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50 Tips for Baking Better Cakes

Happy American Thanksgiving! I was sitting here planning a bunch of upcoming baking posts, when I realized that we’ve never really chatted about some of the basic steps that make for consistent baking and caking. I thought that it may be helpful to post these tips now, before we get too hot and heavy into more cake recipes. This collection of tips and tricks is made up of suggestions that happen to work for me, that I have either learned from the pros, read in books, or figured out along the way (and am still learning). I can say that implementing these steps completely changed my life as a baker, and I thought it would be fun to share. I hope that even one of these tips will help you along too. {print} Recipe Ingredients: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 1 large egg white = 37 grams, 1 large egg yolk = 20 grams. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Mixing: 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. Baking Cakes: 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. Cooling & Frosting: 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. Related:  sweet

chocolate stout cake Because it’s fun for me, I’ve decided that today is the day that I will embarrass my former boss. You see, she and I are two of a very small group of girl-types in a very boy-dominated sector of publishing, and while I would normally argue that gender stereotypes are old, tiresome and played out, in our professional realm at least, they’re fairly rightly-placed. While the guys go on in great lengths about (pick one, or all of the below) the Red Sox, Giants, hockey, PlayStation, Borat, You The Man Now Dawg website, beer and where it doesn’t cost much and the Joy of Street Meat, she and I would spend an at least equal amount of time and devotion chattering about all aspects of food and cooking as, just my luck, she is as obsessed as I am. Having excellent taste, she loves chocolate and Guinness in a near-equal ratio, thus when I happened upon this recipe many, many months ago, I bookmarked it for the express purpose of making for her birthday. Cake prep: Preheat oven to 350°F.

The Same Sun I was lucky enough to spend some time recently, with dear friends who live many miles away (hence the prolonged absence of posts). I feel blessed to count these people as friends and I’m always a little sad to return home. Coming home from a vacation is always difficult for me, but especially troublesome when I have to leave people I really care about. But who says I have to run the same route? Hawaiian Banana Bread source: inspired by the interwebs 2.5 C all purpose flour1 tsp baking soda1 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp salt1/4 C butter at room temperature3/4 C vanilla yogurt (I use non fat)1 C brown sugar1/2 granulated sugar2 tsp vanilla3 eggs or 3/4 C egg beaters3 to 4 really ripe bananasZest of one lemon3/4 C toasted, sweetened coconut Optional: 1/2 C macadamia nuts1/2 C chopped pineapplePreheat your oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease two loaf pans.Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.Beat together the butter sugar. Notes: Like this: Like Loading...

Better-Than-Crack-Brownies I’m sorry for doing this to you. I really am. But see, last Friday while I was on a 10-hour road trip heading for vacation, I received this recipe from a reader named Liz. Liz, I love you. I was tortured by this recipe for a full 8 days before I could make it. So it was the first thing I made when I returned home. These are an absolute sin. I really don’t have any words, other than you must try them. They may also change your waistline too. But that’s okay. It’s all in the name of chocolate. Better-Than-Crack Brownies 1 batch brownies (boxed mix or oooey gooey brownies) 1/2 cup salted peanuts (if don’t have salted, add sea salt) 1 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1/2 tablespoon butter 1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies Cereal Mix brownies according to directions, and bake for 20-25 minutes in a 9 x 13 baking dish. While they are finishing baking, melt chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Refrigerate for 2 hours before serving. Mr.

Roast Chicken There’s nothing simpler than roast chicken. And there are few things more delicious. You can use this basic recipe and change it up however you like: different herbs, different citrus fruits, different seasonings. You can even have a different attitude and see how that affects the flavor of the meat! Just kidding. But you can change what you’re wearing each time. The Cast of Characters: A whole chicken, butter, lemons, rosemary, and salt and pepper. And the will to make roast chicken. Throw the buttah into a bowl. Zest up at least two of the lemons… And throw the zest into the bowl with the butter. My question of the day: Where would the world be without lemon zest? I’m so glad we had this talk. Strip off a bunch of rosemary leaves… And chop them really finely. Finer than this. Don’t be like me. Throw the rosemary into the bowl, too. Add some salt and pepper (I didn’t do this. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy aluminum foil and plop the chicken right in the middle. Tee hee! I’m so immature.

Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake « Lea & Jay Dark Chocolate and Salted Caramel…What a wonderful combination! Without a doubt a couple of my favourites. I am definitely way into the whole salty/sweet thing. So I was very happy to make this Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel layer cake for my friend Erin’s Birthday get-together. I’m happy to say that this cake turned out great! Let me just describe it for you. The cake and frostings were easy to make, though a bit time-consuming. Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel Layer Cake recipe from: Annie’s Eats Ingredients: For the cake: 2¼ cups all-purpose flour2¼ cups sugar1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder2¼ tsp. baking soda1½ tsp. baking powder1½ tsp. salt6 tbsp. vegetable oil1 cup plus 2 tbsp. buttermilk1 cup plus 2 tbsp. brewed coffee3 large eggs, at room temperature1 tbsp. vanilla extract For the filling: 1 cup sugar, divided¼ cup water¼ cup heavy creamGenerous pinch of sea salt, such as fleur de sel4 large egg whites1½ cup (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature Directions:

Chiffon Cake Tips and Trouble II Pardon me for not putting this up sooner. I was caught up with other stuffs and could not collect my thoughts enough to do this. Appreciate your patience. In this post, I will be posting the problems faced in baking a chiffon cake and how things work. Understanding chiffon cakes First, I need to analyse my chiffon cake recipe for you to understand how I arrived to my calculations. Take my usual 4 yolks, 5 whites recipe for example, the amount of flour used is 120g. Whisking Trouble Still, things can go wrong even if you got the first part right. If the egg whites are overbeaten, you will see it becoming foamy and some liquid collected at the bottom of the bowl. Do understand this state is short-lived though. Mixing Trouble In fact to me, I much prefer making a chiffon cake than making a traditional sponge cake. While the yolk batter is laden with flour and all, the egg whites are whisked till light and fluffy. Pan Trouble Baking chiffon cakes does not necessarily need a chiffon tube pan.

How to make Easter Bunny Shaped Rolls Mom Always Finds Out Easter Bunny Shaped Rolls February 25, 2013 by Nicole · 110 Comments 147.3K Flares147.3K Flares× Pin It How adorable are these Easter Bunny Shaped Rolls? Please note that you will probably want to practice the ear shaping technique ahead of time because the photo above is from a professional chef. Ingredients: 2-1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour2 tablespoons sugar1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast1 teaspoon salt1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream1/4 cup water2 tablespoons butter1 egg Directions: Put the butter, the sour cream and water in a small saucepan and heat, but do not cook. Looking for easy Easter table decor? My kids loved waking up to an Easter breakfast featuring these cute Cinnabunny cinnamon rolls! Edited April 2014: The original recipe “Chinese New Year Pineapple Tarts” has finally been located online. Hey There! What is this? 147.3K FlaresTwitter100Facebook27.3KGoogle+79 StumbleUpon104.8K Pin It Share15K14K+Email--Email to a friend147.3K Flares× Comments

How to To Make Your Food Taste Awesome | Easy Food Posted by admin on Aug 19, 2012 in Food Preparation | 211 comments In case you are not skilled with the food recipes and preparation, listed bellow are some of the easy food tips to make your meals delicious easy way. No matter you prepare breakfast, dinner or just a snack, the easy food tips are here to make your food even more attractive and awesome. Idea by Janice Kamide Images Source BuzzFeed A brownie by any other name… Love brownies. Love their shiny, flaky top that shatters into micro-thin shards that shower onto your fingers as you eat. Love their dark, gooey center. Their “chocolate nirvana” flavor. Sometimes can’t deal with the bake, wait to cool, cutting into squares messiness and fuss of brownies. Every time I make these cookies (which, truth be told, is quite often), I think of a former colleague, Ana, who left King Arthur last year in order to be a full-time mom to her 2-year-old twins. The test kitchen bakers loved Ana. Ana still visits occasionally, 2-year-olds in tow. And when she does, she’ll invariably nose out any chocolate, and treat us to her classic reaction: “Perfect! These cookies are basically brownies: flat, round, 2 ½” brownies. First task: Combine the chocolate and butter. Melt in the microwave till softened… …then stir till smooth. Stir the chocolate into eggs and sugar, which you’ve beaten together. Refrigerate the batter for an hour; it’ll stiffen up nicely. Buy vs.

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