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This weeks baking agenda changed as seen in the title of this weeks blog post. Due to current circumstances finding all the necessary ingredients posed a problem, so instead I decided to do muffins with my dad. First and foremost we washed our hands, and then gathered all the necessary ingredients. Dry ingredients included: Flour, cinnamon, and sugar, and liquid ingredients included: butter, milk, and vanilla extract. My dad made a Streusel topping which consisted of : 3 tbs of soft butter, 3 tbs of sugar, and 1/2 cup of milk. This would be applied before putting the batter in the oven. While my dad worked on the topping I worked on the batter. First separating the dry and liquid ingredients, and then sifting the dry ingredients. From there I proceed to mix the two until I got the right volume and texture. (Note: When making muffin batter you want the consistency to be similar to that of cookies dough, but not too much.) Next I preheated the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (Note: The initial burst of heat results in a better rise. Adjust accordingly not all batter is the same.), and then buttered the muffin pan. Finally we put the batter and topping mix into the muffin pan and into the oven for 14-20 minutes. What we saw was amazing. The muffins looked like mountains. They were golden brown, and had a soft, crisp inside. The taste was even better. The combination of banana flavoring combined with cinnamon and a hint of vanilla extract made the perfect combo. I wasn't expecting the muffins to turn out the way they did, but I was glad to bake with my dad and see it all work out. I'm not sure what I'm going to bake next week I'll just have to play it week by week, but I do hope to bake something as good as what my dad and I baked this week.
This weeks baking agenda was centered around cake. When thinking about cake people usually gravitate towards the warm and sweet smelling aroma of a bakery. This week I hoped to not only mimic the smell of a freshly baked cake, but to bake one of my own. First I started off researching the topic of cakes, and gradually built up a recipe. I additionally found helpful tips in regards to improving the texture, volume, and baking of a cake. Once done researching I gathered all the necessary ingredients and started the long journey of baking a cake. I then gathered all the dry ingredients (Note: When mixing dry ingredients be sure to sift them. This allows for the dry ingredients to blend evenly, and adds volume) flour, sugar, cake mix, and salt. Then in a separate bowl I gathered all the liquid ingredients (Note: Be sure to mix dry and liquid ingredients separately. This allows for the ingredients to mix properly, and evenly disperses those ingredients resulting in consistency and an even texture) milk, four eggs whites, melted butter, and vanilla extract. I gradually mixed and combined both the dry and liquid ingredients and created the cake batter. Next I covered three pans in butter, flour and cake strips (Note: Cake strips allow for your cake to bake evenly), but I made the mistake of pouring too much batter into the first bowl, and forgetting to add sugar on top of the batter before putting it in the oven. (Note: Adding sugar to the top of cake batter helps to prevent the cake from developing a dome like shape) This resulted in uneven shape and texture of the first cake. It was disappointing to see the results of the first cake, but I had two other cakes that turned out great. They were evenly baked, and had a soft, yet solid texture to them.
Finally after cooling I iced the two with vanilla cream icing, and gave samples of my cake for my family to try. There was an abundance of positive feed back. Overall the cake was a success. The texture was great and the taste was even better. The warm taste of vanilla icing combined with the even sweetness of sugar and vanilla extract provided by a pinch of salt, in addition to the moist, even texture made for a stupendous cake. Next week I'll be moving on to a pastry known to many as Flan. I hope to have as much success as I've had this week, and look forward to preparing this pastry. Hello everyone, this weeks blog post was centered around the sweet, soft, and round dessert most people know as cookies. When I imagine cookies I imagine a rich, chewy, evenly baked treat that crumbles in my mouth, and this week I hoped for no different. As I baked this weeks cookies I was surprised to see the amount of ingredients and effort that I had to put into getting the dough's texture, structure, and taste just right. I began with two separate bowls each with their own specific ingredients. Bowl one contained ingredients like flour, baking-soda, and salt while bowl two contained ingredients like butter, sugar, brown-sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs. Each bowls were thoroughly mixed and then were gradually mixed together, but while mixing the two I found the consistency of the mixture to be inadequate. It was too soft and seemed like I was mixing cake batter, even with the chunky chocolate chips in the mixture. As a result I added additional flour. Once I finished mixing and adding additional ingredients to help with the consistency of the mixture it was ready to be put in the oven. I hoped for the best and looked forward to seeing how they would bake. Upon looking at the baked cookies I was surprised, but not disappointed. The cookies had risen a little more than I had hoped for, but upon closer inspection and consumption the cookies were a success. The cookies were soft, warm, and most importantly evenly baked. The sides weren't too crispy and the center of the cookie melted in your mouth. The part I enjoyed most was sharing and receiving feed back from the family and friends that sampled my cookies. Although they weren't quite what I had imagined they were still tasty and enjoyable.
I think next time I'll consider adding less salt or baking-soda, but overall this weeks baking was a success. I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store for next weeks baking agenda, and hope to improve upon what I've learned this week. Who doesn't like brownies? This week I chose to make brownies. Something simple and easy to start off with. Throughout the week I researched ways in which to improve box made brownies. When baking typically I look for a balance between quantity and quality, but if so more quality than quantity. Coco powder, parchment paper, and melted butter seemed to be the real game changers when it came to baking brownies. Coco powder provided a more chocolate like taste to the brownies, parchment paper in addition to a coat of melted butter allowed for the brownies to cook evenly and remove from the pan without hassle, and melted butter allowed for the brownies to aerate and rise. Throughout my experiences with baking brownies the same problems would arise. The bottom and sides of the pastry would over cook leaving the center soft and doughy or the batter would thicken so much so that it wouldn't bake. As I baked these brownies I worried it would just be a repeat of the same scenarios mentioned above, but I can say with confidence "That wasn't the case". Just look at how they turned out. These brownies had a soft, gooey texture and seemed to have baked evenly. Once they were taken out and cooled removing them from the pan was trouble-free. I have a feeling parchment paper and melted butter were the main contributing factors. In addition the brownies had a more chocolate- like taste thanks to the addition of coco powder. All in all I'd say these brownies hit the mark. They had great texture and appearance and you could taste the chocolaty "brownieness" within them. I hope to have similar experiences in the future when baking recipes of higher complexity.
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Welcome to the Blog!I'll be posting about my baking experiences here. If you have any questions or advice feel free to leave a comment. ArchivesNo Archives |