Hey everyone! Sometimes I get a lot of baking questions, sometimes I have answers. I can usually tell you things like why your angel food cake turns into something resembling a brick, why your pie crust tastes like clay, or give you a really good recipe for that thing you want.
I think it'll go like this: write a question in the comments. If it's an easy answer, you'll get a response also in the comments, if not, you'll get a blog post. In addition I might also post things that I think everyone should know.
Tell your friends, your mom, or your puppy.. because if I had a puppy, I would tell him.
Ask away!
Hi There! So when I make cheesecake I find that the sides cook much faster than the middle. Is there a way to get a nice even bake on the cake so that the sides aren't dry and the top doesn't crack?
ReplyDeleteWhy do your baked goods taste like they have descended from the heavens singing sweet songs of deliciousness, while mine are more... "meh"?
ReplyDelete<3, your sister
@ Jesse -you're silly and I like you. This will be covered in "things I think everyone should know!
ReplyDelete@Noelle - those are great questions! You, my dear, will be getting a cheesecake post!
"a really good recipe for that thing you want", eh? Look again. The recipe is now DIAMONDS.
ReplyDeleteWell, I was going to trawl my favourite food blogs for recipes for a couple of things I want to bake soon, but maybe you have a good recipe to share, so.. I am planning to try baking a chocolate souffle sometime soon, and also a chocolate fondant cake.
Okay, this isn't exactly a baking question, but it's a dessert question, and that's practically the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI seem to have a lot of trouble with cornstarch. When I make the lemon inside for Lemon Meringue Pie, it's very often gloppy. And I made pudding the other day, with 2 cups of milk, 2 egg yolks, and 2 tablespoons cornstarch, as the recipe called for, I boiled for a minute, and -- yep. Gloppy.
What am I doing wrong?
@Lisa - I might recommend this for you: http://www.joyofbaking.com/MoltenChocolateCakes.html
ReplyDelete@Brody - when you say "gloppy" do you mean too thick and gelatinous? Your milk to egg yolk/cornstarch ratio seems pretty high. Could you explain your desired consistency?
No, I mean not thick enough. I'd like both textures to be soft but firm. My miscreants had no firmness at all. I could pour them out of their containers. And promptly did.
ReplyDeleteYay Ellie, this is awesome!
ReplyDeleteSo, I have been meaning for a while now to start making some bread. Bread is awesome and delicious and SOOOO much better when it's fresh.
But also, bread is scary. So many steps, and it seems like they're all so open to interpretation. What is a good basic bread that is harder to screw up, something like a French bread maybe? And if you could show pictures of the tricky steps, like what it looks like when it rises and things like that, maybe I won't be such a scaredy cat.
@Laurel - I think this would be perfect for you. This blog has great step by step picture guides for beginners. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2009/12/01/the-crunchiest-crackliest-chewiest-lightest-easiest-bread-youll-ever-bake/
ReplyDelete@Brody - Cornstarch can be pretty finicky, and frankly I have problems with it myself. Here's my suggestion - if you have a cornstarch only recipe and you find it turns out too thin, make a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch & cold water) and whisk it into the pudding a little bit at a time until you get your desired consistency. Make sure you go slow, and remember that it will thicken more when it cools. Just don't do this with a recipe with egg in it, you'll end up curdling the eggs. Alternatively, just experiment with recipes until you find one you like.
Yeah that looks great!
ReplyDeleteAnother question though... why do they have me make so much dough at once, and then only use 1/3 of it? Can I just make 1/3 of the dough and use all of it for the loaf?
Also where should I get one of those baking bucket thingys?
Excellent suggestion! Thanks a million, Ellie!
ReplyDeleteOn to my perfect pudding!
@Laurel - Yes, I'd say you could make a third and be fine. You could probably find a bucket like that at target or walmart.
ReplyDelete