Pound Cake

Category: Cakes > Butter Cakes > Pound Cake

I like pound cake. It is a heavy and dense cake with a rich taste. Plus, it's a lot easier to make than a foam cake. The pound cake got its' names because it contains one pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. Now-a-days pound cakes can include different flavorings and additives like nuts or chocolate chips.

This is a Cream Cheese pound cake I made. It's pretty close to a traditional pound cake except it substitutes some cream cheese for some butter and has vanilla added.



Recipe:

• 2 cups Butter, softened
  
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese
  
• 3 cups Sugar
  
• 2-1/2 cups + 2 tbsp. Flour
  
• 6 Eggs
  
• 2 tbsp. Vanilla
  

Grease and flour a 10" bundt pan. Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Whip butter and cream cheese together in large mixing bowl. Gradually add sugar and beat until thoroughly combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until well mixed. Add vanilla. Blend in flour gradually. Pour batter into the pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool 15 minutes then remove from pan.

Baking Tips:

• Make sure you take extra time and grease and flour your bundt pan well so you get a nice shape when you remove the cake.
  
• If the top of the cake is getting too brown but the cake isn't finished baking, cover the top with aluminum foil while it finishes.
  

Tonight's Dinner - Shepherd's Pie

Category: Pies > Savory > Shepherd's Pie

One of my favorite dishes is ground beef, green beans and crushed tomatoes topped with mashed potatoes sprinkled with cheese. I never knew it was a Shepherd's Pie until recently.

Traditionally, a Shepherd's Pie is minced lamb covered with a mashed potato crust. It does not contain a bottom crust. Cottage Pie uses minced beef. Newer American versions can use any type of minced meat and also includes vegetable.



Recipe:

• 2 pounds Potatoes, peeled and cubed
  
• 2 tbsp. Cream Cheese, softened
  
• 1/2 cup Cream
  
• Salt and Pepper
  
• Paprika and Parsley Flakes
  
• 1-3/4 pounds Ground Beef
  
• 1-1/2 cups Mixed Vegetables
  
• 2 tbsp. Butter or Margarine
  
• 1 medium Onion, chopped
  
• 2 tbsp. Flour
  
• 1 cup Beef Stock or Broth
  
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
  

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain potatoes and pour them back into the pot you boiled them in. Add creme cheese and creme to potatoes and mash until almost smooth.

In a large skillet, add beef and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Once your meat is brown, added your mixed vegetables. Cook about 5 minutes.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine butter and flour together for 2 minutes. Add broth and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until gravy thickens. Add gravy to the meat mixture.

Preheat broiler. Fill a casserole dish with the meat mixture. Spoon mashed potatoes evenly over meat. Top with paprika and broil until potatoes are evenly browned. Top with parsley flakes and enjoy.

Sponge Cake

Category: Cakes > Foam Cake > Sponge Cake

Okay, I gotta admit that foam cakes are trickier than butter cakes. My first attempt at a sponge cake failed. It was only about 1" high, a little too done on the sides, and, although it tasted okay, was a bit too eggy for my tastes.

I have no clue what went wrong. There are a million different sponge cake recipes out there and they all vary greatly so it is hard for me to pin point where in the process I went wrong. I noted that the large eggs I used seemed a bit larger than normal with a lot of egg white. I might have ended up with too much egg. I might have messed up with combining all the final ingredients and "killed" too much of the air.

But, just like with the Angel Food cake, I was determined to succeed. The next night I tried again after a bunch of research on the net and armed with a different recipe. Victory was mine in the end.



Recipe:

• 4 Eggs, separated
  
• 1 cup Sugar
  
• 4 tbsp. Cold Water-
  
• 1 cup Cake Flour
  
• 1 tsp. Baking Powder
  
• 1 tsp. Vanilla or flavoring of choice
  

Separate your eggs and let them get to room temperature. Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Grease the bottom of your baking pan but not the sides. Place parchment paper on bottom of baking pan. Beat Egg Yolks until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Sift Cake Flour and Baking Powder together. On low speed, mix in flour mixture alternately with water and vanilla. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until it forms stiff peaks. Gently fold egg whites into batter. Pour the batter into baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

Baking Tips:

• Make sure you don't have any grease that will touch your cake in your baking pan.
  
• Make sure you don't have any grease in the bowl your egg whites will be in.
  
• Fold in a figure 8 pattern.
  
• Place baking strips around your pan for a more evenly cooked cake. The outside of cakes cook faster than the middle. This also causes domed cakes. Baking strips will help prevent this.
  
• If you want, you can add 1 tsp. lemon zest for a lemony flavoring.
  
• Don't use a tester or toothpick to test if cake is done. Poking a hole in the cake, especially if it is not done, will cause it to dry out. Instead lightly press on cake. If it is springy and springs back it is done.
  

Panko

Category: Breads > Yeast > Panko

Years ago there was this Japanese restaurant that my best friend and I would go to on occasion. We would always get tempura chicken. The chicken was coated in a tasty and crispy batter the likes of which I had never seen before. One day, my friend and I learned they had removed the tempura chicken from their menu. I tried for a really long time to imitate that batter before I learned that it had been coated in Panko.

Panko are Japanese bread crumbs. It is made from crust-less white bread that is high in gluten. The end result is a very airy and crispy coating for your fried foods. You can use Panko on fish, meats, and vegetables. Below is a picture of Panko battered chicken, broccoli, squash, and sweet potatoes.



You can usually buy Panko at an Asian market or even your local grocery store. However, if you want to try your hand at making Panko yourself I have included some instructions. I haven't tried this out myself yet so if you do, please let me know how it turns out.

The secret to Panko is in the Japanese bread used to make it. Japanese bread is higher in gluten than bread here in America. So you need to start by baking a white bread and making sure you add extra gluten.

Recipe:

• High Gluten White Bread Slices
  

Preheat oven at 200 degrees. Cut the crust off bread. Place slices on a cookie sheet and slowly toast until dried but not brown. Grate bread into coarse crumbs that look like small pieces of glass shards. Spray on honey water with a spritz bottle and dry the crumbs again.

The Devil with Angel Food Cake

Category: Cakes > Foam Cakes > Angel Food Cake

I don't really like Angel Food cake. I didn't have it much growing up and prefer richer desserts. The only Angel Food cake I ever had is from the grocery store bakery section so you know it's not the best. My mom and brother tried to bake one once. It didn't come out too well, the top burned somehow and that was the end of Angel Food cake.

However, in my pursuit of learning the culinary arts, I decided it was time to tackle this cake. Two nights ago was my first attempt. When I took it out of the oven it looked okay but after it cooled and I flipped it out I learned it wasn't. It was flat, eggy and just not right. After some research, I figured I put too many egg whites in the cake. What I learned was, when trying a new dish, look at multiple recipes before settling on one.



The next night I was determined to conquer this cake. Luckily for me, my second attempt turned out well. It tasted good but I'm still not a personal fan of Angel Food cake. It is definitely one of those cakes that takes a while to master. Remember kiddies, practice makes perfect. If at first you don't succeed, try again and you will be rewarded with something yummy.





Recipe:

• 1 cup Cake Flour
  
• 3/4 cup Sugar
  
• 1 cup Sugar
  
• 1-1/2 cup Egg Whites (9 to 13 whites)
  
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
  
• 1-1/2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
  
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
  
• 1/2 tsp. Almond Extract
  

Let egg whites get to room temperature. Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Sift together the cake flour and 3/4 cup sugar five times. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl add the egg whites and salt. Beat on high until foamy (about 30 seconds). Add the cream of tartar. Continue beating on high until you get medium peaks. Do not over beat until dry.

Quickly sprinkle in the 1 cup sugar while beating. Scape bowl sides gently towards beaters with rubber spatula. Turn to low and add the vanilla and almond extract.

Quickly sprinkle the sifted flour mixture in evenly. Beat only enough to blend, scraping bowl gently towards beater with a folding motion.

Gently spoon batter into an ungreased 10" tube pan. Cut through batter with spatula going around in widening circles six times without lifting spatula to make sure you don't have any air bubbles. Bake about 30 minutes. Turn pan upside down to cool for at least 1 hour. Loosen sides with spatula and remove.

Baking Tips:

• Use your whip attachment for the mixer.
  
• If you don't have a whip attachment - Instead of using the mixer to fold in your flour mixture, fold in by hand adding 1/4 cup at a time.
  
• Your goal is to have your final batter light and fluffy.
  
• Don't bang the uncooked batter. Be gentle until the cake has had some time to bake and set in the oven. Otherwise your cake could flatten.
  
• You can substitute different flavoring for the vanilla and almond extracts. For example, you can use 1 tsp. orange extract instead.
  
• Making sure your tube pan and all tools are grease free.
  

Banana Bread

Category: Breads > Quick Breads > Banana Bread

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it gives you something to do with your ripe or even a little over ripe bananas other than throwing them away. This is a cake-like banana bread that is very tasty. Since I don't like nuts, I always leave them out but normally you would add nuts to the recipe.



Recipe:

• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
  
• 1/2 cup Shortening
  
• 3 Ripe Bananas
  
• 2 Eggs
  
• 1-1/4 cups Flour
  
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
  
• 1 tsp. Baking Soda
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Chopped Nuts of Choice (optional)
  

Preheat oven at 325 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 9"x5" loaf pan. Peel and cut bananas into 3 to 4 pieces each. Place in mixer to mash. Add the sugar and shortening to the bananas and cream together. Beat the eggs well and add to mixture. Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together three times. Blend the wet and dry ingredients but do not over mix. Pour mixture into loaf pan. Bake for around 50-55 minutes. When toothpick is insert in the middle of the bread and comes out clean, it is done. Place pan on cooling rack and let sit for at least 20 minutes before removing from pan.

Baking Tips:

• Make sure your bananas are ripe, not fresh.
  
• Because of the bananas, when you cream the sugar and shortening together it will be liquidy.
  
• You don't want to over mix. If you do, you won't get a smooth curved shape. Your bread will peak up but get air tunnels underneath.
  

Learn All About How to Become a Pastry Chef

Learn All About How to Become a Pastry Chef at Key2Baking.com