From: matrix29@charter.net   
      
   "George Johnson"  wrote in message   
   news:JL9An.164194$0N3.125891@newsfe09.iad...   
   > "Jonah Falcon"  wrote in message   
   > news:24Sdndu3dtON8U3WnZ2dnUVZ_u2dnZ2d@earthlink.com...   
   >> Okay, to keep this newgroup humming, everyone who still peeks in, tell us   
   >> what you've been up to.   
   >   
   >    Still working as usual.   
   >    Not much change in the regular pattern.   
   >   
   >    Am going to be working on a marshmallow fondant for my mom's birthday   
   > cake (3D teddy bear cake pan).  Going to do a test cake bake and bringing   
   > it to work prior to making mom's cake so that the bear is solid enough not   
   > to fall apart when sitting upright .  Got all of the tools, just need to   
   > do the baking and decorating.   
   >   
   >    Trickier thing is baking a sugarless cake so my shift supervisor   
   > (diabetic) can enjoy some sweet stuff a few days later when the material   
   > handler dude has his birthday.   
   >    I am not keen on using Splenda as sucralose is not terribly healthy in   
   > large quantities.  Stevia sweetener is okay, but expensive and has a   
   > metallic taste.  The jars of Trehalose sweetener I bought earlier is   
   > great, but mucho expensive.  Not going to use the formaldehyde-based   
   > sweetener of Nutrasweet.  Agave nectar is also pricy.   
   >   
   >    Really a pain trying to find inexpensive sweeteners for diabetics.   
      
       Well, update on the teddy bear cake.   
       Baked my 3rd one today, still not happy with the 3D bear cake pan so I   
   am going to Dremel the pan into two pieces later, cut out the bear's bottom   
   (for filling the pan), and try clamping it together with metal clamps while   
   baking to get satisfactory results.  As of the moment, the vertical seam pan   
   bakes two fine bear halves (great for topping a flat cake) , but they are   
   too fragile to hold together as a finished standing cake.   
      
   NORDIC WARE 81148 - Build a Bear Cake Pan   
   http://www.amazon.com/Nordicware-81148-NORDIC-WARE/dp/B002CMQ29W   
      
       The problem is that the cake mix on the box (makes a kind of "cornbread   
   type cake") does not rise to fill the pan and "moist" high-oil (1/3 cup)   
   cake mixes are too fragile to hold the bear's head together against the   
   body.  Wilton has a 3D bear cake design which clamps (will be buying that   
   pan sometime in the near future too).   
      
   STAND UP 3D CUDDLY BEAR CAKE PAN   
   http://www.favorfrenzy.com/proddetail.asp?prod=810-460-00   
      
       I used the "Half-Sugar Cake Mix" from Pillsbury and the cake turned out   
   okay, had to bake it much longer because I used a castle-shaped Bundt cake   
   pan.   
      
       Still have not gotten the hang of frosting cakes.  I can do a drip glaze   
   cake fine, but whenever I do the dot-frosting, it never sticks and ends up   
   as a mess.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)