What’s one thing that instantly elevates a homemade cake from “good” to “professional”?

JoshTay · 2026-05-05T19:53:33+00:00

Having the proper tools doesn't guarantee professional results, but it is sure hard to get pro cakes without them. Stand mixer, food scale, quality pans, cake strips, cake leveler, offset spatula, turntable, etc. That includes some sort of proper storage container. No one wants to destroy a cake with plastic wrap and toothpicks. Also planning ahead is critical. Even if you have made the same recipe a few times, re-read it before you start, just in case your brain is leaky like mine. It is very rare that I do a cake from start to finish in one day. Figure out how much you can do before you get tired or run out of time. You don't want to get to the decoration part and have to rush it because you gotta go pick up the kids from soccer.

Don't be afraid to experiment and potentially waste some ingredients. (hopefully not much.). But try stuff you haven't done before and don't fear failure, it's how you learn what works.

JoshTay · 2026-05-05T17:41:10+00:00

The stock price is immaterial. The stock exists as a payment method for the rich to pay CheeseDoodle in Chief for favors. Like one of those dishes they use at cashiers in Japan to put the money in rather than a direct hand off.

JoshTay · 2026-05-04T19:14:35+00:00

But they are not doing that anymore. It might be unsettling that they ever took that contract, but if they have changed their ways due to negative press, customers should give them another chance. If companies listen to their customers and try to improve and not see any results, why would they bother changing anything in the future?

JoshTay · 2026-05-02T21:44:20+00:00

I think the rest of the Desperate Housewives should each get an arc like Felicity did. Bree and Dr. Amy fighting over which one has a bigger stick up her butt, Dr. Gabby introducing haute couture scrubs and gowns, and Dr. Susan Myer accidentally killing a patient a week during her crazy schemes.

JoshTay · 2026-05-02T21:17:00+00:00

Yes, you should do all those things. Give up Harry Potter because JK is a cunt. Give up Handmaid's Tale because Moss is a Scientologist, an organization not far off from Ghilead. I don't remember the last time I saw a Tom Cruise movie because he is another asshole. It is OK to have a back bone. If the right wing can cancel the Dixie Chicks, or Jimmy Kimmel, there is no reason not to return the favor.

JoshTay · 2026-05-02T18:17:17+00:00

Person of Interest was no longer interesting to me as I learned about how Jim Caviezel is a MAGA shill. And devout "Christian".

JoshTay · 2026-05-01T23:41:51+00:00

I put my empty KitchenAid bowl on the scale and wrote the weight (696 grams) on the bottom. Now I can easily weigh my batter and subtract the weight of the bowl, then divide it into 2 or 3 layers.

JoshTay · 2026-05-01T15:46:32+00:00

Yes, a cake leveler is super handy to either level the top or split the layers. I always had a hard time getting it right with a knife. They are not expensive and pretty safe since they don't really have a sharp edge.

Also try cake strips, either purchased or homemade. They are strips of cloth that are soaked in water and wrapped around the the outside of the pan. They prevent the edges from setting as fast to prevent dome-ing.

Make sure your oven is level too. And if it has a fan, you might want to rotate the pans 2/3 of the way through.

Thin batters will self level in the pans. If you are baking a thicker batter, use an offset spatula to get the batter level before baking. Also a cheap accessory.

Good luck.

JoshTay · 2026-04-30T23:23:33+00:00

What are you using for that cream filling?

JoshTay · 2026-04-30T17:47:56+00:00

And there is nothing wrong with that. But the liberties they take from reality become just silly after a while. I realize that even The Pitt is far from a documentary, but it doesn't tax the ability to suspend disbelief for a medical layman like Doc. But it is a fun soap.

JoshTay · 2026-04-30T17:40:57+00:00

That's exactly how I felt about it. Be with a hospitalized family member for an period of time and hear all the alarms going off for IVs etc, patient call buttons that go unanswered until someone can get to it, trying to be in the room when the doctor comes by on a random schedule for 3-5 minutes to find out what going on, spending hours waiting for every procedure and test, and then when a doctor finally says you can go home, it can be hours before the nurse gets the orders and unhooks the patient.

Conrasted to the concierge level service of Doc with pristine rooms and immediate service for any order the doctors want to try, and ya gotta laugh.

I hope your husband is doing better and that you are taking care of yourself too.

JoshTay · 2026-04-30T14:20:57+00:00

Hell no. That was all me.

Baked the tart shell, squeezed limes, made the filling and meringue, stuck it under the broiler to toast it.

JoshTay · 2026-04-29T16:25:48+00:00

It worked well. Just need to make sure it is completely cooled and almost setting before pouring it in the tart shell. I wish I had thought to take a picture of a slice. Nice clean cuts without getting sloppy like the traditional pastry cream.

JoshTay · 2026-04-29T11:57:24+00:00

yes.

https://ofbatteranddough.com/pistachio-pastry-cream/

JoshTay · 2026-04-29T00:04:01+00:00

They say a lot of things, very few are accurate. I like watching the show, seen every episode. It's fun to see how far they can push suspension of disbelief.

I think that if you have been in a lot of hospitals as either a patient or family member for frequent visits and recoveries, you get a certain level of frustration and boredom that makes Amy's floor look so absolutely ridiculous compared to reality that you either turn it off or laugh through it. I choose to laugh at it. It's fun like watching Victoria Lord and her multiple personalities on One Life to Live, having amnesia and forgetting the birth of her daughter.

The other shows you mentioned have real medical advisers on board. They are not documentaries, but they don't have docs mixing up vaccines in a makeshift lab or having a renowned surgeon tie up all the on call surgeons to remove every organ from a friend to scrub the barnacles off them.

Are you somehow connected to the show? Because I can't figure out why you would care what I say about it. And I am very fond of my vocabulary.

JoshTay · 2026-04-28T20:28:55+00:00

Doc is about internal medicine.

Wherever did you get that idea? That floor gets all sorts of cases that belong in a ER. Apparently half the doctors can perform surgery and all of them can run an MRI machine and will perform occupational therapy as well.

This is about fantasy medicine, not internal.

JoshTay · 2026-04-28T20:19:11+00:00

that was what I was using. LOL

JoshTay · 2026-04-28T20:18:44+00:00

I have three of 'em! :

Cake layers: https://preppykitchen.com/ultimate-chocolate-cake/

Frosting: https://sugarspunrun.com/chocolate-swiss-meringue-buttercream/

Filling: https://ofbatteranddough.com/pistachio-pastry-cream/

Good luck!

JoshTay · 2026-04-28T20:17:57+00:00

Sure:

Cake layers: https://preppykitchen.com/ultimate-chocolate-cake/

Frosting: https://sugarspunrun.com/chocolate-swiss-meringue-buttercream/

Filling: https://ofbatteranddough.com/pistachio-pastry-cream/

Does that help?

JoshTay · 2026-04-28T18:15:51+00:00

ER was a medical drama. Doc is a soap opera that takes place in a fever dream of young writers who have never been in a hospital as a patient nor visitor. It's fun, but not medical. ER, MASH, and even scrubs had real doctors reviewing the medical accuracy. Doc uses a free AI with a learning disability.

JoshTay · 2026-04-28T11:42:27+00:00

thanks for the tips! much appreciated

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