18 Oct 2007
15 comments:
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Anonymous said...
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There are so many great desserts and such out there.
The best place I suggest you look is the internet. You should come up with some good recipes with pictures, if you search the net. I generally like the recipes here; http://www.taste.com.au :)
My suggestion is Love Cake; yes that's what it's called. It's utterly sinful. It originated in Sri Lanka and there is a story behind it, but you'd be better off google searching than asking me.
If you're looking at different cultures and stuff, you may like to look at Semolina Cake, which as far as I know is usually Greek.
I love Creme Brulee's and Chocolate Torte's. As a caterer doing desserts, she's probably likely to do lots with petit fours, and truffles --> as they are small and bite sized. So I recommend looking up things along those lines.
Yeah that's all I can think of at the mo'. I hope it helped. -
18 October 2007 at 10:24
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Anonymous said...
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Dulce de leche - which is a yummy very thick rich caramel from Spain, I believe its made with condensed milk, oh yeah well it can go as a filling in a cake or turned into gelato or anything really
Macaroons from Paris, they come in all sorts of flavours and can look very pretty and colourful particularly for an event
Doborstorte from Vienna is really nice, has a toffeed layer on top and then is alternating layers of chocolate butter cream and sponge cake
You can do some nice jellies, like a champagne jelly with slices of starfruit in it which would look very sparkly and good for an event and go down well with people who don't want something too fattening but rather light instead
Rum balls... always yummy
oh yeah theres lots of good things really you can make... -
18 October 2007 at 10:25
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Anonymous said...
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Lily-
For catered desserts, you'll definetly want to focus on petit fours (means 'small oven' in French) and pre-made desserts, usually cold, that can be served on trays rather than individual platings. Cakes, mousses, tarts, bavarians, etc would work well. I would avoid frozen desserts and hot desserts, due to restrictions on available cooking supplies.
Some nice petit fours :
Pate a choux desserts are made from an egg based dough, that is piped into various shapes and baked at a high heat. This causes the dough to rapidly expand and form a hollow, crisp shell. They are then filled with creams or curds.
Eclairs (pastry cream with chocolate on top)
Profiteroles (filled with ice cream or whipped cream, in which case they become a cream puff)
Swans http://farm1.static.flickr.com/32/64761598_a1a6012a3a.jpg
A lot of people think of fondant glazed cakes when they hear 'petit four.' Bake a few thin sheet cakes, fill with mousse, buttercream, jelly, etc. Layer multiple times and then cut into squares. Dip individual squares into fondant glaze.
As far as cookies or baked goods go, look up madelienes, canneles, financiers, savarins (iffy on that one, but still interesting) and mille-feuille for a few interesting ones.
Individual cakes or slices of larger cakes are always intriguing, especially if it's a complicated cake. Look up opera cake, sacher torte, marjolaine (mmmmmm...) and for the really crazy, gateaux St. Honore http://www.billcasselman.com/gateau%20st%20honore.jpg
I could probably give you a million more ideas, but I don't want to overload you.
And I'm not a pastry chef. Definetly not. No way. ;-)
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18 October 2007 at 10:26
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Anonymous said...
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My all-time favorite cookie recipe is the Neiman Marcus cookies (beware, it makes a serious amount of cookies, and they're irresistible!!):
NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES
2 cups butter
4 oz chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated, or finely chopped works too)
5 cups blended oatmeal (also great if you just roughly chop these up, leave some oat flakes for extra texture)
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice) - optional
Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar, and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.
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Also, check out Charm City Cakes (have you ever seen Ace of Cakes on the Food Network?) Some AMAZING cake designs there!! (www.charmcitycakes.com) -
18 October 2007 at 10:27
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Anonymous said...
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Look for a creme brulee recipe. It's difficult to get right so it's the kind of thing a caterer would love to show off with, and it's a very sensual, erotic dessert to eat.
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18 October 2007 at 10:31
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Anonymous said...
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Well, my favorite cake is the flourless chocolate cake- the recipe can be found here: http://www.cacaoweb.net/flourlesschocolatecake.html
I'm a horrible cook, so I'm afraid I can't help you anymore than that... good luck! -
18 October 2007 at 10:50
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Anonymous said...
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Try "Ice in heaven", a Middle Eastern rice pudding flavoured with rosewater.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/food/recipe84.shtml
I love the idea of eating your characters' favourite foods! -
18 October 2007 at 10:50
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Anonymous said...
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Have a look at....
www.bbcgoodfood.com
Loads of recipes on there. And if you register (free!), you can create a binder to store your favourites in.. -
18 October 2007 at 10:51
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Anonymous said...
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Pavlova and lamingtons are two fantastic very Australian recipes;
Pavlova - http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/7271/classic+pavlova
Lamingtons - http://www.aussie-info.com/identity/food/lamington.php
They're both fairly simple though. -
18 October 2007 at 10:53
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Anonymous said...
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Here are a few more web sites to add to your list
www.epicurious.com
www.emerils.com
www.cooks.com
www.fooddownunder.com
www.foodtv.com
good luck -
18 October 2007 at 10:54
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Unknown said...
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thanks all for your assistance. im looking forward to eating and writing about these. ill let you know which ones i use.
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18 October 2007 at 11:02
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Anonymous said...
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The best gourmet dessert place near me is http://www.extraordinarydesserts.com
That site might be inspirational. They make the most beautiful things! The desserts are garnished with gold leaf (edible), fresh flowers, and ribbons. I love their lavender shortbread cookies and lemon crunch cake. The desserts are so rich you eat only a tiny bit and you're totally sated.
For me these desserts are a big treat and a special event in themselves. You might think about how your chef's food affects people. In Like Water for Chocolate, the emotions of the MC were transferred through her food to other characters. Food should nourish the body and the soul. -
19 October 2007 at 01:16
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Anonymous said...
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One of my favorite desserts is a chocolate raspberry cake. It's fairly simple, but so moist and delicious. The cake recipe (not the filling or frosting) was originally from a vegan cookbook, but has gone through a few of my own adaptations, so I figured why not adapt it once more to a non-vegan recipe for posting it here:
Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix 3 cups flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and 3/4 cup cocoa powder. Blend (yes, that means in a blender) 3/4 cup butter, 1-1/2 cups sugar, 1/4 cup heavy cream, 2 cups milk, 1 tbsp vanilla extract and 3/4 cup dark or bittersweet chocolate chips (by the end of blending, the chocolate pieces should be reduced to about the size of poppy seeds). Add this to the dry ingredients and mix (it's a cake, so don't overmix and don't mix too vigorously). Oil and dust two cake pans with cocoa powder, then pour the batter in. It takes about 30 minutes to bake.
Filling: In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups frozen raspberries (fresh can be used, but the frozen raspberries' juice comes more quickly as they melt, and that's what you're going to need to bring to a boil), 1/4 cup of cornstarch, a pinch of salt and sugar to taste (somewhere between 1/2 cup and 1 cup is usually about right, but one of my friends likes her filling extra sweet and generally adds 1-1/2) to a boil, stirring constantly (it gets kind of tough at the end, but it's reeeally important that you don't stop stirring). Once it's boiling, reduce to medium heat (keep stirring!) until thickened to the desired consistency and add 1 tsp butter, turn heat off and stir for 20-30 more seconds.
Frosting: Blend (this can be done by hand with a whisk, but it's much easier to blend or whip it) 2-1/3 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup cocoa powder, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 3/4 to 1 cup (depending on desired richness of the frosting) butter and a pinch of salt until mixed thoroughly. As you're blending, slowly add enough milk or cream to get the frosting to the right consistency. If it gets too runny, you can add more powdered sugar, but it's always nice to get it right the first time, no? :D
Garnish with fresh raspberries and shavings off of a bar of baking chocolate. If you're so inclined and have the supplies on hand, a few raspberry leaves dipped in melted chocolate also make an excellent garnish. -
19 October 2007 at 01:17
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Anonymous said...
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Heh. One of my favorite writers, Robert B. Parker, writes a series about a private detective named Spenser. He is from Boston and a very good detective, boxer and gunfighter, and one thing I think the series does well is balancing light-hearted elements with some very serious, bad situations. Anyway, the reason I mention it is that Spenser loves to cook, and sometimes when the plot is at a simmer and he has to sit back and think about a case, he will go home and make a really nice meal for himself, having fun in the kitchen and stuff. All this is narrated and everything; it's a prety charming plot device. Anyway, good luck with your NaNo!
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19 October 2007 at 01:19
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Anonymous said...
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Lily please share your recipes with us, I think that this will bring us closer together!
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19 October 2007 at 19:14
I could see Lily as more of a personal cook, who caters to smaller parties and events. Her childhood would alienate her from most social interactions, so I easily imagine a preference to work alone."