Flour Nut

Utilizing the Right Baking Equipment

Correctly measuring your ingredients can make all the difference. Use the liquid and dry measuring cups for their intended purpose or you could end up with disproportionate ingredients. Using a scale will give you the most accurate measurements.

Some tools less associated with baking can prove very useful- For precision in presentation, a measuring ruler makes sure your cookies fit together properly, especially if you are baking more elaborate cookies with specific shapes. It’s also helpful in keeping uniform distance between the dough pieces on a baking sheet (typically two inches); using an ice cream scoop is often recommended for this part of the process as well, for symmetrical and evenly placed pieces of dough. Off-set spatulas are also a great tool for moving and shaping cookies.

The kind of baking sheet you use will influence the cooking process. A thicker pan makes sure the bottom doesn’t brown too quickly before the rest of the cookie, and a pan with shorter edges allows for easier transfer of cookies onto plates or cooling racks. A cooling rack makes sure the cookie evenly cools so they don’t retain too much moisture and become soggy.

Using parchment paper is always recommended as a superior alternative to butter or other cooking greases since it not only helps in the heating process of the cookie, but makes clean up afterwards a fair bit less arduous.

If you plan to store the cookies, make sure to use air-tight containers.

Choosing the Right Ingredients

Ingredients give you flexible control over the cookies taste, texture, and shape.

Flours – All-Purpose unbleached flour gives you a flatter cookie that keeps its shape when heated compared to cake flour which will be softer and puff out more. Always sift in a bit of flour at a time as you stir the dough mix, and avoid over-stirring so the cookie doesn’t become too dense.

Eggs – Eggs tend to make cookies softer and puffier. Adding egg yolks by themselves makes for a chewier and crispier cookie, while egg whites go for a dryer and softer texture overall. Always stir in one egg at a time so they mix in thoroughly.

Baking Soda & Baking Powder – The choice will mainly effect the coloring and texture of the cookie, with baking powder giving you a lighter and softer/puffier cookie, while baking soda augments the browning process.

Sugar – A cookie tends to keep its shape if more sugar is used. White sugar benefits a crunchier/crispier texture where as brown sugar makes a chewier cookie. Honey is a suitable replacement if your looking for a similar texture to brown sugar. Make sure you mix the sugar well into the mix.

Butter – More butter or fat substitute is another option for allowing a cookie to keep its shape. Less fat leads to more expansion in the final cookie.

Your cookies will get better with experience. Time to get started!

When was the last time you gazed into a pastry window and marveled at the beautiful cakes on display? Your jaw dropped as you whispered to yourself that you could never recreate that. Well, you’d be surprised how easy some of the decorations are. With a little practice and patience, you could make a few jaws drop also.

To be an expert piper

An easy way to get a professional look is to use a pastry bag to pipe frosting. Different bags will give you different looks. Such as round tip bags will create lines, dots, and you can write a message. Star tips are good for borders, stars, shells and flowers. Leaf tips, well, make leaf shapes and basket-weave are used for lattices and ribbon lines and borders. Read on to see how to do it and get more tips at http://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/bake/how-to-decorate-a-cake.

How to Pipe Frosting

▪Fill a pastry bag about two-thirds full of frosting.
▪Fold the corners over, and roll the bag down to the frosting.
▪With one hand, grip the bag near the roll above the frosting.
▪Apply pressure with the palm of your hand, forcing the frosting toward the tip.
▪Use your other hand to guide the tip of the bag.

Sticky surface

One great thing about frosting is its sticky, so you can place almost anything to it and it stays. Want a colorful cake that will leave your friends raving? Then decorate it with cereal like Fruit Loops, Lucky Charms, or Fred Flintstone. For you candy lovers how about Gummy Bears, M&M’s, or Skittles. Or if you need something healthy in your diet there is always strawberries, blueberries, blackberries. and raspberries.

Got patriotic

Here is a great decorating idea to use the fruit mentioned above. Soon we will be going into our patriotic holidays like Memorial’s, July 4th and Labor Day. Any of those days would be great for a flag cake. A rectangular-shaped cake would be best, use white or cream frosting for the background.

Ingredients

1 Baked frosted cake (any flavor)
1 Cup of blueberries
1.5 Cups of strawberries ( raspberries can be substituted)

Instructions

1. On top left of cake place blueberries in small square area to make the stars
2. Cut whole strawberries into quarters and place very close to each other in
a line to make a strip.
3. Continue to step 2 until whole cake is covered
4. Best if served within 2 hours of completion

To make it easier start the line of strawberries at the top and work your way down. Do not despair if there are not 50 blueberries and 13 lines of strawberries. The idea is to get a cake that represents the American flag, not necessary one that clones it. However, if you have enough room for it great.

The many ways to decorate a cake are as unlimited as your imagination. Cookbooks, the Internet, parties, and of course mom are great sources of inspiration. The wow factor is as close as your kitchen.

Gather the ingredients and follow the recipe. An exciting venture gets frustrating for pastry chefs and common cooks. Countless times, we bake cakes by the book only for the result to fall short of expectations. Is it possible to bake cakes perfectly every time? Helpful tips answer that question with a resounding yes.

Use Fresh Ingredients: Expired ingredients lose some taste while fresh ingredients contain full flavor. Baked goods like flour have a short shelf life, so ensure the expiration date is a month away instead of tomorrow or two days from now.

Use Room Temperature Eggs, Butter, and Milk: Warm, room temperature ingredients blend better than cold ingredients. Turn cold eggs to room temperature by placing eggs in warm water for 10-15 minutes. Warm butter in a microwave for five-minute intervals until it’s soft. Warm milk in a saucepan on the stove.

Measure Flour Accurately: During measuring, most recipes require scooping the measuring cup into the flour, and then using a knife to level off excess flour. Instead, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup. This breaks up compacted flour and reduces unneeded flour for the recipe. Do scrape off excess with a knife.

Weigh Flour: Weighing flour prevents the same dilemma from occurring: unneeded flour. If the recipe goes by ounces or pounds, use a kitchen scale to measure the flour.

Use Light Aluminum Metal Pans: Stainless steel looking aluminum pans’ color is better than dark pans for cooking cakes. Light pans rotate heat within and outside the pan, creating a light-brown, tender crust. Dark pans create a dark-brown, thick crust because the pan traps heat. Stay away from insulated and non-stick pans; insulated takes longer to cook and the non-stick pan coating rubs off with continued use.

Preheat the Oven: Preheating the oven is mandatory for successful baking. Recipes expect readers to preheat the oven at a certain temperature, so follow instructions. Preheat for 10-15 minutes before inserting cakes in the oven. An oven not hot enough affect the cake’s rise.

Grease Pans Generously: Cake batter sticks to the pan, ruining the cake’s perfect circle. Grease the pan so the cake slides out effortlessly. Alternatively, use butter to grease the pan. Another suggestion is using baking parchment paper to line the pans.

Place Cake Pan in Oven Center: Even cooking begins with placing the filled cake pan in the center. A pan touching the walls creates over browning before the cake cooks on the inside.

Rotate Pans During Baking: Even cooking ends with rotation. Rotation provides even baking so every inch is evenly cooked. Turn the slow cooking side toward the faster cooking side so the recipe time ends on time.

Cool Cakes Upside Down: Layer cakes cannot stack with a rounded top. Cool finished cakes upside down so it flattens out on top. If the cake isn’t flat enough, make it flat with a serrated knife.

The cookbook failed to mention those foolproof tips. However, incorporate those helpful hints in your cake-baking routine. Creating the perfect cake consistently is a piece of cake.

The type of pie crust to prepare depends on the filling of the pie. With thicker fillings, a thicker crust should be made and vice versa. Following a few tips and tricks in the kitchen may assist when baking a high quality pie crust.

1. Throw the bag of flour in the freezer for a few minutes to shrink the risk of an overworked crust.   Start with a tablespoon of cold water and cold butter to mix with flour, adding only one tablespoon of water at a time. The flour gives off the flakiness of the crust. Stir until a dough molds with dissipating stickiness. The dough will form tough if overly touched.

2. Depending on the amount of dough prepared, roll into a ball and split in half. Bind the dough balls with plastic then place into the refrigerator for thirty minutes to an hour, allowing elasticity to form.

3. Clear an area on a counter, or table then sprinkle rice flour on the clean surface to roll the dough. Rice flour characterizes as gluten-free, therefore lessens a tough crust.  Parchment paper reserves as an alternative to roll dough, in between sheets, to avoid a mess.

4. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator to begin the rolling process. Using a floured rolling pin, flatten the dough from the middle, rolling outwards using a clockwise rotation. Replace the flour on the rolling pin and surface as needed to evade cracks and rips in the dough.

5. Once the dough successfully shapes a two-dimensional circle, fold down to make a half circle and again fold to the side. Place dough into a lightly greased pie dish. A greased pan allows the bottom of the crust to brown.

6. Unfold the quartered dough to cover the pie dish, gently pressing down, at the center of the dough, to fill out the pan. Begin to cast the edge of the crust until a desired design establishes. Cover the crust in plastic to refrigerate for an additional thirty minutes.

7. Ground a few graham crackers to spread a shrill layer across the bottom of the crust, as the crackers will absorb any spare liquid from the pie filling reducing a soggy end result. Slightly brush the edges of the crust with an egg mixture to achieve a golden brown, crunchiness when baking. To avoid burning the edge of the crust, place foil around, thin enough to cover the edge only.

The results of using these tips should aid in constructing a next to perfect pie crust.