Assalamualaikum & Salam Sejahtera,
Meluangkan masa dengan Mdm Google...lama tak browse sini-sana, terjumpa tips yang ringkas ni tapi agak padat isinya. Saja kongsi di sini buat rujukan sendiri dan juga but teman-teman serta adik-adik di luar sana. Tapi sumbernya dalam Bahasa Inggeris....malas pulak nak translate.
Recipe Ingredients:
1. Ingredients for cakes should be room temperature
(can take out of refrigerator approximately 60-90 minutes before needed).
2. To check freshness of eggs, put in a bowl of
water–if they sink, they’re fresh. If they float and stand on one
end, they’re not.
3. ”Eggs” typically means Grade A, large eggs.
4. “Milk” typically means homogenized.
5. You can substitute milk with yogurt or sour
cream, to experiment with different textures.
6. To create a replacement for buttermilk, add 1
teaspoon vinegar for every cup of homogenized milk and stir.
7. Weighing ingredients with a digital kitchen
scale is the most accurate method of baking.
8. 1 large egg white = 37 grams, 1 large egg yolk =
20 grams. Eggs separate best when cold, but whites whip best when room
temperature or warm.
9. Egg whites in carton freeze well–just pull
out of freezer night before you need them.
10. For best results, use pure vanilla extract (not
from grocery stores)–what a difference! Heck, don’t even be afraid to double
the vanilla quantity.
11. To bring cold eggs to room temperature quickly,
you can put the whole eggs into a bowl of lukewarm water (not hot) for 30
minutes.
12. To bring butter to room temperature quickly,
you can cut into small cubes on a plate for about 15 minutes.
13. Semisweet Chocolate = Dark Chocolate.
Bittersweet Chocolate = Extra Dark Chocolate.
14. Semisweet & Bittersweet Chocolate are
interchangeable.
15. Unless otherwise listed, use unsalted
butter for cake recipes.
Mixing:
16. Incorporate dry ingredients together with whisk
before adding to wet ingredients.
17. When creaming butter and sugar, get the mixture
very pale yellow and fluffy–will take several minutes (around 5).
18. Always start and end with dry ingredients
when alternating with wet ingredients (3 dry additions, 2 wet).
19. Don’t overmix once dry ingredients are added.
Just mix on low speed until incorporated.
20. Kitchen stand-mixers don’t need to run at
full-speed. A small mixer should run no more than speed #4, for most
things. A large mixer no more than speed #6. You will add years to your mixer’s
life!
21. Be careful with your sugar–too much can cause a
dark crust (one of several possible causes), too little can cause too
light a crust or tough texture.
22. Watch your flour–too much can cause a cracked
top (one of several possible causes).
23. Beat egg yolks with fork before adding to
batter.
24. To retrieve stray eggshells in mixture, use the
emptied half-shell–eggshell sticks to eggshell. If you don’t get them all, they
will sink during baking, so you can turn baked cake over when cool
and retrieve them.
25. A pinch of salt brings out the flavours in
sweet baked goods.
26. When folding, you should always add the lighter
of the two mixtures on top, using a gentle folding motion, to avoid deflating
batter.
27. When mixing egg whites for meringue, wipe all
untensils and bowl with vinegar or lemon juice on a paper towel before they
come in contact with the egg whites (including the mixer whisk attachment). Any
trace of grease, will likely jeopordize your meringue.
28. Keep an extra set of rubber spatulas that you
use strictly for meringue.
29. Use the electric mixer’s splashguard for
liquidy batters–that’s what it’s for!
30. If incorporating more than one flavour into a
batter or icing, always start with the vanilla; vanilla enhances most flavours.
Baking Cakes:
31. For evenly-baked cakes, no domed tops, and
no-fuss assembly, bake “layer-by-layer.” This means if you’re baking a
3-layer cake, use 3 of the same size/shape pan, and bake 3 shorter layers
at same time.
32. Use a small offset palette knife to spread
batter evenly in pans. Don’t fill more than 1/2 full–2/3 at the most.
33. Get a separate oven thermometer for
an accurate temperature reading–most ovens are either “hot” or “cold.”
34. Always wait for oven to reach necessary
temperature before putting cakes in oven.
35. Keep cakes away from sides of oven, and if
possible a few inches from each other (when more than 1 baking at once).
36. Rotate cakes after 20 minutes in oven
(don’t disturb before 20 minutes).
37. Use middle rack, unless otherwise stated in
recipe.
38. Typically, when in oven, cakes are nearing done
when you can smell cake in the kitchen. Sounds weird, but you’ll see!
39. Leave cakes in oven when testing for
“doneness.” When a skewer comes clean from center of cake, it’s done.
40. Don’t overbake! This is one sure way to end up
with a dry cake.
Cooling & Frosting:
41. Let full cakes cool in pans on wire racks for
20 minutes before removing from pans.
42. Remove cupcakes from pan immediately, placing
individual cupcakes on wire rack to cool.
43. Once completely cooled, wrap cake layers in
plastic wrap and place in freezer for 30 minutes before cutting and/or icing.
44. Always place cake on a thin foil-covered
cake board the same size/shape as the cake for ease of icing/serving, etc.
45. Brush away any stray cake crumbs with silicone
pastry brush before icing.
46. Apply even layers of filling using an 18″ pastry
bag and large round tip.
47. Apply thin layer of icing to seal in crumbs,
then place in refrigerator for 30 minutes before second layer of icing.
48. Use an offset palette knife/icing
spatula for frosting top of cake, and straight palette knife/icing spatula
for sides of cake. Use a bench scraper for super-smooth edges.
49. If you don’t have time for frosting your cake,
a good sprinkling of powdered sugar does wonders! Tastes and looks great on
most cakes.
50. To give your frosted cake a glossy finish, you
can use a hair-dryer on medium heat over the outside of the cake (right before
serving).
Semoga bermanafaat!
