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MonaPizza

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Posts posted by MonaPizza

  1. Couldn't decide between the corn muffins so I ended up making both of course! I made the herb variation on the plain corn muffins adding some fresh thyme...very good but not a huge thyme flavor...as she says, if you want more, to rub in in with the sugar. The corn and pepper muffins were great too...forgot the chili powder but they were still very nice...kind of a southwestern flavor and great spread with butter - yum!

  2. I just bought a pound of grade B vanilla pods and a 'sampler' bag of different vanilla pods... I intend to use vodka for my extract experiment but have other plans as well:

    1. I will try to infuse vanilla flavor in Maple Syrup (the season is about to begin here).

    2. I will experiment using vanilla in savoury dishes (I'm thinking squash soup, veal stew and pasta... actually I am thinking about a parmesan and vanilla pasta recipe done by Ferran Adria on his Spanish TV show)

    3. I am also thinking about vanilla salt done in a similar way as vanilla sugar (maybe to sprinkle over scallops? not sure yet)

    4. I am also thinking about a creamy salad dressing...

    What else can you do with vanilla apart from baking?

    I order my vanilla beans from thevanillashop.com and they have this link to some interesting vanilla recipes you might want to check out: http://www.thevanillashop.com/recip_a.html

    I'm glad you started this thread. I just ordered a big batch from them and have always been curious about how a homemade extract would compare to store-bought. Can't wait to see your results!

  3. Question to throw out to anyone that is familiar with the Rum-Drenched Vanilla Cakes...the instructions specify to whisk the eggs into the vanilla-infused sugar until thoroughly incorporated. I whisked until they were well-combined but not too much more than that. When I baked them, they didn't seem to rise to any dome...they baked up flat. Do you think that I needed to whisk the eggs more when making the batter in order to make the cakes rise more when baked?

  4. Hi Dorie,

    I've been following this thread for awhile and it's been such an inspiration to try so many recipes from your book. Everything I've made so far has been such a treat! The sables, world peace cookies and espresso chocolate chip shortbread were some of the best cookies I've ever made. The choco-nana bread was great and this weekend I went a little crazy and made your brioche, sticky buns and extraordinary lemon cream tart. All were superb. Thanks so much for putting together such a great collection! I look forward to trying the rum-soaked vanilla cakes as soon as my new vanilla bean shipment arrives :)

  5. I've been baking some cakes lately and I have a question regarding substitutions.  How does buttermilk affect a cake compared to regular milk?  If I were going to substitute buttermilk would I have to make any other modifications?  I ask because I have a recipe for a lemon cake that I really like that calls for buttermilk and I was wondering how to best modify it into a butter/vanilla cake and/or chocolate cake if possible.  Thanks for your help and I can't wait to try your butter cake recipe soon as well!

    After reading the last few pages of this thread yesterday I was determined to make the Ultimate Butter Cake right away. I thought I had milk, but all I had was cream and buttermilk. So after a quick search, I discovered that when substituting buttermilk for cow's milk in baked goods, using one cup as the base measurement for milk, it's a one to one subsitute for the milk, but you need to add 1/2 tsp baking soda and substract 2 tsp baking powder from the required amount in the recipe.

    Anway, I made the cake, using Ling's topping and substituting the buttermilk, as instructed above.

    Although I understand from the conversation that the substitution may dramatically alter the original, I gotta tell you this is one fabulous cake. Or, rather, two! Wow.

    Devlin,

    Thanks for letting me know! I've been baking like crazy lately and in the past week I made the crumbcake variation and the original butter cake with a chocolate frosting - both were excellent! You should visit Sarah's website too - there's TONS of info on there and an ASK SARAH forum where you can get answers to any of your cake questions...it's a great place to pick up a lot of great tips!

  6. Hi,

    Thanks for trying my recipe. All I can tell you that is you have to follow the recipe. If you want to substitute the TYPE of flour and sugar types, expect some different results. That's pretty much my findings with most cake recipes.

    The recipe calls for ALL PURPOSE FLOUR, not a mix of all-purpose and pastry flour, as you used....The all-purpose  flour I used to develop the recipe with comes from the United States. The sugar used is table sugar.

    The flour sub that you did -- of adding in pastry flour --  threw off the whole recipe. If you aren't going to follow MY recipe and use 100% all-purpose flour, then the whole recipe will be off! In essence, you are creating your own recipe, and commenting on your own creation, not mine.....If you are not using the sugar called for in my recipe, then you are creating your own...

    I appreciate your trying to experiment, but you have to understand that when you do, you are creating your own recipe and not testing mine.

    I do have a member of baking911.com, Berta L. who does change flavorings in the cake recipe which much success, but note she isn't changing a major ingredient, such as the TYPE of flour! Read about it on the bottom of my recipe: http://baking911.com/recipes/cakes/butterc...ow_ultimate.htm

    I named the recipe variations after Berta L because they are her recipes for which she deserves the credit!

    I've been baking some cakes lately and I have a question regarding substitutions. How does buttermilk affect a cake compared to regular milk? If I were going to substitute buttermilk would I have to make any other modifications? I ask because I have a recipe for a lemon cake that I really like that calls for buttermilk and I was wondering how to best modify it into a butter/vanilla cake and/or chocolate cake if possible. Thanks for your help and I can't wait to try your butter cake recipe soon as well!

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