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Sarah Phillips

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Everything posted by Sarah Phillips

  1. You're welcome! I'll be going, as well, and I look forward to seeing (and hopefully, tasting) all of the gorgeous cakes! I can hardly wait.......
  2. Here you go http://www.baking911.com/asksarahbb/viewtopic.php?t=14
  3. Here's more information about eggs, as well as tips about freezing whites, for anyone's who is interested! http://www.baking911.com/pantry/eggs.htm
  4. For recipes that use lots of egg yolks: Pan de Muertos http://starchefs.com/halloween/html/recipe_01.html (I made the recipe) and Zabaglione... You can freeze left-over egg yolks: Lightly beat 1/4-cup yolks (3.5 or 4 yolks from large eggs; 1 egg yolk from large egg = 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon), with 1/8 teaspoon salt (for use in savory recipes) or 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar (for use in sweet recipes). (If freezing one yolk, use a few grains of salt or a pinch of sugar). Line another bowl with plastic wrap and pour the yolks into the lined bowl. Freeze overnight until solid, then wrap the block securely and be sure to mark the date and number of yolks in the package. Double wrap the frozen yolks with plastic or seal with your home vacuum sealer and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Some freeze one egg yolk per ice cube cavity in an ice cube tray, and then transfer them to a plastic, airtight bag. To use, thaw in refrigerator and then mix well. They will not look the same as fresh egg yolks do, but they work just as well.
  5. Maxmillan, Another big culprit of weeping meringue comes from simply overbaking it. 20 minutes is a long time .... Your sister should bake it for about 12 minutes (at 350 degrees F) or until the topping is lightly browned on the very peaks of the meringue, not all over....
  6. Catherine, ...Our posts crossed paths...I had taken out my part about caramelizing a small portion of sugar and then adding the rest...(because it would sweeten the recipe too much)....then after removing that part of my post, I noticed yours.....My post was edited at 5:02 and your post was at 5:05! So, Bryan, just read what I have posted above which is what I intended to write......caramelize all of the sugar at once....2/3 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons WATER! (Don't use 1 cup sugar).
  7. The easiest solution seems to be to simply use a pizza stone.....
  8. Bryan, The concept of what you are trying to do is use sugar to darken and flavor your sauce and then proceed with the rest of your recipe. You can also use caramelized sugar sauce to flavor and color a recipe. I think the proportions of 2 tablespoons sugar to 1 cup sugar in your recipe are way off. I like to use the following proportions: Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon water (or 2/3 cup sugar and 2 tablepoons sugar for your recipe) in a small, WIDE saucepan. Place the pan over medium to medium-low heat. Make sure the flame does not reach over the side of the pan or the sugar solution can burn easily. Stir mixture constantly with a wooden spoon, until it turns GOLDEN/AMBER in color, about 12 to 15 minutes. Take from heat and use immediately over your stir fry. Do NOT not let the sauce turn dark amber/brown and burn. It happens really fast, so watch the mixture carefully. When you drizzle the caramel sauce over your stir fry, it will sizzle and clump. The caramelized sugar will dissolve as you stir it into the recipe, about 1 to 2 minutes.
  9. I like the classes at the Institute for Culinary Education in NYC. There are some good beginning baking classes that are quite good! Nick Malgieri designed the week long curriculum for the amateur baker and he's done an excellent job! Plus, his recipes always work! ---This is very important when you're trying to learn how to bake!
  10. Cala, Welcome to baking! I always recommend that a beginner buy some really good baking pans (I like the Chicago Metallic light-colored NOT non-stick heavy baking Professional pans-- I have a list on http://www.baking911.com/pantry/list_kitch...f_pans_more.htm BUT you can start with 2, 9-inch cake pans, 2 cookie sheets, a standard-size muffin tin (for 12 muffins) and cooling racks and always add more as you go along; get a good set of measuring cups (metal for dry ingredients, pyrex glass for liquid ingredients and set of measuring spoons. I always recommend a hand-held mixer (I like Cuisinart-- get the most powerful one) and a stand mixer (KitchenAid), if you want to spend the money. Heat-proof rubber spatulas are important, a flat wire whisk, a balloon wisk, 2 or more wooden spoons, sharp knives, a kitchen timer...(I am sure egullet members will add to this beginning list). And, above all, make sure your oven is accurate! There's nothing like mixing a wonderful recipe, and then having the recipe fail because your oven is off! An oven thermometer helps, but they aren't always accurate....so I would have your oven checked before you begin on your journey! As for books, I really like the basic ones if you are an absolute beginner...Fanny Farmer Baking Book, Good Housekeeping, and Betty Crocker. They're loaded with pictures and lots of information. Plus, their recipes always work! I also like baking books from Susan Purdy, Flo Braker, Nick Malgieri, and Julia Child. (I recommend mine, Baking 9-1-1!)
  11. Unfortunately, I haven't tried any of the recipes you've posted - I've been reading the comments and looking at the wonderful (YUMMY!) pictures.....So, I guess I better pass on posting a recipe because I can't write an honest few word comparison....Thanks anyway......
  12. UPDATE: I haven't forgotten about creating a moist bran muffin recipe...I've been really busy lately...I would like to try all of the new recipes that have been posted and will get back to the test kitchen later this week...Has anyone tried any of the recipes, yet?
  13. Sarah, I tried your low fat recipe and they were fabulous. I added some cinnamon, raisins and dried cranberries. I couldnt tell they were low-fat, they were so moist and delicious. Thanks a lot!! Now, would you possibly have a low-fat corn muffin recipe? ← CaliPoutine, Thanks so much! I do have a low-fat Raspberry Corn Muffin Recipe (plus 124 other low- and reduced-fat recipes) in my Healthy Oven Baking Book. I did post my low-fat Pumpkin-Orange Cornbread Recipe on my website: http://www.baking911.com/recipes/qb/pumpkin_cornbread.htm You can make muffins from the recipe. But, the Raspberry Corn Muffin Recipe is delicious, flavorful, as well as moist, too!
  14. Thanks for the recipe, Patricia. I will try it!
  15. Yes, it would be interesting to see the recipe, if you're allowed to post it. I would guess that your recipe probably has baking soda in it. I just finished some interesting research on what happens when you refrigerate bran muffin batters. I did it because of a recent question I was asked and because of this recipe I am developing for Eliot.
  16. This is for STICK butter.... such as Land O'Lakes Sweet Cream Unsalted Sweet Butter (not Ultra Creamy), typically found in the grocery store. About 80-81% fat content ~ To see if your butter is at ROOM TEMPERATURE (about 68 degrees), choose one or two of these tests: 1) Hold the wrapped butter in your hand and press it gently with your fingertips. If it leaves an indentation, it is at room temperature. The butter should be still firm; 2) You can bend a stick of butter with your hands, but it should still feel firm; You can also test butter with an Instant Read Thermometer which is the most accurate way; stick the pointed end in the center of the stick of butter and read its temperature. I hope this helps! ~
  17. Yes, I agree with you that cookie dough is more forgiving...that's why I have recommended cookie recipes for the beginner, especially drop cookies.... And, yes you REALLY have to overhandle cookie dough from toughness and dryness standpoint (And, when you mix or handle moistened wheat flour extensively you DEVELOP gluten)...thanks for pointing that out from my original post.... Your comments are well-taken.
  18. I think it's great that you're trying to improve the presentation of your cookies! And, why not...as you said, if you're going to spend lots of money, you want your cookies to look as good as possible. In fact, I have tips on my website on how to achieve good looking cookies, in addition to good tasting, achieving great texture etc....! But, I am finding that so many home bakers are afraid to bake and embarassed by the outcome of their "creations" because their cookies, pies or cakes don't look like they should in the magazines, and therefore, they think they are a "failure" -- and the person stops baking for fear of what their neighbor will think -- even if their recipe tastes great! I applaud you for continuing to bake even though your cookies were stuck together and somewhat smashed...many would have quit or not served their cookies at all because of what appears to be today's philosophy of achieving the "perfect looking cookie". (I've purchased plenty of expensive, perfect looking baked goods, from bake shops, baked with top ingredients that simply tasted horrible! ) I also applaud you for working on your baking skills......Presentation is very important...."We eat with our eyes, too!" I'm just giving my opinion on what I feel to be a problem in general...that there's too much emphasis on making "the perfect looking recipe" rather than one feeling proud of one's homemade baking accomplishment.....That's all....
  19. Thanks for your comments. My website and advice is targeted to the home baker, so that's where my perspective comes from. I wrote>>> I use my fingertips to portion out a small amount of dough by pinching a small amount -- not forming it into a ball -- but rather a clump of cookie dough.
  20. Eliot, I'm getting closer.....I've come up with a recipe that's getting pretty close to what you want and boy, are they moist! I can't stop eating them! But, the recipe needs some tweaking still and I'll unveil them when I'm all through with my testing......That's what sometimes takes the longest.....My philosophy is to write recipes that use everyday ingredients, readily found in grocery stores, with easy mixing steps.......because I write for the home baking audience.... These are so yummy...I've been eating too many.....a bite here and a bite there....HELLLLPPPP....!!
  21. Drop cookies are sooo delicious! I always weigh my drop cookie dough instead of using a cookie scoop or forming it into a ball. I find that I handle DROP cookie dough less when I weigh it. I use my fingertips to portion out a small amount of dough by pinching a small amount -- not forming it into a ball -- but rather a clump of cookie dough. I weigh the clump and then drop it directly onto the baking sheet! As you form more and more "clumps", you get the feel for how much dough you need, so the less you need to adjust the amount you need. If the dough weighs too much, I pinch off what I don't need. If there's too little, I simply LIGHTLY press extra dough into the clump. I find I get really tender cookies that way rather than scooping the dough or handling it by rolling it into a ball! Here's why -- When I used to scoop cookie DROP cookie dough I noticed that you can' help by pack it down into the scoop and handle it a lot. The same thing happens when I'm rolling DROP cookie dough into a ball. This way I am toughening the DROP cookie and reducing its flavor and making it dry. The concept is that everytime you handle or manipulate moistened wheat flour, you create gluten. Too much gluten toughens a baked good, making it dry and decreasing its flavor. Also, weighing dough is more accurate.....That's how bread dough is portioned, so why not use the same technique for cookie dough....I do the same for all cookie dough, using different portioning techniques appropriate for the type of cookie I'm baking....... (And, my audience is primarily for home bakers.....)
  22. Abra, BRAVO! Good for you....and, my best wishes for you and your husband.
  23. YUM! I'm going to have to try all of the new recipes!
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