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Jennifer asks: I have an old family recipe that states “beat egg yolks and sugar adding coffee mixture during the last 15 min.” How long should I be beating the egg yolks/sugar total? I believe this cake would be a sponge cake.
Baking S.O.S. says: That’s a really tricky question. Without reading the entire recipe, it is difficult to interpret that one line. 15 minutes is a really long time to beat egg yolks & sugar–especially if you were supposed to be mixing them for a while BEFORE the last 15 minutes!
From my experience, the purpose of beating eggs or yolks & sugar together is to incorporate air bubbles into the eggs which in turn helps the cake rise. And it is especially important to beat the eggs properly in a sponge cake because that is the ONLY thing that makes a sponge cake rise! (Some updated sponge cake recipes call for baking powder, but older, traditional recipes do not.) Recipes typically say to WHIP the eggs & sugar (if you have an electric mixer with a whip attachment, that works best) until they are double or even triple in volume. The amount of time that you whip the eggs is less important than the amount of air you whip into the eggs.
I would suggest using the whip attachment and whip the yolks & sugar until they are triple in volume. If the recipe also asks you to whip egg whites separately and fold them into the cake batter at the end, do so very gently and carefully so as not to deflate the air that you whipped into the egg yolks. I generally add the whipped egg whites in 3 stages and fold in very gently.
I hope that helps. Good luck!
Jennifer replies: Your rationale is very helpful. I think my problem was with the folding of the egg whites.
My great-grandmother emigrated to the U.S. from Sweden in the early 1900’s, so perhaps the mention of time in this recipe was due to lack of English for translation and the absence of an electric mixer.
Janice says: Good morning. I baked a beautiful apple pie last night to serve to a guest tonight. I realized while the pie was in the oven that I had grabbed the “cumin” spice jar instead of the “cinnamon”! Uggg! I tasted the pie this morning and it’s not bad, but I would be too embarrassed to serve it to my guest. Do you have any suggestions? Perhaps cut the pie, lift the top crust and sprinkle cinnamon on each piece? Thank you.
Baking S.O.S. says: I can honestly say that I have never gotten a question like this before, so you present an interesting challenge!!
After giving it some thought and researching recipe ideas on-line, I think you have 2 options:
1) If you really are too embarrassed to serve the pie to your guest, you may need to come up with a “plan B” dessert and make something completely different rather than try to salvage the pie.
2) If you are feeling adventurous, then there may be a few ideas you could try to salvage the pie and still serve it to your guest.
My inclination is to steer away from trying to mask the cumin flavor with cinnamon. I’m afraid the two strongly-flavored spices will clash and make it taste worse than it does now. Since you said it tastes OK now, I think you should add some complementary ingredients to enhance the cumin flavor.
I am thinking more of a savory apple pie rather than a traditional sweet apple pie. . . Though I have never tried cheese on an apple pie, I know it is a common preference for many people. With that in mind, I researched several recipes on-line for “savory apple pie” and “apple pie with cheese.” Many people prefer the taste of cheddar cheese with apple pie, but I also found recipes using Gruyere and Asiago cheeses, too. You could try sprinkling some of your favorite cheese shredded on top of the pie and return it to the oven just until melted. I think the cheese would be a nice complement to the cumin flavor of the pie.
Also, instead of serving your pie with ice cream or whipped cream, I would suggest serving it with creme fraiche instead. Creme fraiche is a French version of sour cream but thinner in texture. I think the tangy taste of creme fraiche would both complement the cumin as well as add a sophisticated, gourmet touch to your pie.
I believe you can buy ready-made creme fraiche at specialty gourmet stores, or you can make it at home as follows:
Combine 1 cup heavy whipping cream with 2 tablespoons buttermilk in a glass container. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 8 hours until very thick. Stir well before serving. Refrigerate and use within 10 days.
I think these additions could help make your pie really unique and delicious if you are willing to take the chance. Good luck, and let me know how it turns out!
I belong to a CSA–community supported agriculture–where I purchase a “share” or a portion of the crops grown by a local farm. Organic, fresh vegetables and fruits are delivered to my door once a week, and it is always an exciting surprise to see what will be in my delivery each week. When beets arrived in my order, I decided to try something a little different: I made dessert!
I found a recipe for Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting in Cooking Light magazine, and I was intrigued. Essentially, the recipe is like a carrot cake, but it uses beets in place of the carrots. I was amazed as I prepared the cake batter: it was bright pink! But as it baked, it turned to a muted brown instead. I baked the batter in cupcake pans rather than cake pans, and it turned out just fine.
The flavor of the cake was very mild. In fact, the beet flavor was complete overwhelmed by the orange flavor of the citrus cream cheese frosting. Several friends suggested that a goat cheese frosting might complement the beet flavor a little better rather than overwhelming it, so I include a Goat Cheese Frosting recipe here, as well, though I haven’t tested it yet. (If you try it, let me know how it tastes!)
Beet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
From Cooking Light Magazine March 2001
Ingredients
Cake:
1 pound beets (about 2 medium)
Cooking spray
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup 1% low-fat milk
Frosting:
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, chilled
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts, toasted
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare cake, peel beets using a vegetable peeler. Grate beets, using the large holes of a grater, to measure 2 cups.
Coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper with cooking spray.
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well-blended. Add beets; beat well. Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (flour through salt) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Pour batter into prepared pans; sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks; remove from pans. Carefully peel off parchment paper, and cool cake completely on wire racks.
To prepare frosting, beat orange rind, vanilla, and cream cheese with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar; beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat).
Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/2 cup frosting; top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle nuts over top of cake. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator.
Goat Cheese Frosting (as an alternative to the citrus cream cheese frosting)
Ingredients
10 ounce fresh, mild chèvre (goat cheese), at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar
Directions
Beat goat cheese, cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add powdered sugar and mix until combined.
This is my OWN problem with my OWN recipe that I have been making for 12+ years! You would think that after so much time, I would have gotten it right by NOW! But I have a real love-hate relationship with this cake recipe: It is called Italian Cream Cake, and I have been making this recipe since I was a pastry cook intern while still in culinary school. My pastry chef was kind enough to share the recipe with me, and to this day, it is still one of my absolute favorite cake recipes: somewhere between a white and a yellow cake, very dense, buttery and rich: delicious! When it turns out RIGHT. But sometimes, it turns out WRONG.
The first time I made this recipe outside of a professional bakery kitchen was for my wedding–immediately after graduating from culinary school. It was PERFECT! But when I tried to make the recipe again for our one-year anniversary, it was AWFUL! I tried making the recipe 3 times (for our anniversary), and each time, it was dense and rubbery–not at all appetizing! I couldn’t understand: WHY did the cake not rise properly? WHY did it seem to have an entire layer of rubber at the bottom of the cake??
I couldn’t figure it out, no matter what I tried, so I swore off making the frustrating recipe for many years. Until I learned more about the science of baking and the how’s & why’s of recipes when I was teaching culinary school. Then I began to understand that the problem must have to do with the leavening: the cake was not rising enough because there was not enough leavening to support the amount of flour in the cake. The original recipe only called for baking soda and whipped egg whites for leavening. Perhaps it would benefit from some additional baking powder to help it rise. Back to the drawing board!
Each time I made the recipe, I adjust the chemical leaveners a little bit more, and sometimes it worked, but sometimes, it still did not work–how frustrating! Just when I thought I had it figured out, the recipe would flop again–even under the same conditions. A complete mystery to me!
I would love to share the recipe with you, but as you can tell, I am still in the process of tweaking it, and until I can figure it out for myself, I cannot promise perfect results for anyone else.
In the meantime, what I can tell you is this: The reason my cake sank in the middle (the cake on the right in the photo) is that I used too much baking powder. Too much baking powder can cause a cake to sink in the center, turn excessively yellow in color, and taste metallic or bitter.
Amy asks: How do I make a pie from an actual pumpkin?
Baking S.O.S. says: An “actual” pumpkin? What’s THAT?! I always use canned pumpkin because of the convenience factor–it saves so much time 🙂
What I DO know is that you cannot use the large jack-o-lantern variety of pumpkins to make pie. . . they are grown to be carved, not baked, so the flavor is undesirable for pie. But because I cannot answer your question from my own personal experience, I am going to defer to someone else who HAS made pumpkin pie from real pumpkins. I found a very helpful step-by-step photo and instruction tutorial at www.pickyourown.org. Good luck!
Jonathan asks: How do you feel about silicone hot pads? What is your preferred hot pad of choice for removing hot bakeware from the oven?
Baking S.O.S. says: I actually had not tried the silicone hot pads until recently when I got a set of square ones as a gift for my birthday! Now that I have used them, I have to say that I do not find them to be very functional as hot pads. (Perhaps they might work better as “trivets” for protecting counter surfaces from hot pans and dishes.)
I find the silicone hot pads to be difficult to manipulate because of their texture and shape. They do not conform to my hands well enough to grasp hot bakeware easily or effectively. I have also found that the heat still transmits through the silicone hot pads to my hands, so they are not the most effective protection. The one advantage silicone hot pads provide over traditional cloth hot pads is that if you are working with hot water, cloth hot pads, when wet, will burn you more easily. I imagine the silicone hot pads would reduce that risk–as long as you use the silicone as a barrier between you and the hot water.
But my preferred hot pads are the old tried and true: I like high quality all-cotton oven mitts that cover your hands AND your arms like this one on amazon.com. I bought mine at an independent retail store that sells culinary equipment. These types of oven mitts are durable, provide lots of coverage and protection, are flexible enough to handle lifting anything out of a hot oven, and do not transmit heat to your hands in most instances (except when they get wet, as I mentioned).
Dee says: Hi BakingSOS, I desperately need some help. I have tried to bake the Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake for my mom because she loves chocolate. I have tried this recipe to a T for 3 times, and the cake turns out heavy, wet, rubbery and absolutely disappointing. On the website, the cakes looks light and fluffy. I don’t know what I am doing wrong… Really hope to get some help from you. This recipe calls for both baking powder and baking soda. But it says to add wet ingredients to dry and mix til smooth. Lastly to add boiling water. Will it work if I alternate the flour (dry mixture) with the eggs/vanilla/oil mixture?
Baking S.O.S. says: I know how frustrating it is to bake a recipe many times with disappointing results. I have done that often myself! There could be several different reasons why your cake is turning out heavy, wet, and rubbery each time, so I’ll try to address it from each angle.
To start, I looked up the recipe you are using on the Hershey’s website. I read user reviews of the recipe, and I did not see any comments where people were experiencing the same problems as yours, so I am going to assume that the recipe works OK under the right conditions. That means something else must be going wrong.
My best guess is that your cake is not rising enough because the baking powder and baking soda are not working effectively. Baking powder and baking soda can actually get “old” and lose their leavening ability over time as they sit on the shelf. Before you use them again, performs these tests:
- For baking powder: place a small amount of baking powder in a bowl and add water. It should fizz and react right away. (Baking powder is “double acting”–it reacts when it is moistened with a liquid and then again when it is heated in the oven.)
- For baking soda: place a small amount in a non-reactive (stainless steel) bowl and add an acidic liquid such as lemon juice or vinegar. Baking soda is a base, so it needs an acidic liquid to create the chemical reaction.
If y0u do these tests and find that your baking powder and baking soda work just fine, then there must be some other reason why your cake is not rising correctly.
I have always wondered about chocolate cake recipes that call for “boiling” water, such as this recipe that you are using. I do not understand why the water needs to be boiling when added to the cake batter, and I cannot find any scientific explanation for using boiling water as opposed to cold, tepid, or warm water. As far as I know, there is no real reason to use boiling water. I wonder if the excessive heat from the boiling water could be causing the baking powder to react TOO quickly–because the water is both wet AND hot–causing the chemical leavening reaction to occur and dissipate BEFORE the cake even gets into the oven? If the baking powder reacts too quickly, then the cake would not rise sufficiently once baked. That could be yet another explanation.
When I make my favorite chocolate cake recipe–which calls for Hershey’s cocoa powder and water, too–I use warm water out of the tap rather than boiling water, and I actually mix the cocoa powder and water together in a separate bowl before adding them to all the other ingredients. With this method, the warm water and cocoa powder create a smooth, chocolate mixture to add to the cake batter (rather than lumpy chunks of cocoa powder as it sometimes comes out of the box).
Another procedure that helps cakes rise better is mixing the batter according to the “Creaming Method”:
- beat the fat (usually soft butter) and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, 8-10 min.
- add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl & beating well after each addition
- alternately add the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients in 3 stages
The “Creaming Method” can be used for cakes, cookies, or any baked good that calls for softened butter or fat, and it really helps with the leavening when you incorporate more air by beating the fat and sugar together.
My last question is: How committed are you to making this particular recipe for your mother? If you are willing to consider making a different chocolate cake recipe for her, I would strongly suggest trying Hershey’s Celebration Chocolate Cake recipe which I also found on their website. This recipe uses both procedures I suggested: mixing the cocoa powder with water before adding it to the cake batter AND mixing the cake using the “Creaming Method.” I think those two techniques (and checking the effectiveness of your baking powder and baking soda) ought to produce better results for you.
Good luck! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
A friend requested raspberry recipes after she picked 7 pounds of fresh raspberries. I tested and loved this recipe, which I modified slightly from the original recipe by Elinor Klivans published in the “Washington Post” Food section (2001).
Raspberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting
Yield: 12 cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
1 ½ C. cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
½ C. milk
1/3 C. (about ½ pint) fresh raspberries
For the frosting:
1 ¾ C. heavy whipping cream
4 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
36 fresh raspberries
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
- Place paper liners in 12 standard size muffin tins.
- For the cupcakes: In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter & sugar until light and fluffy, about 8 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Scrape the bowl down after each addition.
- Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix just until incorporated.
- Reduce the speed to low. Alternately add the dry ingredients with the milk in 2 stages, mixing just until incorporated.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer, and use a rubber spatula to stir the raspberries in gently by hand.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared liners filling them ½ full.
- Bake approx. 20 minutes until the tops spring back when touched and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- For the frosting: In a medium saucepan over low heat, heat ¼ C. of heavy cream until it begins to steam, but do not boil! Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add the white chocolate and set aside until the chocolate softens, arrpox. 1-2 minutes. Stir until the white chocolate melts and is completely smooth.
- Transfer the white chocolate mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap so that the wrap is touching the surface of the chocolate, and refrigerate until cold, approx. 45 minutes.
- In a large stainless steel mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed, beat the remaining 1 ½ C. heavy cream with the vanilla & almond extracts and the cold white chocolate mixture until soft peaks form.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes and garnish with 3 fresh raspberries atop each.
Nina asks: I love decorating cookies but I am concerned about the additives in food dye, especially for children. Have you had any experience or do you know of any “natural” food dyes?
Baking S.O.S. says: Good question, Nina. There is growing concern about the effects of artificial food dyes as we learn more about its possible connection to behavioral issues and medical disorders, particularly in children, as you mentioned. [Do a quick Google search on “artificial food dyes” or “coloring” and you will find any number of articles about this issue.]
In answer to your question, there are a few sources for all natural, organic food coloring and dyes available at this time. Nature’s Flavors has several options for organic food colors. And thanks to a wonderful blog called Journey to Crunchville, I found even more information about natural alternatives to food coloring. Please visit her site for complete details!
India Tree also makes natural food dyes and colored sprinkles. I found them at Whole Foods for $16.99 for a set of 3 primary colors (directions for mixing other colors are included on the back of the package). If you do not have a Whole Foods in your community, you can order the dyes at amazon.com.
Finally, if you are interested in a comprehensive list of FDA approved food colorings (both natural and synthetic), check out this site. Good luck!
Chef Asata asks: I don’t bake. What is the interchangeability of baking powder and baking soda? Can I substitute one for the other?
Baking S.O.S. says: It’s interesting you asked this question. My first class in Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales was Beginning Baking, and we had to write a research paper on something related to baking. At the time, I had this same question. I wondered whether baking powder and baking soda were interchangeable? So I chose to research and write about that issue.
I’ll spare you my entire long, boring research paper, but in answer to your question, baking powder and baking soda are NOT interchangeable.
Both are classified as chemical leaveners, meaning that when they are activated, they create a chemical reaction that releases gasses that cause your baked good to rise. However, baking powder and baking soda react in very different ways.
Scientifically, baking powder contains both acid and base ingredients, so it can create the necessary chemical reaction all on its own. Baking powder is usually called “double-acting” because the chemical reaction will activate both when you add a liquid to the baking powder and again when you apply heat (by putting it in the oven).
In contrast, baking soda only contains a base ingredient. It requires some kind of acidic ingredient from the recipe–such as buttermilk, sour cream, lemon juice, or chocolate–to cause the chemical reaction to occur. Without the proper balance of acid to base in the recipe, the baking soda will not make the product rise sufficiently.
Typically, if a product does not rise enough with baking soda alone, then baking powder will also be added to the recipe to help the leavening process. However, too much baking powder can cause a product to be bitter in taste and abnormally yellow in color. I, unfortunately, had this exact problem very recently, and it was a complete disaster! But that’s another story for another day 🙂
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Raspberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting
A friend requested raspberry recipes after she picked 7 pounds of fresh raspberries. I tested and loved this recipe, which I modified slightly from the original recipe by Elinor Klivans published in the “Washington Post” Food section (2001).
Raspberry Cupcakes with White Chocolate Frosting
Yield: 12 cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
1 ½ C. cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temp.
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
½ C. milk
1/3 C. (about ½ pint) fresh raspberries
For the frosting:
1 ¾ C. heavy whipping cream
4 oz. white chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
36 fresh raspberries
Directions: