The New Blog Design is Here!!!

Nov 19, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements

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Appearances and Book Signings

Nov 18, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in APPEARANCES

I will add to this posting as I find out about more events so if you are interested in following this, please click on "post/read comments" and then on the little box at the bottom: "let me know if someone adds a comment"

Thursday, November 19, 12:15 to 12:45 Signing Books at Kitchen Arts and Letters (If you can't make it in person, you can call 212-876-5550 and ask to have your book personalized. They ship!)

Tuesday, December 1, 12:00 East Coast: Lynne Rossetto Kasper, The Splendid Table

Out-Cakes from Rose's Heavenly Cakes: Deep Chocolate Passion

Nov 18, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in OUT CAKES

The Deep Chocolate Passion Cake is one of the most exciting, revolutionary, and versatile cakes in this book. It serves as the base for:

The German Chocolate Cake

The Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

The Designer Cupcakes

The Deep Chocolate Passion Wedding Cake

Preparing the Cake Pan for the Batter

The exceptionally liquid batter fills the pan only 1/4 to 1/3 full.

But, the batter rises to the top of the pan when baked.

Coating the sides of the pan with Baker's Joy (oil and flour) gives the smoothest sides but shrinks in slightly at the top.

Not coating the sides of the pan results in a rougher crumb but perfectly straight sides. If coating with butter cream this is the best choice but if using a non-stick pan and care the sides will look fine uncoated as well

BIG NEWS!!!

Nov 17, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Announcements

In honor of the Blog's 4th birthday, and my dear editor Pam Chirls's birthday, this Thursday November 19th the blog will be down for several hours in the afternoon. When it reappears it will be with an exciting brand new design--more functional as well as beautiful!

A Great & Instructive Cake Story from the LA Times Blog

Nov 17, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Press Mentions

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/dailydish/2009/11/most-bakers-know-that-if-theyre-about-to-tackle-a-complicated-cake-its-a-smart-idea-to-turn-to-rose-levy-beranbaum-whose.html#comments

Rose's Tips for Cake Baking

Nov 16, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Baking & Cooking Tips

Before beginning to bake, read the recipe through and note plan ahead’s.

If at all possible, make the recipe the way it is indicated. Don’t substitute ingredients before making it at least once to see the way it’s supposed to come out.

When preparing ingredients ahead, cover them with plastic wrap so that they don’t dry out or evaporate.

When a recipe calls for softened butter it means the butter should still feel cool but be easy to press down. This usually takes about 30 minutes at room temperature but slicing it in smaller pieces speeds up the process.

Unless a cake recipe indicates otherwise, it is important to use bleached flour for the best texture.

Cocoa should be sifted to remove lumps and make it easier to measure accurately.

If measuring flour rather than weighing it avoid tapping or shaking the cup. This would pack in much more flour and the cake would be heavy and dry.

To combine flour, salt, and leavening such as baking powder or baking soda evenly use a whisk.

Eggs vary greatly in size and also in proportion of yolk to white. Either use weight or volume especially when a recipe calls for all yolks. A recipe requiring 4 yolks may need as many as 7 if the yolks are very small.

To break eggs the most evenly without shattering the shell, set a paper towel on the counter top to absorb any white that will spill out and rap the side of the egg sharply on top of the towel. It will break more neatly than if rapping it against the edge of a bowl.

When separating eggs, pour each white into a smaller bowl before adding it to the larger amount of whites. If even a trace of yolk or grease gets into the white it will be impossible to beat stiffly. If a small amount of yolk should get into the white, use the eggshell to fish it out.

If the bowl in which you are beating the whites is not totally grease free, wet a paper towel, add a little vinegar to it and wipe out the bowl. Then rinse it and dry it well.

Continue reading "Rose's Tips for Cake Baking" »

Cookstr.com

Nov 16, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Web Appearances

I'm delighted to share a new link with you where you will find tons of recipes from many of my favorite colleagues. Here's the link to mine:

http://www.cookstr.com/users/rose-beranbaum/profile

Tumbador Je T'Adore!

Nov 14, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Special Stories

I’ve been wanting to see my friend Jean François Bonnet’s chocolate factory for a few years now but the perfect opportunity finally presented itself when Woody was here in October for the Food Network’s Sweet Night. JF, who made the chocolate ingots (financiers)--the recipe that he contributed to Rose’s Heavenly Cakes, insisted that I bring Woody out to Brooklyn for a visit. And what a visit it was: We tasted many things and were sent home with two shopping bags filled with more!

When I first met JF he was a very young pastry chef from Provence France, working at The Monkey Bar in New York City. I was blown away by his chocolate financiers aka ingots served at the end of the meal—innocent looking little rectangles of dense chocolate cake that exploded with flavor in my mouth. They inspired me to write an article for Food Arts Magazine on the different varieties of financiers and when I interviewed JF about his I was stunned by his technical knowledge. He also confided in me that he was newly arrived in the country and that it was very difficult for people under 30 years of age to get immigration status. I immediately did everything I could to ensure he would stay in this country, including writing to the White House that we must not lose this culinary treasure. Stay he did and went on to become pastry chef, first at the wonderful restaurant Cello under chef Laurent Tourondel and then at one of the country’s top restaurants Daniel (chef/owner Daniel Boulud).

Continue reading "Tumbador Je T'Adore!" »

Heavenly Cake Strip in Canada

Nov 13, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Equipment

Forgot to mention on the Montréal posting that the cake strips are carried by Ares:
http://www.arescuisine.com

A New Baking Author on the BLock!

Nov 12, 2009 | From the kitchen of Rose in Cookbooks

i love the title of this new cookbook and I love the author, Beth Lipton, even though we haven’t yet met except through this delightful book. At last, an author who has written her first cookbook, and even though it’s geared toward the beginning baker, is on the same page as I am concerning weights!

This bodes very well indeed for the increased trend toward weighing ingredients for baking rather than the far less efficient and potentially inaccurate measuring method. Not to worry, she also lists the traditional volume.

Continue reading "A New Baking Author on the BLock!" »

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