BROWNSUGA
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Posts posted by BROWNSUGA
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I made cupcakes, but packed them away before I remembered to take a picture, so just pretend this is a full dozen
I made the lemon macadamia nut cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, except they're not vegan, since I used cow's milk (just lactose free). Darn tasty though. I need to get me some pastry tips, enough of this spreading with a knife nonsense.
Now I have leftover lemon icing. Suggestions? Otherwise I may just start eating it with a spoon
I have that little book and I love it.
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I make my own, too!! Yum! I use frozen fruit, soymilk and ground flax seeds!
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Wow!Thank you for posting these pics! I am going to France (Paris) next month. What I am looking forward to most? The desserts!!
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Hey Dragonfly Desserts,
How are things coming along? I hope all is well.
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You guys are making me hungry!!!
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Ok, here are just a few...
Colette Peters - Cakes to Dream On
I dont own this book, but I have heard lots of great things about it. This is her latest book. She also has a few other books that might be better suited for a beginner. Colette Peters - The Art of Cake Decorating
Toba Garrett - The Well Decorated Cake
International Book of Sugarcraft This is an older book, but it contains lots of techniques.
Other cake artists...
You can also check out www.cakecentral.com.
Good luck.
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For decorating, is there a certain style that you are drawn to?
Are you interested in learning more about baking or are you looking for more of a collection of good recipes?
Are you able to visit either your local library or bookstore before making a purchase? Sometimes that helps b/c it allows you to see exactly what you are going to get before ordering. Of course, they may not have as good of a selection as Amazon, but it will allow you to preview the book.
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I spent weeks developing my favorite yellow cake recipe to raves, and have been baking it for 2 mos. in my bakery w/o any trouble. Recently, though, my sheet cakes have not been turning out well at all, and now the problem seems to be spreading to my 9" rounds and to other cakes as well! Yikes!
The problem cakes have a very soft, light and very holey top part, but the bottom part is rubbery, dense, and without any grain to speak of at all. I am at my wits' end trying to figure out what's going on here. I've tried fiddling with my oven temp., the amount of baking powder (reducing it since I'm using a sheet pan), the amount of batter in the pan, mostly to no avail. Keeping the amount of batter in the pan seems to help marginally, but I'm wondering now if it's that the batter is not properly emulsified, and all the butter is sinking to the bottom. Is this possible? What leads me to think it's a mixing or baking technique rather than a flaw in the recipe is that another yellow-type butter cake that I made today had the very same thing wrong with it. Or maybe it's a weather thing? It's pretty humid here. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
I'm giving you guys my yellow cake recipe, which I was going to post as my very favorite. However, if these problems continue, I will have to say goodbye to it.
Yellow Birthday Cake
(2 9" round pans)
350 oven
4 eggs
½ c. whole milk
1 T. vanilla
225g./ 8 oz. cake flour
300 g./ 10 ½ oz. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ c. salted butter, softened
1/3 c. vegetable oil
Combine eggs, milk and vanilla. Set aside.
Combine flour, sugar, powder and salt till mixed.
Add butter and blend on 1 with paddle till butter is broken into pieces the size of small peas. Add oil and mix on 1 till blended.
Add 2/3 egg mixture and mix on 1 till combined. Mix on 2 for 1 min. Scrape down sides and add remaining eggs. Mix on 2 for 30 seconds.
Pour into prepared pans and bake till done.
Oh, my goodness! I am so glad that I came across this thread. I baked a very similar recipe TWICE and received the same results!! I am sitting here searching for answers on what the heck I did wrong. I guess I will bake it again using a brand new pack of flour!
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Here's a thread that may also help you. Click Here
Here's another Click Here
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I was going to ask the same thing. I saw them on Amazon.
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I'm resurrecting this thread because this lemon cheesecake is one of the most satisfying lemon desserts I've had in a long time. The recipe is from Cook's Illustrated. Yum!
That looks delicious!! I came across that the other day in my book. I opted to make the regular NY cheesecake b/c my husband was begging for cheesecake. I was VERY satisfied with the regular one. Now that I've seen the rave reviews for the lemon one, I am going to make that one next!!!
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I admire those of you have the guts to go forward with your dreams, whatever it may be.
One thing that I have noticed about this site, is that you will get a first-hand view into the world of the food industry. There's no sugar-coating, which can be a good thing. Take this information as part of research. You are equipped with information, good and bad. It's something else to have under your belt going forward. I, for one, have always dreamed (since I was a child) of owning my own business.....not sure just what or if it will ever happen. This site has been instrumental if I were to ever prepare myself for becoming an entrepreneur (in any business). It has given me a diferent look at things. It hasnt shattered my dreams. If anything, it has made me more aware of some of things I need to do for myself, things I might not have thought about otherwise. The reality is that being a business owner of many businesses, (food related and non-food related), you can experience some of the things that Pam mentioned in her post. Being a business owner of any business is going to be hard work period. And the reality is that the business can fail, but at the same time it can also succeed. Life is about chances. You win some. You lose some. And if things dont work out, as you already know, you wont be the first or the last. You pick yourself up and keep going. I think it is a MUST to go into this with as much research as possible, an open and realistic mind, and a backup plan for all things involved. I am sure your mom is making sure of that.
Just think, if we didnt have entrepreneurs, we wouldnt have been graced with some of the businesses and job opportunities that are available today.
Be sure to let us know how things go.
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Here's a thread that may be helpful............ Campfire Girl
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I had an experience this past weekend. I made a butter cake using a method where I folded the whipped whites into the batter. The cake was delicious when I made it. I frosted it and put it in the refrigerator overnight. I allowed it to come to room temperature before eating. It just did not taste the same. It wasnt as moist as it was initially. And I used a little simple syrup. I have made this same cake in the past. Last time, I did not refrigerate it at all and did not run into this problem. This is what has led me on the hunt to find the perfect (yellow) butter cake.
Now that I think about it, I am going to try that cake again. Part of the problem could have come from the icing. The buttercream inside the cake (IMBC w/ white chocolate added to it) was still cold and firm and had not come to room temperature, even after being out at room temperature for a while. Perhaps, that could have had an effect on why my cake didnt quite come to room temperature even after being out for a while. I dunno.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but "Butter cake" is merely a cake category that involves creaming butter and sugar, beating in eggs, and then adding dry ingredients (alternating with milk). Yellow cakes and pound cakes are therefore examples of butter cakes.
From my understanding, this describes the mixing method (i.e. creaming method). I dont have the book, but RLB has "butter cakes" in her book that are mixed using a method other than creaming the butter and sugar (i.e. two-stage method).
I went on a little hunt!
According to Joy of Baking's Website:
" Butter cakes consist of taking the most basic of ingredients butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and a leavening agent (baking powder or baking soda) and transforming them into a baked good with a wonderful taste and texture.
There are three methods used in making butter cakes and the goal of each method is to incorporate the maximum amount of air into the batter (produces the volume and texture of the cake), to restrict the development of gluten in the flour (provides tenderness, texture and volume), and to have a uniform batter."
1) Creaming Method
2) One Bowl, Quick or Blending Method
3) Combination Method
Also...
Formula for regular butter cake:
- Weight of sugar is equal or less than weight of flour
- Weight of eggs is equal or greater than weight of fat
- Weight of liquids (egg and milk) is equal to weight of flour
Formula for high ratio butter cake:
- Weight of sugar is equal or greater than weight of flour
- Weight of eggs is greater than weight of fat
- Weight of liquid (egg and milk) is equal or greater than weight of sugar
Leavening: (This is a general guideline as the other ingredients used in a recipe also affect the amount of baking powder/baking soda used.)
1 - 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder for each cup of flour
or
1/4 teaspoon baking soda for each cup of flour
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out of all the meat and carbs(rice, bread, potatos, mac salad, etc) i should include some greens. the local farmers market had a whole bag of green beans for cheap.
so anyways, i was planning on throwing in the beans in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes, take them out, then tossing them in a skillet with some butter and kosher salt for a minute or 2...
will this come out right? something simple? or any other things i can do to it to flavorize them?
thanks.
Normally, this is how I would do my beans, as well. However, I noticed that you are cooking bbq. If this is the case, I always do mine Southern style. This entails snapping or cutting your beans into one inch (or so) pieces. Then cook the beans in a pot of water with a smoked ham hock or other piece of smoked meat. The beans are cooked until very tender. These are no hericots verts! In fact, after cooking them in pork stock, they hardly qualify as a vegetable, but they are awfully good and a great side dish to a traditional bbq.
This is like the way my mom cooks them! And boy do I love them. She doesnt cut hers, though. She just snaps the ends. I leave this style to her. Now, when I am cooking at home, I prefer to stir-fry mine. I snap the ends, too.
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That's kind of how I make mine.
I put them in boiling water for a few minutes. Then, I take them out and put them in ice cold water to stop the cooking. I let them drain. Then, I put them in my wok and continue cooking them in olive oil, add some seasonings, mushrooms, a little soy sauce and I am good to go!! Yum! Yum!! -
Wow! Thanks for the update. I am going to have to give these a try. I have already tried the WBH white cake and love it. The KA white cake has been on my "to try" list for since it's been posted here. Hmmmm, I am going to have to bake the two side by side to see which one I prefer.
Thanks for the feedback!!!
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Patrick, have you now tried white cakse from both the Whimsical Bakehouse and KA? If so, how did they compare?
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The one thing that I love about this site is that the members have a variety of backgrounds. I truly appreciate the advice from all. Sarah, I appreciated your response as it was truly helpful. The same thing goes for Wendy. Actually, both of you are very similar in your approach: while there are "rules", you are both daring enough to deviate from them in order to find your own results. There is a wealth of information out there. What I have learned to do is to read everything that is presented to me and conduct my own "experiment", in turn, becoming just as daring as the two of you!
Back to the topic:
Is that website suppsed to be The Artisan ?
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Eden, hahahaha!!
I thought about that...now that I actually have the digital baking temp on my oven. Thanks, Sarah!!
I feel the headache going away. I think this experiement along with this thread has given me more courage and confidence to try more things. What's the worst that could happen.
Thanks again...
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Brownsuga,
Good for you for experimenting... The nail core helped bring heat to the center of the cake so the cake baked evenly. (The real test would have been baking the cake at a lower temperature in the same type pan as the first cake without the nail core!)
It also depends on the type of pan you used for the 11 x 15-inch cake. If it was a Pyrex, glass pan, a dark, nonstick pan or a heavy, dark pan, it was appropriate to reduce the oven heat by 25 degrees F, anyway! The cake would still bake nicely with or without a nail core because the oven temperature was correct based upon the pan's materils. The nail core simply helped bake the center of the cake better. ~
Sarah, I was too chicken to not do it without the heating core. I wasnt that brave.
I wanted to take precautionary measures just in case. I understand what you are saying about the pans. It was the same brand of pans that I have used for the smaller ones.
P.S. And, that proves my point about you can't simply lower the oven heat when baking a recipe......IN GENERAL, you shouldn't play around with baking temperatures because a recipe won't turn out properly!
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I guess this leads me to another question.......
I had letfover batter that I placed in smaller pans. I was wondering how they would turn out if I placed them in the oven with the larger pans baking at 325. (The smaller ones are usually baked at 350.)
Ok, now I have a headache!!
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Woods, I am not really familiar with baker's percentage, but I'd like to learn more about. (I have some professional baking books. I attended one quarter at an Art Insitute, but when I began to think about the costs $$$, I decided to leave. But, I still have my books. I would like to learn, but I just cannot afford a school like AI right now.)
Thanks for your responses.
I am no pro, but this is what I have found in my experiments....
There is a yellow cake recipe that I use all of the time. When I bake it in the suggested pan at the time suggested by author, it comes out fine. However, when I try to lower the temp on that same recipe in that same pan, it doesnt come out right.
I used this same recipe last night when I doubled it. I placed most of the batter in an 11x15 pan. I lowered the temp by 25 degrees and used a nail core. It baked perfectly.
It was very even, there was no sinking middle.......I was quite proud of myself!! It came out absolutely delicious!! Now, I would be a bit leary if I was using my previous oven. I just used to take my chance on baking things.
But I am the proud owner of a brand new oven. Edited to add: when I baked the 11x15 pan, it was in the oven alone....I am not sure if that had any effect on my results.
Your Daily Sweets (2005-2012)
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
It's funny that you asked that. I love, love, love this recipe. I tried it this past weekend using real vanilla pudding and it was very good. It tasted like Paula's version. I also tried it with real whipped cream. The texture was a bit different, but it was still good.