Hey, thanks for asking! :)
Ok, so not to answer a question with a question or anything, but…here’s a question for you:
What is the base of your cake?
Here’s why I ask:
--Fat-based cakes (cakes made with butter or oil), MUST have greased pans. Or they’ll kind of flop out of the pan in a few different pieces. If you’re lucky. Seriouseats recommends greasing the pan with butter for these cakes. Though you can also use non-stick spray (easier, but less tasty), clarified butter, shortening, or oil. Most recipes call for “flouring” the pan. Why is this, you ask? Good question. It’s because you need the flour to “create a barrier that keeps the fat from melting directly into the batter when introduced to a hot oven.” Oh. Or you can use parchment paper.
--Foam-based cakes (angel food, sponge, chiffon cakes, or any cake that relies upon the air trapped in egg foams or meringues for their volume, use only parchment liners. No grease. Why? Good question. Wow, so many good questions. First, think back to my post about egg whites. Remember how they don’t like fat? Well, if you had forgotten it, then here’s a reminder: egg whites don’t like fat! Second, these kind of cakes need to stick to the sides of the pan. Turns out that they need the support and structure that the pan provides. Weird, huh?
So to line a pan with parchment paper, spray some non-stick spray onto the bottom. Lightly. Then trace around the pan on the paper, and cut out. Trim it down a bit, and in it goes! Don’t grease the sides unless the recipe calls for it.
--Sheet pans do well with just parchment paper. Brush some butter on the bottom edges of the pan, then make a giant “x” on the bottom, and slap the paper on! No need to grease the sides.
This site has pretty great tutorials and charts for such things.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Well, what about greasing the pan? Is there a right and a wrong way about it?
Beat those egg whites!
Egg whites provide most of the structure for the cake. Well, it depends on the cake, I suppose—but generally, yes.
So here’s the low and dirty on egg whites, from Joe at Joe’s Bakery. Egg whites have very little flavor and are made up of about 90% water. The 10% contains the proteins, about half of the total proteins of the egg. These proteins are very different from the proteins in the yolk, and are one of the favoritest things of bakers. Why? Because “they have regions along their length that love water and other regions that hate water.” With just a bit of work these fantastic proteins can be “uncoiled” to create foams because they love the surface of bubbles. Hooray! Happiness all round, right? Joe goes on: “once all those proteins are arrayed at the surface of the bubble, they begin bonding to each other, if rather weakly. The network they create reinforces the wall of the bubble, preventing it from popping.”
He recommends using a hand mixer rather than a stand mixer, because with a hand mixer you can be sure to get all of those little corner bits missed by stand mixers.
He also recommends using some sort of an acid stabilizer (read: lemon juice, cream of tartar, etc.) after you have whisked it up and before you fold it into the rest of the recipe.
So. Some general tips on whipping egg whites:
*Temp:
*Make sure the egg whites are at room temp. Which means putting them out on the counter at least 30 minutes before you start. If you’re in a desperate hurry, you can put them into a bowl of very warm water for 5-10 mins. Don’t boil them. According to some people, boiled eggs are delicious in their own right. But not in eggs. Gross.
*Tools:
*If you have a choice in the bowl you use, copper is best. Don’t have a copper bowl? Well, small, deep bowls with rounded bottoms are pretty fantastic when you’re dealing with 4 or 5 egg whites. For more than that, just use a larger deep bowl.
*No aluminum bowls! No wooden bowls! Wooden bowls are great for salads, where their fabulous oil-absorbing (which we call “seasoning”) properties mean they make things tasty. Fats + egg whites=sadness. More on that later.
*If you use a stainless steel or glass bowl, add cream of tartar or lemon juice.
*Add-ins:
*Add an acid! Acid is a happy thing. It stabilizes and adds volume. Happiness.
*1/8 tsp acid (lemon juice, vinegar, or cream of tartar) for each egg white (with the exception of meringues. In meringues, 1/8 tsp per two egg whites.)
*Add the acid just as they begin to become frothy during beating
*Don’t add sugar while you beat! They lose structure. Sadness.
*Method:
*Begin at a slow speed before moving up to higher speeds.
*Hand mixers are best. Stand mixers work too, but hand mixers are preferred.
*Don’t overbeat them!
*Don’t let them sit! More weeping happens.
Why did my cake fall??
Well. Thanks for asking. Especially if you just made the poppy seed cake and it fell. And you may or may not have wept bitterly.
So. A bit of research into the topic revealed to me that I know far too little about cakes. Well, far too little about baking in general, but thinking about that just makes me weep even more bitterly. Biterlier? Hmm.
This post is extremely helpful, if you care to do some more research.
Some of the points I found most helpful:
”The structure, the concise emulsion, the soft and light and pretty cake batter becomes a lovely cake because of air.”
Air is brought into the cake batter with creaming—one of the very first steps of the cake making process.
Practically speaking, this means that:
“If
“your butter is not room temp
* you don't cream the butter until light before adding the sugar
* you throw many things in at the same time
* you don't scrape down the bowl a few times while butter & sugar are creaming
* your eggs are cold when you add them to the butter-sugar light fluffiness
* you add all your eggs at once
* you don't sift your flour and leavening
* you dump all your dries in at once
* you don't pay attention to your cake batter while it is becoming a being,
Your cake might not rise.”
It also falls if you turn the pan in the oven too soon. Oh, and if you overmix it. It might fall then too. So be warned!
A bit more scientifically, she wrote that
“Air is created in the process of cake making, but held in place by structure, which, in cake baking science is generally called protein. In baking, protein provides the walls holding up roofs.”
So then, some proteins work better with certain ingredients.
For example: liquid batters are generally heavy and highly acidic. For fastest and most even heat distribution, they bake best in shallow baking vessels. Putting them in deep vessels, then, means that they work so hard reaching for the top that they don’t have enough structure to prevent the cake from falling once it is liberated from the oven heat.
Because, you see, once out of the oven, the cake “relies on structure (=proteins) around air to keep its crumb intact.”
When you make a cake, you want that cake to have an even “crumb.” Just like coffee, the cake consuming experience can be evaluated based upon many different factors. The crumb of the cake—is it even? Does it feel nice in your mouth?—is just as important as the flavor of the cake.
Hooray! The end!
Well, kind of. This is very basic. More tips on making cakes to follow.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Chewy Dark Chocolate Cookies
Dark Chocolate Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or use parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Combine the cocoa, flour, and baking soda, gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, fold in your add-ins. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until puffy but still soft. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Note: These cookies are really good with the toffee bits down below.
Other add-in options:
--Coffee beans
--White or peppermint-flavored chocolate chips
--Candy bar bits
--Pretzel bits
--annnd…so on!
Recipe for Homemade Toffee Bits:
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon dark corn syrup, can use light
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a large microwave safe bowl, mix sugar, butter, water and corn syrup.
Microwave on high 4 minutes. Stirring every 2 minutes.
Heat 6-8 minutes longer until thickened and gold in color. It should be a little bit darker than peanut butter—but only a tiny bit!
Add vanilla; stir well - this step may require some muscle is your mixture begins to separate.
Pour mixture into 9x13 dish.
Cool completely. Break into pieces.
Monday, July 1, 2013
Poppy seed Cake
This cake is delicious—moist, not too rich, with a delicate flavor. I baked it in a 13x9” pyrex pan, but it could also be baked in regular cake pans, I think.
I have made it with a traditional buttercream frosting, but the frosting flavor somehow covered up the flavor of the cake itself, we thought. The sour cream-cream cheese frosting below is better with this cake, but it really could just go with a dusting of powdered sugar or a simple powdered sugar glaze.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup poppy seeds
1 cup milk
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups (480 grams.) sifted cake flour (If you only have AP flour, mix 2 1/2 cups and 2 Tablespoons (336 grams) of AP flour with 1/4 cup and 2 Tablespoons (41.25 grams) of cornstarch)
1 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, stiffly beaten
Directions:
1) Add poppy seeds to milk and let stand for at least 1 hour (I usually soak them overnight or all day.)
2) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13-inch pan. Set aside.
3) Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4) Whisk flour, baking powder and salt together in another bowl.
5) Add flour and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
6) Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. (NOTE: Whip the egg whites right before putting them in. If you let them sit for too long, then they'll probably separate. I've done it. Not pretty. See this place for the science behind it, and for tips about how to make sure your egg whites don't separate--things like adding acid in the form of lemon juice or cream of tartar work nicely).
7) Fold in egg whites, half at a time. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in several areas comes out clean. Let sit in pan for 10 to 15 minutes before removing to a rack to complete cooling.
Cream Cheese-Sour Cream Frosting (from here)
adapted from Bunny's Warm Oven where she got it from Epicurious
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
Optional: Walnuts
Beat sour cream, confectioner's sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl until well blended. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. If desired, sprinkle with chopped walnuts.