Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

Rose's Heavenly Cakes was just named one of the top 10 cookbooks of the year by Amazon!

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We have something really fun and instructive to share with you! it is the book within the book--all the photos Woody and I took during the creation of Heavenly Cakes! There are many process shots and also different views of the cakes and different variations so you will be able to see many more possibilities.

These postings will be every other week and will be arranged according to where the specific cakes appear in the book. I am posting the pumpkin cake first, however, because it is so perfect for Halloween and Thanksgiving. I thought you'd enjoy the beauty of the cake itself still in the pan. I love the way the three curved splits form--almost a pity to hide them with frosting!

Also there wasn't room in the book for the wonderful photo Ben Fink took below of shaping the marzipan leaves. Special thanks to Jason Menegus who provided the original pumpkin leaf from his pumpkin patch. It was difficult finding one that was still in good enough shape as there had already been a first frost. But this one held up long enough to photo copy. I then reduced it to a much smaller size more proportionate to the cake.

And here's the actual photo of the pumpkin leaf to print out and use as a template.

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Wanted to share the great news that after just one week THE BOOK has gone into a second printing!

Thank you all for making it happen.

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Today is the official pub date of Rose's Heavenly Cakes though the book has been out for several weeks.

I thank you all for your wonderful feedback. There have been several "Wows"--can't get more eloquent than that. Another favorite was "insanely wonderful" (love it)!

And here's Hector's response on first receiving the book, which I leave unchanged as even his minor errors (English is his third language) touches my heart:

Everyone who has cake bible will get this one. It really is
everything one can wish for after cake bible! I know all your other
books can also be "part two" of cake bible, but this one is it!

I hope you live till 150 years, and you release a new CAKE book every
20 years. The world needs it. I am so happy you are so open to
reality and indeed you are evolving. This book shows you, the new
Rose, renassaince Rose, the Rose that is catering to today and to
people of today. Once many times I commented, narrow minded, that
mini cakes, cupcakes, red velvet, white chocolate, non mousseline,
etc, are not real cake or real baking, but now you changed my vision.
I glanced at your book 5 times last night, until taking it to bed and
flip every page from the very first page, page by page until past
middle of book and falling to sleep. I also looked at the cover, the
hard cover, the spine, the paper, how this is all built.

I loved my mention, I told my friends I am mentioned in the
ackowledgements, perhaps in very short and small print, but now, I
have near 5 lines if not a whole paragrah about me! I also loved the
part you say that writting is lonelly, and the blog makes you no
longer lonelly. So many new angels came to you thru the blog and keep
coming, I think now is the perfect time to revamp the blog, change the
design, add more functionality, no idea how, so many new technologies
now. Maybe just have you come back to it the same way we miss you,
with your many generous comments and answers. I think you will, new
book to blog about!

I don't know how you keep track and in touch with the many people you
mention in the ackowledgement and introduction. The world is at your
feet, so many friends, colleges, agents, and also computer people! I
love woody's picture, with his meassuring device, really neat and well
presented.

Love the lemon poppy seed cake baked on the heart nordic pan, the
slice is so stunning!

I thought you already told me everything about the book, you have
been, and that yesterday I wouldn't be impressed. I was so wow, this
book is so beautiful my dear, so you, and it shows you made this book
for love and as a gift to people that you love, many people, and with
individual attention. Each cake is a love story! You wrote a cake to
each person you love, like a musician giving the gift of music, you
write one new song for each one of us. Thank you for been who you are,
only you know how and there is only one like you, Rose, but so glad
this flower comes in many colors!

I hope this book does well and that you take a lot of ginseng and
embrace publicity, the news, the media. We really like to hear your
side of the story about this book, now that is out to the public!

Continue reading "Happy Birthday Dear Book!" »

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And no internet so won't be able to answer any postings til after then.

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click here:
http://www.zesterdaily.com/cooking/165-roses-baking-revelations

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The Cake Bible came off the press on 08-08-88, and today is the release date of Heavenly Cakes. How nice that the numbers line up so well--a good omen!

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People have been looking for an appropriate spot to voice their reactions to the new book so I'm creating this posting/thread. Please feel free to leave any comments here.

As for questions: I would like to suggest that first you page through the whole book including equipment and ingredient sections. It may answer most of your questions. If you can't find the answer in the book, either post your question here or in the forums.

I'm sure some of you out there who have worked on the book or who have more experience with cake baking will be able to answer and I encourage you to do so as I will have extremely limited time in the next four months to devote to the blog due to intense book promotion activity. I will chime in if and when I can and will certainly keep you abreast as to any signings, press or other media coverage.

Thanks,

Rose

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A year has gone by since one of my life dream projects was drawn together: the new Rose's Heavenly Cakes DVD produced by Gold Medal Flour. This video is designed to accompany the book with the same name! It will be available for online viewing in high definition at the Wiley website with a link from the blog. All the segments from this video is also appearing every week on youtube, but not in high definition.

And for all of you who requested an actual DVD disc, here is a note from Hector:

Greetings from Hector: your cake baker, devoted Rose worshiper, and now DVD man. I am delighted to inform you that the master recordings of Rose's new DVDs produced by Gold Medal Flour were handed to me for the purpose of shipping copies to everyone who would like an actual disc for just the cost of duplication and mailing. Share the love and help archive a piece of Rose, for the first time ever, on DVD. These are at much higher definition than possibly available thru the internet. It does't get closer than this!

At the present moment, I am shipping the BREAD DVD (set of 1 disc). To receive your copy, please write your name and mailing address on an address label or on a 2 x 3.5 inch piece of paper (the back of a business card will do), enclose a check for $10 payable to HECTOR WONG, and send it to 2888 ALA ILIMA ST, STE 2611, HONOLULU, HAWAII 96818. Please indicate on your check: BREAD DVD. You could also paypal to
myyellowkitchen@gmail.com

The CAKE DVD is a set of 2 discs. $20. These can be available later on 2010. It is important to let me know how many discs I need to duplicate, as the batch copying runs 200 discs at once. You can post a note on this thread or e-mail me at the above g-mail address.

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The BeaterBlade™

My next book (several years hence!!!) will be several pages shorter than it might have been because I will be able to leave out that annoyingly repetitive phrase scrape down the sides of the bowl! This is because an inventive young man, Gary Fallowes of NewMetro Design (he may not be so young by the time I finish another book) has designed a flat beater for most models of the Cuisinart,KitchenAid, Kenwood, Viking and DeLonghi stand mixers, that has a flexible rubber ‘wing’ down the entire outer length of the blade which continuously and efficiently scrapes the sides and bottom of the bowl as it is beating.

I waited a long time to write about this much needed attachment because I wanted to test it out thoroughly and be certain that it would not in any way harm the mixer.

Continue reading "The Most Revolutionary Improvement to Stand Mixers in 90 Years!" »

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Click on the cover of Rose's Heavenly Cakes to the right and it will bring you right to it's great new site on Amazon. Scroll down and you will find three recipes from the book (one is the much requested Red Velvet Cake with Dreamy Creamy White Chocolate Frosting). There are also two editorial reviews.

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My wonderful friend David Shamah, who over the years has introduced me to all sorts of culinary treasures, has unearthed this terrific source for an often hard to find item for bread baking.

Bannetons, also called wicker baskets, are used for shaping bread dough while they are rising to give them extra support. I prefer the ones lined with coarse woven cloth.

Here's the link: http://www.sfbi.com/baking_supplies.html

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i'll be celebrating my dad's 95th for the next 10 days and rarely will be on the computer as once a year i like to give him my undivided attention. will be back at your full disposal july 27. and the usual postings will be wednesday and saturday.

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What luck that my beloved friend and colleague Lisa Yockelson (of Chocolate Chocolate, Baking by Flavor, and many other wonderful books) happened upon this review and informed me that it was on the PW site.

Could I ask for better affirmation of what I hoped to accomplish?! Here it is for you to decide:

Rose's Heavenly Cakes Rose Levy Beranbaum. Wiley, $39.95 (512p) ISBN 978-0-471-78173-8
Beranbaum, specialist of baked goods that make people's eyes light up, tops her renowned The Cake Bible with an updated, modern collection of delicious confections. Bakers who have already dog-eared every page of that earlier book need not worry: this is far from a duplicate, with only the occasional repeat or adaptation. The recipes range from towering creations for weddings and other special events to baby cakes for bite-size indulgence, and from the simplest apple upside-down cake and yellow butter cupcakes to the elegant rose-shaped genoise and the stunning holiday pinecone cake. Beranbaum goes into great detail in her recipe instructions, yet still manages to keep the lengthy guidelines friendly, accessible and unintimidating, whether she is describing how to make a whipped ganache topping or beurre noisette, an integral part of her delicate array of financiers. Chocolate, fruit, cream, spun sugar: Beranbaum enlists the best ingredients (which she reviews in a helpful glossary) to create knockout cakes, and with her patient, meticulous description of the measurements and process, anyone with a good mixer and spatula, some time and determination will be able to turn out impressive sweet sensations. (Sept.)

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Just saw the announcement in The New York Times yesterday: Tickets are now on sale for the New York City Wine & Food Festival at nycwineandfoodfestival.com

My event will be on October 10 (10/10 day!)

My dear friend the brilliant pastry chef and chocolatier Jean François Bonnet of Tumbador will be making 1000 tastings of his chocolate financier recipe that is included in the upcoming book.

Hope to see you there!

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Taking a week off to breathe the country air, smell the roses, and take a break from the internet. There will, however, be the usual Saturday posting and Wednesday You Tube link.

Take care of yourselves and each other. I'll try to avoid temptation but will surely take a peek from time to time.

Happy Baking!

Rose

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We all know that they best way to keep pie dough from sticking to the surface while rolling it out is to keep it cool. But unless you have a refrigerated marble top, chill down your marble or granite counter, or use the Kuhn Rikkon plastic box like device into which you can insert ice packs, the chances are that it will soften to some degree while rolling.

The best temperature for the dough is 60 to 65˚F/15 to 18˚C. Colder and it cracks, warmer and it sticks so speed is of the essence here.

I’m always looking for the ideal way to prevent sticking and avoid adding too much extra flour to the dough. Up until I discovered the "magic dough mat" I swore by the pastry cloth and sleeve into which you rub flour allowing the to dough pick up only the bare minimum it requires.

When I saw the dough mat described in an industry equipment magazine I was skeptical but ordered one to check it out. I was stunned to discover that unless the dough really softens it virtually prevents sticking.

Note: It’s always a good idea when rolling the dough to move it from time to time to ensure that it will release and if it seems to be getting a little resistant, to sprinkle on a little flour. I prefer Wondra, as it’s slightly coarse texture makes it wonderfully slippery and less is needed.

The dough mat has a slightly adhesive bottom surface, which keeps it from slipping on the counter. The top surface has all manner of useful information such as guide rings for different size doughs and lots of metric equivalencies including volume and temperature. It rolls up for easy storage.

The dough mat is carried by some cookware shops or can be ordered on line from http://www.cooking.com or directly from the manufacturer for about $20 plus shipping.

http://www.magicslice.com Put the words dough mat in the search box.

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It must be in the air but suddenly there is an explosion of groups created around baking with me and I couldn't be happier (or busier!)

Several people asked me to set this up so here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rose-Levy-Beranbaum/208320235226?v=wall&viewas=559456149

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Happy June 1 and happy indeed as the first cake and frosting (including commentary, photos and recipes) from my new book has appeared. Check out http://www.heavenlycakeplace.blogspot.com

This unusual combination of spice cake and peanut buttercream was inspired by Lillan Hayward, mother of Woody’s T'ai Chi master Sifu Ray (funny coincidence both she and Marie are from the Twin Cities! But Marie says she chose this as her first cake to try because her husband Jim loves peanut butter.)

This is my newest peanut buttercream and I'm very pleased with it. In fact I'm combining it with my new devil's food cake for a special birthday party this coming weekend in Hope!

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For more about the recent trip to Normandy please click on this link:
http://amerrierworld.wordpress.com/2009/05/27/la-vie-avec-rose-part-ii/

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I'm on twitter: http://twitter.com/flourrose

follow my flight!

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Somehow an important posting question from one of you disappeared amidst the flood of new postings that appeared while I was away. It was from someone announcing she was starting a new blog and asking if I would answer a few questions as part of an interview. I do hope you see this and resend it!

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I had to do it! While it's true that I started my trip in Paris (where I am writing from right now as I wait for departure to the US) I spent the last week in Devon England visiting Kate Coldrick (and family) of 'kate flour.' http://amerrierworld@wordpress.com

It was so hard keeping this a secret for all these months but we wanted to surprise fellow UK bloggers Melinda and Jeanette and it was the only way. Each drove to Devon from several hours away thinking they were meeting Kate for the first time and got the added bonus of me! It was so exciting I can't remember the exact words but it went something like a chorus of "it looks like Rose....It IS Rose...it CAN'T be..it IS! And their poor husbands were totally mystified as to what was going on. One quickly disappeared into a nearby store to buy me a welcome souvenir--a tote bag with the beloved Aga range logo! It was a magical time during which we, of course, talked non-stop. The husbands disappeared for a while but came back at the end and added delightfully to the conversationI

I can't believe we pulled it off. Kate and I were so worred that one or the other might cancel thinking they could reschedule easily for another time. Jeanette said she hasn't been so surprised since finding out a week before delivery that she was giving birth to twins many years ago! (One of which--her daughter Ann--accompanied her to lunch.)

Of course both Kate and I will be posting about our two week adventure from Paris, a chateau in Normandy, a ferry across the English channel (on which we were somewhat seasick but one of her daughters was doing perfect cartwheels on the roiling deck) and then Devon. There were many fabulous meals and lots of baking comparing American cake flour to kate flour. By the way, the UK bread flour for no knead bread is terrific. It seems to have a little of the bran left in as there are tiny speckles.

A perfect trip and now happy to be returning to Elliott, the final proofing of the book, my new yellow baby rice cooker (stay tuned for the ultimate brown rice recipe), and my newish Mac.

Love,
Rose

P.S. bean posting 2 tomorrow!

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I'll be in France on vacation for two weeks. There will be a new posting each Saturday as usual and each Wednesday a new You Tube link will be posted as well.

Do continue to post and answer postings.

Happy Baking,

Rose

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Dear Friends,

I'll be in France on vacation for two weeks. There will be a new posting each Saturday as usual and each Wednesday a new You Tube link will be posted as well.

Do continue to post and answer postings.

Happy Baking,

Rose

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The Bread DVD that I made with General Mills/Gold Medal flour is now live on Youtube and will have a permanent link on the home page of this blog.

If you'd like to see the basics of bread preparation from kneading to shaping, slashing, and baking click here.

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i was wondering why no one was responding to any of my posts but was so busy with book production, you tube postings and other postings i didn't realize that something was wrong with my gmail notification so i had no idea there were any posts since march 1!

i've just now gone through them all, cleaning up those that were submitted two and three times (please be careful to post only once to avoid this) and answering things that no one else had.

i tried to answer everything at least everything that i had an answer to!

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For the many requests by people who missed seeing Baking Magic with Rose when it aired over PBS stations, it will begin posting on You Tube this coming week.

Thank you Hector Wong and Rachael Ashe who worked so hard to make this possible.

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The blad is in! A blad is an abbreviation for book layout design and is produced mainly to show prospective book buyer accounts the general look and content.

To me, it feels rather like an ultra sound in color.

Of course the book will be much more beautiful but I thought it would be fun for you to enjoy all the various stages along with me.

Continue reading "Preview of the New Book!" »

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At this hour I'm usually doing my one mile swim but with the temperature below 0°F I thought better of it. Of course I had the internal argument about how when I was at UVM it was often 14°F below zero and I had to walk a mile to class with the required skirt the fashionable above the knee length (or 'sherth'--would that be the opposite of length?)! But that was years ago. And NY cold is far less dry and far more penetrating.

I'm also remembering a few years later, living in the West Village, and working at home as a manuscript typist, having to wear wool gloves with the fingers cut off as mid-winter the one room never got warm enough to keep my fingers flexible enough to type the 180 wmp I used to be able to hit on the great IBM Selectric. (I still have it--remember the little ball with the type on it spinning around?)

So getting a head-start on the day, I'm losing no time in telling you that our dear fellow blogger Hector Wong has generously posted several of my earliest baking video segments on YouTube to share with you. This was before The Cake Bible. Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/bakingwithrose

If you are a member of Youtube you can subscribe to my channel to get further updates about new videos when they are uploaded, as well as rate the videos and share them.

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Here it is: all the basic techniques, ingredients, equipment, and recipes for bread baking. I worked with Epicurious for many months to create this useful primer. It just launched today and I couldn't wait to share it with all of you.

If you're new to bread baking. this primer will give you a great jump start. If you're already a pro you may learn a few new tricks and recipes.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/howtocook/primers/bread

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I’ve never liked or should I say accepted rules--at least not without questioning or testing them. But for the new year I’d like to offer up two for consideration and that’s the operative word—consideration!

Restaurant Reservations: How would you like it if you made a dinner party and cooked your heart out for your guests and a few didn’t show up without even letting you know before hand. That’s the way it is for restaurants, especially small ones that have even more trouble surviving, especially in this economy. Some restaurateurs are forced to take credit cards along with reservations.

Also, keep in mind that in order to survive financially, small restaurants need to turn the tables, i.e. you really can’t occupy your table for the entire evening unless, perhaps, you are willing to pay for two seatings.

Group E-mails: If you like or need to send the same message to several people, be sure to blind copy. This is not to keep anonymity of e-mail addresses as much as to prevent hackers—vampires of the internet (who adore group e-mails) from sending everyone in your address book endless spam. All you need to do is put the names in your group list in ( ) and they will be safe. Some people think of this as e-mail etiquette. Surprisingly, though, I’ve lost one very old friend and another previously friendly though evidently self-centered colleague after making this request. Each promised never to e-mail me again at all! And I had informed them in good faith assuming they didn’t realize the consequences of what they had done and would be glad to know how it works.

My husband Elliott has a saying that is a near mantra—it goes something like this: Do what you want as long as it doesn’t hurt others. Of course this is subject to interpretation and requires much turning of the tables but could well account for why our marriage has endured for 33 years as of this July 2009.

Happy and Considerate New Year!

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I'll be away this week until December 23 for a terrific sounding event in Naples, Italy called Pane, Amore, e Fantasia (Bread, Love, and Dreams) based on a 1950's movie starring Gina Lollabrigida.

Of course you'll be hearing all about it on the blog (after the Swiss trip postings).

I know you'll all continue to help each other in this busy and happy season of holiday baking.

Happy Holidays and Love,
Rose

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A few weeks ago I attended the launch of Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree’s new book, The Sweeter Side of Amy’s Bread.

For those of you who don’t live in NY, Amy’s Bread is the one most often found at upscale restaurants that don’t bake their own (and few do!). There are also two consumer locations, one in the village on the famed Bleecker Street and the other in the Chelsea Market where the book party was held.

I am a great fan of Amy and Toy’s so I went to support them, not realizing I would get to meet almost the entire publicity department of my new publisher Wiley (who published this book)! And what a delightful part it was with a nice mix of colleagues and customers and many generous samples from the book. An older gentleman, watching me peruse the book, asked me if I was in it. My response was “why would I be?” and then I thought to look in the index and there was honored to find my name in two places!

As almost every bread baker I know, Amy and Toy are the soul of generosity and Amy told me that the recipes in the book are exactly the ones from the bakery—no secrets withheld.

I was thrilled to see that the book has the familiar ingredients charts I so adore and told Amy I was a little jealous that they got to put grams first! She said they insisted on it as that is the way they bake. The ounces and volume are in the second and third columns.

I’m sure you’ll value, as do I, the “Tips and Techniques” that appear throughout the book in a pale lavender rectangle, and a great version of Red Velvet Cake on page 105. But worth the price of the book alone is the moistest, darkest Devil’s Food Cake (page 175) I’ve ever encountered, in fact, I made the cake the very next week so I could have more of it!

The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread: Cakes, Cookies, Bars, Pastries and More from New York City's Favorite Bakery on Amazon.

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Since The Cake Bible was published 20 years ago, there have been so many books using the B word I’m expecting a whole section in the book stores devoted to food bibles.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose….” of course is true up to a point, but I don’t need to tell you what’s in the name “bible” and if you’re going to use it as part of the name of your book it had better be one. The Flavor Bible is.

If you look up the word bible in the Encarta Dictionary, after you get past the first few religious connotation definitions, you’ll find the one that best applies here as well: “essential book: a book that is considered an authority on a particular subject.”

Written by my esteemed friends and colleagues Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, The Flavor Bible not only fits this definition it offers something beyond bible that is rare and precious: true originality. There is not a single recipe in the book—this is not about learning how to roast a chicken---it’s about understanding taste, flavor synergy, ingredients—what they are and how they work with each other. Beautifully organized alphabetically by ingredient and also including ethnic cuisine, each ingredient is coded for weight, volume, technique, and tips (occasionally function as in sesame oil: “heating”).

Studded throughout the book are quotes, concepts, and tips from illustrious chefs, past and present, and other notables such as the response of U.S. Poet Laureate Charles Simic when asked in an interview “What advice would you give to people who are looking to be happy?” His answer: “For starters, learn how to cook.” And here’s a great tip from one of my favorite chefs, Michèl Richard (who is a perfect example of happiness, married many years with more children than I can remember). He uses miso broth instead of chicken for his onion soup. This is one of Andrew’s favorite tips as well. Karen intrigued me with Dominique and Cindy Duby’s clever idea to alternate slices of apples and eggplant in a tart because the absorbent eggplant soaks up the juices of the apples to keep the tart less soggy -- so much so that the eggplant tastes like apple! Karen said “We haven't tried it yet ourselves, but the logic made immediate sense.” Yes indeed it does and I can hardly wait to see for myself!

This book will soon have you thinking like a food professional. It will change your approach to how you look at food and ingredients. Here’s how it works: A food professional approaching something new first smells, then tastes, and then the sensory brain starts spinning trying to imagine what it would enhance! An example of one of my most startling food synergies: several years ago I had just perfected a passion ice cream and happened to notice that my windowsill rosemary was in bloom with exquisite little lavender flowers. Rosemary leaves are resinous and intensely overpowering for something as subtle though singular as passion fruit but the flowers had a flavor all their own—almost impossible to describe and somehow I immediately thought to garnish the icecream with them. Both visually and gustatorially they provided a whole new and heavenly dimension to the ice cream.

Read this book from cover to cover. It’s an education. Even if you never intend to cook a thing as long as you live it will indeed make you happier. It will make eating more enjoyable and you’ll never again have to feel uncomfortable in a restaurant wondering exactly what you’re ordering.

The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America's Most Imaginative Chefs on Amazon.

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Kate Coldrick of Devon has continued her invaluable work in heat treating unbleached flour to produce the best possible texture and flavor in cakes. As this will be such a great benefit to people all over the world I am posting in advance the section in my upcoming book devoted the the explanation of this special technique. For more details be sure to visit her blog.

from Roses Heavenly Cakes to be published Fall of 2009:

“Kate Flour”
This is special information created for home bakers who do not have access to bleached flour: Kate Coldrick
www.amerrierworld.wordpress.com, who lives in the United Kingdom, has done research and discovered that some flour companies in the UK produce a heat-treated flour available only to the food service industry. Determined to have access to this flour for the home baker, after extensive experiments she has come up with a technique using a microwave for treating commonly available flour so that it performs as successfully in cakes as bleached flour. Home bakers around the world are now able to make cakes from this and other American cookbooks without needed American bleached flour. We are all indebted to Kate for her persistence.

On the left is the cake made with "kate flour" and on the right the same cake made with cake flour from the US. Kate says in a blind test she could not tell the difference. This is a major accomplishment! (Incidentally Kate says the black nail polish is a remnant of Halloween--she has three young children!)

Following is an explanation of the process.

Continue reading "An Early Holiday Present" »

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Our blog is 3 years old. The very first posting and announcement was on November 7, 2004. Care to hazard a guess as to how many replies I have made in there years? I started keeping track on December 10 2004: Ta da!!! 1900 on the dot. Of course this does not include posting. Just thought you'd enjoy knowing. I myself had no idea of the total number.

As to how many visitors we are no doubt around the 2 million mark. Isn't that wonderful! Thank you all for your terrific participation.

Love,
Rose

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Everyone who knows Shirley Corriher and her work adores her. Gracious, kind, endearing, loving, generous, lively, often hilariously funny, and passionately devoted to sharing her culinary scientific discoveries and expertise, first with CookWise (William Morrow) and now with BakeWise (Scribner). Shirley has solved culinary conundrums for people all over the world from Julia Child to Proctor and Gamble.

Shirley’s invaluable uniqueness, beyond what I already mentioned, is that she is a balanced bridge between the theoretical and the empirical, i.e. she knows and loves the theory and she also knows and loves great food and how to make it that way. Which is how we became best friends over 25 years ago!

While the food world at large seemed fairly indifferent to scientific theories, Shirley and I were squealing with delight over discoveries that could make cooking and especially baking better. An example: on a visit to Shirley in Atlanta, after a swim at the nearby Cherokee Country Club, Shirley, in her soft adorably southern-accented voice shared her latest discover: “Rose…!” she began in a hushed voice and with great excitement, as if about to impart the secret to immortality (and in a way it was if you consider one’s work to be the one way to achieve it!) “Ah read in a scientific journal” she went on to confide “just wah bleached flowah makes a betta cake.” (If you don’t already know by now and are interested to find out read our books or do a search on this blog!) And then we laughed uproariously when we considered the probability that we were the only two ladies sitting by the pool having a discussion of this nature as opposed to perhaps the best brand of nail polish.

Continue reading ""BakeWise" Has Landed!" »

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This month of October is the official pub date. And the coming out party was fortuitously on the very day of Maida Heatter's birthday. (It was my dessert goddess Maida who wrote the amazingly wonderful intro for the book.)

Our wonderful Hector offered to digitalize the original New York TImes photos that appeared shortly after the party on October 19, 1988. I sent it to him in Hawaii and he returned the original and e-mailed the electronic file so that you can all enjoy it. The only thing missing is the bottom of the page, just below the recipe for the Chocolate Domingo, the cake dedicated to Placido Domingo. Could it have been pure coincidence that just exactly below it was a photo of Pavarotti raising a toast--not to the cake as the caption read "Pavarotti ends diet"!

Continue reading "Happy 20th Birthday Dear Cake Bible!" »

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It was a wonderful trip and terrific group of people. I have some great photos and stories and even a recipe to share but it will take a little while as tomorrow starts the final round of photography for the book and will go the entire week til Saturday.

This weekend is Book Production phase 11 3/4. Shortly after my arrival the corrected Galleys arrived and I've gone through the entire set making sure that over 1000 corrections were input. Amazingly there are only about 38 left--all minor and several due to my not noticing them before. An example is in the chart where I am using only a half a pineapple and the volume in the cell reads 1/2 which looks kind of odd even though the ingredient cell reads pineapple, halved.

Each new generation of the book becomes closer to it's final appearance. The colors and design look so gorgeous it made the arduous process of scrutinizing text almost enjoyable. Now I can't wait til January to see all the photos in place. And I'm really excited about the upcoming photography. When I see the final cover design I just may pass out with joy! So many years, so much effort on so many people's part, the moment that the first copy is placed in an author's hands rates as one of the prize moments of her/his life.

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I’m sure many of you in this country are familiar with Dede Wilson as she appears often on the Today Show, representing Bon Appétit Magazine for whom she is a regular columnist. She is also author of seven cookbooks including her just published “the Birthday Cake book, 75 Recipes for Candle-Worthy Creations,” (Harvard Common Press).

Dede is one of the liveliest and fun people I know and I am a great admirer of her work as well. The first time I met Dede she told me a hilarious story which perfectly describes the originality of her approach to baking. At the time “The Cake Bible” was published Dede had a bakery and decided to make the Chocolate Pinecone which involves tempering chocolate and spreading it into dozens of tiny oval shapes that then get stuck into the ganache coating the cake. After completing the cake she decided she would never make it again (who could blame her!) but would put it on display in her showcase. However… while she was out one of her salespeople who didn’t know it wasn’t for sale allowed a customer to buy it and also took an order from a second customer. That’s when Dede, out of desperation, came up with the brilliant and original solution: She placed chocolate chips on a sheet pan and melted them in a very low oven. Then she took the pan and dropped it on the floor so that the chips skidded out into perfect ovals. I knew right away that the future held lots more surprises from Dede Wilson. And this new book certainly qualifies as one!

Photo (c) 2008, by Melissa Punch

The book is filled with luscious and creative ideas for birthday cakes, from apricot roses to Red Velvet Cake, German Chocolate Cake, and even a cake that can be sent in the mail. I especially love the one pictured here called Pretty-in-Pink Cake. What a brilliant idea to use raspberries and candle holders. And I love the velvety crumb of the cake and the opulent huge petals of frosting. I also like that the cake isn’t leveled—the doming looks so natural and approachable—in fact the whole effect is friendly and delicious.

Photo (c) 2008, by Melissa Punch

If you’re looking for great decorating design ideas for people of all ages and a great collection of well-conceived recipes this is IT!

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I leave shortly for the airport for Switzerland but before my departure I want to share with all of you who knew him or knew of him the obituary I wrote as a tribute to Albert Uster who died just a few weeks ago at the age of 75 in a glider plane accident in the alps. I love Switzerland and am thrilled to be part of the upcoming culinary press trip about which you will be hearing more in the near future. But I leave with sadness as well as this will be the first of many times I have been in Switzerland knowing that Albert is no longer with us.

Some of you will have noticed that Albert was one of the very first people to post on this blog--congratulating me in his exceptionally modest manner, saying he hoped I could consider him a friend. And he was a very dear friend indeed as well as a larger than life person. For more about his life and significant contributions to America and the pastry world I encourage you to click on this link: http://www.auiswiss.com/aboutUs_uster.cfm. But the following was a little story I wrote for the Washington Post. They only had room for two short lines so here is the rest:

Albert Uster

There are so many stories I have to tell about Albert as we have been friends for over 25 years. Flashing through my mind are images of Albert yodeling at the slightest provocation; hosting me and a group of pastry chefs on a trip to Switzerland and asking only one thing at the end of the trip: To suggest a charitable use for his money; Albert returning late to his weekend guests in his beautiful home in Potomac and inviting me by phone to chose any wine in his wine cellar—then only getting mildly annoyed when I opened a very old Burgundy that was there just for show and undrinkable; going for a brisk morning walk with him, his daughter Jennifer, and the youngest of his sons Adam who fondly called him Poppy, the kids lovingly insisting he exercise more; me helping him chose a tux at Saks in D.C. (for a special event honoring him) which he pronounced with an exaggerated Swiss accent as ‘Sex’ causing the sales girls to giggle and him to repeat it several times; bringing me back dried black pears and schnapps from Switzerland for a Swiss pear bread I wanted to make; inviting me to Gaithersburg for the inauguration of the World War II Swiss bakery truck he had purchased; watching him make rosti potatoes at my friend Angelica’s house in Long Beach, L.I., while she made lasagna for our collaborative dinner the three of us had planned for years; but here’s my very favorite memory of all. The day we were visiting Angelica the sidewalks were iced over and slick as a frozen lake. The three of us decided to go for a walk on the nearby boardwalk. As I tentatively advanced one foot from the porch steps onto the ice, already beginning to slip and slide, Albert grasped me masterfully under one elbow and strode out with me onto the ice saying: “The way to walk on ice is with complete confidence.” I felt then that as long as Albert was holding my elbow I would never fall, which is why it breaks my heart to think that Albert had no Albert supporting him in that airplane. But if he had to go so too soon, I think this would have been his way—Albert was not a man to go quietly into that dark night—he died as he lived with verve, energy, passion, flying free and, I’m certain, with the same confidence with which he walked on ice.

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I'll be in Switzerland on a culinary press tour until October 10th and at photography for the book week of 12. Of course there will be the usual Saturday postings but I won't be able to answer most postings until after the 19th of October. Please continue to help each other and happy baking!
Love,
Rose

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A dear old friend and esteemed colleague, Jim Fobel (author of 9 cookbooks!), called recently to offer me some of his lively 250 year old starter he had purchased from King Arthur. He couldn’t bear to throw out the required half so he has been feeding two starters but doesn’t have use for all that starter (does this sound familiar?)!

Jim lives in Manhattan around 14th Street so we decided to offer it to anyone who is willing to pick it up from him.

Save the starter by calling Jim: 212-414-1902

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I'll be reviewing the copy editing of the huge manuscript where there are no sirens or noises other than birds and crickets to disturb my concentration!

I'll try to answer questions as time allows but will be back in Sept. if any remain unanswered by our fellow bloggers or myself.

Best rest of the summer,

Rose

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I'll be in Hope for the week, cooking and baking for my Dad's 94th birthday July 23. I'll check in to the blog and try to catch up with some of the questions from vacation three weeks ago but please don't count on me for immediate responses!

Bake fruit pies!

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I've just been given word that the new flour bag for Gold Medal Better for Bread is shipping to stores around the country.This is the same wonderful red winter wheat flour formerly known as "Harvest King." And the bag still sports my best basic hearth bread on the back. But the color of the bag is now a bright canary yellow and in a little circle under the deep gold Gold Medal medallion is a photo of me!

I couldn't be more pleased and proud. Here is a preview of what you will see when you shop for flour in the U.S.

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i'll be back July 14. There will be a few postings in the interim but please, as usual, help each other by answering other's questions with your valuable baking wisdom.

Love,
Rose

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Just wanted to remind you all that I'll be in MN at Gold Medal Flour making the video for the upcoming book.

Will try to do a short posting on the Beard Awards last night before I go or after I land but won't have much time to visit the blog this week.

I would say my usual happy baking but if you live in NY or the environs, this is not the day to turn on the oven!

Best,

Rose

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A Bird's Eye View

Every year I say this is the last time I’m covering the awards and every year I’m drawn back again to this smorgasbord/kaleidoscope Oscars of the food world. And collide is the operative word. Imagine first sitting for three hours through the award ceremony until you’re absolutely starving, and then eating your way through little plates of mostly delicious food offered by some of your favorite chefs elbow to elbow with some of your favorite friends and colleagues and hoards of people caught up in a feeding frenzy, not noticing if they’ve stepped on your foot, banged their shoulder bag into your side, or spilled your food or drink all over you.

The most painful part is not being able to finish a single conversation before being interrupted by another favorite person you never get to see during the rest of the year. Talk about too much of a good thing.

The award ceremony was beautifully orchestrated so that really I didn’t mind sitting for 3 hours. Kim Cattrall and Bobby Flay were wonderful co-hosts. I’ve known Bobby for many years and have loved his food at Mesa Grill and his generosity sending out delicious little extras whenever he knew I was there. Kim was an unusual but perfect choice as co-host because she bridged the gap between professional chef and this year’s theme “Artisanal America” and the perennial underlying theme of pleasure. So of course there was a cute flirtation between the two of them not to mention a slew of suggestive innuendoes that kept everyone awake. It reminded me of a few years ago when going to a new physician for an annual checkup and his asking me the routing question: “what is your profession?” My answer—it just popped out—was “I’m in the pleasure giving business.” He raised his eyebrows—perhaps in no small part because he is a colleague of my husband’s and was not expecting such a response from his wife. But I think the reason I expressed it that way was because Elliott told me he is a great appreciator of wine so I thought he would understand. When I explained he did indeed.

You can see all the award winners on the site: www.jamesbeardfoundation.com
so I won’t list all the winners but I would like to highlight two of my favorites: Paula Wolfort gave a most delightful and heartfelt acceptance speech when her first book Paula Wolfert’s Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco was inducted into the Cookbook Hall of Fame. Paula was one of my greatest inspirations at the beginning of my writing career and she remains one of my favorite people. It was a special delight to meet her lovely daughter Leila for the first time.

Terry Theise, perhaps my most articulate and cleverest of friends for the past 12 years and in good part responsible for my passion for Riesling, especially German Riesling, won the Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional Award. Coincidentally, his wife Odessa Piper, a great supporter of sustainable agriculture and artisanal producers, and also a Beard Award Winner, served as co-chair of the Awards Gala Reception.
There were 32 chefs represented and I tasted perhaps 30 of the dishes. Sadly, I only had the opportunity to photograph one as the hungry surging crowds soon made it impossible to pause to frame a shot, but fortunately it was my favorite of all the things tasted—Melissa Kelly’s squash blossoms stuffed with handmade sheep’s milk ricotta.

I also adored Nora Pouillon’s incredibly creamy and flavorful rhubarb gelato and Scott Peacock’s amazingly exquisite strawberry preserves. Alexandra Guarnaschelli’s little pastry discs of sweet/savory salt-cured local foie gras with warm strawberry-black pepper jam and arugula were brilliantly original and meltingly delicious. I’ve known her since she was in high school and I’m so proud of what a great chef she has become.

It’s not easy to balance plates and forks and handbags amidst people’s elbows but I did manage to have an excellent glass of Phelps Pinot—one of my favorite producers.

Maybe I’ll have to return next year after all. But I’ll be sure to wear a waterproof outfit with spurs on the sides and maybe on the back as well. And now I’d better leave or I’ll miss my plane to Minnesota!

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Growing up as the daughter of a dentist (my mother) I was required to drink 4 glasses of milk a day. My mother told me that when I was an adult I’d only require 2 and I longed for that day. But I have to admit I have not been drinking those 2 glasses partially because as a baker I assumed I was getting plenty of calcium from other more interesting sources. Then I discovered the joys of homemade cappuccino and the incredibly wonderful milk from the Manhattan Milk Co. www.manhattanmilk.com.

Ever in search for the perfect foam I found it in the Manhattan Milk skimmed variety. Their milk, distributed in the greater NY area, comes from Amish farms and is probably the most delicious milk I’ve ever tasted. Even the skim is wonderful. But I’ve also started ordering a quart of the whole milk for my cereal.

The ads these days for both Total cereal and milk claim that people who eat and drink them are slimmer. This could be as they are so satisfying they prevent that empty stomach feeling longer than many other foods. I also discovered that fresh bing cherries are a wonderful accompaniment to Total whole wheat cereal with Manhattan whole milk.

I have to credit my friend Gary Cheong who is manager of the boutique Batch, the offshoot of Pichet Ong’s delightful restaurant Pong. I was passing by as Gary was leaving for an errand and he whisked me right into Batch to try the milk he had recently discovered. I was hooked.

You can order the milk on line but there is a minimum order so you may want to purchase it from Batch and get to taste some of their terrific desserts. Most recently their Passion Rice Pudding has been touted in the press and I can't wait to try it.

My mother would be so pleased I am now drinking close to the milk quota she had long ago suggested. And I am most grateful to her for my enviable bone density!

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WIKIO has contacted us that our blog is number 58 out of thousands of food blogs! we now have a dynamic link on the blog at the very bottom of the right hand side under "sites i like"(and I do indeed like this one)! It will update on a daily basis.

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I just returned from the French Culinary Institute where I was one of the judges for the graduating pastry class. I started speaking to one of the other judges who is the pastry chef at the terrific restaurant Aquavit in NY. I asked her where she was from and she said Sweden. So I started telling her about the bread posted below and she got really excited because she worked in that bakery!

I'm going to be retesting my version this Monday to make for my dentist who is a major bread lover. I've never brought him a loaf of bread before because he's 3 1/2 miles uptown and I always walk but carrying 1 1/4 pounds is not a big sacrifice when it's this wonderful. I'm doubling the dough because it's just too good to make only one loaf. I'll be posting it within 3 weeks time.

If anyone wants the original with the rye starter or just to compare and see how I translated it or maybe try both side by side I think I'll post that one too. It will be like taking a voyage through my brain to see how a recipe gets adapted. And I'll add a few notes as to why I did what I did.

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I have to write about this so I can stop eating it! several months ago I mentioned a fantastic bread I ate in Sweden a few years ago and that it was in an award winning Swedish cookbook in Swedish. A kind blogger from Sweden translated it for me and after spending several hours working it out in a user friendly manner for the semi-professional home baker I finally got to try it. And it is a winner!

The challenge to working it out is that, for starters, it requires not only one starter but two--a white wheat starter and a rye starter. Many people don't have any starter so when I post the recipe I'm going to add how to add old bread dough in its place. And for those who do have a starter, I've combined the white and rye starter into one, i.e. equal weight but adding the rye flour to the dough. Also, I'm using my usual old and stiff sourdough starter and instant yeast.

It's going to take me a few weeks to post this so it gives you time to purchase some pumpernickel flour (aka coarse rye) or medium rye and maybe get a starter going? It will be worth it.

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I ran over to Whole Foods today and look what I found!!!

From a distance I thought it was albino eggplant but then to my amazement I saw that it was an ostrich egg. Next my eyes took in the entire egg display. All eggs were set on rafia to ressemble nests and there they all were: quail eggs, pheasant eggs and most beloved of all: duck eggs.

I raised home with my cache and lost no time in frying up two of the pheasant eggs for an early lunch. They were flavorful but more delicate than chicken eggs with no "eggy" flavor. The bread is my new whole wheat sandwich bread recipe which I will be posting later this summer.

I just mixed up a small batch of pasta dough for dinner using just the yolks and a little heavy cream. No I don't have time for this but who knows how long this windfall will last.

Incidentall, duck egg yolks make THE most delicious cakes but don't use the white as they don't aerate well at all and the texture will be coarse.

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... the wedding season that is! Hector, our talented baker/blogger/designer/photographer/friend, has designed a stunning book plate and gift concept for the bride and groom.
He suggests printing it out as a 5x7 photo to tape in your books as a bookplate! He writes that it is ok to print on other sizes but the edges may chop out a little.

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I was asked by Roxanne Webber of chow.com to offer my opinionas to the suitability of beans as pie weights and whether they remain edible after baking. If you are interested in my response click on this link: http://www.chow.com/stories/11054 I can promise you will be pleasantly surprised!

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I need a little time to catch up from the past two week marathon of photography for the new book and visit to Gold Medal/General Mills in MN bu I've been following all your postings and look forward to answering and telling about the experience(s) asap! thanks to all of you who have so wisely helped those in need of a response.

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You may find it odd that someone who loves scratch baking, weaving, knitting, and other somewhat retro activities so fully embraces new technology. But as far as I’m concerned, anything that improves quality of product, performance, or existence in general is welcome in my life. After all, I wouldn't be here on this blog writing to you if not for the internet!

It took a while before I could have important intimate phone conversations with the use of a headphone but now I find it more immediate than the old-fashioned receiver and besides, it saves my neck! (No more crunching the receiver between ear and shoulder—perish the thought.)

Years ago Elliott told me I should be using voice activation software for which he developed the vocabulary and protocol in radiology. As a 180 word per minute typist I was resistant. Then some years later I had a violent reaction to the powerful antibiotic cipro. It was administered for a minor infection and turned out to be the equivalent of hitting a mosquito with a sledge hammer! It resulted in a thankfully temporary neurological incapacity that made it difficult to type. This served as real motivation to try out the voice activation software that had been sitting on my computer for years.

I will always be grateful to Marc Cohen of www.spokencomputing.com for coming to my aid. Marc lives in San Francisco and is an expert trainer for speech recognition software. He responded to something I wrote about my typing problem on the blog with a kind and invaluable offer to help me get over the hurdle. He told me that his partner had made their wedding cake from The Cake Bible and that in gratitude he wanted to be of help to me.

I cannot sing the praises of voice activation more enthusiastically as it has saved my fingers and given a new voice to my writing. When my mother was still alive I often would read articles I had written over the phone to her. It was a way to give her my time, entertain her, and still get my work done, but the added benefit was that invariably, once I heard my prose out loud, I would change something in the flow of them. I think that the spoken word and the written word need to be in balance and the best way to achieve it is by speaking your writing into the computer and then reading it back!

Often I revert back to my fingers because I type faster than I speak and old habits die hard. BUT, my favorite headphone company (Hello Direct) has come up with a new version of their light-weight and fantastic wireless headphone that can switch back between phone conversations and voice activation on the computer. I’m sure that will make it much more encouraging to use. And somewhere down the line, with Marc’s help, I’ll try out tape recording my notes as I test recipes, plugging it into the computer, and allowing the voice recognition software to transfer my words to the recipe document. That would be the ideal way to test recipes and record all the nuances faithfully.

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I am keeping careful notes to share with you. I'm thrilled with the results of today's photo shoot. We are scheduled for 10 solid uninterrupted days of photography (including on my birthday--never will I have had so many birthday cakes!) after which I will be going to Minneapolis to visit General Mills/Gold Medal Flour to plan the DVD.

It looks like it's going to be near impossible to respond to any blog questions until after April 11 but there will be a posting from me every Saturday as usual.

And I'll check in as often as possible just so that I don't miss anything!

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Jan Kish is hands down the most talented cake decorator ever to have graduated from Cordon Rose, my former cooking school. Since that time, which is over 20 years ago, she opened Jan Kish - La petite Fleur, and has been producing breathtaking cakes which she ships all over the world. She has also appeared many times in Brides magazine, and on the Good Morning America Show and the Food Network.

For the first time, Jan will be sharing her exceptional skills in two 1-day 6 hour seminars Homespun Wedding Cakes -- at La Cuisine in Alexandria Virginia www.lacuisineus.com on Saturday, April 19, and in Columbus, Ohio www.jankish.com on Sunday, May 4. In this class, Jan will delve into the “anatomy of the wedding cake” Her objective is to transform you from novice to semi-professional in six hours (and perhaps a wee bit more). She will take you from imagination, to design, to creation, while demonstrating how the techniques you learn can then be applied to other celebration cakes.

This is an opportunity not to be missed.

Note: There will also be a second-class on Sunday, April 20 at La Cuisine on “How to Cater Your Own Wedding.”

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I'll be skiing in Deer Valley until Tuesday, March 25, then back to New York and photography for the new book every day including the weekend until April 4, then away until April 10th doing DVD planning!

Postings are scheduled for every Saturday but please don't be surprised if other than that you don't hear from me very often during this time. Take good care of yourselves and each other.

Love,
Rose

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For Matthew and anyone else who has tried or will try the Seville orange curd I posted a few weeks back: blood orange zest makes a beautiful addition. I was just at Whole Foods in SoHo, looking to see if they had the Seville oranges. They didn't but to my surprise they had another batch of blood oranges. Tip: choose the ones that have purplish peel rather than orange as that is a sure indication of the color of the fruit within. If the oranges are mostly orange in color the interior will be mostly orange with maybe a few tinges of red.
Blood orange zest disappointingly loses its color on heating and becomes just orange but when subjected to minimal heat from the orange curd poured over it, it keeps its vibrant hue. Of course the orange inside is great to eat and blood oranges are exceptionally easy to peel. But don't wait too many days to do so as the inner peel hardens after the outside is zested.

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I just received my sample of the final "Scrape-A-Bowl and I need to go on record immediately to state that I did not approve this final product though a quote from me is on the box which says "This new beater is a work of art."

The concept is a good one but in my testing of a prior model before the final I found that the pressure of the blades against the inside of the bowl locked the bowl in place making it necessary to dislodge it with a rubber coated hammer. Also the jiggling of the head of the mixer caused the pin holding it in place to work its way out and the heavy head of the mixer fell onto my marble counter top which would have cracked it had I not caught it just in time.

I see that the new model is slightly shorter which may have solved this problem but until I try it again I can't swear to it!

Also as of yet I haven't seen approval from any of the major manufacturers using this attachment for their machines. I have heard that there is concern as to whether the friction against the bowl will gradually wear the motor.

The concept is excellent but I reserve judgement until I have the chance to test it further.

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I've just learned that the Spanish edition of my book will be published Oct/Nov of this year (2008). Of course it will be available all over Spain but if you want to be able to purchase it in the US please post your comments on this blog and I will forward them to the publisher. This will motivate them to find a US distributor!

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I will be giving a lecture on flour and an angel food cake demo for the New York University Experimental Cuisine Collective on Thursday, January 17, 4 to 6 p.m. at NYU Washington Square Campus.

You are welcome to come but as space is limited, please RSVP Anne E. McBride and she will e-mail you the address.

aemcbride@gmail.com

Also do let me know as it will be great fun to meet those of you who are in the area and might be able to come!

P.S. There's no admission charge.

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Do check out the link on the forums for high altitude baking--it will be very helpful for those of you on high!

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well there it is--the babka stayed and i gained a little over 1 pound. i just returned from my early morning swim and ran into one of my favorite neighbors waiting for the elevator. she asked me in a hushed voice what i had been baking the night before last. she said the whole hall smelled like apple pie and permeated all the apartments (she had already queried another neighbor). it was the cinnamon and butter combination of course. incidentally, ann has a luscious sounding chocolate and apricot filling as another great alternative to the cinnamon and sugar.

since i can't seem to get this babka out of my mind, i started thinking that maybe i should use half light brown muscovado sugar in the filling but then decided it was risky as where the babka opens up during baking and the filling carmelizes, the molasses in the brown sugar would make it either burn or become too dark and bitter.

i'm having trouble waiting the 45 minutes for my editor to arrive so we can finish the babka together. i'll distract myself with coffee.

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Many of you know from reading my books that I test all the major pieces of equipment used in baking which often leaves me with a warehouse clutter that I tend to hang onto for years. But recently I've been inspired to reorganize, clean up the crawl space and share some of my special pieces with people who would really appreciate it.

For a short time Kenwood was carried under the Rival name and so I have what is actually a Kenwood 7 Quart mixer with Rival brand on it along with two 7 quart mixer bowls and 2 sets of whisk, paddle, and dough hook attachments. I'm willing to ship it to whoever makes the best offer, not including shipping, by the end of the year but it has to be in the U.S. I'd rather see it go to one of my fellow bloggers than to post it on e-bay. and of course you know the respect with which I treat my equipment. This one has not had very much use and is in perfect condition.

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I will be a guest on the Martha Stewart Living Radio on Sirius Satellite for the Living Today show tomorrow, December 18, at 4:00 East Coast time until about 4:30. We'll be talking about holiday cookies and cakes. Hope you can tune in!

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click on this link and you'll see some advice from me and some of my esteemed colleagues!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/11/AR2007121100499.html

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There’s no time I enjoy living in New York more than December. (By the way, when a New Yorker says New York it means New York City.) Though the city is dramatic and often beautiful in all seasons, it is at its most spectacular when dressed for the holidays.

This week I walked uptown to a fascinating Austrian wine and food pairing from the Burgenland. As it was only two blocks away from Rockefeller Center I paused to enjoy the newly lit tree for 10 full minutes, with the same wide-eyed wonder as all the tourists surrounding me. I think the tree was all of 80 feet high but rose to 84 feet with the placement of the magnificent Swarovski crystal star on top.

The Austrian wine and food pairing was most successful because it demonstrated dramatically how the wine changes with the food that accompanies it. I loved the Heinrich St. Laurent 2005 by itself and with the Viennese fried chicken and especially with the accompanying sauce of lingonberries, but not when I sipped it with the Kobe beef roast where the Weninger Blaufränkisch Reserve 2003 which initially I had found quite closed suddenly blossomed. But the two biggest surprises were the sparkling grüner veltliner that went with all the hors d’oeuvres but was also extremely enjoyable by itself as was the Kracher 2003 TBA (short for trockenbeerenauslese for those who fear pronouncing it or want to boast extreme familiarity). Many people refer to this dessert wine as liquid gold and this particular one deserved the name in full. In fact it was so perfectly balanced between refreshing acidity and honeyed apricot sweetness it needed nothing at all to accompany it other than a willingness to fall to one’s knees in gratitude (difficult to do when seated).

Continue reading "New York City at Its Finest Hours" »

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You guys! You're so inventive. I've been very busy over the past few days hosting my dad and his caretaker and nursing a bruised toe (oh you're going to laugh when you hear what I told the dr.!) but now I've checked in to see what's happening and I want to stay and read every posting. I can't wipe the smile off my face. I had no idea just how fun the new forums were going to be!

OK here's the toe story: I woke up Friday morning with my fourth toe red, swollen, and hurting in a way unbelievable for so small an appendage. I wanted to ignore it but I was beginning to have trouble walking. I didn't remember having stubbed in on a chair a few days before so it seemed to come out of the blue and I feared gangrene. So I rolled out the porcini pasta planned for dinner and then took it's (my toe's) temperature with my infra-red thermometer and sure enough, while all other toes were 91 degrees, the toe causing the commotion was 94 degrees.

When I reported this to the Dr. who was kind enough to see me at a moment's notice, he laughed and said that he would now have to write a paper on toe temperature! (Remember my editor at Food Art's saying I weigh everything, even air? Well now he can add I take the temperature of everything as well!)

After just one anti-inflammatory pill the swelling went down and I was able to make chicken paprikash for dinner, cherry pie for Sat. night dinner, along with rib roast on the grill and yorkshire popovers, plus blueberry pancakes and bacon for Sunday brunch.

Dad's caretaker, Shelly Tilly, insisted on cleaning the house while I did all this cooking (wood burning fireplaces are great but the fallout from them makes dusting more necessary than weekend visits allow). But the greatest gift was that Shelly harvested the hornet's nest--the huge amazing one featured on a posting earlier this summer. We had given up hope a few weeks ago as it was dangerously beyond our reach but Shelly is a miracle worker. Photos of her up on the ladder with the nest to come.....

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Dear Fellow Bloggers of Real Baking with Rose,

This month our baking community blog is celebrating its second anniversary. i started keeping track of my replies as of december last year and there are over 10,000!

You’ve all been so terrific, asking illuminating questions, helping each other to become better bakers, and sharing touching personal stories, we are expanding the site to include -- A Forum.

This wonderful new addition to the blog will make it easier to communicate directly with each other, to start your own topics, and even to post your own photos! Let's give a big thanks for this great gift from our sponsor Gold Medal Flour, and our blog masters Travis Smith and Susie Gardner of Hop Studios.

If you're new to using a forum -- that's OK, I am as well. I think we'll figure it out together, and while I don't want to lose the great comments on the blog, I hope the forums will be the place for even better conversation.

Happy Forum-ing, and as always, Happy Baking!

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There have been many requests regarding where my products can be found.

U.S. Orders:
If you purchase from Amazon, a small amount of the purchase prices goes directly to me:
Rose's Heavenly Cake Strips
Rose's Perfect Pie Plate
Rose's Sweetheart Crème Brûlée Set

These also will be permanent links on the main page of the blog under equipment.

International Orders:
If Amazon carries an item, they will ship out of the U.S., but if Amazon is temporarily out of stock, and routes you to another purveyor, it is unlikely that they are set up to ship abroad at the present time.

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I’ve always imagined (and secretly envied) novelists who have the possibility of experiencing the pleasure of their stories come to life in the form of a movie or miniseries. I never thought there would be anything comparable for a cookbook writer but I was wrong and it has happened in a way I never could have dreamed!

Dear friend and esteemed Canadian colleague Marcy Goldman of www.betterbaking.com e-mailed me the following:

“you've been immortalized...in case you don't know - I am reading The Florist's Daughter by Patricia Hampl - a memoir - and there you are mentioned for several pages 203-217 - It is a lovely tribute - just the mention!”

Intrigued, I ordered the book immediately and it arrived 2 days later. For starters, I was struck by the quote on the cover written by my favorite novelist and much admired friend, Pat Conroy: “Patricia Hampl writes the best memoirs of any writer in the English language.”

I turned to page 203 and instantly was caught up in a spellbinding web of some of the most exquisitely poetic prose I’ve ever encountered—and it was describing my book and my cake—“the White Lilac Nostalgia” from The Cake Bible! Here’s a sample:

The Lilac Nostalgia stood at attention, its lavender medallions fastened like so many medals for valor on its soldier chest. A cake in dress uniform, in service to a sweetness worth fighting for.

Interestingly, never once did she mention my name—I’m always referred to as author. But what could be better? The word author derives from authority. And I see that the author of The Florist’s Daughter chooses each word with wise and loving care.

Life doesn’t get much sweeter than this tribute. I wonder what I could do to get her to write all the head notes for my upcoming book! Just kidding—but I must write to her care of her publisher--a note of undying gratitude for this blessing. I am now reading the book from the beginning and plan to read all of her other books—both poetry and prose.

Here's The Florist's Daughter on Amazon, and here's a list of Hampl's books.

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For those of you around the world who do not have access to the wonderful bleached flour available in the US (such as Gold Medal) necessary for the best texture and flavor in butter layer cakes, Kate has been doing some astonishing work using the microwave to 'heat treat' the flour, enabling it to gelatinize in much the same way that bleaching accomplishes.

Kate deserves a medal for this incredibly earth shaking to the baking world technique. Appropriately enough she calls it "kate flour"!

http://amerrierworld.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/water-water-everywhere/

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This Friday, October 19th, we'll be leaving for Europe until the end of the month. It's hard to leave New Jersey this beautiful time of year but Tuscany beckons and surely the harvest and the hills will be equally if not more beautiful. Also we'll get to see our friends' place Montecastelli which i've been hearing about for many years (see http://montecastelli.com) and reunite with some of the members of our former wine group.

Happily the best way to get to Florence is through Frankfurt Germany so we'll be spending the weekend with our nephew Alex and family.

Look for one posting each Saturday that I've done ahead so you won't miss me too much and more about the trip on our return along with photos.

And do continue to post and/or answer each other's baking questions. But as of now I will not be able to respond as I need to get ready for departure. I will have no e-mail access which saves me from myself but I fear I may be flooded with postings on my return so please be patient

Happy Harvest and Best Baking,
Rose

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I’ve been enjoying panko for many years now—since my friend David Shamah who owned a restaurant (and is always up on the latest wonderful ingredient and equipment) shared some with me. Panko is a bread crumb, originally from Japan, that is made from the heart of the bread, i.e. no crust. It is also slightly larger and more even in size than the average bread crumb.

I discovered the importance of bread crumbs without crust when I studied strudel baking in Austria. It’s actually entirely logical: The crust of bread is browned to the optimal degree for flavor—more and it would become bitter. When you brown bread crumbs in oil to toast them lightly, any crust mixed in with the crumbs would become too dark.

I was delighted to discover that Progresso, the manufacturer of plain and seasoned bread crumbs that I used prior to panko, is now producing panko in both plain and seasoned variety. This is proof that panko awareness has reached the heartland and will now be available to the consumer as well as food service!

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite dishes into which bread crumbs have made their way by sheer chance. One evening I was eating an oven-crisped baguette with linguine and clams and some of the crispy crumbs fell into the pasta. Now I add them intentionally every time and I’ve since discovered that bread crumbs are often added to pasta dishes in Italy. I wondered if perhaps they discovered this the same way as I did!

Continue reading "Panko Has Arrived!" »

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