coyotesqrl's Profile

I wouldn't pay that much for the spoon, but I found a nice large slotted spoon with a deep bowl at my local restaurant supply store a few weeks back for a realistic price and brought it home. It does indeed make much nicer and cleaner poached eggs.

@dogg: as for acidulating the water, that has always been my go-to technique but this kicked the crap out of it. Seriously. And you don't even have to be especially dainty when putting the egg into the water once the outer white has been removed.

A sifter or spider is too fine an opening to let the white through; you really want a spoon with fairly large holes.

What you want to do is make a more acidic environment in the cake. @mschatelaine hits it on the head with the natural cocoa + buttermilk. You might also consider adding a little white vinegar or cream of tartar to drop the pH from your leaveners.

Then a little shredded beet should be enough to boost the reddish color closer to the "traditional" (ie: not traditional at all, but what people have come to expect in the last 20-30 years) bright red cake.

Probably should include separating the tender from the rest of the breast and removing that thick tendon from it.