Ph.D-serts & Cakes

Working with Modeling Chocolate

As promised, here are the modeling chocolate recipes I am using (from B. Keith Ryder): White Modeling Chocolate6 lb. good quality white chocolate couverture, chopped*2 2/3 c. light corn syrup Dark Modeling Chocolate5 lb. good quality dark chocolate couverture, chopped*2 2/3 c. light corn syrup *Do not use chips as they have been formulated differently …

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Recipe for Skill

I ran across this today, and I like it: The Recipe for Skill10 lb. passion for your craft6 lb. drive to help you through the rough times9 lbs. pride in oneself and the team7 lbs. vision to look beyond normalcy (or insanity!)2 lbs. intelligence Yield: A life full of joy and satisfaction.This recipe is for …

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An Autumnal Cake

It was another busy weekend! In addition to Ben’s cake, I made another one for Deborah’s Ph.D. graduation. Mazel tov, Deborah! Deborah asked me for a 3-tier autumn-colored cake so here’s what I created: The cakes from top to bottom were: white cake with strawberry buttercream, yellow cake with chocolate buttercream, and chocolate cake with …

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The Magic of Modeling Chocolate

Definitely the best thing I learned at the ICES convention this year was modeling chocolate (aka chocolate clay, chocolate plastic, chocolate leather, candy clay)! Many people are afraid of (or at least intimidated by) chocolate because it has to be tempered properly in order to use it. Interestingly, chocolate’s melting temperature is below human body …

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Shout Outs!

A few people in my life have recently been recognized for their superior effort at work so I thought I’d give them a quick shout out here too! **Adam’s company, Affiliated Engineers, was ranked 4th on the Building Design & Construction’s 2009 Giants – Top 50 Engineering Firms Survey. All that engineering gobbeldy gook is …

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Cancer Vixen Winner!

Congrats to Shirley for winning the book Cancer Vixen! I’m home from the ICES Convention and it was AWESOME! I was so busy running from demonstration to volunteering post to demonstration to the vendor room (I just HAD to spend some money on the latest cake decorating tools) that I rarely had time to eat. …

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Gator Gala 2009 – Fight Against Breast Cancer!

The Collaboration of Scientists for Critical Research in Biomedicine, Inc. (CSCRB) is comprised of a group of current graduate students and alumni from the Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Science at UF (this is the program I’m in too). The group works as a nonprofit to help raise awareness and funds for research in areas that …

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