Now that you have a fully stocked pantry with all the baking ingredients you need, it's time to plan your actual baking and do as much ahead of time as you can. Making things ahead of time alleviates stress and eliminates or minimizes wondering how you're going to get everything done in a compressed timeframe.
First, plan what you're going to make. While I do a lot more baking during the holidays, I rarely try out new recipes unless I'm extremely confident they'll turn out. Because I have too much to bake and too little time so I can't afford to have a recipe experiment flop and leave me without anything to bring a party or give to friends at get togethers. Experimentation is for the rest of the year. Holiday baking comes with a mission and nothing can jeopardize it. Besides which, oftentimes, my friends know I'm giving them a baked gift and have specific requests of their favorites which I'm happy to accommodate. After all, the gift is about the recipient, not the giver so my recipe ADD has to be set aside during the holidays.
Second, once you know what you're going to make, do as much ahead of time as possible. Cookies are the best example. Make your cookie dough(s) ahead of time, portion them out into individual cookie-dough balls and put them in ziploc freezer bags marked with the name, baking temp and time then place them in your freezer. Or roll the cookie dough into logs, wrap wax paper and saran wrap and freeze them for slicing later. Some people like to bake the cookie dough first and freeze the baked cookies as their time saver. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of that. I'm a super stickler for freshness and to me, a freshly baked cookie is better than a freshly thawed cookie. Plus you don't have to worry about the cookies crumbling when you freeze, store and thaw them. Cookie dough, if it crumbles, can be squished back together before baking and no one will ever be able to tell once they're baked. You also have to remember that once you give away your cookies, you don't know how long it takes your recipient to eat them so if you had baked them beforehand, froze them, thawed them then gave them away, that's a long life you expect the cookies to have and most cookies have a shorter freshness lifespan than that. It's better to freeze the dough and have it ready for last-minute baking and giving.
Cookie doughs that freeze well:
Alton Brown's chocolate chip cookies
Super Sugar Sparkles
Peanut Butter Fudge Cookies
Brown Butter Cookies
Brownies and bar cookies, on the other hand, (depending on the recipe), can easily be baked ahead of time and then frozen without their freshness being materially jeopardized. What I like to do with brownies I'm giving away in individual care packages or gift bags is bake the brownies, let them cool, cut them into individual pieces then package them up, two squares to a package, wrapped in plastic wrap then put in freezer bags and stored in the freezer, marked with what kind of brownie they are. If I bake enough in advance, when it comes time to put together the gift bags or care packages, I have an assortment of brownies to choose from and give away. It's always nice for your recipients to get a variety. If I'm taking brownies to a party or potluck, after they've baked and cooled, I'll wrap the whole thing without cutting it and freeze it whole. When it's party time, I let it thaw then cut the brownies and arrange them on a nice plate. Unless you're going to wrap each individual piece, it's best to leave the brownies uncut so the edges don't dry out.
Almost all brownies freeze well - here are just couple of examples:
Peanut Butter Surprise Bars
Nutella Crunch Brownies
I rarely freeze cakes. The light, cakey texture I like in most of my cakes don't tend to freeze well or else if their flavor doesn't suffer from being frozen, sometimes their texture does. The only exceptions are pound cakes which are a dense enough texture to freeze well and basque cake. I love basque cake and I make them as individual-sized cakes which are the right size for giving away. If you do freeze cakes, please freeze them unfrosted (make the frosting at the last minute) and wrap the cakes well. Keep all frozen baked goods from odorous items in your freezer. Don't cozy up even your most well-wrapped baked goods next to that package of frozen fish or overripe bananas or else the odors and flavors could permeate your baked goods.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Pumpkin Caramel Cake
Ooey Gooey Caramel Pumpkin Blondies - from Eat Cake for Dinner blog, linked from Sweets for a Saturday #41 made November 12, 2011
I discovered this on Sweets for Saturday, a link party hosted by Lisa that I usually participate in. The picture was enough to lure me to click on the link and go to Jenn's Eat Cake for Dinner blog. I'm so glad I did because this cake was scrumptious. Totally high calories but totally worth it, especially if you like pumpkin or caramel or both. Normally, when I try a recipe from someone else's blog, I link back to it so you have to go to that blog to get the recipe. That seems like good blogging etiquette to drive traffic to their blog. However, I did make a couple of modifications to Jenn's version so I'm listing my changes and the modified recipe below. Please do visit her blog though to get the original recipe (you might like her version better) and check out her other delicious creations. I'm also taking the liberty of renaming her confection as mine turned out more like a cake than a typical blondie.
The main change I made from Jenn's version is I think it would be better if the bottom layer of batter was initially baked for a few minutes first. When you have a caramel layer in the middle, the bottom layer tends to soak in the caramel without fully baking. To keep the bottom from being overly moist, I recommend giving it a bit of a head start in baking. I didn't do that and ended up having to put this back in for a second baking, even though the toothpick taste came out clean the first time. The bottom was still too moist. I also omitted any kind of nuts in the caramel-chocolate chip layer since I prefer cakes without them if they're mixed into the cake (as opposed to staying crisp on top).
This is one of the few confections that I prefer at room temperature rather than eaten warm. When it was warm, it was a little too mushy/gooey for me. When it was at room temperature, you can taste the pumpkin and cinnamon flavors better. In fact, I think this was actually better the next day when the flavors had time to develop and meld together. The texture was also more set; it was moist without being overly gooey. Just general overall deliciousness - thanks Jenn!
I discovered this on Sweets for Saturday, a link party hosted by Lisa that I usually participate in. The picture was enough to lure me to click on the link and go to Jenn's Eat Cake for Dinner blog. I'm so glad I did because this cake was scrumptious. Totally high calories but totally worth it, especially if you like pumpkin or caramel or both. Normally, when I try a recipe from someone else's blog, I link back to it so you have to go to that blog to get the recipe. That seems like good blogging etiquette to drive traffic to their blog. However, I did make a couple of modifications to Jenn's version so I'm listing my changes and the modified recipe below. Please do visit her blog though to get the original recipe (you might like her version better) and check out her other delicious creations. I'm also taking the liberty of renaming her confection as mine turned out more like a cake than a typical blondie.
The main change I made from Jenn's version is I think it would be better if the bottom layer of batter was initially baked for a few minutes first. When you have a caramel layer in the middle, the bottom layer tends to soak in the caramel without fully baking. To keep the bottom from being overly moist, I recommend giving it a bit of a head start in baking. I didn't do that and ended up having to put this back in for a second baking, even though the toothpick taste came out clean the first time. The bottom was still too moist. I also omitted any kind of nuts in the caramel-chocolate chip layer since I prefer cakes without them if they're mixed into the cake (as opposed to staying crisp on top).
This is one of the few confections that I prefer at room temperature rather than eaten warm. When it was warm, it was a little too mushy/gooey for me. When it was at room temperature, you can taste the pumpkin and cinnamon flavors better. In fact, I think this was actually better the next day when the flavors had time to develop and meld together. The texture was also more set; it was moist without being overly gooey. Just general overall deliciousness - thanks Jenn!
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 extra large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (11 oz) package caramel bits
1/4 cup whole milk
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9x13 inch pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
- Cream together butter and brown sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and pumpkin puree and blend until combined. Slowly add cinnamon, flour, soda and salt. Spread about 1/2 of the batter into pan evenly and bake for 6-8 minutes. While it's baking, melt caramel bits and milk in a small saucepan until smooth, stirring constantly.
- Remove baking pan from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Pour caramel evenly over chocolate chips. Dot remaining batter over top and spread dollops out with a small spatula, gently covering as much of the caramel as possible. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. It might have caramel on it, but it shouldn't have cake batter.
- Serve warm (might get oozing caramel) or cool completely. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Stocking up the Baker's Pantry
One thing I've learned over the years is to minimize the usual stressors. This can be done by planning ahead. As any Type A personality can tell you, there's much you can do to manage a long to-do list by thinking through what you truly need to do (as opposed to the want-to-get-done list) and giving yourself enough lead time to accomplish it. Interspersed with baking posts over the next month, I hope to also put up some tips and tricks for getting through the holidays stress-free. Ironically though, I'm late in putting up this kind of post since it's been so busy but that doesn't mean I haven't been preparing, just that I haven't written about it.
First up for any baker: stock your pantry early. The last thing you want is to be in a frenzy, baking for a family celebration, hosting a dinner party, attending a holiday party, going to a company potluck, etc and realize you're out of a critical ingredient at an inopportune time. If you're truly organized, you'd plan ahead what you want to cook and/or bake, make out an ingredient list and buy everything ahead of time. If you're the more normal kind of person and not quite that anal-retentive, never fear, you don't have to be that far-thinking. But you can and should stock up on some staples. Here is what the typical baker should always have on hand for marathon baking sessions well ahead of time - these are what I consider the "base staples":
- Unsalted butter (Costco has them the cheapest in my area in four 1-lb packs)
- Large or extra large eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar (light and dark)
- Powdered sugar
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Vanilla extract (I buy this in "bulk" here)
- Cake flour
- Unsweetened baking chocolate
- Bittersweet or semisweet baking chocolate
- Unsweetened cocoa powder (I like Pernigotti from Williams Sonoma)
- Chocolate chips (semisweet, milk, white, mini, chunks - your choice/preference)
- Peanut butter, creamy and/or chunky - your preference
- Nutella
- Red food coloring (for red velvet-type confections)
- Lemons
- Cream cheese
- Cinnamon
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Marshamallows
- Rice Krispies (for rice krispie treats and nutella crunch topping)
- Nuts if you bake with them - they can be stored in the freezer until you're ready to use them
- Caramel
- Dulce de leche
More perishable with a shorter shelf life so you don't want to buy these too early but you should have a good sense of when you need them and purchase them accordingly:
- Whole milk
- Buttermilk
- Heavy cream (skip the half and half - you can use half whole milk and half heavy cream for any recipe that calls for it)
- Sour cream
Of course, the above isn't an exhaustive list and you may still need to make a last-minute grocery run when you need something for a particular recipe but if you have most of the above, there are many, many things you can whip up at a moment's notice right out of your pantry. The added advantage of having a fully stocked baking pantry ahead of your holiday baking is you can avoid the long lines at the grocery store or Costco as holiday time nears and it fills up with people doing their last-minute shopping. Not to mention you can spread out the cost so it doesn't run up against your Christmas gift-buying budget.
Lastly, if you plan to make any banana-flavored items, you should be buying the ripest bananas you can find now/yesterday so you can give them time to overripen. If they turn black before you actually need them, just peel them and put the bananas in the freezer in a ziploc freezer bag. Then when you need them for baking, you already have them ready to thaw and use.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Caramel Coconut Brownies with Oreo Crust - Take 3
Double Chocolate Brownies with Fudge Sauce - made November 7, 2011 from Chocolate Box by Linda Doeser (book #175)
Your eyes aren't deceiving you - the picture of these brownies don't match the original title of the recipe. That's because I only used the brownie recipe part to make the top layer of the oreo caramel coconut brownies again. I wasn't going to make this kind of brownie again but I had some coworkers in town last week and one requested that brownie. To further my baking challenge along, I semi-cheated and just chose a random brownie recipe to make it again. As mentioned before, I have recipe ADD: it's hard for me to make the same recipe twice unless it's a family or friend favorite when I could be trying out more new recipes.
In any case, I think I've got the hang of these triple-layered brownies now so nothing really new or revolutionary to report on them. I am, however, also getting sick of Oreos now so I may give these a rest. But I did list the original recipe below as is in case anyone wants to try making them as the cookbook author intended.
I was too busy last week to really bake much so I have to get myself in gear. Holiday baking is coming up and that's my busiest baking season. Not only do I bake for family gatherings but also when I go out with friends, attend parties and send care packages. LOTS to bake. More to come in the next few weeks....
Your eyes aren't deceiving you - the picture of these brownies don't match the original title of the recipe. That's because I only used the brownie recipe part to make the top layer of the oreo caramel coconut brownies again. I wasn't going to make this kind of brownie again but I had some coworkers in town last week and one requested that brownie. To further my baking challenge along, I semi-cheated and just chose a random brownie recipe to make it again. As mentioned before, I have recipe ADD: it's hard for me to make the same recipe twice unless it's a family or friend favorite when I could be trying out more new recipes.
In any case, I think I've got the hang of these triple-layered brownies now so nothing really new or revolutionary to report on them. I am, however, also getting sick of Oreos now so I may give these a rest. But I did list the original recipe below as is in case anyone wants to try making them as the cookbook author intended.
I was too busy last week to really bake much so I have to get myself in gear. Holiday baking is coming up and that's my busiest baking season. Not only do I bake for family gatherings but also when I go out with friends, attend parties and send care packages. LOTS to bake. More to come in the next few weeks....
½ cup unsalted butter
4 ounces/115 grams semisweet chocolate, broken into
pieces
1 1/3 cups superfine sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
½ cup white chocolate chips
Fudge Sauce
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup superfine sugar
2/3 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup corn syrup
7 ounces/200 grams semisweet chocolate, broken into
pieces
1. Preheat
the oven to 350⁰F. Grease and line
a 7-inch/18-cm square cake pan with parchment paper. Place the butter and chocolate in a small
heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water until melted. Stir until smooth. Let cool slightly. Stir in the sugar, salt, and vanilla
extract. Add the eggs, one at a time,
stirring well, until blended.
2. Sift
the flour and unsweetened cocoa into the cake batter and beat until
smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips,
then pour the batter into the pan. Bake
in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is evenly colored and
a skewer inserted into the center comes out almost clean. Let cool slightly while preparing the sauce.
3. To
make the sauce, place the butter, sugar, milk, cream, and corn syrup in a small
saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and stir for 10 minutes, or
until the mixture is caramel-colored.
Remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Cut the brownies into large or small squares
and serve immediately with the sauce.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wedding in Winnipeg
You know it's been busy when I've barely baked and haven't blogged in over a week. I was gone for a few days at my cousin's wedding in Winnipeg last weekend. It was fun to have a mini family reunion with some of my relatives and I'm glad to have been able to be a part of the wedding festivities. Her dress was gorgeous:
Being food-obsessed, I took almost as many pictures of the food as I did of the family and the wedding activities.
Congratulations to Romina and Nick! Thanks for a beautiful wedding!
Being food-obsessed, I took almost as many pictures of the food as I did of the family and the wedding activities.
 |
| Mini quiches and stuffed mushrooms were 2 of the appetizers |
 |
| Followed by mushroom soup |
 |
| One of the entrees was beef tenderloin with scalloped potatoes and veggies |
 |
| Dessert was "Flight of Mousse" |
 |
| And of course the beautiful wedding cake - Red Velvet |
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Pumpkin Coffee Cake - made October 29, 2011 from Crazy for Crust's blog
I think I've mentioned before that one of the things I enjoy about blogging is getting exposed to all the other foodie blogs out there. Unfortunately I can't follow them all and even the ones I do follow, I don't always have time to read all the entries. But when I'm lucky, I have the right timing to not only catch up on some of the blogs but also catch a yummy-sounding and looking recipe like this one from Crazy for Crust. Dorothy has an awesome blog and I encourage you to check it out for not only some delicious goodies but also some very clever and creative concoctions. When I saw this one for Pumpkin Coffee Cake (click on the blog title to go to the original recipe on Dorothy's blog), it looked too good to pass up. I still had leftover pumpkin puree from the Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes and just enough milk that the recipe called for. Plus I love streusel and coffee cake so it was a no-brainer to try this out.
I've learned to trust Dorothy's recommendations as she and I seem to have similar tastes. This was validated by this recipe. She loved this one and so did I. It was super easy to make and turned out really well. The cake is moist and the streusel on top crisped up to provide a nice contrast to the soft texture of the cake. The only thing I changed is I didn't have pumpkin pie spice so I substituted cinnamon instead. Still turned out great - thanks, Dorothy!
I think I've mentioned before that one of the things I enjoy about blogging is getting exposed to all the other foodie blogs out there. Unfortunately I can't follow them all and even the ones I do follow, I don't always have time to read all the entries. But when I'm lucky, I have the right timing to not only catch up on some of the blogs but also catch a yummy-sounding and looking recipe like this one from Crazy for Crust. Dorothy has an awesome blog and I encourage you to check it out for not only some delicious goodies but also some very clever and creative concoctions. When I saw this one for Pumpkin Coffee Cake (click on the blog title to go to the original recipe on Dorothy's blog), it looked too good to pass up. I still had leftover pumpkin puree from the Brown Butter Pumpkin Cupcakes and just enough milk that the recipe called for. Plus I love streusel and coffee cake so it was a no-brainer to try this out.
I've learned to trust Dorothy's recommendations as she and I seem to have similar tastes. This was validated by this recipe. She loved this one and so did I. It was super easy to make and turned out really well. The cake is moist and the streusel on top crisped up to provide a nice contrast to the soft texture of the cake. The only thing I changed is I didn't have pumpkin pie spice so I substituted cinnamon instead. Still turned out great - thanks, Dorothy!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Lemon Chess Bars
Lemon Chess Bars - made October 26, 2011 from The Cake Mix Bible from Publications International (book #174)
I'm getting close to the end of my baking challenge. I think I have only a couple dozen more books to go. At this point, I confess, I just want to be done with the thing. Not really just to lift my self-imposed ban of buying new baking books but also because my enthusiasm for it is flagging. It was a good idea for awhile and good discipline for me to stick with what I have and to understand I don't have to buy every shiny new object, aka baking book, that catches my eye. Matter of fact, I'm so overwhelmed with what I already have that my enthusiasm for more baking books has waned a bit. It's hard to keep being acquisitive when you look at what you've already bought yet rarely use. I'm all for shopping and I support retail therapy when needed but at the end of the day, it's just so much stuff. And I know something I buy with such enthusiasm today will likely be a Goodwill donation in the future. It's just a matter of time until I like something better or do a purging declutter because I get overwhelmed by how much I have. This isn't a complaint as I'm one of the lucky ones to have that problem. But it is a factual observation of my patterns of behavior. Fortunately I've managed to tone down that acquisitive behavior in recent years. I just still need to purge some of the by-products of that behavior, aka "all this stuff" from past years.
This recipe came from one of those books - something I don't understand now why I bought it, considering I don't really believe in cake mix. I also don't believe in cream cheese so I'm not sure why I picked this recipe to try, likely because it looked easy and because it seemed like something I would like. I was wrong. It was easy enough to put together but I don't really like cream cheese unless there's only a little of it and it's paired with chocolate. That wasn't the case here. Other people who like cream cheese might like these bars for the very reason I didn't care for it: tasted too much like cream cheese :). On to the next recipe and the next cookbook in the challenge.
I'm getting close to the end of my baking challenge. I think I have only a couple dozen more books to go. At this point, I confess, I just want to be done with the thing. Not really just to lift my self-imposed ban of buying new baking books but also because my enthusiasm for it is flagging. It was a good idea for awhile and good discipline for me to stick with what I have and to understand I don't have to buy every shiny new object, aka baking book, that catches my eye. Matter of fact, I'm so overwhelmed with what I already have that my enthusiasm for more baking books has waned a bit. It's hard to keep being acquisitive when you look at what you've already bought yet rarely use. I'm all for shopping and I support retail therapy when needed but at the end of the day, it's just so much stuff. And I know something I buy with such enthusiasm today will likely be a Goodwill donation in the future. It's just a matter of time until I like something better or do a purging declutter because I get overwhelmed by how much I have. This isn't a complaint as I'm one of the lucky ones to have that problem. But it is a factual observation of my patterns of behavior. Fortunately I've managed to tone down that acquisitive behavior in recent years. I just still need to purge some of the by-products of that behavior, aka "all this stuff" from past years.
This recipe came from one of those books - something I don't understand now why I bought it, considering I don't really believe in cake mix. I also don't believe in cream cheese so I'm not sure why I picked this recipe to try, likely because it looked easy and because it seemed like something I would like. I was wrong. It was easy enough to put together but I don't really like cream cheese unless there's only a little of it and it's paired with chocolate. That wasn't the case here. Other people who like cream cheese might like these bars for the very reason I didn't care for it: tasted too much like cream cheese :). On to the next recipe and the next cookbook in the challenge.
1 (18.25-ounce) package white or yellow pudding-in-the-mix cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1. Preheat the oven to 350⁰F.
2. Combine cake mix, 1 egg and oil in large bowl; stir until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture into ungreased 9 x 13-inch cake pan. Bake 15 minutes or until light golden brown.
3. Combine remaining egg, cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice in medium bowl; beat until smooth and well blended. Spread over baked layer. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 15 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack; cut into bars.
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