Arlequin

[Pooh]

Nothing escapes you, thebighat!

Thanks for sharing the pic with everyone.

And yeah, how did you do that?

Oh, one last thing: Have you decided dessert for Mother's day?

Arlequin or Opera??




[ May 11, 2001: Message edited by: pooh ]

[thebighat]

I made nine of these cakes yesterday, using buttercream instead of bavarian. When trimmed they will be 4.5x15, enough for almost 300 small pieces. I'll take a picture and post it. As far as posting the picture, Pooh had a friend send it to me at aol as an attached file. I downloaded it to my computer, then logged on to aol and went to keyword ftp, file transfer protocol. Every aol user has a directory where they can put stuff on the web. I uploaded the file. then logged into here and used the instant UBB at the bottom of this page to add a link. Simple. Anyone can whistle. If your isp has web space for users, all you need is a file transfer utility and you can do it too.

[Kimmie]

WOW, You bake on a large scale don't you!

The pic is gorgeous. I'm glad it worked.

Question:

Did you go with buttercream because bavarian cream has to be eaten within 24 hours? Think I read that in Madeleine Kamman.

[Pooh]

Thebighat,

How was Mother's day for you?

Hope everything went fabulously well.

[thebighat]

Well, it was Mutha's Day, I guess. We had three seatings of something like 180, 150 and 190. I had to set up 40 of these three tiered stands with cookies and pastries. It took me two years to figure out how to finesse doing it because the club house manager who just left insisted that each tier be tailored to the size of the party getting it. That nicety sort of went away this year. Big party? Take two. I took some pix and will post them later. And the reason I went with the buttercream is that it is a lot easier to cut. Of the nine cakes, I used only four. That always happens, but this year at the last minute the chef said to cut the pieces smaller, so I wound up with a lot leftover. I set a piece up on a plate with some raspberry sauce and berrys and took a pic of that too. You'll get to see my nice even cake layers, but you'll also see I'm not real good at plating. Never had to do it for real. Right in the middle of filling all the little tarts I realized the lemon curd filling I had just folded whipped cream into was too soupy, so I did some quick mental math and added 1.6 leaves of gelatin per lb. and it seemed to work. I don't know how I came up with that. I make a gelatin solution that is one oz of powdered gelatin to 5 oz of water, and one oz of that is sufficient to gel 1 lb of whatever. I figure the gelatin in that is one part in 6, and since there are 10 sheets to an oz, I divided 10 by 6 and got 1.6. Does that make sense?

[Kimmie]

Dear thebighat,

That was a busy mother's day, wasn't it!

I won't answer your math question, I'm very bad at that.

But I have a question for you: Is it true that bavarian has to be used within 24 hours, otherwise it spoils. I thought that was the reason for you choosing buttercream instead!

[W.DeBord]

Sorry (I don't mean to be rude) I'm not bighat but I do know your answer kimmie....bavarain holds in the freezer perfectly for a week and much much longer. It also cuts nicely/perfectly when it's still slightly frozen. It's really one of the easier fillings because of it's holding strength and time. Kept fresh and never frozen it will hold in the cooler for a week.

I often make extra of every flavor and freeze it in my 9" cake pans. Then I unmold them and wrap them well, storing them in the freezer. So at the last minute when I have to quickly put a torte together I pull out my 1" thick bavarians and assemble with other on hand components and I can't have a nice torte put together in 1/2 hour.

[Pooh]

No need to apologize Wendy, we're all a big family here. I don't think the bighat will be offended at all...unless you are dead wrong! Kidding, kidding I promise!

BTW, thanks so much for the input.

I love bavarian creams and I'm not doing any because of that. I also read Kimmie's "premise" somewhere, might have been Kamman. I'll look it up and quote her if need be.


Hey thebighat

Nice to hear from you again. I look forward to those pics!



[ May 16, 2001: Message edited by: pooh ]

[mudbug]

Uunmmmmm...... bavarian creme!!!

[Kimmie]

Dear Wendy:

Here's what Madeleine Kamman says about Bavarian Cream:

A Bavarian cream is a perfect dessert for entertaining or ordering in restaurant because, since it should be kept no longer than 24 hours, it both supresses last-minute preparations and is always fresh. If a Bavarian cream that has been kept in a refrigerator 24 hours is not used and cannot be used, melt it, reheat it to 165 degrees F, chill it over ice, and freeze it immediately in an ice cream maker; it must then be served that very same day or discarded.

Bighat and Wendy, any thoughts?



[ May 16, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]

[monpetitchoux]

WDB, You are so smart. That tip about the frozen bavarian is one that I will employ if I have left over bavarian or other fruit mousses. I was also taught that gelatinized desserts should not be kept more than two days because the gelatin begins to turn rubbery after 48 hours. And that gelatinized deserts, like bavarians, shouldn't be frozen. But once on the job, I found that wasn't the case. They keep well in the freezer.

[thebighat]

The 24 hour rule was one they taught us in school. Bavarian creams contain potentially hazardous foods, eggs, and milk and cream. In practice I suppose you could squeak another day or two out of it. It really boils down to what your local health department wants you to do. Melting it to 165 degrees is a standard temperature for reheating leftover food. This of course will completely deflate the whipped cream in it, and I can't imagine what the gelatin would be like in ice cream.The idea of freezing it gives me another idea on assembling Arlequin. You could make and freeze the bavarian layers and then make the cake layers and assemble the thing unhurried. If you look through Pierre Herme's expensive book he does this all the time. I'm pooped. Between working and commuting I was out of the house for 13 hours today. Tonight was the cocktail party to welcome new members to the country club and the chef and manager both told me "make enough cookies." There were 72 people signed up for the party, and 20 reservations for dinner(we're not having a wonderful spring here) and I wound up making 22.5 dozen cookies. Plus focaccia, plus lavash, plus soft rolls, plus jalapeno rolls,plus pecan rolls, then I went to the kitchen and made bruschetta. And then I rushed home to take the kids to step dance, and it was cancelled. Thank you God.

[Kimmie]

Thebighat,

That's quite a schedule you have there. I would be pooped too!

Thanks for clearing up the "longevity" of bavarian cream. Your suggestion to make and freeze the bavarian layers and then make the cake layers and assemble the thing unhurried is quite clever. Would you know the title of Pierre Herme's expensive book, by any wonderful chance?

[thebighat]

It's called The Patisserie of Pierre Herme, and by expensive, and of course everything is relative, it cost me $185 from J. B. Prince. You might be able to get it for $165. But his book with Dorie Greenspan is a lot more accesible and a lot of the same stuff is in it. The pricey book is riddled with screwy translation and somewhat skimpy recipes. The pix are gorgeous though. It's a French/English edition, which might work for you in Montreal.

[Kimmie]

Thanks, thebighat!

I remembered an earlier post concerning the mistakes and wanted to make sure I would get the right one. I think I've seen the one with Dorie Greenspan in bookstores here. I will check it out.

Thanks again!