The Baking Topic

[CheshireCat]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I would love to try that German plum or prune cake you described

I can send you the (a) recipe if you like. Prunes are hard to find in the DMV area. If they're available, you can get them late summer/early fall. But maybe they're easier to find elsewhere.

It's made with prunes because they're juicier but I'm sure plums would work as well.

[annzeepark914]

On 3/5/2023 at 6:36 PM, BooksRule said:

I've found that Jiffy does well as muffins, but doesn't rise up enough for me if I use it to make a small square pan of cornbread.  It's too thin.  I do buy if when I want cornbread to go with soup or something, because making the muffins is fine.  It works well if you want to use it as a base for something else (such as a casserole that calls for a cornbread layer or topping.  I find that it works as well as making cornbread from scratch.

I've only made this once or twice, but I ate at a restaurant in Lexington, KY a long time ago that had the best cornbread.  They were known for it and gave out postcards with the recipe.  I lost the recipe, but googling will find it.  If you want a thick cornbread that has sour cream, cream corn, and yes, it does have sugar in it, along with the usual cornbread ingredients, try this one (it almost has the texture of a pound cake and makes a big pan): https://www.cooks.com/recipe/b872n0xw/deshas-homemade-cornbread.html 

I make my Jiffy cornbread in an 8x8 baking dish and it's never thin. The directions say to let it sit several minutes before placing in oven so that it can rise. Thanks for the recipe link. I need to try a cornbread from scratch recipe.

[EtheltoTillie]

Here's what the hamantaschen look like.  A bit sloppy!  The prune lekvar is thick and holds up to the baking process.  The raspberry and apricot tend to leak a bit.

 

10 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I can send you the (a) recipe if you like. Prunes are hard to find in the DMV area. If they're available, you can get them late summer/early fall. But maybe they're easier to find elsewhere.

It's made with prunes because they're juicier but I'm sure plums would work as well.

Yes, please send the recipe. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[Mondrianyone]

I've been waiting for someone to mention hamantaschen with mohn (poppy seed) filling. My grandmother used to do those for me, since I don't typically like things filled with fruit jams. It prompted me to look up how to make it. And maybe I will!

[caitmcg]

17 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I can send you the (a) recipe if you like. Prunes are hard to find in the DMV area. If they're available, you can get them late summer/early fall. But maybe they're easier to find elsewhere.

It's made with prunes because they're juicier but I'm sure plums would work as well.

By prunes, do you perchance mean the fresh Italian prune plums, as they’re usually called in the US vs. the dried fruit? Late summer/early fall is their season.

[EtheltoTillie]

8 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

I've been waiting for someone to mention hamantaschen with mohn (poppy seed) filling. My grandmother used to do those for me, since I don't typically like things filled with fruit jams. It prompted me to look up how to make it. And maybe I will!

I have never made anything with mohn, but I have had it from a bakery. 

6 hours ago, caitmcg said:

By prunes, do you perchance mean the fresh Italian prune plums, as they’re usually called in the US vs. the dried fruit? Late summer/early fall is their season.

I have never had these. I am going to look for them come fall. 

[EtheltoTillie]

@Mondrianyone, I bet you would like the prune version if you like poppy. It’s got similarities. 

[Mondrianyone]

I bet you're right! I was the only kid I've ever heard of who chugged prune juice from the bottle. Apparently it's an acquired taste.

Don't eat the mohn ones if you have to be drug-tested, though.

[chessiegal]

9 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

Don't eat the mohn ones if you have to be drug-tested, though.

That's a myth. A colleague of mine did a study on consuming poppy seeds as an excuse for why they failed a drug test. He was the head of a military crime lab and heard that excuse often enough that he had people consume massive amounts of poppy seeds to test it. No one turned up positive.

[EtheltoTillie]

16 minutes ago, Mondrianyone said:

I bet you're right! I was the only kid I've ever heard of who chugged prune juice from the bottle. Apparently it's an acquired taste.

Don't eat the mohn ones if you have to be drug-tested, though.

Yeah, I used to like the stewed prunes in a jar when I was a kid.  I love that they have them at a British full breakfast buffet. 

[Mondrianyone]

1 minute ago, chessiegal said:

That's a myth. A colleague of mine did a study on consuming poppy seeds as an excuse for why they failed a drug test. He was the head of a military crime lab and heard that excuse often enough that he had people consume massive amounts of poppy seeds to test it. No one turned up positive.

Well, the NIH disagrees with your colleague. Maybe s/he got a bad batch of poppy seeds.

And I was just kidding. I'm pretty sure EtoT doesn't get tested for opiates.

[Meredith Quill]

23 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Yeah, I used to like the stewed prunes in a jar when I was a kid.  I love that they have them at a British full breakfast buffet. 

That is super old-skool, I haven't seen prunes at a breakfast buffet in f-o-r-e-v-e-r. It's been so long I forgot it was ever once a thing until I read your post, yikes. I suspect you would only see that now if the establishment has a high % of older folk clientele.

[Bastet]

22 hours ago, caitmcg said:

By prunes, do you perchance mean the fresh Italian prune plums, as they’re usually called in the US vs. the dried fruit? Late summer/early fall is their season.

Interesting.  I only know prunes as dried plums, and I hate dried fruit -- the desiccated, chewy remains of something once juicy and delicious.

[isalicat]

4 hours ago, Bastet said:

Interesting.  I only know prunes as dried plums, and I hate dried fruit -- the desiccated, chewy remains of something once juicy and delicious.

Which is why I hate raisins! I refer to them as "ruined grapes". Friends who have fancy air dryers keep sending me dried banana chips, dried apricots, etc. etc. - all vile, in my opinion. 😾

[JustHereForFood]

On 3/7/2023 at 12:08 AM, CheshireCat said:

Why? 

Plum (prune) cake is extremely popular in Germany. It's a simple yeast dough spread out on a baking sheet and halved prunes on top, usually with cinnamon. Then it goes into the oven. Or you can put Streusel on top (which I prefer). Traditionally, it's then eaten with whipped cream.

It's popular here in Slovakia as well (minus the whipped cream - I've never seen that). Alternatively, you can also use fresh apricots.

IMO, both plums and apricots belong to a category of fruit that tastes much better when heat treated -  baked, cooked in dumplings, compote, etc.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Not too often (ever?) that wet goes directly into flour, but hey, there might be 5 recipes in the history of baking where this would be helpful, lol. I kind of love it for those 5, so long as your measuring vessel doesn't have a thick wall.

[oliviabenson]

This year I tried hazelnut/Nutella hamentashen. Ummm they were delicious!

On 3/7/2023 at 5:15 PM, caitmcg said:

By prunes, do you perchance mean the fresh Italian prune plums, as they’re usually called in the US vs. the dried fruit? Late summer/early fall is their season.

Those Italian plums are delicious!

[caitmcg]

On 3/11/2023 at 5:30 PM, SuprSuprElevated said:

Not too often (ever?) that wet goes directly into flour, but hey, there might be 5 recipes in the history of baking where this would be helpful, lol. I kind of love it for those 5, so long as your measuring vessel doesn't have a thick wall.

I’ve learned that a thin film of oil makes sticky ingredients slide right out, so if I’m baking something with oil, I measure that first and pour it out to leave a film, and otherwise I smear a little drop of neutral oil around in the measuring vessel. Makes them easier to clean, too.

[BooksRule]

I was going to make a treat to take to work today for St. Patrick's Day, but didn't have time.  So, I'm going to bake up something on Sunday to take to work on Monday.  'St. Patrick's Day treat' basically translates to some type of brownie, bar cookie or cake that has some green component in it.  I think I'm just going to take the easy way out and make a 'Lime Poke Cake'--white sheet cake, with ribbons of green from pouring lime jello in the holes.  Frosted with whipped cream and decorated with whatever green sprinkle-type candy decor I can find in the pantry.  I love making poke cakes, but usually choose the recipes that have a pudding and/or cream cheese mixture as the filling (I do have a key lime one that is luscious, but will save that one for summer).  But the jello kind is kind of how traditional poke cakes started, and they are pretty.  And easy.

[SuprSuprElevated]

Think I know the answer, but...

I was going to bake cookies for my husband, took the cold butter out of fridge, and placed in microwave, not to use it, but just turned the surface light on beneath it, so it would warm the butter gently (micro is an over-the-stove type). 

Yeah, I forgot about it, and it half melted. Is it now unusable for the cookies (I re-chilled it)?

Edited March 18, 2023 by SuprSuprElevated

[EtheltoTillie]

7 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Think I know the answer, but...

I was going to bake cookies for my husband, took the cold butter out of fridge, and placed in microwave, not to use it, but just turned the surface light on beneath it, so it would warm the butter gently (micro is an over-the-stove type). 

Yeah, I forgot about it, and it half melted. Is it now unusable for the cookies (I re-chilled it)?

I have no definitive answer.  Probably start over with new butter and save the other butter for something else. But it might not matter.

I baked soda bread yesterday, and I was between two recipes almost exactly the same.  Ina Garten has you use cold chopped up butter and the Joy of Cooking has you use melted butter. 

[GreekGeek]

For St. Patrick's Day, I brought Matcha Pound Cake to school. Not especially Irish, but it is something that's green without using food coloring. I've brought in things with Bailey's in the past, but there are staff who avoid anything with alcohol for religious reasons. I was afraid the green powder on top would look like mold, but it turned out to be a big hit.

[Meredith Quill]

It's Mothering Sunday here in the UK tomorrow.

I made one of these

and two of these

All vanilla with vanilla buttercream this time (safest option when you don't know what people like/dislike).

[EtheltoTillie]

More beautiful work, @SilverStormm

[Gramto6]

Just beautiful!!

[chessiegal]

@SilverStormm You should go on one of Food Network's baking competition shows. 

[Meredith Quill]

56 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

@SilverStormm You should go on one of Food Network's baking competition shows. 

Aw believe me, there's people out there FAR better than I. I'm still a work-in-progress, but I'll take the compliment, thank you, that's made my day. 

[Mondrianyone]

18 hours ago, SilverStormm said:

It's Mothering Sunday here in the UK tomorrow.

I made one of these

and two of these

All vanilla with vanilla buttercream this time (safest option when you don't know what people like/dislike).

Every time you post photos, I have a new favorite, @SilverStormm. This time it's your hydrangeas. So lovely!

[Meredith Quill]

4 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

Every time you post photos, I have a new favorite, @SilverStormm. This time it's your hydrangeas. So lovely!

Aww thanks and hee, which ones do you mean? I didn't do hydrangeas this time! I'm wondering if you mean the alliums as they look rather like mini hydrangeas?

[Mondrianyone]

I must've meant the alliums, then. I always think of alliums as being purple and spherical, so I assumed they were hydrangeas. Exquisite whichever they are.

[supposebly]

9 hours ago, SilverStormm said:

Aw believe me, there's people out there FAR better than I. I'm still a work-in-progress, but I'll take the compliment, thank you, that's made my day. 

 

On 3/18/2023 at 4:43 PM, SilverStormm said:

It's Mothering Sunday here in the UK tomorrow.

I made one of these

and two of these

All vanilla with vanilla buttercream this time (safest option when you don't know what people like/dislike).

You call this work-in-progress? This is art!

[WendyCR72]

On 3/18/2023 at 6:43 PM, SilverStormm said:

It's Mothering Sunday here in the UK tomorrow.

I made one of these

and two of these

All vanilla with vanilla buttercream this time (safest option when you don't know what people like/dislike).

I just saw this bunch of photos. These photos are magazine-worthy, @SilverStormm and look scrumptious.

You really have talent.

[Meredith Quill]

10 hours ago, Mondrianyone said:

I must've meant the alliums, then. I always think of alliums as being purple and spherical, so I assumed they were hydrangeas. Exquisite whichever they are.

I don't know if the same is true in nature but in the floral cupcake world they come in many colours, heh. They are somewhat domed but to be fair, the angle I took the photo at doesn't make that very obvious. As you can tell, I'm not an experienced photographer... derp.

8 hours ago, supposebly said:

You call this work-in-progress? This is art!

I call my ability level a work-in-progress but thank you for the smile!

6 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I just saw this bunch of photos. These photos are magazine-worthy, @SilverStormm and look scrumptious.

You really have talent.

Aww, thank you.

Honestly, I wasn't feeling these as much as others I've done and as someone with adhd it's too easy for me to get demotivated when something doesn't live up to my own (maybe too high) expectations - so truly, thank you everyone. Your comments have helped put the pep back in my baking step! ♥️

[CheshireCat]

On 3/9/2023 at 4:52 PM, JustHereForFood said:

It's popular here in Slovakia as well (minus the whipped cream - I've never seen that).

I think we eat whipped cream with pretty much everything in Germany. It's fairly popular. We have entire cakes that are "Sahnetorte" which translates to heavy cream/whipped cream cake.

 

On 3/17/2023 at 9:53 PM, SuprSuprElevated said:

Think I know the answer, but...

I was going to bake cookies for my husband, took the cold butter out of fridge, and placed in microwave, not to use it, but just turned the surface light on beneath it, so it would warm the butter gently (micro is an over-the-stove type). 

Yeah, I forgot about it, and it half melted. Is it now unusable for the cookies (I re-chilled it)?

I completely missed that post... There are recipes that call for melted butter, so if they're cookies that don't have to be rolled out, I'd definitely try using the half-melted butter. I'd also try it if the cookies were just for the family.

What I would do is whip the butter for a minute or so before adding anything else since what happened in the microwave is just that the fats separated and water evaporated. Less water is actually not a bad thing for cookies.

[SuprSuprElevated]

2 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I completely missed that post... There are recipes that call for melted butter, so if they're cookies that don't have to be rolled out, I'd definitely try using the half-melted butter. I'd also try it if the cookies were just for the family.

What I would do is whip the butter for a minute or so before adding anything else since what happened in the microwave is just that the fats separated and water evaporated. Less water is actually not a bad thing for cookies.

Awesome info!  Thanks for answering.

Edited March 21, 2023 by SuprSuprElevated

[annzeepark914]

I need some info' re: cupcakes. I've tried making them using Duncan Hines cake mix. The first batch were devils food. Tasted awful. Second batch was a strawberry cake mix. I subbed melted butter for the oil & milk for the water. Taste was better but the texture was spongey (same with the first batch). I've used mixes in the past & had ok cakes. Have the DH folks done something to their mixes?  I'm a decent cook but just an ok baker so I was trying to make cupcakes the easy way. I googled cupcakes but all the reviews kept mentioning spongey texture. Does anyone have an old fashioned recipe for cupcakes? Lots of questions here, but I'm curious.😊

 

[Meredith Quill]

I have a basic vanilla cupcake recipe that never fails me, however, it's in UK terminology... but here you go.

Quote

 

• 8 ounces sifted self-raising flour (unsure what this is called in the US)
• 8 ounces caster sugar (unsure what this is called in the US)
• 8 ounces butter
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

METHOD

1. Put the flour and caster sugar in a large bowl and mix together.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients and mix with a hand mixer for approximately 1 minute.
3. Use a muffin pan or cupcake pan and line with cupcake cases (in the US you should use jumbo cases) fill the cases 3/4 full.
4. Place in a preheated oven 150-160c, 300f, Gas Mark 2 for approximately 24 minutes.
5. Once cooked remove straight from the oven and immediately take the cupcakes out of the muffin tray onto a wire rack to cool completely.

 

When baking, all ingredients should be at room temp (not chilled) for best results.

ETA This will result in flat top cupcakes, which are desirable for decorating. If you want domed cupcakes, put a small extra dollop of batter in the cases.

[Lovecat]

I think you can buy self-rising flour in the US, but instead of running all over looking for it you can just add 1.5 t baking powder and .5 t salt to 1 cup of all-purpose flour.

You can substitute regular granulated sugar for caster sugar in a 1:1 ratio, or you can blitz your granulated sugar in a food processor for 3-4 pulses (caster sugar has a consistency that is somewhere between granulated sugar and powdered/confectioner's sugar).  You can also buy "superfine" sugar in the store, same thing as caster sugar (or close enough).

[Meredith Quill]

One dozen strawberry cupcakes (both strawberry sponge & buttercream) I made for practice today.

 

^first attempt at 'flowerbuds' - that's what practising is for!

[CheshireCat]

The set looks beautiful and the rose with the two buds is SO pretty. (And your color schemes and use of sprinkles/glitter are so right up my alley. I have yet to see a cupcake of yours that wouldn't be like I'd order them if I'd order them for an occasion).

[SuprSuprElevated]

I'm curious @SilverStormm - 

How much time would you estimate it takes to complete the decorating of a cupcake like the examples above? 

Edited March 27, 2023 by SuprSuprElevated

[Meredith Quill]

No more than a few minutes per cupcake really. Some more, some less, depending on the intricacy but evens out to a few mins per cake either way. And I'm slow compared to those who have been doing it for years. It takes me roughly 1 - 1.5hrs to do a dozen like the above; which averages out to between 5mins - 7.5mins each.

[Meredith Quill]

@emma675 Lol, I'm genuinely unsure whether your reaction means it's faster or slower than you imagined? 

[emma675]

@SilverStormm so much faster! I can't even imagine creating something that intricate so quickly. 

[Meredith Quill]

On 3/27/2023 at 4:26 PM, emma675 said:

@SilverStormm so much faster! I can't even imagine creating something that intricate so quickly. 

Perhaps I'll film myself piping one someday to show it in real time... perhaps. Not anytime soon though, lol. #organisedchaos

[EtheltoTillie]

Thanks for the cupcake recipe @SilverStormm.  I'd like to have a tried and true recipe I could count on.

[Meredith Quill]

This week I'm producing a few Easter Treat goodie boxes for the girlies in my immediate family. Some stuff will be bought, some made, some bought & tweaked by adding my own stamp onto them. One idea I'm doing in place of traditional chocolate Easter eggs is, a halved choc egg, filled with broken up brownies then decorated with buttercream swirls and fondant carrots/sprinkles/whatever looks cute. Other things I'm planning to include are; fudge fingers, soft & chewy cookie sandwiches, geometric chocolate cake hearts, vanilla macarons, iced sugar cookies, decorated doughnuts and of course, a couple of vanilla swirl cupcakes. I'm going to have a busy Fri/Sat this week!

[FormerMod-a1]

Does anyone else make spiced brownies?  I made these dark chocolate spice brownies with Ghirardelli chocolate, cinnamon, and a hint of cayenne.  I made them for a dinner at a friend's house last Sunday and forgot to take pictures.  These are just the few I kept for myself at home. 

I've done other variations on the spices, in the past.

[CheshireCat]

8 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

Does anyone else make spiced brownies?

Usually only for Christmas when I add gingerbread spice. Did I make Spekulatius Spice once? I don't recall. I may have. 😂

[Meredith Quill]

I produced five Easter treat boxes, all very similar with small differences. Only posting one for that reason, but will post all five if anyone is specifically curious enough.

Open box

 

Finished box

 

Contents:

1. Half chocolate egg filled with homemade brownies and decorated with vanilla buttercream and topped with sprinkles, mini eggs, fondant carrot, white choc bunny & acrylic toppers
2. Vanilla cupcakes
3. Iced sugar cookies
4. Large soft & chewy milk choc chip cookie sandwich
5. Fudge fingers 
6. Various flavour macarons
7. Geometric cake filled chocolate heart
8. Mini sugar ring doughnuts
9. Rocky Road bites
10. Marshmallow lollipop & 'kebab'
11. Mini marshmallows, chocolate mini eggs, pick & mix sweets

The large decorated ring doughnuts never made the cut because I ran out of room in the boxes!

Happy Easter to all who celebrate