Tips for Cake Baking: Part 1

April 28, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Baking at 4:19 am | (1) Comment »

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I’ve baked dozens of cakes, certainly hundreds of cupcakes, in my time- and while I’d like to be able to say that they were all mouthwatering successes, the truth is that I’ve had more than my fair share of failed cakes. The problem with cake baking, you see, is that it’s so very easy to screw up- all it takes is one forgotten ingredient, or one stir too many on your stand mixer, or forgetting to set the kitchen timer…

Today, I share with you Part One of my essential tips for cake baking. Hopefully, they bring you many deliciously successful cakes:

Take your measurements seriously. It’s all very well to dump in a little bit of this and that when cooking, but baking requires precision. After realizing that a one-cup measuring cup differed so much from another, I bit the bullet, bought a weighing scale, and use that to measure almost all my ingredients. I recommend the wonderfully affordable Escali Primo Digital Multifunctional Scale.

Use fresh ingredients. You wouldn’t use rancid butter or rotten eggs in your cooking or baking, and you want to make sure everything else is fresh as well. Check your flour for bugs, the expiration date of your baking powder and baking soda, and so on. Trust me, it matters.

Measure out everything first. It’s called mise en place – literally, “put in place” in French – and here’s its description from Wikipedia:

Recipes are reviewed, to check for necessary ingredients and equipment. Ingredients are measured out, washed, chopped and placed in individual bowls. Equipment such as spatulas and blenders are prepared for use, while ovens are preheated. Preparing the mise en place ahead of time allows the chef to cook without having to stop and assemble items, which is desirable in recipes with time constraints.

Don’t rely completely on the recipe. Why? Because cookbook and recipe writers and editors are only human- they make mistakes too. If something strikes you as very odd, like a missing ingredient or a method that doesn’t make sense, stop and think about it. Go online and search for user reviews on the recipe.

Tomorrow I’ll be posting Part 2 of my Cake Baking Tips, where we’ll tackle mixing and beating and other good things.

A little bitter, a little sweet

April 27, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Chocolate at 12:21 pm | Comments »

bittersweet chocolate

For me, bittersweet chocolate is where it’s at. Oh, I enjoy snacking on the occasional milk chocolate bar (especially if it’s something excellent like Lindt), but as a baker I must absolutely have bittersweet chocolate in the house at all times.

Bittersweet chocolate contains no milk. It’s basically unsweetened chocolate with a little sugar and cocoa butter- and, sometimes, some vanilla. It has less sugar and more chocolate than Semisweet, although you probably can use the latter in a pinch if you don’t have the bitter stuff.

I use bittersweet chocolate in my ganaches, in my chocolate buttercream, in my “famous” chocolate mousse cake. I’ve also been known to eat it straight up, from the packet. This is much easier to do with thin bars or callets, but I can rarely be stopped from slicing a wedge off one of those huge couverture bars.

The next time you’re about to make a recipe calling for semisweet chocolate, try using bittersweet instead. The darkness will make everything richer, and more chocolatey. Here are some brands I recommend:

Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chips are what I have around my home 90% of the time. With 60% cacao content, they’re delicious (although not really for snacking), easily found in any grocery store, and absolutely awesome in chocolate chip cookies.

Scharffen Berger’s Bittersweet Baking Chunks are 70% cacao, and will make any chocolate lover swoon. There’s something about Scharffen Berger’s chocolate that makes brownies and cookies so luxurious.

Callebaut Bittersweet Callets are what we use exclusively at the bakeshop, and for good reason: we want our chocolate products to stand out, to be gloriously delicious, and smooth and rich. This is bittersweet chocolate that’s neither too bitter nor too sweet… and the callets are an easy pick-me-up snack for early-morning baking.

Earth Day Eats: Macerated Strawberries

April 23, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Earth Day Eats, Fruit, Holiday Fun at 1:16 pm | (3) Comments »

strawberries

A friend sent us five kilos of sweet and juicy strawberries (thanks, Vincent!)- and so far we’ve had Strawberry Cake, Strawberry Pie (a recipe I’ll share with you soon, it was swooningly delicious), even Strawberry Pancakes. But my all-time favorite way to enjoy these strawberries has been simply: by macerating them.

If you find yourself with fresh strawberries, please please try this. The maceration brings out the strawberry’s natural flavor in an awesome way. A perfect recipe to celebrate Earth Day with:

Macerated Strawberries

2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 bottle of your favorite red wine
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon zest
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (the powdery kind. Seriously.)
1/2 cup sugar

Combine all of the above in a large bowl. Cover and sit in refrigerator for a few hours. Serve with dollops of creme fraiche. Mmmm.

Sweet but sugar-free Apple Pie

April 22, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Diabetic Recipes, Pie at 12:59 pm | (1) Comment »

sugarfree-applepie

Having a diabetic husband makes preparing our sweets just a little bit harder- I say that because while I used to moan about not being able to make any desserts we could both enjoy, I’ve developed an absolutely delicious, comforting, mouthwatering Apple Pie recipe that’s sugar-free! And I’m here today to share it with you:

Sweet Sugar-Free Apple Pie

Ingredients:
2 1/2 pounds tart apples (I use Granny Smith)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 packets splenda sweetener
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 double piecrust, unbaked

1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon cream

Preheat oven to 425F. Make sure rack is in the bottom third of the oven. Peel and core apples. Cut each half into 6 wedges. Sprinkle with lemon juice and set aside.

In a large pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add splenda and spices (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg) and salt. Stir over heat until well mixed. Add apple wedges, lower heat and let simmer for around ten minutes.

Prepare your piecrust. I make my own, but storebought will do. When your filling’s ready, fill bottom crust. Cut vents (I use a small fondant cutter) in the top crust, and cover pie with it. Brush with mixture of egg yolk and cream. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Happy Easter!

April 12, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Candies & Truffles Recipe, Holiday Fun at 1:06 pm | Comments »

Easter Eggs

I trust most of you’ll be sitting down to a delicious Easter brunch (or lunch) very soon. We’re celebrating quietly (and with a to-die-for lamb roast, of course), but I just wanted to greet you all a very Happy Easter- and leave you with some links to ideas for leftover Easter candy:

Leftover Cadbury Creme Eggs
This being my all-time favorite springtime chocolate, I sadly don’t expect to have any leftovers around here. In case you do, however, you might want to try making Cadbury Creme Egg Ice Cream, some Creme Egg Cupcakes, or the slightly um- odd- pimped-out giant creme egg.

Leftover Peeps
The Peeps S’mores over at Cakespy look absolutely delicious (and she has other ideas as well!), or for something too cute for words, these Peeps Cupcakes from Baking Bites.

Other Easter Candy
Chop ‘em all up, and put them in an Easter Candy Cake, or use instead of the chocolate chips in a batch of Chocolate Chip Cookies.

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