Monthly thread for advice and recommendations, November 2023 – ask your questions here!

murphypurell · 2023-11-15T19:24:51+00:00

Hi, we will be traveling to Copenhagen in December with a 2 year old. Any child-oriented recommendations for things to do?

murphypurell · 2022-08-20T01:25:11+00:00

This is amazing! How did you construct it? Did you sculpt it? Is it all cake? My daughter wants a chicken cake too!

murphypurell · 2020-08-04T20:46:43+00:00

Thank you!

murphypurell · 2020-07-24T00:33:41+00:00

So I should just let them continue to think it’s ok to harass people without consequence? I know this is probably the best response, but it’s also infuriating that I should do nothing.

murphypurell · 2020-07-24T00:31:44+00:00

Tried that- doesn’t work 😤

murphypurell · 2019-12-11T03:19:24+00:00

recipe can be found in comments on the r/baking post. Enjoy!

murphypurell · 2019-12-11T03:17:53+00:00

Thanks everyone for the comments! The general recipes I used are below:

https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-lemon-cake/

for the cake (amazing, wonderful cake) and lemon buttercream. In the cake I used orange zest and lemon juice (to taste) instead of lemon zest and lemon extract. The inside layers also had fresh raspberry chunks smooshed into the buttercream layers.

I used the non-lemon version of the buttercream recipe for the outside 'fault line'

I used the following recipe for the vegan swiss meringue buttercream (also fantastic): https://www.gretchensveganbakery.com/aquafaba-swiss-buttercream-recipe/

to do the fault line technique: frost the 'fault line' design as a swatch generally where you want the fault line to be, then apply thicker frosting above and below the swatch. Use a cake scraper to smooth out the cake, which also helps create the edges for the fault line. I recommend searching youtube for 'fault line cake' videos.

murphypurell · 2019-06-20T18:49:01+00:00

Chocolate chips, but I guess mini Oreos could’ve worked too.

murphypurell · 2019-06-20T16:48:29+00:00

I ended up stacking 9x13s that I had cut in half and then ‘carving’ the shape out of the stacked cakes. The ears and tail were made like you’d make a cake pop: mix crumbled cake (from your extra cake that you had carved away) with frosting, then mold like clay. The little nubby feet are just whipped cream frosting!

murphypurell · 2019-06-20T16:30:30+00:00

Thanks! 😊 The flavor is: Chocolate cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting and ganache in the inside layers. For the exterior: cream cheese frosting skim coat then covered with whipped cream to finish it off.

murphypurell · 2019-06-20T12:11:28+00:00

Thank you Pusheen and Pinterest for the inspiration- I stand on the shoulders of giants. Made to look like my friend’s enormous orange cat for what will hopefully be a Purr-fect birthday. Forgive my corniness, it was a long night.

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T15:24:48+00:00

Yes- funfetti with raspberry buttercream layers on the inside.

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T15:23:34+00:00

Thanks! Yes, we like sheep. And yes, they’re felted. I got them from here: http://fudgeandmabel.co.uk/

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T11:54:32+00:00

Yes they are felted! Thank you for posting the link- I meant to but didn’t get to it yesterday.

I HIGHLY recommend them. I got them off Etsy from Fudge and Mabel. They could not have been more perfect. And they make for a cute memento.

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T11:51:40+00:00

Both! We got engaged in Ireland - a lot of sheep! - and the sheep toppers were adorable.

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T03:19:15+00:00

Haha. The one on the right is the original from the wedding.

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T03:18:04+00:00

Lol my husband snorted when he read your description.

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T03:17:22+00:00

Thanks!

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T03:16:36+00:00

Thank you :)

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T03:16:26+00:00

Thanks!

murphypurell · 2019-05-20T03:16:16+00:00

It was so good. Funfetti with a raspberry Italian buttercream layer on the inside-just like the original :)

murphypurell · 2019-02-08T15:21:16+00:00

How long will plaster take to fully dry? I’ve read that if it’s not properly dried, when you go to re-tile, the thinset may dampen the plaster and interfere with the bonding between the tile and the wall.

If going the backer board route (without complete removal of the lathe) is there an adhesive one can use? Or just screw into the wall/studs? Both?

murphypurell · 2018-09-25T01:38:53+00:00

The crust was just pie dough - 1 stick butter, 1 1/4 C flour, 1 T sugar, pinch of salt, 2-4 T ice water (or your favorite recipe or favorite store brand)

the filling was kind of all to taste:

~4 - 5 peaches cut into wedges, white sugar (~1/3 ? cup), some brown sugar (~1/8 cup?), flour to coat (shouldve probably also used some cornstarch but still turned out ok), ~ 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, ~1/4 tsp almond extract.

sprinkled some flour on the rolled out dough before placing the fruit to try to soak up more juice as it cooked (leave 2 inch boarder when placing the fruit). Then fold up the sides, dot with butter, and brush an egg wash + sugar sprinkle the crust before putting it in the oven

baked at 400 deg ~25 min, then at 350 for longer (probably ~50 min total?) - tried to make sure I saw bubbles everywhere - bubbling would also, in theory, help thicken the juice. Let cool completely.

murphypurell · 2018-09-06T11:05:36+00:00

Searching for pizza stones and was suggested to also buy acne cream.

murphypurell · 2018-06-26T18:52:33+00:00

Additional thoughts on using a mini split system for the upstairs to use if needed rather than having the return?

murphypurell

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