Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

I don't use non-stick either and I haven't had a problem, but I don't stir it very much either.

Reply to this      Posted by: Matthew | March 16, 2008 1:54 PM #

I never use a non-stick pan!

Reply to this      Posted by: hector | March 16, 2008 1:27 PM #

that chopstick!

Reply to this      Posted by: hector | March 16, 2008 1:23 PM #

Yes, I didn't use a non stick sauce pan, and also could have brushed down the sides of the pan better. Thanks all for your helpful suggestions!

Reply to this      Posted by: veronica | March 16, 2008 12:22 PM #

Veronica, The only time I had trouble with the Mousseline was when I didn't a non-stick sauce pan. Could that have been the culprit?

HECTOR, Thanks for the chopstick tip. I printed your comments and put the in TCB. Roseana

Reply to this      Posted by: Roseanna | March 16, 2008 10:58 AM #

Veronica, The only time I had trouble with the Mousseline was when I didn't a non-stick sauce pan. Could that have been the culprit?

HECTOR, Thanks for the chopstick tip. I printed your comments and put the in TCB. Roseana

Reply to this      Posted by: Roseanna | March 16, 2008 10:57 AM #

Veronica, The only time I had trouble with the Mousseline was when I didn't a non-stick sauce pan. Could that have been the culprit?

HECTOR, Thanks for the chopstick tip. I printed your comments and put the in TCB. Roseana

Reply to this      Posted by: Roseanna | March 16, 2008 10:56 AM #

veronica, once the sugar is dissolved it won't burn unless you have a very uneven heat source or a non-heavy-weight pot; which if you do, just turn the pot 45 degrees every few minutes or so, so all areas of your pot are more evenly heated.

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | March 14, 2008 2:33 PM #

Thank you, Hector. I was thinking that constant stirring of the sugar mixture was necessary to keep it from burning, but I can see how this could lead to excessive crystallization. Thanks for the tips!

Reply to this      Posted by: veronica | March 14, 2008 2:23 PM #

Heather, altering the butter/fat content on a butter cake is like playing with fire.

How about Biscuit de Savoie, it oil and butter free! Or Moist Chocolate Genoise which has no additional butter or oil except for the chocolate. You can also make a chocolate version of Biscuit de Savoie (see about replacing the corn starch with cocoa and dissolve with extra water on the Biscuit Roulade recipe). Biscuit must be moistened with equal weight of syrup by the way, otherwise the cake is unedible.

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | March 14, 2008 2:22 PM #

regarding heating sugar for mousseline and crystallization, what works well for me is to set aside, tightly covered, the sugar and water so the sugar is well hydrated; it is the first thing I do and leave this for sometimes hours. Also, I don't stir at this point because you want to prevent making your pot sides dirty with sugar or mess which would crystalize.

then, i bring the pot to medium-high heat, and stir only ocassionally with a single wooden chopstick. The chopstick prevents splashing on the sides of the pot, too. I used to use a small silicone spatula and constanly cleaning the pot sides, but why bother now.

when the sugar has warmed up it will dissove, and at this point I stop stirring. now, I place my ceramic soup bowl on my stove, next to the sugar pot, so the bowl will get very warm.

when sugar has reached 248, I immediatelly pour it onto the ceramic bowl, and then immediatelly use it on the whipped whites. The warm bowl gives me zero stuck residue, the litte left stuck remains fluid and it is easy to scrape it out clean with a spoon or silicone spatula.

it summary, it helps to hydrate the sugar well prior to heating, and to keep your pot sides clean.

I use plain water, and plain white sugar CH cane (which was exclusivelly produced in Hawaii, in the past, but now it is produced somewhere else due to cost, Hawaii no longer has a single sugar can field)

Reply to this      Posted by: Hector | March 14, 2008 2:15 PM #

I will be making a wedding cake for my brother-in-law and his fiancee. Unfortunately, she has a digestive disorder that allows her to eat almost no fat. She wants a truly low-fat cake for the top tier. I am trying to come up with a recipe for a chocolate or spice cake (typical 9x13 size) with no more than 42 grams of total fat and no more than 18 grams of saturated fat. Basically, that means 3 tablespoons of oil or 2 tablespoons of butter and 1.5 tablespoons of oil. Are there any other combinations of fats that would allow me to use more fat and still achieve these limits? Also, I need to replace the remaining 1/4 cup of fat in my standard recipe with something else, but applesauce makes the cake rubbery. Is there anything else I can use besides applesauce? Bananas or pureed eggplant (!) have crossed my mind. Or am I trying to achieve the impossible?

Reply to this      Posted by: Heather | March 14, 2008 1:55 PM #

Hi Rose,

I am a novice aspiring baker who received the cake bible as a gift, and I have tried a few of the recipes so far. I read that Plugra butter is good for baking, however I am afraid that I made a mistake in using it in your Mousseline buttercream. The texture of the buttercream seemed just right, but it had a tangy flavor that was somewhat offputting. I was wondering if this is the normal flavor for that brand of butter, or if I may have gone wrong somewhere with the egg whites. One adjustment that I also made to the recipe was to use corn syrup and sugar as you do in your neoclassic buttercream. When I tried to bring just sugar and water to 248 degrees it somehow turned into a chalky solid mess, but the substitution I used worked just fine. Thank you so for much for any assistance!

Veronica

Reply to this      Posted by: Veronica | March 14, 2008 8:48 AM #

Hi Rose,

I am a novice aspiring baker who received the cake bible as a gift, and I have tried a few of the recipes so far. I read that Plugra butter is good for baking, however I am afraid that I made a mistake in using it in your Mousseline buttercream. The texture of the buttercream seemed just right, but it had a tangy flavor that was somewhat offputting. I was wondering if this is the normal flavor for that brand of butter, or if I may have gone wrong somewhere with the egg whites. One adjustment that I also made to the recipe was to use corn syrup and sugar as you do in your neoclassic buttercream. When I tried to bring just sugar and water to 248 degrees it somehow turned into a chalky solid mess, but the substitution I used worked just fine. Thank you so for much for any assistance!

Veronica

Reply to this      Posted by: Veronica | March 14, 2008 8:48 AM #

I'm trying to find a phone number and/or mailing address for Kalustian's. I've done a Google search (that's how I found this post), I've tried YellowPages.com and I've called 411, but no luck--no listing anywhere! Can you help me track down this information? It would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and Rose, the Vanilla Queen sends her regards!

Reply to this      Posted by: Gina | June 20, 2007 1:32 PM #

yes

Reply to this      Posted by: Patrincia | April 7, 2007 9:30 PM #

Not sure if this thread is still active, but you can buy rose water from amazon.com

Reply to this      Posted by: Alia | April 7, 2007 4:52 PM #

rose water can be found in bodegas but also especially west indian *Jamaician" stores. My father used to buy it and give to my mother for a light perfume. As a child I never knew where he got it but my husband who was from the small isLAND Of CARRICOU WHICH
is off the larger island of Grenada took me there and I found it in abundance there as well as smaller stores here.

Reply to this      Posted by: betty | May 8, 2006 5:15 PM #

Dear rose levy,

I have a recipe that requires rose water but I don't know where to find it! I live in Fort Myers, Florida.I am not sure if u can find it here.

sincerely,
Anjelica

Reply to this      Posted by: anjelica | April 20, 2006 9:31 AM #