Category: #cupcakehour baking tips

#cupcakehour elderberries

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Elderberries are in season in the autumn and can be used for all manner of delicious things, from warming puddings to elderberry liqueur

 

Come autumn, the small purplish-black ripe berries hang prolifically in clusters in the hedgerows and are not grown commercially, so picking them in the wild is the only option.

 

The easiest way to remove the berries from the stalks is to strip them using the prongs of a fork

 

The berries are quite rich so I find they’re best mixed with other autumn fruits such as apples, pears and plums

 

make them into jams and chutneys, which have a wonderful fruity flavour, although the berries are low in pectin so need the addition of jam sugar or lemon juice to ensure a set.

 

Elderberry syrup, made by cooking the berries with water and sugar, straining, then boiling the liquid until reduced and syrupy

 

Elderberries can be used to make a liqueur in the same way as sloe gin

 

some people find that eating raw elderberries makes them feel nauseous

 

Dried Elderberries can also be added to muffins or pancakes for a berry flavor similar to blueberries but not quite as sweet

 

they’re very tart, but incredibly rich in antioxidants

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#cupcake hour blackberries

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DON’T wash the berries until you are ready to use them or freeze them. Washing makes them more prone to spoiling

You can easily freeze berries that you cannot use right away – just wash, cut the hulls off and pop them into a ziplock bag, removing as much air as possible

Even under ideal conditions blackberries will only keep for a week in a refrigerator, so for best flavor and texture, use them as soon as possible

A ripe blackberry is deep black with a plump, full feel. It will pull free from the plant with only a slight tug.

If the berry is red or purple, it’s not ripe yet

After a few days in storage, however, the fruit loses its bright color and fresh flavor and tends to shrivel

Try and add your berries as late in the mixing process as possible and stir very gently

Add frozen berries into the cake batter at the end of the mixing process to prevent them from staining the batter

Adding berries while still frozen also helps the berries retain their shape and texture

Dusting fresh berries with flour also prevents them from staining your cake batter too much

#cupcakehour is on every Tuesday night at 8 o clock on twitter

@chefnoelk  on twitter & @chefnoelkeane on Instagram

#cupcakehour baking tips

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Eggs do not need to be kept in the fridge

 

once cracked, left over egg must be chilled in the fridge

 

Egg whites should be covered and chilled, or can be frozen

 

Always use chilled cracked egg within 2 days to prevent food poisoning.

 

For best results when baking use eggs at room temperature

 

Egg whites should always be at room temperature before whipping

 

Be certain there is no yolk in the whites and that the bowl and beaters are perfectly clean

 

The older the egg the flatter the egg yolk and the thinner the egg white

 

To test the freshness of an egg in it’s shell, float it in water. If it floats on it’s side it is very fresh

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joim #cupcakrhour on twitter every tuesday at 8 o clocck

#cupcakehour baking tips

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tips on white chocolate

Officially white chocolate cannot be called “chocolate” because it does not contain chocolate liquor

 

Good white chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar, milk solids, vanilla, and lecithin

 

Make sure when buying white chocolate that it contains cocoa butter as some inferior brands contain vegetable fat

 

White chocolate is ivory-colored (white chocolate made with vegetable fat is white-colored) and is rich and creamy

 

Its sweet and subtle flavor complements other ingredients in baking

 

A delicate chocolate that scorches easily, so always melt over very low heat

 

It sets up softer than dark chocolate because it does not contain chocolate liquor

 

White chocolate will keep 6-10 months if stored in a cool dry place.

 

There are many good brands of chocolate on the market today, both domestic and foreign

#cupcakehour baking tips

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tempering chocolate always works best at normal room temperature

 

Never mix water with the chocolate if you wish to temper

 

make sure that the machine and utensils are thoroughly dry

 

Most chocolate will temper perfectly if it is initially melted at 43c

 

Melt the extra chocolate in a bain-marie and let it cool to just below 34

 

If the finish is slightly streaky, the chocolate is either a bit too hot or took too long to cool

 

If the chocolate over-tempers and becomes thick – add pieces of cool or solid chocolate

 

if dipping soft fruit in tempered chocolate dust with cornflour first

#cupcakehour baking tips

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never melt butter in the microwave it destroys it

to check butter at room temperature it will bend without cracking

unwrapping room temperature butter leaves a residue on the wrapper

if the mixing bowl is warm put it into the freezer for 5 minutes

for flakier pastry put your utensil’s in the fridge before use

you fingers melt butter use a knife to cut it

for pastry grate your butter before mixing

when creaming butter do it at a low speed to avoid heating up

cold butter wont aerate properly

 

 

 

 

 

#cubcakehour baking tips

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Work with half of the cookie dough at a time when rolling and cutting cookies. Too much handling of the dough makes cookies tough. Keep the other half refrigerated. Chilled dough is easier to handle

Bake cookies on shiny, heavy aluminum baking sheets

if not too dark. Insulated baking sheets require a slightly longer baking time

Grease baking sheets with cooking spray or solid shortening instead of butter or margarine. Avoid using tub butter

Use parchment paper to eliminate the need for greasing baking sheets. It also promotes even browning

if you need to bake more than one at a time, rotate the sheets from the top rack to the bottom rack halfway through baking to encourage even browning

Check cookies for doneness at the minimum baking time

Cool baking sheets between batches before reusing; wipe the surface of each with a paper towel

Place a sheet of wax paper on the counter and sprinkle it with sugar. Cookies will cool without getting soggy

Cool cookies completely before storing them in airtight containers

Salt and baking

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All about salt Salt slows down the chemical reaction in the dough

2 calming fermentation activity to a steady level

l 3 salt makes the dough a little stronger

4 salt is hydrscopic which means it absorbs water

5 salt makes pastry tighter

6 salt effects the dough from the moment it is added

7 salt of course adds flavour

8 salt potentiates the flavour of other ingredients

9 in baking the type of salt is irrelevant