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Competitive dessert making poll  

47 members have voted

  1. 1. Which dessert should my son make? (Links to pictures in the OP)

    • Chocolate Creation Showstopper Cake
      21
    • Mary Berry's Christmas Pavlova Wreath
      21
    • Just make the croquembouche!
      4
    • Something else that I will tell you
      1


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Posted (edited)

EDITED AGAIN:  

I learned at dinner that we have a new contender.  We need a final decision by tomorrow so we can make last minute additions to the grocery order, so I have added a poll. Here are the choices.

Chocolate Creation Showstopper (from the Great British Baking Show)

Mary Berry's Christmas Pavlova Wreath

Croque-en-bouche

 

OLDER POSTS

How would you secure it?

We are going to drive to see DH's cousins and his great aunt on Christmas afternoon.  The plan is that we will stay outside, masked and six feet apart, but we're also going to bring them a dessert, and trade for a dessert that they're making.  

My son really wants to try again to make a croque-en-bouche, which I think could be fun, but I have no idea how to transport it.  We'll probably caravaning in two vehicles, a mini van with a wheelchair spot with tie downs that we could use to attach straps (no wheelchair) and a large SUV. 

Any ideas on how to make this work?  People serve these for weddings so they must transport them. 

The trip involves highway driving, so the drive real slow strategy is out.  

 

ETA:  OK, I'm thinking that this is too ambitious.  

What's an easier thing that still looks spectacular.  My kid is a little competitive about his baking (and everything else) and the cousin we're trading with will certainly make something spectacular. 

My suggestion is going to be this:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/christmas_pavlova_20589

But I'd love a few more ideas. 

Edited by BaseballandHockey
'cause we should all listen to our Health Care Workers right now
Posted
1 minute ago, klmama said:

Can you assemble it there?  

No, we'd need a stove for the caramel cage and we aren't going inside.  My GFIL's, the one I talk about all the time, his older sister lives there and is very fragile.  So, we are being very very careful.  

Posted
1 minute ago, Seasider too said:

Well with the creme puffs you should keep it cool. Does he plan to just pile them up, or use a foam cone? How tall?

I would maybe do it like this. Get a large cooler and stand it upright, lengthwise, so it’s more like a fridge with a door. You can use some bungee cords to secure it in place. 
 

The other option is to assemble on site. Not too bad if using frosting, harder if he wanted traditional spun sugar drizzle. 

I don't really know.  His aunt is humoring him and making it with him and my GFIL.  He and I tried a few months ago, and it was a delicious mess, but she is a much better cook than me, so he is optimistic. 

It's cold here.  I think we put GFIL in the other car, and then we drive with the windows open.  

  • Like 1
Posted

Where does one get a foam cone?  When we tried before we tried the without a cone method and ended up with a very yummy pile of creme puffs with way too much caramel.  So, a cone sounds good.

I saw a picture of one with bubble wrap.  Maybe we need bubble wrap?

 

  • Drama Llama changed the title to What else should we make if you we don't want to drive about an hour with a croquembouche in our van . . .
Posted

The year I accidentally brought angel pie to Big Family Christmas, everyone fell in love with it and it was a command performance from then on.  And it looks pretty nice, with the billowy meringue crust.  I make it in Pampered Chef glazed stoneware pie pans, so the color is kind of dramatic.  It’s not impressive looking but it’s attractive and awfully good.

  • Thanks 1
Posted

Oh!  This is amazingly good, and it’s rich enough that a little goes a long way.  And it looks impressive.

https://www.pamperedchef.com/recipe/Desserts/Chocolate+Macaroon+Pizza/10022

I brought it to a potluck two years ago, and while my husband was holding the dish waiting for me to be ready to leave, this LINE of people approached him one after the other and begged for the recipe.  It’s super easy, too.  Just be sure to butter the pan thoroughly or it will stick.

 

  • Thanks 1
Posted

Could you do a 1 dimensional style one?  Just Lay it out in a box or something?

Lemon meringue pie looks special.  Or you could do one of those meringue tasting table style things where you make meringue nests then arrange all the topping option for people to pick their own.

Posted (edited)

How about a Yule log?   If you wanted to be extra fancy you could make meringue mushrooms, decors with sugared rosemary and cranberries.   You could make chocolate silhouettes.   I love you have a kid this into GBB.  🥰  there are lots of Yule log GBB ideas out there   

I have had to travel with fancy desserts.  You can make a serving tray with well cut cardboard and you could wrap it in parchment and clean wrapping paper.  If you were doing a Yule log, butcher paper would work well.  Y ou can slice down the corners of a box, put the dessert in it and tape the corners with light packing tap that you can just cut when you get there.  

Edited by FuzzyCatz
Posted

I think I saw Julia Child and Martha Stewart make this on tv once, or something very like it. It was hilarious because Julia Child's looked a bit messy and casual, and Martha Stewart's looked like, well, like Martha Stewart made it, lol. Every puff placed with military precision 😄

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Posted (edited)

I have seen foam shapes at places that have stuff to make wreaths and things from plastic greenery.  Like — Hobby Lobby.  
 

I think it’s possible to shave down a cylinder?

 

I think flower arrangements also use foam?


 

Edited by Lecka
Posted

Re. Transporting:  The main thing is to make sure that the dessert cannot slide into something that mooshes the sides of it.  For pies this is very tricky but over the years we have figured out that the keys are to set the pie pan into something with sides that are no higher than the pan itself, that secures it (if not, double sided tape is sometimes used), and that can be wedged into position in the trunk so that it can’t slide enough to let the side of the pie be hit.  

I had friends that owned a bakery, and for one wedding the son and another employee carried in a fake cake made of styrofoam and pretended to trip and have it fall and break apart, while someone filmed them and someone else filmed the bride, who was a friend of theirs.  They thought this was hilarious.  I didn’t so much...The lesson—don’t do great in transport and then blow it in the end.  I have yet to break a pie plate by dropping it, but I do make lots of trips to the car instead of trying to carry it along with a bunch of presents and overcoats and such.

Posted (edited)

We moved a huge volcano cake. We used a large Amazon box and slid it in and out by putting the opening on the side.  Than we used a yoga mat to make a soft but not to soft non-slip surface for it to sit on.  No other securing.  It survived a 40 minute drive on fairly curvy two lane highway.

Edited by rebcoola
Posted
2 hours ago, Lecka said:

I have seen foam shapes at places that have stuff to make wreaths and things from plastic greenery.  Like — Hobby Lobby.  
 

I think it’s possible to shave down a cylinder?

 

I think flower arrangements also use foam?


 

Is that foam safe for food though?  I always assumed they used some special food grade foam?

@Seasider too?  

Posted (edited)

Agreeing with the idea to skewer the frozen puffs.
Maybe transporting it inside a styrofoam cooler chest, turned upside-down.
I would consider doing final assembly 1/2 mile from the destination.
Maybe keeping the hot caramel sauce in a thermos, or running into a convenience store near your destination, & using their microwave to heat it?

Yes, Hobby Lobby has the green core for flower decor.  12" for $5 (- coupon!)
https://www.hobbylobby.com/Floral-Wedding/Floral-Supplies/Floral-Foam/FloraFoM-Floral-Foam-Cone---12"/p/2040
 

You could trim the green core, if you need to make it smaller to fit inside a cooler/box, etc.
You could cover the green core with foil, to make it food safe.

You could put some skewers like antenna around the sides, so if it slides, it doesn't "mooch" against the cooler chest sides.

I love the idea, love that your son is excited about it . . . which motivates me to find a way!

---B

Edited by Beth S
Posted (edited)
14 hours ago, MercyA said:

I hope I'm not the only one who had to google it. YUM.

Christmas version at a Korean supermarket bakery section.

9E3A99FF-741A-4BAC-A6C8-3D0E13F63F3A.jpeg
 

ETA:

I was tempted to buy but don’t know how to safely get it home. 

Edited by Arcadia
  • Like 2
Posted
33 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Christmas version at a Korean supermarket bakery section.

9E3A99FF-741A-4BAC-A6C8-3D0E13F63F3A.jpeg
 

ETA:

I was tempted to buy but don’t know how to safely get it home. 

Ooooh, those are great. I wish you'd go in there and ask them how they'd suggest you get it home.  

Or, given covid, I wish you'd call them on the phone and ask them.  

Posted
41 minutes ago, Beth S said:


Maybe keeping the hot caramel sauce in a thermos, or running into a convenience store near your destination, & using their microwave to heat it?

 

It's not a sauce, it's a cage made of spun sugar, thin brittle strings of it.  I think the temperature has to be very precise so that the sugar hardens as it drips. 

That's the part we failed at when we made it last time, that and getting the shape.   

I think I've talked them into the pavlova wreath.  

  • Like 1
Posted

https://www.melskitchencafe.com/double-chocolate-mousse-torte/

If you have chocolate lovers, this was very yummy the one time that I made it, and the layers are pretty. You can transport it in the springform pan and remove the sides when you arrive. However, if you are going to drop something off, it would be hard to slide it off of the bottom of the pan, and you might not want to leave the pan at someone else's house.

  • Like 1
Posted
17 hours ago, MercyA said:

I hope I'm not the only one who had to google it. YUM.

Oh, man. Now I know exactly what dd should have at her wedding, since she isn’t that big on wedding cake! 

  • Like 1
Posted
6 minutes ago, Quill said:

Oh, man. Now I know exactly what dd should have at her wedding, since she isn’t that big on wedding cake! 

Does anyone actually like wedding cake?  

  • Haha 1
Posted
4 minutes ago, Quill said:

Oh, man. Now I know exactly what dd should have at her wedding, since she isn’t that big on wedding cake! 

Isn't it awesome?

For something simpler and equally delicious, my youngest BIL/SIL had a wonderful brunch reception planned, with a "donut wall" instead of a cake.  

 

  • Thanks 1
Posted
2 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Isn't it awesome?

For something simpler and equally delicious, my youngest BIL/SIL had a wonderful brunch reception planned, with a "donut wall" instead of a cake.  

 

It is. She would love this and she loves all things French. She was considering donuts or cake balls or cookies for her wedding. 

Posted

My mother in law says, "Get out the parchment paper.  Make a cone that fits around it perfectly and tape it securely, both to itself and to the plate it is on.  Then take a beach towel and roll lengthwise.  Make a nest with the beach towel so the croquembouche plate will just fit, to keep it from sliding.  Off you go."

  • Like 2
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Posted
4 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Does anyone actually like wedding cake?  

Ya know? You got a point...

  • Haha 1
Posted
10 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Does anyone actually like wedding cake?  

People actually liked *our* wedding cake, because it was chocolate.  We were united on that.  It just tastes better.  The frosting was also chocolate, so the decorations showed up better, too.  

  • Like 2
Posted
Just now, Carol in Cal. said:

People actually liked *our* wedding cake, because it was chocolate.  We were united on that.  It just tastes better.  The frosting was also chocolate, so the decorations showed up better, too.  

Everyone, me included, loved our groom cake, which was black forest cake.  But my mom, who, being the one who cared, basically organized our reception, said traditional wedding cake was required.  

Posted
1 minute ago, Terabith said:

Everyone, me included, loved our groom cake, which was black forest cake.  But my mom, who, being the one who cared, basically organized our reception, said traditional wedding cake was required.  

We had a very traditional wedding cake, except it was brown.  If it raised eyebrows, I never heard about it...and the pictures are really pretty.

  • Like 2
Posted
33 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Does anyone actually like wedding cake?  

 

28 minutes ago, Quill said:

Ya know? You got a point...

 

21 minutes ago, Terabith said:

Everyone, me included, loved our groom cake, which was black forest cake.  But my mom, who, being the one who cared, basically organized our reception, said traditional wedding cake was required.  

Mine was a traditional tiered fruit cake and the guests ate all up. We grew up on brandy fruit cake though so it wasn’t surprising that my husband’s cousins were happily going for seconds. 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/traditional_wedding_cake_46381

My husband’s relatives were surprised that the entire cake was real. For my husband’s generation, most of their wedding cakes has a small portion that is real for the cake cutting photo shots while the rest of the cake is fake. 

  • Like 1
Posted
3 hours ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Ooooh, those are great. I wish you'd go in there and ask them how they'd suggest you get it home.  

Or, given covid, I wish you'd call them on the phone and ask them.  

K Market

Tel. (408) 733-0333

We go there weekly, usually there isn’t many customers there so very easy to maintain 6 feet distance. 

  • Thanks 1
Posted

This is an impressive-looking and delicious cake I made a couple of years ago: http://www.confessionsofacookbookqueen.com/mounds-layer-cake/

Now, mine did not look like that one, but it still looked pretty delicious, which it was.

As for wedding cakes, the woman who made ours made the most delicious yummy cakes. Moist and so good. I did go to a wedding where, instead of a cake, several kinds of cheesecake were served. They had chosen one to be the one they cut, but they were delicious too.

  • Like 1
Posted
40 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

 

 

Mine was a traditional tiered fruit cake and the guests ate all up. We grew up on brandy fruit cake though so it wasn’t surprising that my husband’s cousins were happily going for seconds. 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/traditional_wedding_cake_46381

My husband’s relatives were surprised that the entire cake was real. For my husband’s generation, most of their wedding cakes has a small portion that is real for the cake cutting photo shots while the rest of the cake is fake. 

That sounds a lot better than what I think of as traditional wedding cake, which is puffy boring white cake.

Posted
3 hours ago, Terabith said:

Does anyone actually like wedding cake?  

 

2 hours ago, Quill said:

Ya know? You got a point...

What?? What kind of nasty wedding cake have y'all been served? Wedding cake is delicious. 

2 hours ago, Emba said:

I do! I love wedding cake. 🙂

I see you're in Texas. I'm in Louisiana. Maybe the south just has much better wedding cake than these poor people have had. 

  • Haha 3
  • Drama Llama changed the title to Edited: Croquembouche or . . . (NOW WITH A POLL)
Posted

I have nothing of substance to add, other than I had never seen the spelling "croquembouche" before, and assumed it was a typo.  Nope, it's an acceptable spelling.  But it makes my french-attuned  eyes hurt.  And it's nails on chalk-board to french-attuned ears.  "Croque-en-bouche".  Much better  🙂

 

  • Like 1
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Posted
1 minute ago, wathe said:

I have nothing of substance to add, other than I had never seen the spelling "croquembouche" before, and assumed it was a typo.  Nope, it's an acceptable spelling.  But it makes my french-attuned  eyes hurt.  And it's nails on chalk-board to french-attuned ears.  "Croque-en-bouche".  Much better  🙂

 

It's the spelling you come up with when you google "fancy stack of cream puffs" or something like that. 

  • Haha 2
Posted
Just now, BaseballandHockey said:

It's the spelling you come up with when you google "fancy stack of cream puffs" or something like that. 

Yep.  It's still wrong 🙂

 

  • Haha 1
Posted
5 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

It's the spelling you come up with when you google "fancy stack of cream puffs" or something like that. 

It will be delicious no matter how you spell it.  But, it will taste even better if you spell it in the correct french fashion, IMNSHO.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2
Posted
Just now, wathe said:

It will be delicious no matter how you spell it.  But, it will taste even better if you spell it in the correct french fashion, IMNSHO.

The question at hand, though, is would it taste the very best if it got replaced by a pavlova.

Posted
5 minutes ago, Lecka said:

I voted for the wreath because to me it looks the most forgiving.  Also I like the festive colors.  

My 10 year old is kind of a "go big or go home" person.  

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Posted
1 minute ago, Pippen said:

Then traditional apple strudel might be right up his alley, and very delicious too. My Oma and Opa could stretch it out so thin that it was almost as big as the table.

I don't remember anyone using a recipe, but here's one for the dough. https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/strudel-dough-recipe

That sounds really good.  But the one thing we have to have because it's traditional is sour cream apple pie.  Which he and I will make on Christmas Eve.  We can't send sour cream apple pie to the cousins, because the point of this competition is to wow them with something that they've never seen before, and they ate my pie last Christmas.  

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