is a good consistency. if you do get a lot of snags, try a pressing motion instead of a rubbing motion, it will take more time, but you'll avoid tears.

this step makes the edges of the petals more life like and will give the whole petal a better shape.

thinned out

the cutters will have given the petal a distinct point at one end. during construction the point will always be facing the fatter end of the base. this will be the bottom.
the first petal will be making the bud of the rose, so wrap one side of the petal around the base completely, then wrap the other end over that. there should only be a small hole at the top, if any. no one needs to know what's going on in there.



the second leaf needs to be secured to the bud, i use a little bit of sonfectioners sugar and water, (a very thick mixture)

the center of this leaf should be directly on top of the seam from the first petal.



press down one side of the petal, but leave the other open. the third petal will slide under the second.



and the fourth petal will slide under the open edge of the third one.



in a perfect world, your petals will each overlap half of the petal before it. and your last petal will overlap half of the first.



to make a bigger rose, cut out an addictional five petals and start a new row. remeber to over lap them with each other. if you dare to add another row after that, you'll need seven petals.

gumpaste is great for making flowers, but it doesn't taste like much. i prefer to use modeling chocolate so i can eat em!. =D

gratuitous

he's gonna eat your soul

five days

the last five days of my life have been the most hectic days that i have ever known.

Friday i worked, Saturday i worked a double and saw the boyfriend. Sunday i worked and saw the boyfriend.

...notice all the space i left for sleeping...

I'm so dumb.

Monday i schlepped my ass all the way to 116 street (Manhattan) where i got lost on the train and cried a little bit. the 456 subway line is not my favorite. but, once i finally got where i was going, i took my food handler's licence test, and i didn't just pass it. i passed it a lot. 96%.

i am still collecting high fives for that.

Tuesday i worked all morning and by the time i got to school that night i was a destroyed sleep deprived mess. it was weird, i barely remember it.

scattered throughout my weekend i got offered a new part time job. the hours are really flexible so i can do it with my internship and school. some girls i work with started throwing parties for beauty control and they asked me to help. it's really good money and i think I'll show up to every party with a hostess gift, some cupcakes and a business card.

i have this sick idea of printing the words, 'ulterior motive' right across the top of the cake box, just in case it needed some clarifying.

a year ago the idea of baking things and then having people pay me for them terrified me. it was so far from what i wanted, but now i can't wait to start.

tomorrow shall be my first day off in a little over a month. i am so excited. nothing to do, time to clean, and update my resume, and do some homework that has been being neglected in the name of the health department's test, and don't tell him this, but perhaps I'll walk my dog. hooray!

santa weekend?

south street seaport
over run with holiday spirit
fueled by beer

not edible, nor did i make it

rusty

happy birthday caitlin

some people like chocolate, so you make them a chocolate cake.

Caitlin really likes the Brooklyn bridge, so i did what i could.

i make a lot of cupcakes, but i only make one frosting

6 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups of milk
2 cups of butter (1 pound/ 4 sticks)
2 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

cook the flour and milk together in a sauce pan until it bubbles and thickens. pour it on to a plate and cover it with plastic wrap.

(put the plastic right up against it so it doesn't form a skin. SERIOUSLY!!! cover it. the skin does not simply dissolve away. it makes your icing funky.)

then put it in the fridge while you make the rest of your frosting.


cream the butter and sugar. add the vanilla

when the flour and milk is cool, add it to the butter and whip until the frosting turns light, fluffy and white.

put it in the fridge for 15 minutes. then use all you want.

school's out

i'm interning in a resturant for 210 hours in order to finish my course. i love it. i went there to learn how to make pizzas, like this one;



but when it got slow, the head chef taught me saute dishes, like these;



nothing got sent back, so it was a good day.

tootsie

this is a chocolate "ribbon" cake
the "ribbon" is homemade tootsie roll
why yes actually, i am a sorceress, thank you for asking

the tootsie roll, which is called chocolate plastic... appetizing, is sort of easy to make.
1 pound semi sweet chocolate
3/4 cup light corn syrup

melt the chocolate until smooth. remove from the heat and stir in the corn syrup. stir like a maniac, a whisk will do the best job.

i'll be honest with you. there is a pretty good chance that this "emulsion" is gonna break. in that case put in a food processor and let it go for a while. it should end up looking like a thick gnache.

no food pro?
okey dokey

lucky for you, i was the guinea pig who got to fix the emulsion by hand way back when in pastry school. whisk until your arm falls off, add a small amount of water, just a few drops should do it. then switch arms and keep whisking. it should come together in a few minutes.

ask your doctor if you are healthy enough for strenuous activity. do not attempt if you can't sit or stand for a half an hour at a time, or get easily frustrated and have a habit of throwing things, or taking your anger out on the cat.

...

no, seriously

aaaaaaaannywho

wrap it up and let it sit. overnight!
seriously
do not skip this step
it can be made a few days in advance
when it's time to use it, warm it up in your hands until it's like a giant pliable tootsie roll.

i rolled this chocolate plastic out in a manual pasta roller. that's right, this is a sweat fest till the end.

roll it out thin and then do pretty much whatever you want with it. culinarily speaking of course.

the inside was chocolate mousse, minus the booze
and vanilla cake
but it was geniose
which is gross
i ate around it
and you say it like jen-wa
the french came up with a lot of cool stuff
but I'm not a fan of their sponge cake
so i shall not pass on the recipe
look it up yourself french enthusiasts.

fondant?

When most people are asked to describe their happiest day, it usually revolves around cutting into that big wedding cake with someone special. In my case, it’s more about standing in front of that wedding cake, all alone, and realizing exactly what I created. Much like a first marriage, my first real cake will always hold a special place in my heart.



This was only my second experience with fondant, but its construction hooked me on the mysterious edible play dough, despite the fact that its taste has been compared to that of ‘old people’.

The cake was the final project for my pastry course. It was also my pride and joy.

Blue and white are really classic colors and I had to exercise a lot of restraint not to over work them. Instead, I went with old fashioned embroidery piping... well, because i'm classy.

I free handed the pattern, for some insane reason. The other students told me I was ballsy, which I loved. One can never receive enough compliments about ones balls.



I also heard it referred to as ‘The Wedgwood cake” constantly. I nodded and smiled like any sane person who has no idea what’s going on. Unfortunately, Google quickly revealed that this Wedgwood guy ripped off my cake pattern.

The bitterness passed, because the cake was delicious.

I hope that if Mr. Wedgwood ever reads this, he can take a joke.

this was a birthday cake i made for my boyfriend. i think it's pretty sweet... arrrrrg

lemon curd tarts

if i said these were my favorite things to bake, it would be an understatement. they frequently inspire me to burst out in song.

the crust is pate sablee.
8 ounces butter
4 ounces sugar
1 egg
12 ounces cake flour

the dough is creaming method, so "cream" the butter until it's soft, then add the sugar. for accomplishing this, you have two options; one is a stand mixer, the other is getting sweaty.

add the egg after the sugar and butter have been completely combined. wait, and then begin to add the flour. the last bit of flour is always stubborn and is always easier to work in with your hands.

bake your pie or tart shells (without the filling! or ohmygoosh, you'd have such a mess!) at 350 F. bigger crusts will take longer but they will be golden when they are done


(use baking weights, or baking beans to hold the crust down. if you don't you'll get big bubbles)

my mother, who hates making pie crusts, was driven to profanity when she saw how quickly i made these.

her forgiveness and her first bite were simultaneous.

the filling is lemon curd
6 tbsp fresh melon juice
2 tbsp butter
the zest of one lemon (which i leave out cause i don't like chunks)
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
a pinch of salt
1 egg and one additional egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

in a sauce pan, combine the lemon juice, butter and maybe some zest if you feel like it. (i never feel like it because i dislike chunks) keep everything over a low flame until the butter is melted.m

combine the dry ingredients separately (salt, sugar, cornstarch)
add the eggs to the dry ingredients, mix well, then add the hot lemon juice
return the whole batch to the heat and cook until it's thick and bubbly
(5-8 minutes)
you want the eggs to cook, but if you don't stir constantly they'll scorch
when it's all done, stir in the vanilla, cool and fill your pie shells... or perhaps just a spoon.

mine are dusted with powdered sugar, just 'cause.