David: help! What is an 11x17” pan? Flo’s recipe calls for that. Thanks for your equivalent note re: rounds, but I need a sheet cake! I am so confused, and after reading a bunch of sites, I’m even more confused! Can a sheet pan with 1” sides handle this recipe and the icing? Could I just use my 9x13 rectangular baking pan? Dumb comments for such an expert, I know. I don’t see an 11x17” pan available with higher sides! Is that a strange choice by Flo? A typo? Ugh. Thank you- you are my guru!!
David, The Magic Pan! Same here and I LOVED the spinach soufflé crepe first with the pecan dessert crepe which my future husband and I would split. We never had much money back then and it was a real treat. As always, food is attached to wonderful memories for me - I wish I could replicate both. Going to bake the devil's food cake this weekend. It's a good thing I don't live in Paris - how do you stay so thin with such delectable choices?
I love Flo's recipes, too, especially in her Miniatures book! I also have happy memories of The Magic Pan, as it was a favorite spot for lunch when I lived in San Francisco.
This isn't a comment on Flo's recipe, but I have noticed that a lot of recipes (perhaps newer ones?) now duplicate the amount of an ingredient in the instructions. In other words, if the ingredient list calls for 1/2 cup sugar, the instructions say, "add 1/2 cup sugar..." I find this annoying because I have to keep looking back at the ingredient list to make sure that's the amount I've measured out in my mise en place. I'm used to listing an amount in the instructions only if the amount in the ingredient list says, for example, "3/4 cup sugar, divided" and only 1/2 cup is being used at that point. Do you, as a recipe-writing professional, know if this is a new trend in recipe writing and, if so, what's the point?
If you were to go into my Substack Saves, it'd be all of your newsletters filled to the brim with French restaurant suggestions + recipes I can't wait to make. Thank you! This cake looks like a new birthday staple.
I love your tribute to Flo Braker whom I discovered through a Bon Appetit article on her sweet miniatures. Years ago, I was fortunate to attend a UC Extension course on Taste. In Flo’s class we tasted different chocolates- I still have the handouts and my comments. I remember her generous spirit from the class.
Recently on Doris Greenspans’s FB group, Bake and Tell, one member asked for members favorite baking books. My contribution was to mention you and Flo Braker. I meant to also add Emily Luccetti. My comments received a number of Likes. However, I have been struck by the sheer number of recommendations for East Coast bakers. I think I was the first to mention Left Coast bakers. I am not suggesting publishers favor Easterners, but I have been noticed this before!
I made the cake yesterday, using cake flour. I found the preparation of the frosting quite awkward - even though my butter was pretty mushy, I could not fully integrate all of the small butter lumps and some remained visible. And then my husband complained about the density of the cake, so there will be no repeat.
What a lovely tribute and wander down memory lane!
I love silpats for cookies, however some recipes are just a better outcome on parchment.
I tried it 2 times with brownies, epic fail. The rise and texture was just not correct for my tried and true brownies (30+ yrs).
Thank you for sharing your trip to Metro... I have been to a Metro in Hanover, Germany with my cousin a few times. They remind me of an old 5 and dime store, restaurant supply store meets Sam's Club!
I remember seeing that pallet of huge nutella tubs👀 my 10 yr old son at rhe time really wanted it . That was to big to bring home on the plane😜
It's the Flo fan lady from Veyrier (Geneva). I've been using T40 (or is it T45?) for this cake as I was told it was close to cake flour. What's your take on that? Or do you recommend doing the cornstarch trick? Thanks for any input. By the way, I tried commenting after you said on Instagram that you weren't crazy about balsamic vinegar and for some reason I wasn't allowed to. I'm so happy I'm not the only one out there who doesn't go wild over it. Now I feel "redeemed".
I happen to think those flour protein claims are rather bogus. All I care about is the finished product. And I will continue making chocolate cakes from the recipe on Hersey's coco tins.
Thank you for introducing some of us to Flo and her work, which I wouldn't have learned about without this post. I've recently been building out the cake baking section of my cookbook collection and was excited to learn about this title and have your recommendation. There are very few copies of any of the editions of this book on the secondary market in the US...which means that folks are hanging onto them! I was happy to snag the 2003 edition. I'm also looking forward to adding The Cake Bible 35th anniversary edition to my stash when it's released later this year.
I am curious- I have never made (or read) a frosting before that uses raw eggs- what is their purpose? And would it be OK to leave the cake out for a couple of days? Assuming it could be defended from hungry thieves….
When I met Flo, she took me out to a fancy Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Palo Alto, where she lived. She knew the pastry chef, who sent out small pieces of every dessert on the menu, maybe about 8! I think she was nervous about getting Flo's approval. Flo insisted on treating me and wanted to talk about the food writing industry and what I should know. She was definitely "a doctor's wife" but so much more than that. She was tough but also a sweetheart.
Your article is So appreciated David! I'm 69 years old and grew up in a Hudson River town - our local bakery which I'd gone to since I was about 7 years old is closing and along with it will be their Chocolate Blackout cake - I have no idea how they made their frosting because it tasted like no other - so I'm excited to try this - my birthday was the 15th of January and my daughters ran down to get me one last cake as they are closing the end of the month - alas, somewhere along the line, perhaps for financial reasons? The frosting was not the same! So thank you for this gift - I trust you to know a great cake - and it will replace my once loved cake which provided so many memories of my childhood, family and memorable occasions in my life! I recently purchased the Kitchen Aid sifter scale to make The Prince of Wales scones which is all in grams etc. and it's fantastic. Williams Sonoma had it on sale for $99. The Prince of Wales is a wonderful historic hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada - their hight tea is superb.....Happy New Year and a belated Happy Birthday!
Your wonderful tribute to Flo Braker prompted me to search my modest library of cookbooks. And, “lo and behold” I found the simple art of perfect baking, the 2003 edition, brand new with the photo of devil’s food cake on the cover. I have rarely succeeded at baking, but it’s never too late to try your recipe.
David: help! What is an 11x17” pan? Flo’s recipe calls for that. Thanks for your equivalent note re: rounds, but I need a sheet cake! I am so confused, and after reading a bunch of sites, I’m even more confused! Can a sheet pan with 1” sides handle this recipe and the icing? Could I just use my 9x13 rectangular baking pan? Dumb comments for such an expert, I know. I don’t see an 11x17” pan available with higher sides! Is that a strange choice by Flo? A typo? Ugh. Thank you- you are my guru!!
David, The Magic Pan! Same here and I LOVED the spinach soufflé crepe first with the pecan dessert crepe which my future husband and I would split. We never had much money back then and it was a real treat. As always, food is attached to wonderful memories for me - I wish I could replicate both. Going to bake the devil's food cake this weekend. It's a good thing I don't live in Paris - how do you stay so thin with such delectable choices?
I love Flo's recipes, too, especially in her Miniatures book! I also have happy memories of The Magic Pan, as it was a favorite spot for lunch when I lived in San Francisco.
This isn't a comment on Flo's recipe, but I have noticed that a lot of recipes (perhaps newer ones?) now duplicate the amount of an ingredient in the instructions. In other words, if the ingredient list calls for 1/2 cup sugar, the instructions say, "add 1/2 cup sugar..." I find this annoying because I have to keep looking back at the ingredient list to make sure that's the amount I've measured out in my mise en place. I'm used to listing an amount in the instructions only if the amount in the ingredient list says, for example, "3/4 cup sugar, divided" and only 1/2 cup is being used at that point. Do you, as a recipe-writing professional, know if this is a new trend in recipe writing and, if so, what's the point?
If you were to go into my Substack Saves, it'd be all of your newsletters filled to the brim with French restaurant suggestions + recipes I can't wait to make. Thank you! This cake looks like a new birthday staple.
I love your tribute to Flo Braker whom I discovered through a Bon Appetit article on her sweet miniatures. Years ago, I was fortunate to attend a UC Extension course on Taste. In Flo’s class we tasted different chocolates- I still have the handouts and my comments. I remember her generous spirit from the class.
Recently on Doris Greenspans’s FB group, Bake and Tell, one member asked for members favorite baking books. My contribution was to mention you and Flo Braker. I meant to also add Emily Luccetti. My comments received a number of Likes. However, I have been struck by the sheer number of recommendations for East Coast bakers. I think I was the first to mention Left Coast bakers. I am not suggesting publishers favor Easterners, but I have been noticed this before!
Thank you again for your tribute to Flo Braker
Dear David...so Did Romain prefer Flo's cake to yours (which I have never tried but was all set to)?
Also, can't decide on the frosting recipe which I want to be fluffy...Zoe Francois has one in her
cake book that looks good but I've never tried. Will be making whichever you say on this Sunday..
No football watching for me. Thanks in advance, Kate in FL
I made the cake yesterday, using cake flour. I found the preparation of the frosting quite awkward - even though my butter was pretty mushy, I could not fully integrate all of the small butter lumps and some remained visible. And then my husband complained about the density of the cake, so there will be no repeat.
What a lovely tribute and wander down memory lane!
I love silpats for cookies, however some recipes are just a better outcome on parchment.
I tried it 2 times with brownies, epic fail. The rise and texture was just not correct for my tried and true brownies (30+ yrs).
Thank you for sharing your trip to Metro... I have been to a Metro in Hanover, Germany with my cousin a few times. They remind me of an old 5 and dime store, restaurant supply store meets Sam's Club!
I remember seeing that pallet of huge nutella tubs👀 my 10 yr old son at rhe time really wanted it . That was to big to bring home on the plane😜
It's the Flo fan lady from Veyrier (Geneva). I've been using T40 (or is it T45?) for this cake as I was told it was close to cake flour. What's your take on that? Or do you recommend doing the cornstarch trick? Thanks for any input. By the way, I tried commenting after you said on Instagram that you weren't crazy about balsamic vinegar and for some reason I wasn't allowed to. I'm so happy I'm not the only one out there who doesn't go wild over it. Now I feel "redeemed".
I happen to think those flour protein claims are rather bogus. All I care about is the finished product. And I will continue making chocolate cakes from the recipe on Hersey's coco tins.
Thank you for introducing some of us to Flo and her work, which I wouldn't have learned about without this post. I've recently been building out the cake baking section of my cookbook collection and was excited to learn about this title and have your recommendation. There are very few copies of any of the editions of this book on the secondary market in the US...which means that folks are hanging onto them! I was happy to snag the 2003 edition. I'm also looking forward to adding The Cake Bible 35th anniversary edition to my stash when it's released later this year.
I am curious- I have never made (or read) a frosting before that uses raw eggs- what is their purpose? And would it be OK to leave the cake out for a couple of days? Assuming it could be defended from hungry thieves….
Great read. Miss Flo
Cindy
When I met Flo, she took me out to a fancy Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Palo Alto, where she lived. She knew the pastry chef, who sent out small pieces of every dessert on the menu, maybe about 8! I think she was nervous about getting Flo's approval. Flo insisted on treating me and wanted to talk about the food writing industry and what I should know. She was definitely "a doctor's wife" but so much more than that. She was tough but also a sweetheart.
Your article is So appreciated David! I'm 69 years old and grew up in a Hudson River town - our local bakery which I'd gone to since I was about 7 years old is closing and along with it will be their Chocolate Blackout cake - I have no idea how they made their frosting because it tasted like no other - so I'm excited to try this - my birthday was the 15th of January and my daughters ran down to get me one last cake as they are closing the end of the month - alas, somewhere along the line, perhaps for financial reasons? The frosting was not the same! So thank you for this gift - I trust you to know a great cake - and it will replace my once loved cake which provided so many memories of my childhood, family and memorable occasions in my life! I recently purchased the Kitchen Aid sifter scale to make The Prince of Wales scones which is all in grams etc. and it's fantastic. Williams Sonoma had it on sale for $99. The Prince of Wales is a wonderful historic hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada - their hight tea is superb.....Happy New Year and a belated Happy Birthday!
Your wonderful tribute to Flo Braker prompted me to search my modest library of cookbooks. And, “lo and behold” I found the simple art of perfect baking, the 2003 edition, brand new with the photo of devil’s food cake on the cover. I have rarely succeeded at baking, but it’s never too late to try your recipe.