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Danish Pastry guinea pigs needed
Dervacumen:
I'll probably send it to arrive a few days before Palm Sunday but I'll know better after Monday. I've been requested to serve desert for a pretty large crowd (about 300) on March 23. If that happens, I may be a little busy right about then. If I am able to send them out ahead of time, you can pop it inthe freezer by wrapping lit tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. When you pull it out Sunday morning, unwrap it completely, sit it on a wire cooling rack and let it defrost for a couple of hours, maybe three. Then you can reheat it at 350F for 8-12 min. If you do take it to work, just take some foil and let people take chunks home, but make sure you give them the reheating instructions. and make them promise to give you feedback. ;D
One of my testers here in town reheated a piece in the microwave for 20 seconds, and my wife did the same this morning. The microwave has a plus in that it gets the butter liquified again and the filling gets softer, which are significant. The minus is that it totally loses the flakiness. It still tastes very, very good though. I'm with shmokes on this. It really should get the oven treatment, if even you put it in the oven right before you head to work if that's possible.
Hoopz:
About the only thing my microwave is used for is melting butter and a timer.
I'm pretty stoked but understand that RL (tm) may affect when I get mine. I'm more than ok with that. I'd still like to kick in a few buck to cover shipping. Not a big deal to me to do that.
Since raspberries were brought up, I'll comment that I'd love to see that as an option. Or cinnamon. I asked for cherry and it's my number 2 fruit flavor but raspberry is a personal favorite. And anything with warm cinnamon is the greatest thing ever.
Dervacumen:
Both raspberry and cinnamon will be available. I don't have a source for raspberries yet, but I'll look around.
Nephasth:
Alright, my pastry is gone. :'(
I took the rest of it over to my parents' house to let them try it out after dinner. I had my dad, my mom, and brother try it out and fill out a questionnaire afterwords. They all thought it was great, and also had pretty similar thoughts about the pastry.
My mom:
She thought the outside of the pastry was done right but the inside was a little too "mushy" for her. She liked the tart cherries but thought it could have used some cream cheese frosting or more icing. She thought your filling ratio was "just right." When asked what would make it better, she said more icing and almonds. She said that this is something she would buy, both a whole pastry as well as a single slice.
My dad:
Said that the textures of the pastry were "OK" and that the pastry wasn't sweet enough for his liking. He said the pastry could have been more done in the center and that it needed more icing, but it had the right amount of filling. He wouldn't buy a single slice, but he would buy a "whole log or roll." :lol He wants to know how much these are and if you can make them in blueberry.
My brother:
Thought it was all together very good, the filling was just right, and the flavor was "perfect." His only complaints were that it didn't have enough icing and it was under cooked inside (but still very edible). He said he would buy a whole pastry as well as a single slice. His other thoughts on the pastry were "excellent."
It may have just been this particular pastry, but my parents and brother all thought the middle wasn't done enough and that it lacked enough icing (which may have been caused by mishandling during shipping). But they all thought it was great and were all happy that I brought this over for dessert.
--- Quote from: Dervacumen on March 09, 2012, 01:30:11 pm ---4. The bottom of your pastry was ruined, and I'll take care no ensure that doesn't happen again. I know exactly why this happened with yours.
5. Many hundreds, perhaps over a thousand people have eaten this pastry and the reaction from your wife and kids was atypical. I would love for you to nail down the exact reasons they had these reactions. What would they have preferred this to be? Sweeter? Not burned? Different filling? Texture? Arriving in one piece and not looking like $H*T?
6. Your wife would buy ... why? Because it sucked so bad or because your household aren't really pastry eaters? I understand your point about not wanting such a huge pastry and I make individual portioned pastries for that reason.
7. You mentioned this would be a better gift for someone that for yourself. Because the quality is not there, or because you don't like sweets too much? Or a combination of both? In other words, if it were fantastic would you even consider buying such a pastry for your family? What would it take to make it fantastic?
Very interested in some of your responses.
--- End quote ---
As far as the bottom goes, it was only that last bite of the unwarmed piece I had that left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I didn't experience any off flavors from the bottom once it was reheated.
As far as my family's responses... I think they would prefer a sweeter pastry (especially the kids). The texture was nice, I like the softer, "not completely done" center as well as the crisp flaky outside. The filling was good, but the kids weren't crazy for it, they both said the cherries were "sour", but they're also both very picky eaters. What dinged our pastry was the burned bottom and the mishandling during shipping that removed some of the almonds and icing.
I talked with my wife again about why she wouldn't buy one. She said she would if the pastry was sweeter (maybe having more icing). She also said the cherries were "sour", but I agree with my mom that they're tart. Apparently it's not a flavor quality my wife enjoys, so a different filling might suit her fancy better. She also wasn't impressed with the condition of the pastry upon arrival. If she knew the pastry would arrive in good shape she would feel more comfortable buying one. And if she did buy one, she would buy a full sized one like this, depending on price.
As far as myself, I don't consider myself a big pastry eater, or sweets eater for that matter. When I said I would buy a full sized one as a gift for someone wasn't meaning that it wasn't up to my standards, the things I buy for other people tend to be of higher quality than the things I buy for myself. And with the reaction my parents had with this, it looks like a pretty good holiday gift idea. I might have dessert once a week. I like sweets, I just try not to eat them very often.
Dervacumen:
--- Quote from: Nephasth on March 11, 2012, 09:43:04 pm ---Alright, my pastry is gone. :'(
I took the rest of it over to my parents' house to let them try it out after dinner. I had my dad, my mom, and brother try it out and fill out a questionnaire afterwords. They all thought it was great, and also had pretty similar thoughts about the pastry.
My mom:
She thought the outside of the pastry was done right but the inside was a little too "mushy" for her. She liked the tart cherries but thought it could have used some cream cheese frosting or more icing. She thought your filling ratio was "just right." When asked what would make it better, she said more icing and almonds. She said that this is something she would buy, both a whole pastry as well as a single slice.
My dad:
Said that the textures of the pastry were "OK" and that the pastry wasn't sweet enough for his liking. He said the pastry could have been more done in the center and that it needed more icing, but it had the right amount of filling. He wouldn't buy a single slice, but he would buy a "whole log or roll." :lol He wants to know how much these are and if you can make them in blueberry.
My brother:
Thought it was all together very good, the filling was just right, and the flavor was "perfect." His only complaints were that it didn't have enough icing and it was under cooked inside (but still very edible). He said he would buy a whole pastry as well as a single slice. His other thoughts on the pastry were "excellent."
It may have just been this particular pastry, but my parents and brother all thought the middle wasn't done enough and that it lacked enough icing (which may have been caused by mishandling during shipping). But they all thought it was great and were all happy that I brought this over for dessert.
--- Quote from: Dervacumen on March 09, 2012, 01:30:11 pm ---4. The bottom of your pastry was ruined, and I'll take care no ensure that doesn't happen again. I know exactly why this happened with yours.
5. Many hundreds, perhaps over a thousand people have eaten this pastry and the reaction from your wife and kids was atypical. I would love for you to nail down the exact reasons they had these reactions. What would they have preferred this to be? Sweeter? Not burned? Different filling? Texture? Arriving in one piece and not looking like $H*T?
6. Your wife would buy ... why? Because it sucked so bad or because your household aren't really pastry eaters? I understand your point about not wanting such a huge pastry and I make individual portioned pastries for that reason.
7. You mentioned this would be a better gift for someone that for yourself. Because the quality is not there, or because you don't like sweets too much? Or a combination of both? In other words, if it were fantastic would you even consider buying such a pastry for your family? What would it take to make it fantastic?
Very interested in some of your responses.
--- End quote ---
As far as the bottom goes, it was only that last bite of the unwarmed piece I had that left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I didn't experience any off flavors from the bottom once it was reheated.
As far as my family's responses... I think they would prefer a sweeter pastry (especially the kids). The texture was nice, I like the softer, "not completely done" center as well as the crisp flaky outside. The filling was good, but the kids weren't crazy for it, they both said the cherries were "sour", but they're also both very picky eaters. What dinged our pastry was the burned bottom and the mishandling during shipping that removed some of the almonds and icing.
I talked with my wife again about why she wouldn't buy one. She said she would if the pastry was sweeter (maybe having more icing). She also said the cherries were "sour", but I agree with my mom that they're tart. Apparently it's not a flavor quality my wife enjoys, so a different filling might suit her fancy better. She also wasn't impressed with the condition of the pastry upon arrival. If she knew the pastry would arrive in good shape she would feel more comfortable buying one. And if she did buy one, she would buy a full sized one like this, depending on price.
As far as myself, I don't consider myself a big pastry eater, or sweets eater for that matter. When I said I would buy a full sized one as a gift for someone wasn't meaning that it wasn't up to my standards, the things I buy for other people tend to be of higher quality than the things I buy for myself. And with the reaction my parents had with this, it looks like a pretty good holiday gift idea. I might have dessert once a week. I like sweets, I just try not to eat them very often.
--- End quote ---
There is a lot of info here, and I've been consulting with others about these and all the other feedback I've gotten. That you spent so much time going through this exercise is very much appreciated. I can't say that enough.
First I'll apologize about the middle being underdone. It's apparent that was the case with yours, else everyone wouldn't have mentioned it. I'm now set on a consistent timing and process that should alleviate this as an issue.
I also received more feedback than expected about the icing. I always liked a little less, but all indications are to add more, so I'll do that with the next batch.
Third, the shipping works. Now I'll spend a bit more time on the presentation so test that. I won't spend the $$ to get it perfect, but I can now emulate the expected packaging so I think that will add to the overall presentation.
Last, the cherries I chose were intentionally sour, and I may have to consider two varieties. This is valuable info.
Round one is in the books, round two is coming up!