"Terrel" > wrote in message
...
> Most of the recipes in Marcel Desaulniers' "Death by Chocolate" book
> call for a stand mixer.
>
> I was wondering if anyone has successfully made these recipes with a
> hand-held mixer. If so, do you have any hints/tips about using a
> hand-held mixer for these recipes?
>
> (If this has recently been addressed, perhaps some kind person could
> point me to the thread? I did a deja.com search, but came up with a
> horrendous number of hits. Of those I looked through, none had the
> information I'm looking for.)
>
> Thanks for any help,
>
> Terrel
> --
> Spamblocker in address. If you must reply by e-mail,
> remove the last three letters of the alphabet and .invalid

I think the only thing a hand mixer won't do at all is deal with doughs. No
doubt the stand mixer is faster and easier to control and to use. I'm ready
to upgrade my KA Professional 6 to a commercial model that won't beat itself
to death kneading bread dough. But batters are no problem at all for a hand
mixer. I think you'll likely get terrific results with batters. If you
need to make a dough, mix and knead by hand (or with a food processor if you
have one.)

Fred
The Good Gourmet
http://www.thegoodgourmet.com

On Thu, 27 May 2004, Terrel wrote:

> Most of the recipes in Marcel Desaulniers' "Death by Chocolate" book
> call for a stand mixer.
>
> I was wondering if anyone has successfully made these recipes with a
> hand-held mixer. If so, do you have any hints/tips about using a
> hand-held mixer for these recipes?

I'd have to see the recipes to know why a stand mixer is called for. I
used to do everything with a hand mixer. I now use a stand mixer and
things are easier.

I've seen the TV show for Death By Chocolate. There was nothing this
complex. I cannot see any reason (other than ease) for using a stand
mixer.

It is usually the other way around. You want a hand mixer so you can mix
things over heat.

On a guess, maybe the book assumes hand mixers are not strong enough when
you really want to whip up the ingredients. Whipping cream, even with a
good hand mixer, takes a bit of time. With my stand mixer I often have to
be careful I don't over mix it.

--
Send e-mail to: darrell at cs dot toronto dot edu
Don't send e-mail to

"Darrell Grainger" > wrote in message
...
> On Thu, 27 May 2004, Terrel wrote:
>
> > Most of the recipes in Marcel Desaulniers' "Death by Chocolate" book
> > call for a stand mixer.
> >
> > I was wondering if anyone has successfully made these recipes with a
> > hand-held mixer. If so, do you have any hints/tips about using a
> > hand-held mixer for these recipes?
>
> I'd have to see the recipes to know why a stand mixer is called for. I
> used to do everything with a hand mixer. I now use a stand mixer and
> things are easier.
>
> I've seen the TV show for Death By Chocolate. There was nothing this
> complex. I cannot see any reason (other than ease) for using a stand
> mixer.
>
> It is usually the other way around. You want a hand mixer so you can mix
> things over heat.
>
> On a guess, maybe the book assumes hand mixers are not strong enough when
> you really want to whip up the ingredients. Whipping cream, even with a
> good hand mixer, takes a bit of time. With my stand mixer I often have to
> be careful I don't over mix it.

The recipes were probably tested using a stand mixer. Times and speeds are
different for stand mixers than for hand held mixers. Rather than test the
recipes using a variety of equipment, they probably just took the easy
route. I have seen some books like Rose's Christmas Cookies and Bread Made
Simple, that have the method written three ways: Stand Mixer, food
processor, and manual. In the end, there is probably no recipe that
actually requires power equipment. You can make nearly anything with your
hands, a spoon, and a knife.

On Thu, 27 May 2004, Vox Humana wrote:

>
> "Darrell Grainger" > wrote in message
> ...
> > On Thu, 27 May 2004, Terrel wrote:
> >
> > > Most of the recipes in Marcel Desaulniers' "Death by Chocolate" book
> > > call for a stand mixer.
> > >
> > > I was wondering if anyone has successfully made these recipes with a
> > > hand-held mixer. If so, do you have any hints/tips about using a
> > > hand-held mixer for these recipes?
> >
> > I'd have to see the recipes to know why a stand mixer is called for. I
> > used to do everything with a hand mixer. I now use a stand mixer and
> > things are easier.
> >
> > I've seen the TV show for Death By Chocolate. There was nothing this
> > complex. I cannot see any reason (other than ease) for using a stand
> > mixer.
> >
> > It is usually the other way around. You want a hand mixer so you can mix
> > things over heat.
> >
> > On a guess, maybe the book assumes hand mixers are not strong enough when
> > you really want to whip up the ingredients. Whipping cream, even with a
> > good hand mixer, takes a bit of time. With my stand mixer I often have to
> > be careful I don't over mix it.
>
> The recipes were probably tested using a stand mixer. Times and speeds are
> different for stand mixers than for hand held mixers. Rather than test the
> recipes using a variety of equipment, they probably just took the easy
> route. I have seen some books like Rose's Christmas Cookies and Bread Made
> Simple, that have the method written three ways: Stand Mixer, food
> processor, and manual. In the end, there is probably no recipe that
> actually requires power equipment. You can make nearly anything with your
> hands, a spoon, and a knife.

I was thinking about the timing issue when I first posted but didn't say
anything because these 'popular' books tend to be fairly simple. Books
that come from TV shows tend to keep it simple so they can appeal to a
wider audience.

For some recipes I've tried I have found that since switching to a stand
mixer I can get them fluffier and lighter. The ingredients can be mixed
faster and the product gets to oven before all the gases bubble out.

My wife read the book. She couldn't remember any specific reason a stand
mixer would be required but she did note that some recipes require you to
slowly pour in ingredients from one bowl into another bowl while mixing.
If you are not reasonably strong and have some level of dexterity it could
be difficult to do with a hand mixer, i.e. you might need two hands to
pour the contents of one bowl into the other and mix at the same time.

--
Send e-mail to: darrell at cs dot toronto dot edu
Don't send e-mail to

Terrel wrote:

> Most of the recipes in Marcel Desaulniers' "Death by Chocolate" book
> call for a stand mixer.
>
> I was wondering if anyone has successfully made these recipes with a
> hand-held mixer. If so, do you have any hints/tips about using a
> hand-held mixer for these recipes?
>
> (If this has recently been addressed, perhaps some kind person could
> point me to the thread? I did a deja.com search, but came up with a
> horrendous number of hits. Of those I looked through, none had the
> information I'm looking for.)

There's nothing in DBC that distinguishes the recipes from
a technical standpoint. All the components are your standard cake,
mousse, ganache, etc recipes. It's true, all timings are specified
for stand mixers (mix for 1 min, etc). For a hand mixer you'll have
to extend the time somewhat, when mixing by hand probably longer than
that.

This is no big deal when it comes to stuff you'll find in a cooking 101
book, like "whip cream till soft peaks form, X minutes". In this
case if you know what soft peaks are (and you should before taking
on these recipes, which are relatively elaborate) you adjust
the time accordingly and you should be able to figure it out.

There are a few cases where it's not quite that clear but Marcel is
usually good enough to describe the desired effect (whip until
it begins to look like X). For those you'll just have to use your
own judgment, or, feel free to ask specific questions about specific
recipes.

It's a great book with great material. Today I'm doing the Death by
Chocolate cake. 3 1/2 lbs of chocolate, not counting cocoa. Yahoo.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

Thanks to everyone for the great answers and tips. I'll be trying some
of the recipes in the Death by Chocolate book soon, using the
hand-held mixer. I have a stand mixer on my "purchase as soon as
possible" list, but that may take a little while.

Terrel
--
Spamblocker in address. If you must reply by e-mail,
remove the last three letters of the alphabet and .invalid

On Thu, 27 May 2004 07:26:05 -0400, Terrel
> wrote:

>Most of the recipes in Marcel Desaulniers' "Death by Chocolate" book
>call for a stand mixer.
>
>I was wondering if anyone has successfully made these recipes with a
>hand-held mixer. If so, do you have any hints/tips about using a
>hand-held mixer for these recipes?
>
>(If this has recently been addressed, perhaps some kind person could
>point me to the thread? I did a deja.com search, but came up with a
>horrendous number of hits. Of those I looked through, none had the
>information I'm looking for.)
>
>Thanks for any help,
>
>Terrel
In a word "Yes"
I have an old Kitchen Aid that servers me well. But when doing some of
the recipes at friends homes I have had no problems. And when things
get heavy I just use a spoon or spatula to finish. And I have done all
the recipes. that book.
David

Tuffchett wrote:

> And I have done all the recipes.

Hi David,

I've worked my way through about half of them. So far my favorite
is the DBC cake. I'd be interested to hear what your favorites are.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 01:46:10 GMT, Reg > wrote:

>Tuffchett wrote:
>
>> And I have done all the recipes.
>
>Hi David,
>
>I've worked my way through about half of them. So far my favorite
>is the DBC cake. I'd be interested to hear what your favorites are.

So i'm thinking what the f is DBC cake. Took me awhile. Yeah thats
probably my fav also.
But right next to it is the espresso fudge then the wedding cake, zio
cassata, banana choco fritters, then the brownies but with pecans.
I'm not a big peanut fan.
But the deep dark chocolate cookies is the most often made and enjoyed
by all I give them too. I usually use callabaut 835 but I have used
valrona when I feel like splurging.
And i mess around with the recipes. like using raspberry's instead of
strawberry's in the strwberry mousse cake
And the pumpkin chocolat cheesecake is one I won't do again. but my
son likes it. THe old fashon chocolate cake and the espresso fudge are
the two I make the most.
Ussually I have the brownie layers, chocolate cake layers frozen and
meringue disks stored away along with some frozen butter cream. So
when the mood hits me I don't have so much to do. I also keep sponge
cake frozen. It just pays to make some of this ahead of time.