Your Best Kept Secret... - Page 3

There are alot of varieties in liquid creamers. They will be near the milk.

CC is also my best kept secret. People ask where I get my ideas, and I just say "Oh, books, and mags, and people I chat with". I won't give it up!!!

Did you know that Sweet n low is banned in Canada. It was on the ban list here, but there was to big of an uproar. The aspartame I agree with you. Splenda is made by surrounding the sugar molecule with chlorine molecules. So Splenda is chlorinated sugar. Just like chlorinated water.

Mike

I am with MessyBaker!!!! I buy everything from Sams and Wal-Mart except for their meat. Our Wal-Mart meat dept. normally has good looking stuff, but I find them to be priced high...so I just shop at the other stores for the specials. Just to give you an idea......Walmart is about $1-2 cheaper on cake mix ALONE....when you are buying several boxes it can really add up to a substantial savings. Please educate me on the values and where you do your shopping!!!!!

Biggest secret you say. Ok here goes, Oh wait, there is that stuate of limitations thing. I tell you in about 1 yr three months, and 11 days. hehehehehe

[quote="lutie"]My secret is I never use anything other than Ghirardelli chocolate bars for my white chocolate and dark chocolate cakes... so I try to buy them when they are on sale.

Also, another secret is that I NEVER NEVER NEVER use aspartame (Equal) or SPLENDA (both are very, very, very dangerous) in any of my foods and will not allow them to be served wherever there is food that I have prepared. [quote]

I too use Ghirardelli dark chocolate but love Lindt white chocolate. Expensive but you can really tell a huge difference in flavors!

My big secret for diabetic foods is Whey Low. It's an all-natural sugar replacement that bakes up just like regular sugar. They even carry brown sugar and powdered sugar (but I haven't tried those yet).

I think I have to agree that this site is invaluable... I just freak out if it isn't up and working!! I use it for recipes, ideas and for help!! I think I am going to see if I can claim it as a dependent on my taxes next year...

One thing I learned from here is that as soon as the cake comes out of the oven, I lay a piece of saran over the top and flip it over on a big cookie sheet or a cutting board .. some flat surface and then I sit a full coke bottle on it, or a can of shortening and just let it sit on it while the cake is cooling. I have NEVER NEVER NEVER had to level a cake since I started this. They turn out perfect everytime. I always make tall layers so the cake is almost always at the top or somewhat above it. Then I drop it out of the pan after a short bit, wrap it up while still warm and in the freezer it goes til ready for use!! Cake is always level (sometimes I can't even tell which is the top and which is the bottom) and always moist!!

There ya go.... which I could remember who to thank for this...

One thing I learned from here is that as soon as the cake comes out of the oven, I lay a piece of saran over the top and flip it over on a big cookie sheet or a cutting board .. some flat surface and then I sit a full coke bottle on it, or a can of shortening and just let it sit on it while the cake is cooling. I have NEVER NEVER NEVER had to level a cake since I started this. They turn out perfect everytime. I always make tall layers so the cake is almost always at the top or somewhat above it. Then I drop it out of the pan after a short bit, wrap it up while still warm and in the freezer it goes til ready for use!! Cake is always level (sometimes I can't even tell which is the top and which is the bottom) and always moist!!

How full do you fill your cake pans when you use this method? I can't wait to try it!

Becca

Both Splenda and chlorinated water are bad for you. Chlorine is a poison and causes adverse health affects. A little chlorine kills the bad stuff but too much chlorine is in our drinking water. Not only drinking it is bad but our skin absorbs it when showering, washing hands, etc. And, no, your Brita filter does not filter it out. Only reverse osmosis systems will. OK, enough chemistry for the day.

I usually go at LEAST 1/2 full if not 3/4 full. I make a tall cake because of this. I just like the way it looks. I always like a bit more cake to compliment the layers of icing, instead of everyone scraping off the icing and leaving it on the plate because there wasn't enough cake to go with it!!!

Thanks! I like tall cakes too. I'll give it a try.

Becca

Great tip - hard on the family when pulling a cake decorating "all-nighter", but definitely a good tip!

~ Glycerine! Add 1 T to MMF for pliability. (Can sub corn syrup, but it's a bit stickier).

~ Another MMF tip: I get weird results with Jet Puffed MM's, so I stick to Wal Mart brand MM's and PS because different brands act differently. (And Wal Mart is the least expensive).

~ I fill my pans 3/4 full - I always use the basic WASC recipe for any flavor cake. (Bake Even strips). Cover in Saran and place in fridge while still in the pan after barely cooled. Level by using the pan as a guide for the knife.

~ I roll out my fondant on large parchment paper sheets that I buy at Smart&Final for around $5. No corn starch or PS needed - easy clean-up!

~ I stock up on foam core board when it's on sale at Michael's for $1. I don't cover them with foil or anything, just a strip of fondant around the base of the cake. They hold up great and you can cut several circles out of them--or any shape, for that matter! (I wrap the edge with ribbon).

~ Black MMF: add 3 T cocoa powder and a jar of Wilton black (not Americolor), stir before adding the PS.

~ For carved cakes, add 6 oz melted chocolate to the cake batter (WASC = 12oz as it uses 2 cake mixes).


My two cents: Splenda is the safest artificial sweetener on the market as Sucralose is the only artificial sweetener ranked as "safe" by the consumer advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Sweet n' Low is the least safest (saccharin). In 1972, the USDA made an attempt to completely ban the substance from being used in anything, as Canada has.

Here's the link to whey low. As it is a completely natural alternative to regular sugar, I love it.


http://www.wheylow.com/Default.asp?Redirected=Y

Very cool Tks for the link.

Mike