This recipe is one of many easy weeknight dinners that can be baked in no time flat using whole wheat pita bread, freshly baked or frozen. With a preheated 500° F (260° C) oven, it only takes about five minutes to … Continue reading
This cake writing tutorial involves piping with a parchment paper cone filled with melted chocolate. Follow this link to view my video tutorial on how to make parchment paper cones. The Benefits to Writing with Chocolate Writing with melted chocolate looks … Continue reading
Comparing store-bought pita bread to homemade pita bread is like stacking old cardboard up against fluffy pancakes. No contest. Fresh pita has a soft outer shell, a pillowy interior, and a round yeasty flavor. This recipe has an added dash of cardamom for … Continue reading
Spanakopita, a Greek pastry also known as spinach pie, is buttery rich on the outside and cheesy green on the inside. Although it takes considerable effort, spanakopita can be baked in advance then frozen so that when the unexpected company or cravings … Continue reading
When I find myself with too many vegetables (currently up to my eyeballs in zucchini and summer squash here), like a typical pastry chef, I start baking them into the center of things. This loaf is appropriate for breakfast, lunch, dinner, … Continue reading
1. Rubber gloves to prevent dying hands when working with colors. 2. Styrofoam brick wrapped in plastic wrap, to anchor figurines in process. 3. Yard/meter stick to measure and trim rolled chocolate. 4. Flexible measuring tape for measuring contoured cakes 5. … Continue reading
This wedding cake, fit for a midsummer night’s dream, is finished in chocolate buttercream and draped with petal-thin faerie flowers crafted in rolled modeling chocolate. It was served at an Irish wedding that took place in a traditional Irish pub in San Diego, CA. The bride and … Continue reading
This common and easy cake decoration that is so popular with fondant can also be executed with rolled modeling chocolate. The same methods apply with modeling chocolate as with fondant; only where fondant tend to look chunky, modeling chocolate buds can be shaped to … Continue reading
I am wicked into the following method for icing gingerbread house windows because it creates an embedded stained glass windowpane effect. This technique is an example of the classic royal icing edge & flood method. Use round cutters, a ruler, and a sharp … Continue reading
This tutorial demonstrates how to carve and frost tapered, angled or slanted cake tiers using the Upside-Down Method. This style of cake has a playful aesthetic. Here, 1” (25 mm) is carved off the diameter of the base of each … Continue reading
Augustus Glooping: The act of submerging one’s entire body in chocolate. In the case of gingerbread houses, which are often displayed for a while, chocolate royal icing works better than real chocolate for rendering a chocolate-dipped effect. The advantage to the icing is … Continue reading
The challenge of the creature cake involves striking a balance between realistic and yummy. Here, modeling chocolate combined with fondant makes piggish features possible while yumminess is conveyed in a chocolate buttercream mud puddle, splashes of dark chocolate glaze, truffles, malt balls, … Continue reading
The classic present cake is appropriate for almost any occasion. Modeling chocolate is particularly well suited for forming fine bows because it can be rolled so thin. The trick to a full-looking bow is to cut wider strips for the loops … Continue reading
Here is the truth: The American chocolate industry has developed and successfully marketed so many artificial brands of chocolate that the average U.S. consumer is hooked on cheap/fake chocolate, a.k.a. mockolate. The best way to avoid buying mockolate is to first understand … Continue reading
The ideal working environment for modeling chocolate is a cool, 65°F (18°C), dry room with clean surfaces and equipment. Do not work directly in sunlight. Minimize contact with moisture and humidity. The optimal tabletop is clean, smooth, and made from a … Continue reading
This comprehensive set of charts calculates the serving sizes for round, square, tapered round, topsy turvy, and tapered square cakes at 2” (51 mm), 3” (76 mm) and 4” (102 mm) heights. Based on the average wedding cake serving size, … Continue reading
In 2010, I was filmed making a giant cake for one episode (season 2, episode 4) of a Discovery Network reality television show called Fabulous Cakes, now syndicated on TLC. I was under contract to NOT blog about the filming for … Continue reading
Here, rolled modeling chocolate is combined with both buttercream frosting and piped chocolate to make doe-eyed zoo animal cupcakes. Note that where fondant may be used for these designs, modeling chocolate is much better suited for popping in the mouth. I like to make filled cupcakes. With … Continue reading
This was my biggest gingerbread house project yet. It all began with paper, pencil, a yard stick, scissors, a vision and 100 pounds of gingerbread dough rolled thin to make gingerbread doors, gingerbread chimney and machine parts, bubbles for the bubble … Continue reading
Folks arrived in their sparkliest best dress to enjoy gastronomy to the nth power at the 2010 Gingerbread City Gala competition that took place on December 1st here in San Diego, California. There was a diverse array of amazing edible structures … Continue reading