Baking - The Beginners Guide

Lifestyle Parenting, Household Affairs and Cuisine corner
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Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

Sunset Eyes, your cakes look soooooooooo incredible, like something straight out of a bakery!!!!!!!!!!!

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Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

I have a question. I'm going to be making my birthday cake in a few weeks, and I figured I would experiment and cover it with whipped cream instead of the usual buttercream.

Now, I got a good recipe.

My questions are:

  1. Can you dye whipped cream with food colour the same way we dye buttercream? will it damage the consistency of the cream?

  2. Is it possible to make it looks smooth how I do with buttercream? I don't know if dropping water on it will be possible ....

  3. Would the whipped cream break if I drop fondant accents on top of it?

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I looooooooove this brownie recipe :hayaa: Its exactly as you said, chewy, rich and dense…just like a brownie should be!!! Sooo good, you have you try it!!

http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef/2010/02/alice-medrichs-cocoa-brownies.html

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can you please post the recipe?

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So I had a large bottle of non-alcoholic vanilla extract that I had been using and it finished. Since it was a very large bottle, it lasted me a while and I didnt remember where I got it from. All the stores I checked had only alcoholic vanilla extract, whether pure or artificial, and I couldnt find a non-alcoholic alternative anywhere! Today I finally found a bottle in a halal store --except that it is white. I bought it anyways because Ive been searching in so many stores and couldnt find anything, but am just wondering what is white vanilla extract and will it give different results than the usual brown extract??? I tried searching online but couldnt find any information
Thanks!!!!!!!!

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Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

Opps I was searching white instead of clear :smack:
I found this…so do you think it would it be fine or wouldnt produce satisfactory results

http://www.ochef.com/1458.htm

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  • I'm sure you can dye it.

  • You probably can smooth it out but I don't think water will smooth it out- hot water works with buttercream because it melts the butter in the icing and it gets smoothed out like that, but whipping cream is a different thing entirely.

  • Yeah, I think it will break- whipping cream icing is great for, well, icing and its really fluffy yummy icing, but I wouldn't decorate the cake with fondant bits in that case. I'd pipe/ice it using the cream in patterns instead. Check the recipe from last page that I posted for the Oreo cookie cupcakes- its delicious!

    • I found this answer on the Wilton msg boards-
    *Hi,
    I often use the Wilton recipe for stabilized whipped cream, which calls for piping gel mixed into it. I find it stands up very well - last fall I made a tiered wedding cake that sat out for about three hours before they got to it (I didn't know in advance that this would happen), and not only did the whipped cream still look perfect, but it still tasted good enough that people went back for seconds and thirds and the bride and groom barely had a chance to save a piece for themselves.

    I find many people prefer the taste of real whipped cream over buttercream icing.

    I find that the stabilized whipped cream does very well for borders and something like simple rosettes or stars, but for more complicated decorations, I use buttercream or marzipan. I haven't had much of a problem with color from the buttercream or marzipan bleeding into the whipped cream, but I usually try to delay putting on those decorations if I can.*

    *Here's the Wilton recipe for Stabilized Whipped Cream:
    1 c. heavy cream (make sure it's well chilled)
    2 Tbsp. confectioners' sugar
    2 Tbsp. piping gel
    1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (or almond extract)

    Whip cream and sugar to soft peak stage (easiest to do with an electric mixer; make sure your bowl and beaters are dry before you start) (soft peaks means that when you lift the beaters, the peaks flop over).
    Add piping gel and vanilla extract. Whip to stiff peaks (this means that when you lift the beaters, the peaks stay put).
    Do not overbeat.
    Yield: 1 1/2 - 2 cups (I usually double the recipe to have enough to cover a cake and do borders)

    If it's hot and humid in your kitchen, chill the bowl and beaters before starting, and then chill the end product before icing your cake.

    If you find that the whipped cream isn't holding well when you're covering your cake or doing the border, either return it to the mixer and beat it some more ( but don't overbeat) or chill it for a while.*

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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    I found this recipe for “Extra special buttercream” frosting. I figure I’d try making my own icing now and the Wilton’s website is pretty fool-proof :slight_smile:

    My question is about the whipping cream. I just want to make sure, is “heavy whipping cream” the same thing? because as far as I have seen, the grocery stores here have cool whip, whipped topping from a can, cream (heavy and low fat and whipping kind).

    Also for those of you who’ve tried Wilton’s recipes, have you reduced the amount of sugar and shortening and had good results?

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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    Can anybody give me a simple chocolate muffin recipe. I am living in Pakistan and we get very basic ingredients here so please I want a simple one.

    I would prefer the one which has melted chocolate filling inside. Once I saw Rida in Tarka making it she used cad bury chocolate squares I did the same but they didn’t melt :bummer:

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    here it comes in a little carton and its called whipping cream so yes, i’d say heavy whipping cream is what you need. it should be where you can buy milk, not in the freezer section where the cool whip would be.

    keep tasting the sugar as you add it in cup by cup and stop when its sweet enough- i find the wilton buttercream icing is too sweet if you use all 8 cups so i usually stop around 6.

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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    I want to try my luck at baking and I have a few questions for the pros here:

    1. What would be a basic cake/cupcake recipe that can be iced?
    2. What pans/accessories should I buy to get started?
    3. How can you tell if a cake is too dry or moist?
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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    ^

    1. Chocolate cake! This one has over 2000 reviews and a 5-star rating! Too Much Chocolate Cake Recipe (I gotta try it too now!)
    2. I’d suggest two 8" round pans, non-stick, and a 9" x 13" pan and two cupcake pans. Invest in good quality ones and they’ll last you a long time. I did the cheap route but after a couple of uses they’re pretty much good to be thrown out. Then again, you can also start off using those foil pans- those are good to practice on.
    3. Slice into it! If its moist, you’ll be able to see it and taste it. If its too dry, you’ll know right away too.
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    I'm not a pro but....
    1. Anything from a box! Seriously....they're good for beginners and u can't go wrong with em. If ure up for a challenge, the link SGC provided is good too :)

    1. a 9" round, a 9x13 rectangular, and a cupcake pan. Honestly, if ure an absolute beginner, I would recommend just getting em from the dollar store....they're just as good..u dont want to drop alotta $$ and realize u dont really like baking and hardly ever use them. I've had mine for a few months now and so far so good :)

    2. if its dry it will be too crumbly..if too moist, u will see the batter sticking to it..its always recommended to test hte cake with a knife or toothpick, it should come out clean when inserted into the middle of hte cake.

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    Thanks SGC and Sara..I'll keep your advice in mind...:-)

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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    ^ haha its conflicting advice to an extent, but i agree with sara- try something out first and see if you actually love it, and then proceed with the expensive investment pans.

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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    my very feminine/girly birthday cake:


    Banana nut pineapple with light cream cheese icing

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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    So adorable!!!

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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    cute!

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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    Mehnaz- That is soo nice!! I love it!

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    Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide

    So girly and cute. Can u share the recipe?