"snowflake" news and stories

When the holiday season comes around, I find myself pulling out plates with snowmen and little colored lights, as well as variously shaped cookie cutters and a few other choice holiday pieces. I don't usually intend to let the holiday spirit bleed into my regular cookware collection, however. After all, a spatula is a spatula is a spatula - right? Well, that may be true, but the snowman and snowflake spatulas that Williams-Sonoma is offering this year are pretty tempting. They have nylon heads that are heat resistant to 400°F, stainless steel handles and are dishwasher safe - just like my standard spatulas, but with the added bonus of an adorable design on each. A snowman and snowflake seem like seasonal icons that could be enjoyed all winter, as well as for much of fall and spring, without seeming inappropriate, so it might not be a bad idea to tuck these into someone's stocking this year. I know I wouldn't complain if I saw one.

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White chocolate is a great choice for making chocolate decorations because it is easier to handle than dark or milk chocolates. It is mostly cocoa butter with milk solids and sugar. It doesn't have cocoa solids, and does not have the same problems with "blooming" as milk and dark chocolates. Blooming is when cocoa butter appears on the surface of chocolate, contrasting with the cocoa solids and giving the chocolate a whitish appearance. While I have seen a few mentions that white chocolate must be tempered, a technique used to stabilize other chocolates, I have never done so and have never had problems with it.
For the snowflake cake, you can make the whole vanilla cake or decorate the icing of another kind of cake. To make the snowflakes, simply chop white chocolate and seal it into a plastic bag. Place the bag in a bowl of hot, but not boiling, water, until it melts. Cut off one of the corners of the bag and pipe snowflakes onto a piece of parchment paper. The snowflakes can set up at room temperature or in the refrigerator. When they are set, gently press them into smooth, white icing for a beautifully wintry look. The cake will have a slight crunch from the snowflakes, followed by a melting creaminess as the chocolate warms in your mouth.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]