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verbicideWhy is it that everything I want to cook requires standing over a stove and stirring constantly forever? My arms hate me right now. And the kitchen sink is overflowing with goopy dishes.
Today is Jeff's birthday. Needless to say, I'm ecstatic he was born. He always has to stop me from sending a thank you card to his parents. We're celebrating with a dinner thing tomorrow night and as I've babbled about before, I'm making one of his favorite cakes. It's a white layer cake, filled with orange curd and pastry cream. It's topped with a cream cheese frosting mixed with the orange curd. I'm so glad Jeff likes my cooking as much as he does. He's so generous with the praise. It makes it worth all the effort. And I can tell I'm finally seasoning things better, because he hasn't needed to ask for the salt lately!
Anyhow, tonight's mission was to make the orange curd and pastry cream for the fillings. Last year, the curd turned out fine (then I overheated it and thinned it too much— a mistake I won't repeat again) but the pastry cream was just too thin. So I turned to the experts and asked![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
str8ontilmornin, who is a pastry chef, if he had some tips and a recipe for me. He was so nice. We emailed a couple of times and then tonight, I set to the task.
Everything went fine. I added the tempered egg-sugar-cornstarch mixture to the rest of the half and half mix and stirred. And stirred. And STIRRED. I was getting anxious (and tired) and started wondering if I'd screwed anything up. I didn't want to turn the heat up because it's not s'posed to boil. So I kept stirring. And then finally... finally it seemed to thicken. I thought I was delirious, but then it got thicker and thicker and suddenly it was the right consistency! It's chilling in an ice bath now, and then into the fridge.
I need to get up early tomorrow to bake the four white layer cakes. I'm so anxious about not screwing it up this year because Jeff liked it so damn much. What if it isn't as good as his memory of it? I also have these funky cake-strip-thingses that ostensibly keep layers from humping in the middle. And I bought these pre-cut 9-inch parchment rounds. No irritably measuring the bottom of the cake pan on a sheet that wants to curl up. It's the little things that keep baking from being miserable, I think.
I also used up nine thousand egg yolks today, so I'm grateful the layer cakes are white and not yellow. I have all the egg whites I could possibly need. I wish Best Recipe's gave flour measurements in weight as well as volume. I hate the whole sifting into a cup thing, but I know it's worth it.
Um. that's it. I am so tired now. I'm glad tomorrow is plan-free besides cake making and dinner. Oh! I also have to wrap Jeff's gift. But that's it.
I really should empty and load the dishwasher, but I think I would fall over dead. But if I don't, that'll be one more thing to do in the morning before the cakes. Mowr.
Today is Jeff's birthday. Needless to say, I'm ecstatic he was born. He always has to stop me from sending a thank you card to his parents. We're celebrating with a dinner thing tomorrow night and as I've babbled about before, I'm making one of his favorite cakes. It's a white layer cake, filled with orange curd and pastry cream. It's topped with a cream cheese frosting mixed with the orange curd. I'm so glad Jeff likes my cooking as much as he does. He's so generous with the praise. It makes it worth all the effort. And I can tell I'm finally seasoning things better, because he hasn't needed to ask for the salt lately!
Anyhow, tonight's mission was to make the orange curd and pastry cream for the fillings. Last year, the curd turned out fine (then I overheated it and thinned it too much— a mistake I won't repeat again) but the pastry cream was just too thin. So I turned to the experts and asked
str8ontilmornin, who is a pastry chef, if he had some tips and a recipe for me. He was so nice. We emailed a couple of times and then tonight, I set to the task. Everything went fine. I added the tempered egg-sugar-cornstarch mixture to the rest of the half and half mix and stirred. And stirred. And STIRRED. I was getting anxious (and tired) and started wondering if I'd screwed anything up. I didn't want to turn the heat up because it's not s'posed to boil. So I kept stirring. And then finally... finally it seemed to thicken. I thought I was delirious, but then it got thicker and thicker and suddenly it was the right consistency! It's chilling in an ice bath now, and then into the fridge.
I need to get up early tomorrow to bake the four white layer cakes. I'm so anxious about not screwing it up this year because Jeff liked it so damn much. What if it isn't as good as his memory of it? I also have these funky cake-strip-thingses that ostensibly keep layers from humping in the middle. And I bought these pre-cut 9-inch parchment rounds. No irritably measuring the bottom of the cake pan on a sheet that wants to curl up. It's the little things that keep baking from being miserable, I think.
I also used up nine thousand egg yolks today, so I'm grateful the layer cakes are white and not yellow. I have all the egg whites I could possibly need. I wish Best Recipe's gave flour measurements in weight as well as volume. I hate the whole sifting into a cup thing, but I know it's worth it.
Um. that's it. I am so tired now. I'm glad tomorrow is plan-free besides cake making and dinner. Oh! I also have to wrap Jeff's gift. But that's it.
I really should empty and load the dishwasher, but I think I would fall over dead. But if I don't, that'll be one more thing to do in the morning before the cakes. Mowr.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-26 01:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-26 09:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-28 06:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-01-28 09:47 pm (UTC)What they need is some adjustable counter-top mixer, that you can lower into a pot on the stove!
no subject
Date: 2008-01-29 12:50 am (UTC)