Posted by Cory on 6/2/2003, 11:39 pm A cake decorator's secret for getting really flat tops on cakes is to Placing a cake that has just come out of the oven on a damp cloth for a Give your angel food cakes a new look by marbeling them with color. Just Adding a pinch of baking soda to icings prevents hardening and cracking If you're having a problem with icing sticking to your spreaders, dip it If the cupcakes you are making are destined for a lunchbox, a less messy Substitutions, Yields & Equivalents by Linda Resnick and Dee Brock. Tip: As a general rule, you can expect to get 1 1/2 to 2 cups of Fresh, frozen and canned fruits are generally interchangeable in equal To get approximately 1/2 cup of fruit puree, use 4 ounces of fresh When stiffly beaten, egg whites will expand to approximately 6 times An easy and neat way to fill a pastry bag is to stand it upright in a A batter made with baking soda should be put into the oven as soon as Test baking soda for freshness by pouring 1/2 teaspoon vinegar or lemon Barbara Overland of Reno, Nevada writes: "To have a nice flat cake top, Use a flat metal pastry scraper to cut squares and bars right in their Apple, peach and berry pies freeze well. When you're making pies, make Prevent dried fruit or nuts from sinking to the bottom of your batters The end of a clean, empty 10 oz. can makes a handy cookie or biscuit Save money on chocolate! Shop the after holiday sales (Christmas, Mary McLuckie from Redding, California had this tip for pies: "Before Measuring Honey or Molasses is easier if you first spray the measuring Joan wrote in to say that she always makes up two or three recipes of Cak from Wisconsin writes: Whenever a pie boils over in the oven I coat Soupy whipped cream can be revived by adding an egg white to it then When whipping cream, placing your bowl on a folded, dampened towel will Storing a slice of raw apple in with your brown sugar will prevent it Brown sugar that has already been hardened can be put through a grater For muffins that slide right out of their tins, place the hot pan on a Before unmolding a gelatin mold, wet the plate. This will allow you to Don't want to wait for butter to soften? Grate it with a small hand If fruit pies boil over in the oven, shake some salt into the spill. After squeezing lemons for cooking, freeze the rinds. Whenever you need Maryann Bille from Barberton, Ohio says she keeps her brown sugar wraped Judy Anne Wagner from Boone, North Carolina writes: "Whenever I make Meriel Christensen from Milwaukee, Wisconsin says "Freeze your When making drop cookies, make a large batch, form into balls and freeze
To quickly and easily melt chocolate or carob, place in a metal bowl and
put this in the oven, with the temperature turned on the lowest possible
setting. Close the door. After about 5 minutes, turn the oven off. In
about 10 minutes, the chocolate should be melted.
wet a terry cloth towel and wrap it around the outside of the cake pan
(secure with safety pin). The moisture from the towel acts like a smal
"bain Marie" and makes the cake cook more evenly.
couple of minutes will help it come loose from the pan and prevent
sticking.
sprinkle a few drops of food coloring on top of the batter in the pan
and use a butter knife to gently swirl it around, producing amarble
effect.
so the icing stays moist.
briefly in hot water first. The icing will slide right off.
way of icing them is to split them down the middle and make an "icing
sandwich." This way the icing can't stick to the wrappers. This tip and
the following four are from the book Food FAQs:
nutmeat from 1 pound of nuts in their shells.
measures in recipes.
berries or juicy fruit or 1 cup of cooked and drained berries or juicy
fruit.
their unwhipped volume. But they will not whip up if even a speck of
yolk is included or if the dishes or utensils used for whipping have any
oil or fat on them.
tall glass (a half pint pub beer glass works well) and fold the edges of
the bag around the rim of the glass. Fill the bag, then gather up the
edge before decorating.
possible after baking as the leavening actioning starts to take effect
immediately upon contact with liquids.
juice over the baking soda. If doesn't actively bubble, it's too old to
be effective. Pour it down the drain and buy a new box!
cut a piece of toweling the width of the cake pan, and long enough to
wrap around and overlap slightly. Wet the towel strip and place it
around the cake pan, pinning or fastening it snugly. Bake cake as usual
(no, it won't burn). Your cake will be nice and even on top because the
edges cook at the same rate as the rest of the cake."
pans. It's easier to get a cleaner cut than with a knife and it cuts
right through to the bottom.
several and freeze just before baking. It beats Mrs. Smiths!
by coating them lightly with flour first.
cutter.
Fortune cookies make a fun lunchbox addition for kids of all ages.
Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Halloween, etc.) when seasonal
candies are often marked down by 50% or more. If you buy good quality
chocolate, you'll save a bundle and be bale to use it for cooking or
recipes.
placing double crusted pies in the oven, loosely wrap aluminum foil
around pie crust edges. This will help the edges from browning too
quickly. Remember to remove the aluminum about 10 minutes before pies
are ready to come out of the oven so the crust is properly browned."
cup lightly with Pam says C. Perez of Mexico City, Mexico. The sticky
liquid will slide right out.
the dry ingredients for cakes, cookies, breads, etc. then labels them,
and tucks in a copy of the recipe,and put them in the cupboard. This way
you're only dealing with flour etc. that is messy to clean up once. When
you're in a hurry its great to have everything ready.
the run-over with soda to prevent smelling or burning in the over and it
comes out easily after.
chilling thoroughly before re-whipping it to its former fluffy glory.
keep it from sliding around the counter.
from hardening.
for use.
Placing a slice of soft bread in a package of hardened brown sugar will
soften it in a couple of hours.
wet towel for a second before turning over.
move and center the gelatin easily.
grater instead.
This will cause the spills to burn to a crisp, then they can easily be
removed with a spatula.
freshly grated lemon zest, you can grate it from the frozen lemons.
Saves a trip to the store or buying a lemon just for a small amount of
zest.
in another plastic bag in the freezer to make it last longer without
hardening. Take it out to thaw about 15 minutes before you need to use
it, then return the remaining portion to the freezer.
cookie dough, I double the ingredients and bake only what I need at that
time. I load the remaning mix into 7 oz paper cups, placing these cups
into a ziplock bag to freeze for future baking. One 7 oz cup holds
enough dough for about a dozen freshly baked cookies. One mixing mess to
clean up, and freshly baked cookies whenever you want them!"
marshmallows after opening the bag. They will will be as good as new
when they thaw. "
on cookie sheet. When frozen put into zip lock bags and store in
freezer. Later, just remove amount needed from freezer, place on cookie
sheets and bake while still frozen. This way you will always have a
variety of cookies on hand. Submitted by Turp of Borrego Springs, CA.
Message Thread:
« Back to thread
