Rinaldo September 27, 2015 Share September 27, 2015 For a trans-oceanic difference, what about "petit four"? Am I right that in the US this term applies exclusively to small (cube-shaped) iced cakes? In the GBBO, it encompassed a variety of small sweet (or savory) mouthfuls. And that seems to be the original French meaning as well, as I just found in Wikipedia. Link to comment
ceebee September 27, 2015 Share September 27, 2015 For a trans-oceanic difference, what about "petit four"? Am I right that in the US this term applies exclusively to small (cube-shaped) iced cakes? In the GBBO, it encompassed a variety of small sweet (or savory) mouthfuls. And that seems to be the original French meaning as well, as I just found in Wikipedia. Yes, that's what I understand by petit fours (selection of sweet or savoury mouthfuls). The little iced cubes you describe sound like 'fondant fancies' (which can be petit fours although bakeries and supermarkets sell bigger versions of them too. Too big to qualify as petit fours in my book). Link to comment
larapu2000 September 28, 2015 Share September 28, 2015 (edited) Is cream cake like Italian cream cake? I am gagging just thinking about it, because my mom loves that cake and I hate it but somehow she made it for a ton of my birthdays on the premise of "oh, I thought you liked that cake!" (She's much sweeter and thoughtful than she sounds, I promise) I also think of those gross cakes in the supermarket with the glaze when cream cake is referenced. I love the irony that a British mystery raised the question of cream cake and it has turned into its own mystery. Call the inspector straight away! Edited September 28, 2015 by larapu2000 1 Link to comment
bybrandy September 28, 2015 Share September 28, 2015 Flour: Cake Flour = ?? Regular = All purpose? Strong = Bread? Extra Strong = ??? Link to comment
QuelleC September 28, 2015 Share September 28, 2015 Cake flour is a "soft" flour that is less likely to develop gluten. Link to comment
meep.meep September 29, 2015 Share September 29, 2015 Then what are those cakes they sell in US grocery stores that are slightly lighter versions of pound cakes but drowned in glaze/icing? I thought those were called cream (or crème?) cakes. Twinkies Link to comment
ParadoxLost September 29, 2015 Share September 29, 2015 (edited) In America when you do no baking this is a crème cake This is why I do not understand these cream fillings you speak of. There is no cream in a crème cake:) Edited September 29, 2015 by ParadoxLost Link to comment
Stinger97 September 29, 2015 Share September 29, 2015 So, after a little bit of Googling, I found this video which shows pictures of some European "cream cakes." According to these folks, a cream cake is typically Chantilly cream, sandwiched between two pieces of sponge cake or pastry. The author of that video creates her own American version of cream cake, with a custard sandwiched between two pieces of puff pastry, with whipped cream layered on top. I don't know if that's an accurate portrayal of what European cream cakes typically are, but it makes the most sense to me. Like, more sense than a bundt cake being referred to as a "creme cake." 2 Link to comment
Rinaldo September 29, 2015 Share September 29, 2015 Flour: Cake Flour = ?? Regular = All purpose? Strong = Bread? Extra Strong = ??? I want to be sure I understand: are the UK terms on the left, and the US ones on the right? Because I see cake flour in US supermarkets all the time. That's extra fine flour -- a soft flour, as noted above. (A soft flour suitable for biscuits is also widely sold in the Southern US, where homemade biscuits reign.) The self-raising (or -rising) flour which they sometimes use on GBBO is also widely available in the US, but it's an interesting chronological difference: This product had its heyday in the US in the 1970s and one doesn't hear about it so much any more, whereas it seems to be just hitting its stride in the UK. Link to comment
Rickster September 30, 2015 Share September 30, 2015 I hardly ever see self raising flour in the US. Another question would be whether the baking powder in the US version is the same proportion as in the UK version. The one type of UK baking recipe I stay away from is anything using self raising flour. I don't know if extra strong is a UK term, but an equivalent in the US might be high gluten flour, which is used for things like bagels. Link to comment
Athena September 30, 2015 Author Share September 30, 2015 I make my own self-raising flour for UK recipes and I haven't had any issues. I make it in a big batch and use it when I need it. Dan Lepard, an Australian born UK based columnist on baking, has a blog article about types of flour and replacing UK, US or Italian 00 in this article on his blog. Link to comment
ceebee September 30, 2015 Share September 30, 2015 Is cream cake like Italian cream cake? I am gagging just thinking about it, because my mom loves that cake and I hate it but somehow she made it for a ton of my birthdays on the premise of "oh, I thought you liked that cake!" (She's much sweeter and thoughtful than she sounds, I promise) I also think of those gross cakes in the supermarket with the glaze when cream cake is referenced. I love the irony that a British mystery raised the question of cream cake and it has turned into its own mystery. Call the inspector straight away! Mission accepted! I went and did a little research for you guys. Well, whilst doing my shopping I 'investigated' the fridge signed "Fresh Cream Cakes" and there I found all manner of cakery and bakery filled with fresh whipped cream, or, here and there, creme patissiere/custard. There were meringues (filled with cream), American style muffins with the tops sliced off, (piped with cream and the tops put back on), chocolate eclairs and other choux pastries (filled with cream, obvs). (British) Scones, fruit and plain (with cream), torpedo shaped buns with a line of jam and a squirt of cream. On closer inspection, these were labelled 'cream doughnuts'. Individual tartlets (strawberry ones and banoffi pie) piped with the white stuff; vanilla slices (a top and bottom of iced puff pastry with a thick layer of custard in the middle). Also present was a selection of sponge cakes of various flavours, but layered with cream. Seems to me, the only common denominator was fresh whipped (dairy) cream or custard fillings/toppings in large squelchy quantities. Hope that helps! 4 Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo September 30, 2015 Share September 30, 2015 I make my own self-raising flour for UK recipes and I haven't had any issues. I make it in a big batch and use it when I need it. Dan Lepard, an Australian born UK based columnist on baking, has a blog article about types of flour and replacing UK, US or Italian 00 in this article on his blog. Awwww, Dan was one of the judges on the first season of The Great Australian Bake Off! I really liked his critiques. They have replaced everyone for the upcoming second season (which starts October 13!) so I hope the new judges measure up. 1 Link to comment
Athena September 30, 2015 Author Share September 30, 2015 Awwww, Dan was one of the judges on the first season of The Great Australian Bake Off! I really liked his critiques. They have replaced everyone for the upcoming second season (which starts October 13!) so I hope the new judges measure up. Dan is a good baker and very knowledgeable about global baking. He has a great column in the Guardian about baking. I know the female judge will be well loved, but that's all I know. We'll have to see in GABO :) Link to comment
larapu2000 October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 Mission accepted! I went and did a little research for you guys. Well, whilst doing my shopping I 'investigated' the fridge signed "Fresh Cream Cakes" and there I found all manner of cakery and bakery filled with fresh whipped cream, or, here and there, creme patissiere/custard. There were meringues (filled with cream), American style muffins with the tops sliced off, (piped with cream and the tops put back on), chocolate eclairs and other choux pastries (filled with cream, obvs). (British) Scones, fruit and plain (with cream), torpedo shaped buns with a line of jam and a squirt of cream. On closer inspection, these were labelled 'cream doughnuts'. Individual tartlets (strawberry ones and banoffi pie) piped with the white stuff; vanilla slices (a top and bottom of iced puff pastry with a thick layer of custard in the middle). Also present was a selection of sponge cakes of various flavours, but layered with cream. Seems to me, the only common denominator was fresh whipped (dairy) cream or custard fillings/toppings in large squelchy quantities. Hope that helps! Wow. I mean, I love you England, but that is a LOT of cream filled desserts. However, you took a muffin and filled it with cream?? Way to give healthy breakfasts a healthy middle finger. I love it. Well done. Also, now I'm hungry for banoffi pie. 1 Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 you took a muffin and filled it with cream?? Way to give healthy breakfasts a healthy middle finger. I love it. I remember someone once saying that muffins are just cake for breakfast (to which I replied, "What's wrong with that?!") so adding cream is almost like putting frosting on the inside! 1 Link to comment
Stinger97 October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 I remember someone once saying that muffins are just cake for breakfast (to which I replied, "What's wrong with that?!") so adding cream is almost like putting frosting on the inside! It really is, though! I love a good blueberry muffin myself, but I avoid them at all costs because I can't justify eating cake for breakfast. I know I'm adult and I can do what I want, but it just seems irresponsible! And also my waistline can't afford it. 2 Link to comment
ceebee October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 Wow. I mean, I love you England, but that is a LOT of cream filled desserts. I forgot the cream horns! 1 Link to comment
jenh526 October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 It really is, though! I love a good blueberry muffin myself, but I avoid them at all costs because I can't justify eating cake for breakfast. I know I'm adult and I can do what I want, but it just seems irresponsible! And also my waistline can't afford it. Once when I was visiting my brother when we were both well into our thirties, we decided to bake a cake (yellow with chocolate frosting). It was so good we ended up eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He still talks about recreating that experience. I personally see no problem with cake for breakfast - I justify it as being a whole lot better for you than having it for dessert after a large dinner! 3 Link to comment
shandy October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 Dan was one of the judges on the first season of The Great Australian Bake Off! I really liked his critiques. Dan was such a nice man, and I really felt I learnt things during his critiques, and especially about different flours. I sometimes think P Hollywood has turned into self parody, although that may be editing. There was something really genuine about Dan. Link to comment
Rinaldo October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 Some other linguistic equivalences that come up on the show, UK term (as heard on the show) first: kitchen paper = paper towel? baking spread = shortening? bicarb(onate) = baking soda? choux buns = cream puffs traybake = do we even have a generic term for something baked in a squarish pan (never "tray" here), then cut into squarish portions? Link to comment
ceebee October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 (edited) Some other linguistic equivalences that come up on the show, UK term (as heard on the show) first: kitchen paper = paper towel? baking spread = shortening? bicarb(onate) = baking soda? choux buns = cream puffs traybake = do we even have a generic term for something baked in a squarish pan (never "tray" here), then cut into squarish portions? Those sound right (but I don't know what baking spread is). Bicarb is short for bicarbonate of soda.Edit: I looked it up and it's a version of margarine, (though I'm not sure what makes it 'baking' spread) - is that shortening? Edited October 1, 2015 by ceebee Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 traybake = do we even have a generic term for something baked in a squarish pan (never "tray" here), then cut into squarish portions? I call those brownies ;) 1 Link to comment
Rickster October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 Some other linguistic equivalences that come up on the show, UK term (as heard on the show) first: kitchen paper = paper towel? baking spread = shortening? bicarb(onate) = baking soda? choux buns = cream puffs traybake = do we even have a generic term for something baked in a squarish pan (never "tray" here), then cut into squarish portions? I really have no idea, but I would have guessed in a baking context that kitchen paper is what in the US is called parchment paper. 1 Link to comment
ParadoxLost October 2, 2015 Share October 2, 2015 I can't take credit for this... Turnover (US) is pasty (UK). Pasties in the US are coverings to comply with nudity laws in strip clubs. Link to comment
Athena October 2, 2015 Author Share October 2, 2015 Traybakes really denote anything that is baked in a tray including but not limited to brownies, bar cookies, flapjacks, etc. 1 Link to comment
Rinaldo October 2, 2015 Share October 2, 2015 I really have no idea, but I would have guessed in a baking context that kitchen paper is what in the US is called parchment paper. I might have guessed that too, but Mary has been quite definite in the "masterclass" episodes: kitchen paper is used to grease a tin, or to wipe up a spill -- just what I would use a paper towel for. "Parchment paper" seems to be a term happily identical in both countries. Traybakes really denote anything that is baked in a tray including but not limited to brownies, bar cookies, flapjacks, etc. Careful, Athena! :) In the US, "flapjacks" are pancakes! 1 Link to comment
Stinger97 October 2, 2015 Share October 2, 2015 Careful, Athena! :) In the US, "flapjacks" are pancakes! I was about to ask how one cooks a pancake in a tray! I see now that they're muesli bars, which makes much more sense. Link to comment
QuelleC October 2, 2015 Share October 2, 2015 What's confusing to me is that every pan, kettle, tray, form etc seems to be called a tin. That's damned annoying. Even canned things are tins. 1 Link to comment
shandy October 2, 2015 Share October 2, 2015 Try as I might, I can't get my head around traybake, it sounds unappetizing to me, like industrial catering. Kitchen roll is what the Irish call paper towels... This thread is so fun, sheer perfection as M would say ;-) Link to comment
Pallida October 2, 2015 Share October 2, 2015 How common is glass bakeware in the UK? I realized tonight that the vast majority of my bakeware is glass and I don't remember seeing glass on the show. Link to comment
Rinaldo October 2, 2015 Share October 2, 2015 I don't know the answer to that one, but it reminds me that (in the master classes especially), apparently any container with any kind of spout to facilitate pouring is called a jug? I saw Mary and Paul apply the term to things I would call a pitcher, or just a measuring cup with a pouring spout. (To me, a jug is a bottle-like container with a squat rounded shape -- usually though not always for wine.) Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo October 2, 2015 Share October 2, 2015 Careful, Athena! :) In the US, "flapjacks" are pancakes! Ha, a year or so ago, Mr. EB and I were watching another British food show and the host said he was going to make flapjacks. Mr. EB loooooooves pancakes so he got all excited until it turned out to be some sort of granola/oat thing. We both eat granola and oatmeal, but I had to agree with him that when you're expecting pancakes and you get a granola bar it's pretty disappointing. 6 Link to comment
ABay October 17, 2015 Share October 17, 2015 WTF with all the cardamon? I have never used cardamon in my life. Link to comment
ceebee October 17, 2015 Share October 17, 2015 (edited) WTF with all the cardamon? I have never used cardamon in my life.Perhaps there's much more Indian influence in British food (than in the US)?. I use cardamon often (but always in Indian or British-Indian food). It became quite trendy a while back to use it in desserts. Cardamon-coffee ice cream is yummy!Cardamon - cardamom ? Edited October 17, 2015 by ceebee Link to comment
shandy October 18, 2015 Share October 18, 2015 I think cardamom is a stealth spice, it quietly is in a lot of things without a fanfare. Kardemumma crisp rolls from IKEA are subtle and great with savory or sweet toppings. When I had my first chai latte my taste buds went straight back to Sweden. Trader Joe's pumpkin spice mix has cardamom in it and less clove, which I prefer, as some of the more clove heavy ones remind me of dental procedures. Link to comment
Silverleaf October 18, 2015 Share October 18, 2015 Have never heard of parchment paper, we call it grease proof paper. A kettle only boils water. I have no idea what a form is. A measuring jug (usually just called a jug) is I guess what you are calling a measuring cup with a spout. A bottle like container with a squat rounded bottom would be a decanter or carafe. A water jug is like a pitcher. I learnt today that pigs in blankets are different in the US. Think I will have to make flapjacks (the golden syrupy, oaty type) tomorrow after this thread Link to comment
editorgrrl October 18, 2015 Share October 18, 2015 (edited) I'm not even sure there's an American counterpart or version of Leibenz or Digestives. Isn't LU Petit Ecolier the equivalent of Bahlsen Choco Leibniz? LU Pim's are definitely knockoff Jaffa Cakes. My US supermarket has Walkers shortbread in the cookie aisle, but the same store in a neighboring town also has an "international foods" section with McVities digestives. The only place I've found UK-style flapjacks in the US is Graze: https://www.graze.com/us/explore/flapjack. Edited to bring this over from "S04.E03: Desserts": Every trifle I've had in the US involved instant pudding and Cool Whip, a fluffy nondairy dessert topping that comes frozen in a tub. Like this recipe, with brownies & Oreo cookies: http://www.frugalfanatic.com/oreo-trifle-recipe/ Edited October 18, 2015 by editorgrrl Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo October 19, 2015 Share October 19, 2015 Obligatory trifle reference: 2 Link to comment
ABay October 21, 2015 Share October 21, 2015 Addendum to WTF with all the cardamon: WTF with all the passion fruit? 1 Link to comment
3 is enough October 23, 2015 Share October 23, 2015 Jumping in to add my two cents about electric kettles. They are becoming easier to find in the stores in the US, but when I moved here from Canada (where everyone has one) in 1991 and mine broke I had a heck of a time finding a new one. And try finding a decent teapot- the kind that has the strainer at the inside opening to the spout- next to impossible. Canada is sort of a middle ground between the US and the UK. A lot of the British terms are familiar to me as a Canadian- icing sugar for example. Sultanas are referred to as "Golden Raisins" in the US- my Scottish-born grandfather used to call them sultanas. 1 Link to comment
Rickster October 24, 2015 Share October 24, 2015 Perhaps there's much more Indian influence in British food (than in the US)?. I use cardamon often (but always in Indian or British-Indian food). It became quite trendy a while back to use it in desserts. Cardamon-coffee ice cream is yummy! Cardamon - cardamom ? In general, in baking the use of Cardamom is of Scandinavian origin. Why, I don't know, and it way precedes any direct Indian influence. That said, the UK use could be impacted by Indian immigrant cuisine as well. 3 Link to comment
larapu2000 October 26, 2015 Share October 26, 2015 Why not passion fruit? It's delicious! Wish we used it more in the States outside of high end restaurants. There's a company called Wild Bird Preserves in Chicago that makes to die for passion fruit curd. Best cake filling ever. Link to comment
DHDancer October 26, 2015 Share October 26, 2015 Why not passion fruit? It's delicious! Wish we used it more in the States outside of high end restaurants. There's a company called Wild Bird Preserves in Chicago that makes to die for passion fruit curd. Best cake filling ever. Thanks for that reference. A bit of a google around and I found this link: http://rarebirdpreserves.bigcartel.com/ Not cheap (and I wouldn't expect it to be -- curds are by their nature expensive) but I will be ordering some. I MISS fresh passionfruit! It's so hard to come by especially here in Portland OR (and very expensive if you can find it). Try adding passionfruit to lemon meringue pie for something truly special :) 1 Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo October 26, 2015 Share October 26, 2015 Ha, my mom grows passion fruit in her backyard in California because she loves the flowers, but she doesn't like the fruit so she's constantly trying to give it away to the girls in her halau. 1 Link to comment
larapu2000 October 26, 2015 Share October 26, 2015 Thanks for that reference. A bit of a google around and I found this link: http://rarebirdpreserves.bigcartel.com/ Not cheap (and I wouldn't expect it to be -- curds are by their nature expensive) but I will be ordering some. I MISS fresh passionfruit! It's so hard to come by especially here in Portland OR (and very expensive if you can find it). Try adding passionfruit to lemon meringue pie for something truly special :) YES! That's it. Don't know why "Wild Bird" got stuck in my head. It really is great-all of their products are. They used to sell it at the farmer's market in my neighborhood when I lived in Chicago. Awesome tip on the passionfruit with lemon meringue-do you add passion fruit to the curd when you're making it, or at some other step? Link to comment
meep.meep October 26, 2015 Share October 26, 2015 OK you experts: what are Chelsea buns? 1 Link to comment
ElectricBoogaloo October 26, 2015 Share October 26, 2015 What's a halau?Sorry, it's what a hula group is called. Link to comment
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