[beechekin]

Hello,

My local gourmet shop had a sale and I got 2 ring molds for $5.... however I don't know how to use them! I've seen the lovely little cakes they can make but since they have no base I don't know what to put under them... also, what kind of cakes are they good for? can they work with a cheesecake or is a miniature springform better for that purpose?

[clotilde]

Hello Beechekin!

Could you locate and point us to an online picture of the ring molds you refer to, or describe them in further detail? They come in many different shapes and sizes, so picturing them would help us help you.

Clotilde.

[beechekin]

In the link below, they look like the one on the right:

http://www.pastrychef.com/assets/images/large/adjustable_cake_ring_large.jpg

[clotilde]

I may be wrong (and perhaps others will chime in) but I believe this type of ring is not meant for use in the oven, but rather to "build" multi-layered pâtisserie-style desserts.

You would for instance bake a thin sponge cake layer that you would cut to the size of the ring and place inside the ring, then pour some sort of a mousse (say, a raspberry mousse with a bit of gelatin so it will set), then pour a layer of ganache, then more mousse, then a final layer of sponge cake, let the whole thing set, then remove the ring carefully to reveal the entremets (that's the French name for this type of dessert) that you might sprinkle with icing sugar or cocoa or both.

This raspberry dacquoise is built along the same idea, but with a rectangular mold, not a ring.

Hope that helps!
Clotilde.

[Debbie]

You can actually bake with them.... but you need a "stiff" batter rather than a thin and runny one.

Put it on a very flat and even surface and check if there are any gaps or whether it is perfectly flat and even around the rim first. If there are slight differences in height at the base it will not work as all your batter will ooze out.

I have ones (a square/rectangle and a circular one) that expand from small to large, and I put mine on a silicone mat on a tray to bake and it works well. Bought in a kitchen wares shop in Paris, but cannot remember which one. The person who sold it to me recommended the silicone mat trick.

You will soon learn which batters do and do not work in it and can adapt recipes or use another pan for the thinner ones.

It does make a great cheesecake. You just run a knife blade around the rim to get it off.

I like it because it means I can adapt the size of the pan to the size cake I want.
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If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.

[beechekin]

thanks a lot! I may give the silicone trick a try

[dory]

I have seen these used to build "constructed" meals of things like vegetable purees (I hate to mention the word puree after reading what happened to Debbie while I was offline) and small, chopped foods that will form a layer. For example, I once had a restaurant meal that was made of different colored layers of mashed potato, spinach, cooked, sliced mushrooms pureed, or mushed up carrot, etc. IT was quite impressive and tasty if a bit precious and 90s in its esthetic. OF course the molds I have seen used for this are quite small. I didn't get an impression of how large yours was.

Dory

[Debbie]

Yes Dory, the word puree makes me shudder too now.......

My square/rectangle one makes a cake which is almost the size of my oven. Having said that, I haven't actually expanded it that big and made a huge monster cake yet with it. Cannot imagine how many people it would feed. A bit scarey actually.
_________________
If you cannot feel your arteries hardening, eat more cheese. If you can, drink more red wine. Diet is just "die" with a "t" on the end. Exercise is walking into the kitchen.