What are you baking?

[Saffy]

Working out what to do with all the peanut butter which I panic bought during lockdown.
Three ingredient peanut butter cookies are a hit.

 

[RubyToogood]

Two types of courgette cake:

Chocolate courgette cake. Pretty good, didn't taste of courgette. The ganache didn't melt properly and then split, but I rescued it with a bit of golden syrup and milk. I didn't add the spice which didn't sound like a good idea to me, and I threw in some cacao nibs.

Also Anjum Anand's savoury semolina cake with courgettes, runner beans, and carrots.

 

[kittyP]

Two types of courgette cake:

Chocolate courgette cake. Pretty good, didn't taste of courgette. The ganache didn't melt properly and then split, but I rescued it with a bit of golden syrup and milk. I didn't add the spice which didn't sound like a good idea to me, and I threw in some cacao nibs.

Also Anjum Anand's savoury semolina cake with courgettes, runner beans, and carrots.

The savoury cake sounds amazing! Right up my street

 

[MrCurry]

I made some vanilla cupcakes at the weekend - they were pretty good, but not much rise in them, so a bit dense.

Below is the ingredients list and I wonder if all you baking experts could suggest how to make them a bit lighter? The original recipe had half a cup of sour cream, which I’ve omitted, so maybe that played a role in the leavening and I need to adjust the baking powder or baking soda amount?

• all-purpose flour 213g
• granulated sugar 200g
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• unsalted butter 170g, melted
• 3 egg whites room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract 15mL
• milk 75mL/75g

 

[telbert]

Baked this the weekend. Gorgonzola, Stilton, cheddar and plum tart. Ridiculously cheesy.

 

[iona]

I made some vanilla cupcakes at the weekend - they were pretty good, but not much rise in them, so a bit dense.

Below is the ingredients list and I wonder if all you baking experts could suggest how to make them a bit lighter? The original recipe had half a cup of sour cream, which I’ve omitted, so maybe that played a role in the leavening and I need to adjust the baking powder or baking soda amount?

• all-purpose flour 213g
• granulated sugar 200g
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• unsalted butter 170g, melted
• 3 egg whites room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract 15mL
• milk 75mL/75g

Did they definitely not rise much, or could they have risen and then collapsed? What did the recipe say about beating the egg whites / what order to combine ingredients?

Baking powder is a mix of one part bicarb (alkali) and two parts cream of tartar (acid) so you're meant to reduce the cream of tartar if using acidic liquids; not sure how much it matters the other way round.

Liquid fats tend to result in a denser cake so to counteract that you usually add extra raising agent and/or beat the eggs into foam.

I'd maybe try 2½ or 3 tsp baking powder (no extra bicarb) next time.

 

[MrCurry]

Thanks iona. The recipe said “Whisk batter together until smooth. Don’t over beat it though, you’re really just mixing until combined” so that’s what I did.

I guess they were not terrible, I just expected them to rise up a bit as the recipe said fill the cupcake moulds 2/3 and when they came out the oven they were only just above the fill level.

Google tells me sour cream is slightly acidic, so maybe that’s what the bicarb is there for, to counteract that. Since I omitted the sour cream, maybe I should be doing the same with the bicarb. I’ll follow your advice and use a bit more baking powder and no bicarb.

 

[iona]

Thanks iona. The recipe said “Whisk batter together until smooth. Don’t over beat it though, you’re really just mixing until combined” so that’s what I did.

I guess they were not terrible, I just expected them to rise up a bit as the recipe said fill the cupcake moulds 2/3 and when they came out the oven they were only just above the fill level.

Google tells me sour cream is slightly acidic, so maybe that’s what the bicarb is there for, to counteract that. Since I omitted the sour cream, maybe I should be doing the same with the bicarb. I’ll follow your advice and use a bit more baking powder and no bicarb.

So just all in one? Or did it tell you to combine wet/dry ingredients or beat eggs first?

The bicarb is there to make them rise! The baking powder also contains bicarb though and since you aren't adding extra acid in the form of sour cream there's no need to worry about how much cream of tartar you're using, so easiest just to stick to the one ingredient (baking powder).

 

[iona]

Also a hotter oven will make cakes rise quicker. Too fast a rise makes them pointy and cracked on top though which can make icing awkward.

 

[MrCurry]

Yeah, it said combine the wet ingredients first, then add to the dry, which I didn’t really do tbh!

 

[RubyToogood]

The savoury cake sounds amazing! Right up my street

It's great. You can use pretty much any veg and it's good for picnics, kind of like a big bhaji. Many urbs have tasted it over the years.

 

[platinumsage]

Far too many apples from the garden, a crumble a day won't keep them away.

 

[a_chap]

Far too many apples from the garden, a crumble a day won't keep them away.

One word. Cider.

 

[Saffy]

I made a kinder bueno drip cake for my daughter's birthday. I'm glad I halved the recipe. It's huge!

 

[belboid]

View attachment 229916
I made a kinder bueno drip cake for my daughter's birthday. I'm glad I halved the recipe. It's huge!

Looks amazing.

The recipe ive just googled has three kilos of ingredients!!!

 

[Saffy]

From Jane's Patisserie?
The original was for 4 sponges and there's no way we needed that.
I only had to buy the kinder choc and buenos because of 'lockdown' store. So it's been a pretty cheap bake to make.

 

[Biddlybee]

What sort of cake is inside?

Looks lush, as always, Saffy

 

[Saffy]

What sort of cake is inside?

Looks lush, as always, Saffy

It's supposed to be a chocolate and hazelnut sponge. The hazelnut extract is really expensive though and so I just added some vanilla extract instead. We've just had a piece and it's really good.

 

[Epona]

View attachment 229916
I made a kinder bueno drip cake for my daughter's birthday. I'm glad I halved the recipe. It's huge!

OMG yes please, that looks lush (and I have a bit of a thing for kinder bueno anyway )

 

[Biddlybee]

It's supposed to be a chocolate and hazelnut sponge. The hazelnut extract is really expensive though and so I just added some vanilla extract instead. We've just had a piece and it's really good.

And can you post a photo of the drippy icing recipe please?

 

[Saffy]

And can you post a photo of the drippy icing recipe please?

It only dark chocolate melted and 1 tbsp of vegetable oil mixed in. It was really easy.

 

[Biddlybee]

That sounds like tempering, I have tried that before

 

[Saffy]

Haha...how did that go?
Well my chocolate certainly doesn't have a shine to it but it tastes good.

 

[Biddlybee]

Big lump in a bowl over a pan

 

[Rebelda]

Big lump in a bowl over a pan

Yes I've made that recipe before.

 

[belboid]

From Jane's Patisserie?

that's the one, laving it looks pretty fine to me

 

[polly]

Yes I've made that recipe before.

Me too

Saffy That looks incredible <3 (as usual!)

 

[a_chap]

Scones.

I've only ever tried to make scones once, in about, er... 1979. They were a total disaster and left me with a lingering fear of ever trying to makes scones again.

I find myself thinking about scones more and more often and I think I might try again. But I'll need some encouragement and probably counselling afterwards.

 

[zora]

Cinnamon buns with cream cheese vanilla lemon frosting. A little rustic looking, but O.M.G!
As noone here to share them with, will freeze some and have one in my packed lunch every day.

 

[existentialist]

Cinnamon buns with cream cheese vanilla lemon frosting. A little rustic looking, but O.M.G!
As noone here to share them with, will freeze some and have one in my packed lunch every day.View attachment 230066

They look lovely, but I can hear my blood sugar saying "You bloody dare!"