Testing Kitchen Gadgets are they CLEVER or would you NEVER use them?
Watch the video for a demonstration and review of each gadget listed below.
Egg Topper
Our rating: Clever. Well designed, cut a neat circle out of the top of the egg shell.
Metal Egg Scissor
Our Rating: OK, The one above was so much superior that this one fades in comparison.
Egg Cutter
Our rating: Never. This gadget make a very messy rough cut into the boiled egg. And it broke on second use.
Torilla Press
Our rating: Never. This particular model did not flatten the tortilla dough adequately. There may be other better quality ones out there but our experience with this one was not good.
Griolle
Our rating: Clever, but you need to use it with the right cheese. Teit de moine is hard to source and very expensive in Australia.
Cake Server
Our rating: Never. It works but not very well so I think it would become unnecessary clutter.
Heart Mousse Mold
Our rating: Clever. Be aware that you can not use this for baking cakes due to the slots on the sides. With the addition of acetate it works well for mousses. Each size heart is a slightly different shape and the metal can easily be bent out of shape so check the shape before pouring its the mousse. Folds flat for storage.
Recipe for heart mousse cake:
Crunchy Base:
100g (3.53 ounces) hazelnuts
1oog sugar
100g (3.53 ounces) margarine
150g (5.29 ounces) flour
zest of one orange
Preheat the oven to 160C (320 degrees Fahrenheit). Blitz all ingredients in a food processor until crumbly. Place some baking paper on a baking tray and top with heart. Sprinkle the crumbles into the heart, spread out and gently press down. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden.
Mango Cremeux
250g (8.82 ounces) frozen mango, defrosted
4 egg yolks
2 whole eggs
60g (2.12 ounces) sugar
120g (4.23 ounces) margarine
3 gelatin sheets, soaked in cold water.
Place all the ingredients except the gelatine in a blender and blend until smooth. Heat in saucepan until just starts to boil. Remove from eh heat. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine sheets and add to the hot mixture. Stir well. Line the heart mold with acetate and place on a baking tray. Pour in the mango mixture and freeze until ready to assemble.
Raspberry Mousse
330g (11.64 ounces) raspberry puree (use fresh or frozen raspberries, blend and strain through a fine sieve and then weight the resulting puree to give you 330g (11.64 ounces)).
200g (7.05 ounces) Italain meringue (recipe here makes 230g (8.11 ounces))
4 gelatin sheets, soaked in cold water.
500g (17.64 ounces) semi whipped cream
Heat the raspberry puree. Squeeze the water out of the gelatin sheets and add to the raspberry puree. Stir until melted. Allow to cool to room temperature.
Prepare the Italian meringue. Fold in the raspberry puree and then the whipped cream. Line the heat mold with acetate an pout in the mousse.
For a more traditional entremet add the frozen mango cremeux into the mousse pushing it down until it is level. Then add the base on top. Place in the freezer until set.
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The colander is missing from the list – where is it from? It’s genius! This could be a useful Christmas present…
Hi Ann,
I would like to ask you about the cake you were using in this video to test the cake server. I looked for the recipe in your cookbook, and on this website as well, but I couldn’t find it. Is it available somewhere? I would really like to make it, because it looks delicious.
Can you share the recipe with us?
Thank you,
Marianna
Hi Marianna, Due to a lack of time that was a store bought cake. Despite looking great no one in our house wanted to eat it. They took one mouthful and then said no thanks. It tasted sweet with no other flavour and has a paste-like texture.
Thank you for your answer! I’m sorry that the look didn’t match the taste. Such a waste 🙁 If you make a good looking cake, at least you should make sure it tastes good too, so maybe the same person is gonna buy it again next time… If you ever need an idea for a video, you could do that cake, just better 🙂
First, I really like your site and your reviews, and am constantly checking to see what’s new! But, I do have a comment regarding the tortilla press. Sorry, but in this case, I think you are using the right tool for the wrong job. Based on the flexibility of the rolled tortilla in the video and the overall shape of the ball of dough, it looks like you are making flour tortillas (using wheat flour), but this type of press is really made for corn tortillas (using fresh masa or dried masa harina). There’s a bit of a learning curve making thin corn tortillas with or without a press. I suspect that because it is a traditional kitchen implement it probably didn’t come with directions, but there are a lot of tutorials online showing how to make corn tortillas. Before I got a press, when I made corn tortillas with a rolling pin or by patting them out, the fragile dough frequently tore (there’s no gluten in the dough), and for me, the press is much easier, probably because there’s less chance to tear the dough with reduced handling.
I’ve never made flour tortillas with a press but I’m used to the yummy Sonoran style flour tortillas (thin, chewy, a little stretchy), and it doesn’t really seem like a press would work as well as stretching or using a rolling pin for that style. Just my opinion! Thank you for all of your work on this site!
Hi Jan, Thanks for that information – you were right on two things. 1. It came with no instructions and 2. We used wheat tortilla dough. I will give it a try with a corn dough.