Small-batch baking: pies, cakes, cookies, bread and bread rolls, etc.

[FauxPas]

1 hour ago, AlaMoi said:

Peach Cobble

 

What size pan do you use for this cobbler? Is that about 8" x 8" or smaller? Thx!  🙂

 

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, AlaMoi said:

I've experienced two issue with "small batch-for-two"

 

I'm just wondering - is that a particular cookbook you are referring to or recipes for small batches in general.

[ElsieD]

Tonight we had Chocolate.  Peanut Butter Cake with a Peanut Butter Glaze.  I didn't have any peanuts so used chopped cashews on the topping instead.  This is from Snacking Cakes by Yossy Arefi and is a half recipe.  I'm getting better at figuring out how long to bake these smaller cakes but I'm not quite there yet.  Please excuse the paper plate.

[AlaMoi]

the peach cobbler/buckle is in an 8x8 pan.

I think somewhere we have/had a "Cooking for Two" book - but generally DW finds stuff on-line, and I pick stuff up from cooking fori....

 

[ElsieD]

This is a piece of Small-Batch Lemon Bars from Mike Johnson's book, Simple Small Batch Baking.  I didn't do a great job on the brulee part (I used the wrong type of sugar) it was delicious, nonetheless.  I'd make this again in a heartbeat, once we eat our way through the next few pieces, that is.

[Maison Rustique]

@ElsieD, those look perfect and delicious!

[ElsieD]

Made some biscuits to go with supper tonight.  They are from Simple Small Batch Baking.  The recipe made 6 biscuits which was perfect for us.  Four went down the hatch tonight, the remaining two will accompany John's lunch tomorrow.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

@Kim Shook I'm putting my recipe for Light Brioche Bread here instead of in the bread topic because it is perfect for one loaf of bread and one batch of dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, hamburger buns or whatever you might want to make with a soft sweeter dough. You don't need to worry about cutting a recipe in half. Just make a variety of things that you could use up in a couple days. I also use it for stuffed buns, calzones and to make small cocktail bread loaves. Knock on wood, I have never had a failure with this bread. My method of mixing is a bit unorthodox but it works for me.

This was one loaf of bread and eight small calzones. Only six here because we ate two.

 

[JAZ]

20 hours ago, ElsieD said:

Made some biscuits to go with supper tonight.  They are from Simple Small Batch Baking.  The recipe made 6 biscuits which was perfect for us.  Four went down the hatch tonight, the remaining two will accompany John's lunch tomorrow.

 

 

 

Those look great! We often make just a few biscuits, using a dead simple recipe/technique we discovered on Serious Eats. You just mix together equal parts self rising flour (we use White Lily) and heavy cream, so it's a breeze to scale however you want. For us, 4 or 5 ounces each of flour and cream yield enough biscuits for dinner, plus a couple left over.

 

Here's the article: 2-Ingredient biscuits

[AAQuesada]

You'll have to set your browser to translate, that's easier on some than others! But I have made this dessert and it's perfect for 2. For the recipe follow the first link

 

https://chef-johjiro.com/2022/02/10/itachoco_cake/

 

And the video itself 

 

[ElsieD]

15 hours ago, AAQuesada said:

You'll have to set your browser to translate, that's easier on some than others! But I have made this dessert and it's perfect for 2. For the recipe follow the first link

 

https://chef-johjiro.com/2022/02/10/itachoco_cake/

 

And the video itself 

 

I watched the video and it seems there is a lot of volume there for 2 people?  

[AAQuesada]

it's made in a mini (300g) loaf pan and and goes about half height but YMMV if you are a light eater. It's smaller than 2 slices of cake I think

 

& Thanks for checking it out!

Edited January 20, 2023 by AAQuesada (log)

[ElsieD]

24 minutes ago, AAQuesada said:

it's made in a mini (300g) loaf pan and and goes about half height but YMMV if you are a light eater. It's smaller than 2 slices of cake I think

 

& Thanks for checking it out!

 

Thanks for the reply.  I wouldn't mind trying this out and I can follow him up to where he tempers the egg yolks mixture and after that I have trouble following it.  Also, what temperature is it baked at?

[ElsieD]

12 minutes ago, AAQuesada said:

Watch this space! I'll try and write up an English translation of the recipe 

That would be wonderful!

[Tropicalsenior]

I just made these buttermilk biscuits in my air fryer.

I'm by myself for dinner tonight and when this recipe showed up in my inbox, I decided to give it a try and make biscuits and gravy for dinner.

I did have to modify the recipe quite a bit but it made five, 2 in very fluffy tender biscuits. I was a little bit impatient and they could have gone about 2 minutes more but I will be making these quite often. You can see the from the picture below that they are quite high and fluffy.

If it looks like there are only four in this picture it's because there are. I ate one and it was delicious.

Edited January 21, 2023 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[rotuts]

@Tropicalsenior 

 

Ive been off and on tempted to get an AF.

 

the various crispy items , Ive been able to do

 

well enough in my CSO  : tots , etc

 

your biscuits are very much tempting me to look 

 

again , just for those .

 

Rx ?

 

thanks 

[ElsieD]

Great minds think alike.  The recipie I use is almost the same as yours.  I like to "scoop" the biscuit dough so I add 1/2 cup buttermilk rather than 1/4.  Sine my recipe calls for melted butter, I just mix it in with the buttermilk.  

[Tropicalsenior]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

like to "scoop" the biscuit dough

I've never had any luck with drop biscuits. Mine always turned out looking more like dropped pancakes.

[Pete Fred]

I’m always on the lookout for ways to use up surplus egg whites and this caught my eye on a French blog. A small-batch, super-simple recipe and also gluten-free.

I made two 10 cm (4”) cakes and experimented with the cooking time.

 

 

For those whose French is a little rusty…

70g dark chocolate
40g butter
100g sugar
10g cocoa powder (Dutch processed)
3g (½ tsp) baking powder
a pinch of salt
40g ground hazelnuts
30g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
70g egg whites (2 whites)

 

Melt together chocolate and butter.
Mix together remaining ingredients.
Combine the two mixtures.
Divide between two 10 cm rings (170g) and bake at 160°C fan for +/- 20 mins.

 

It’s rich, and half a cake was enough for me. Halve the recipe and it's perfect for two people.

[AlaMoi]

15 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I've never had any luck with drop biscuits. Mine always turned out looking more like dropped pancakes.

 

my never fail

pre-heat oven to 425'F/ 218'C

qty: 3

144g AP flour

note:  I use KA AP; you may have to increase decrease for other brands!!  if the batter is too wet, you get pancakes....

1-1/2 t / 7g baking powder

pinch of salt

cut in 2-3 Tablespoons (30-45g) cold butter - I use the low end

when the oven is hot

stir in 146g milk - 1% to full - your choice

drop / bake immediate on ungreased sheet

[blue_dolphin]

Is this not the most adorable small-batch bread bake?  

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cn5Pbm9AAKV/

 

 

[ElsieD]

16 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Is this not the most adorable small-batch bread bake?  

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cn5Pbm9AAKV/

 

 

 

That's amazing.  If I had one of those little pots, I'd make one just for the joy of it.

[ElsieD]

On 1/22/2023 at 12:28 PM, Pete Fred said:

I’m always on the lookout for ways to use up surplus egg whites and this caught my eye on a French blog. A small-batch, super-simple recipe and also gluten-free.

I made two 10 cm (4”) cakes and experimented with the cooking time.

 

 

For those whose French is a little rusty…

70g dark chocolate
40g butter
100g sugar
10g cocoa powder (Dutch processed)
3g (½ tsp) baking powder
a pinch of salt
40g ground hazelnuts
30g roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
70g egg whites (2 whites)

 

Melt together chocolate and butter.
Mix together remaining ingredients.
Combine the two mixtures.
Divide between two 10 cm rings (170g) and bake at 160°C fan for +/- 20 mins.

 

It’s rich, and half a cake was enough for me. Halve the recipe and it's perfect for two people.

 

I made these today.  I had to use cashews because I did not have any hazelnuts and baked them in 4 small ramekins.  These little cakes are delicious, though I baked them too long.  I kept testing after the 20 minute mark and batter kept sticking to the toothpick.  So my question is, how can you tell if they are done?  At 20 minutes the batter was very wet and stayed that way for some time.   Finally, the toothpick registered clean but they were overdone.  I guess the end product is different than I'm used to and tests differently when it's baking.  Any help appreciated.  They were really good and I would like to make them again.

 

[ElsieD]

9 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Is this not the most adorable small-batch bread bake?  

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cn5Pbm9AAKV/

 

 

 

I couldn't get this cute little loaf out of my mind so I decided to make what I call a Wee Loaf to go with our dinner.  It is baked in a 5" square pan, and is a focaccia type bread.  I make it whenever we want fresh bread but no lefovers.  Here are the ingredients:

 

!20 gm flour

1 1/8 teaspoon Instant yeast

3/4 teaspoon  salt

1/2 cup warm water.

 

[Pete Fred]

On 1/29/2023 at 2:42 AM, ElsieD said:

 

I made these today.  I had to use cashews because I did not have any hazelnuts and baked them in 4 small ramekins.  These little cakes are delicious, though I baked them too long.  I kept testing after the 20 minute mark and batter kept sticking to the toothpick.  So my question is, how can you tell if they are done?  At 20 minutes the batter was very wet and stayed that way for some time.   Finally, the toothpick registered clean but they were overdone.  I guess the end product is different than I'm used to and tests differently when it's baking.  Any help appreciated.  They were really good and I would like to make them again.

 

I think the French might call this cake a moelleux or a fondant. It falls somewhere between a mi-cuit (like a chocolate lava cake) and a regular cake, so the texture is moist and fudgy, but a little firmer and cakey at the edge. In the picture, the left one is underbaked like a mi-cuit, whereas I cooked the right one more like a brownie with an internal temperature around 90C/195F (the probe came out with moist crumbs). I preferred the fudgier version, which was best served still warm (or reheated briefly in the microwave).

I used shop-bought, skinned and roasted ground hazelnuts rather than processing my own. I think the finer texture absorbs moisture better. In the original recipe, the nuts are homemade and the cake in the picture looks looser and wetter than mine. If you can’t source ground hazelnuts, maybe try commercial ground almonds, oven-roasted a little.

I cooked mine in steel rings placed directly on a parchment lined tray. I imagine this gives better heat transfer than your ramekins, and therefore a shorter bake time. Maybe you could try turning down the oven once they’ve risen and firmed at the edge, then just wait however long it takes until the centre is just set. You don’t want a clean toothpick, and the cake will inevitably sink a little.

And if you let yours fully cool, I do think they benefit from a gentle rewarming to regain some moistness and lightness.

Bon courage!