When making your pie dough, are you:
1) prepping the ice water well in advance, so it's really good and cold...?
2) making sure you get your hands on it, literally, if you're using a food processor or stand mixer...? I like to mix my butter and flour with my new KitchenAide (hooray!), then pour those results into another bowl, and add the ice water by hand, mixing with a fork. Best of both worlds.
3) aware how much I love my new KitchenAide...?
4) rolling the dough from the center outward, not back and forth, over and over again, and overworking it (like I might have once done)...?
5) leaving enough dough allowance when you lay your circle in the pan so you're able to generously crimp or primp your edges...?
Good work!
Friday, January 27, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tip of the day, re: measuring flour
When measuring flour for your recipe, don't dip your measuring cup into the flour, as it can become too packed that way, and throw off your recipe.
Rather, take a smaller cup or spoon, dip that into the flour, and empty into your measuring cup, fulfilling the measurement allowance this way.
A lighter touch always works well.
Rather, take a smaller cup or spoon, dip that into the flour, and empty into your measuring cup, fulfilling the measurement allowance this way.
A lighter touch always works well.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Change of Heart
The "Cranberry Buckle with Vanilla Crumb," despite all its problems (see below), is AWESOME.
Next time I'll stick to the recipe though, in terms of how and where I use the cranberries and Vanilla Crumb, but definitely will make again.
Next time I'll stick to the recipe though, in terms of how and where I use the cranberries and Vanilla Crumb, but definitely will make again.
Okay, that didn't take long...
Suddenly, I have to learn how to bake again.
Eager to try out my new KitchenAid (KA), but without a lot of ingredients at home, last night I went for making my standard ONTHCCC (Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie; see link). Oy. Totally different texture!
Envision me standing at the counter in front of my mixing bowl, and I'm holding that $9.99 hand mixer. The beaters are rotating in a certain way, which is NOT the same way the KitchenAid flat paddle moves. Alas, in the future I'll definitely be making my ONTHCCC the old-fashioned way, with my $9.99 special.
So today I'm trying out my KA again, via my Rustic Fruit Desserts winter item: "Cranberry Buckle with Vanilla Crumb." I made the Vanilla Crumb first; fantastic. Next!
I made the cake with the KA, but 1) I had not prepped my mise-en-place adequately, and had to run down to the store to buy an orange for zesting (have I mentioned I live in a 4th floor walk-up?), and 2) I obviously did not read the recipe thoroughly, and it certainly seemed like I was adding to the batter a LOT of cranberries. Turned out, I was only supposed to add half that amount, and keep the rest for the topping. Not!
And 3) though I cut in half the Vanilla Crumb recipe, it still made a lot more than I'd anticipated, and I didn't measure it before I started applying it -- what?! -- and now I have a cake in the oven, with way too much Vanilla Crumb on top, and way too many cranberries in the batter, leaving none for the topping.
Smells good already, but clearly I'm gonna have to start this baking thing all over again. Story of my life.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Buckle-with-Vanilla-Crumb-358317
Eager to try out my new KitchenAid (KA), but without a lot of ingredients at home, last night I went for making my standard ONTHCCC (Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie; see link). Oy. Totally different texture!
Envision me standing at the counter in front of my mixing bowl, and I'm holding that $9.99 hand mixer. The beaters are rotating in a certain way, which is NOT the same way the KitchenAid flat paddle moves. Alas, in the future I'll definitely be making my ONTHCCC the old-fashioned way, with my $9.99 special.
So today I'm trying out my KA again, via my Rustic Fruit Desserts winter item: "Cranberry Buckle with Vanilla Crumb." I made the Vanilla Crumb first; fantastic. Next!
I made the cake with the KA, but 1) I had not prepped my mise-en-place adequately, and had to run down to the store to buy an orange for zesting (have I mentioned I live in a 4th floor walk-up?), and 2) I obviously did not read the recipe thoroughly, and it certainly seemed like I was adding to the batter a LOT of cranberries. Turned out, I was only supposed to add half that amount, and keep the rest for the topping. Not!
And 3) though I cut in half the Vanilla Crumb recipe, it still made a lot more than I'd anticipated, and I didn't measure it before I started applying it -- what?! -- and now I have a cake in the oven, with way too much Vanilla Crumb on top, and way too many cranberries in the batter, leaving none for the topping.
Smells good already, but clearly I'm gonna have to start this baking thing all over again. Story of my life.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cranberry-Buckle-with-Vanilla-Crumb-358317
Happy New Year!
I finally got a KitchenAid -- holla at my momma! Thanks!
It's beautiful, shiny white and new, 4.5 quart capacity, and I'm ready for the new year!
It's beautiful, shiny white and new, 4.5 quart capacity, and I'm ready for the new year!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Reading a Recipe
When picking out a recipe online, via friends and family, or in any soon-to-be-extinct hard copy cookbook, make sure you trust your intuition. If something looks off in the recipe, it probably is. Further, as a professional book proofreader/copy editor, I'd have to say it's possible there might even be a typo within.
For example, my neighbor recently made a variety of Christmas cookies, and the walnut ones (of which she cracked each Turkish walnut individually!), had so little flour in the recipe that when she pulled the melon-ball sized treats from the oven, turned out they'd all melted together into one pan-size cookie!
We reviewed the recipe, and seemed clear that 3/4 cup flour for 50 cookies was just not going to fly. She was not deterred however, and played with adding more flour, water, and sugar (something I probably wouldn't have done), and in the end, the results were excellent.
For example, my neighbor recently made a variety of Christmas cookies, and the walnut ones (of which she cracked each Turkish walnut individually!), had so little flour in the recipe that when she pulled the melon-ball sized treats from the oven, turned out they'd all melted together into one pan-size cookie!
We reviewed the recipe, and seemed clear that 3/4 cup flour for 50 cookies was just not going to fly. She was not deterred however, and played with adding more flour, water, and sugar (something I probably wouldn't have done), and in the end, the results were excellent.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Do not not fully grease the sides of your pan!
This cake was doomed from the start. I guess I didn't have enough butter on the sides of the pan, and voila the results.
Do not put too much batter in your cake pan!
For example, this particular mini cake had way too much batter in it -- I knew it, and kept going. Long story short: it got cut off at the top of the oven when I pulled it out.
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