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fabian cake shop on roberto pastoriza
one of the sad things about Dominican flour is that it is so very inconsistent, you cannot apply recipes to it. if you use a flour like King Arthur, and a recipe calls for a half cup of water, it will be almost spot on. with Dominican flour, it will be a half a cup if you buy it in POP, one cup if it came from Bani, a quarter cup last week, and a teaspoon for the stuff you buy next week.
what can i say. fondant is powdered sugar with glucose syrup and a bit of fat. it just tastes like a lump of caked icing sugar but sweeter. not my favourite thing. makes for stunning decorations, yes. but i prefer an ugly but tasty cake to pretty but gross.
Icing is something different in most places. Fondant can be made or bought from professional companies, and like anything else there are quality differences. Daughter buys tubs of it in many colors, it looks like playdoh to me. You have to roll it out with a heavy rolling pin, to desired thickness, not easy to work with so not for me.
If you've ever watched Cake Boss, it's all he uses.
it's not really icing. icing is wet and pourable. it's also mainly powdered sugar with small amount of liquid. i use coffee, fruit juices or liqueurs to give it flavour. cookies can be dipped in it and it's spread or poured on cakes. americans often use cream cheese with it to give it thickness and creaminess.
as AE explained, fondant is solid. addition of fat gives it more elasticity and glucose syrup is a binder. it's rolled or shaped by hand but you could just as well form it into a solid cube and it would stay that way, conditions permitting.
For cakes and pastry stuff in SD people that can afford it will go to Cuchara de madera, la Dolcerie, Bondelic, Pasteles de la casa to name a few. The older I get the less I like very sweet stuff, but especially the cakes from Bondelic are actually very good.
On bread: one of the reasons I want to go back to Holland is the lack of good bread. Years ago (my first time here) I'd buy bread at Carrefour, who had decent bread and a bakery store in Naco, but especially the latter lacked consistency. One day good, the next bad. Now the only bread I eat is pan de aqua from El Nacional (it has to be from El Nacional, even if I get it from Jumbo it's not the same.
On bread: one of the reasons I want to go back to Holland is the lack of good bread. Years ago (my first time here) I'd buy bread at Carrefour, who had decent bread and a bakery store in Naco, but especially the latter lacked consistency. One day good, the next bad. Now the only bread I eat is pan de aqua from El Nacional (it has to be from El Nacional, even if I get it from Jumbo it's not the same.
yeah, i pretty much gave up on bread here. i buy burger buns or pan de agua or ciabattas if we have family/friends come in. other than that i made my own sourdough started in january and i either use that or make breads based on biga/poolish/levain - whatever the processes are called in english. sometimes i make simple yeast bread.
yeah, i pretty much gave up on bread here. i buy burger buns or pan de agua or ciabattas if we have family/friends come in. other than that i made my own sourdough started in january and i either use that or make breads based on biga/poolish/levain - whatever the processes are called in english. sometimes i make simple yeast bread.
looking good. i am sure you dont get that from Princesita and Blanquita..
Hey AE, have you ever tasted just the fondant your daughter buys? I tried it some years ago, and found it horrible tasting stuff and never understood what good a cake would be that looked beautiful but you had to peel.off the fondant to eat it. I was wondering if it has changed. I'm not into overly sweet icings, and use a 50/50 mix of Bavarian creme and cream fresh.
the starter is made from bob's red mill dark rye flour. the dough with pillsbury, gold medal and imported italian flours. if nothing else is available i use dominican flour for simple sponge cakes and it's ok.
Yes, she only buys one brand. Not sickeningly sweet and rolled thin. I personally prefer whipped cream, but not something that would be practical in DR.
whipped cream is not a problem. i make whipped cream frosting for most of my cakes. sometimes i stabilize it with mascarpone or dulce de leche. i may add liqueur or chocolate or coconut flakes or roasted almond slices. it will last a week or so. in the fridge only.
once we had a birthday party form my FIL. the cake was delivered saturday, spent all day and night standing at a table, then SIL took it home after the party and left it on the kitchen counter in her house until monday afternoon when she sent it to FIL's office for his employees. so basically it spent two days in dominican room temperature. that gritty sugary meringue held well. should she done the same with one of my cakes she'd drop some of the weight she needs to lose because it would end with a major food poisoning.
once we had a birthday party form my FIL. the cake was delivered saturday, spent all day and night standing at a table, then SIL took it home after the party and left it on the kitchen counter in her house until monday afternoon when she sent it to FIL's office for his employees. so basically it spent two days in dominican room temperature. that gritty sugary meringue held well. should she done the same with one of my cakes she'd drop some of the weight she needs to lose because it would end with a major food poisoning.
but whipped cream is so tasty...
i don't understand not refrigerating layer cakes. few times i watched those cake decorating shows when it took few days to assemble and decorate a cake. that can't taste good.
and now we're, like, 10 miles off topic so i apologize. maybe we should rename the thread or something.
i don't understand not refrigerating layer cakes. few times i watched those cake decorating shows when it took few days to assemble and decorate a cake. that can't taste good.
and now we're, like, 10 miles off topic so i apologize. maybe we should rename the thread or something.
No offense but, Do you cook something voluntarily for someone, waiting for them to order?
I recall you had a sort of similar story, but with empanadas. In the DR you don't cook for friends or neighbors waiting for them to order. You give them food, they'll share their food with you too. You will be giving each other food often.
Do you have a catering business? Well, if you do, I guess that's different.
you are absolutely correct. i make a lot of baked goods for all my friends and acquaintances. all i am saying is that i have made stuff for foreigners, and they will order from me. i have had guys whom i have never met before hand me a thousand pesos, asking me to make them a cheesecake. in the case of Dominicans, i make for them, and they return the favor down the road..they will not order a cake, or any such thing.
no, i do not have a catering business. i do this strictly for fun and satisfaction..
The cakes in Santo Domingo are awful, they all taste the same and the merengue icing is hideous. I would definitely miss real (whipped)cream if I ever decided to move there.
yeah, i pretty much gave up on bread here. i buy burger buns or pan de agua or ciabattas if we have family/friends come in. other than that i made my own sourdough started in january and i either use that or make breads based on biga/poolish/levain - whatever the processes are called in english. sometimes i make simple yeast bread.
Holy cow, do you deliver?