got it! 
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
i posted this in "quick desserts" too but just as a note- to those starting off with baking, its so much more than just cakes.
give this a shot and you'll see how ridiculously easy and good it can be!
chocolate bread pudding is a quickie to whip up too! this is my recipe and short of winning me any awards, it gets raves everytime from everyone!
personally, i just throw everything together in one bowl, mix it well with a wooden spoon, pour it over the bread cubes, and throw it in the oven. easy peasy and SO delicious. to help the mixture thoroughly soak into the bread, i gently press down on the cubes with the back of a spoon to make sure it gets soaked. i make mine in a white oval pyrex dish as it looks pretty when serving it too.
Recipe: Paula Deen's Chocolate Bread Pudding (modified to eliminate the alcomohol)
Ingredients
1 (1-pound) loaf French or Italian bread, cubed (about 1" cubes)
3 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup strong coffee
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 eggs, lightly beaten
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips- regular or mini size and you can vary these depending on how chocolatey you want. you can also do 4 oz of chocolate chips and 4 oz of raisins.
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Lightly grease a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and place the bread in the dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, and liqueur. Using another bowl, combine the sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa powder and mix well. Add the sugar mixture to the milk mixture and mix well. Add the vanilla extract, and cinnamon to the beaten eggs. Combine the egg mixture to the milk mixture and mix well.
Stir the chocolate chips into the mixture. Pour the mixture over the cubed bread in the pan. Let the mixture stand, stirring occasionally for approximately 20 minutes or until bread absorbs most of the milk mixture. Bake pudding for 1 hour or until set. Check pudding by inserting a knife through the middle and it should come out clean.
Serve the pudding warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled with whipped cream if desired.
Thanks SGC for sharing this recipe. I will definitely try it. Oh and I made a cheesecake. It turned out pretty good. Also, if you have a good basic cake recipe.. i'll love that. I want to try my baking skills. My cake always breaks from the middle.
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
spiral, I think you should stick with the recipe you already use for a plain cake. If you cake always breaks from the middle, it could be due to a few things:
- your ingredients are not fresh or kept at room temperature.
- your tray must be in the centre of the oven. if it is too high in the oven, it is actually baking at a higher temperature, which will result in your cake rising and cracking in the middle.
- check the temperature of your oven. lower the heat if you need to. if you use a gas oven and are baking at 350 degrees, it could actually be 400 degrees in your oven, regardless of your tray settings. gas ovens tend to be tempermental and bake at a higher setting. so lower your settings.
do any of the above apply?
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
Maybe too high in the oven. I usually take my cake out earlier than what it says because my oven is pretty good and its a gas oven. I'll lower the rack next time I bake.
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
Check the temperature. You might have to lower it to 300 instead of 350 and leave it to bake slightly longer.
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
I wanted to share pics of cupcakes i made for my daughter’s first birthday.
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
^ um... hello?? YUM!!!! you can parcel some to me. i'll send you my address! i'm a cupcake fanatic and those look deeeelicious!
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
Ira, they look PROFESSIONAL!!! Seriously, well done. :k:
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
SGC, you are a couple of days late! I had to get rid of the leftovers else they would have added to my expanding waist line!
Mehnaz, thanks a bunch yar!
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
Ira, a quick question about cupcakes. I made them once and put them in the Wilton baking cups .... and they turned out fine, except the cupcake literally stuck to the baking cup. Is that normal? It's like I had to peel the baking cup off. How do the baking cups come off easily, like the ones at Tim Horton's, Starbucks, etc.?
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
Mehnaz, i have no clue how the starbucks cupcakes are. These ones came out pretty easily although a certain amount of "peeling" is required so the cakes dont fall out of the liner. I think i also used wilton liners, from Micheals.
Ira, the cupcakes look divine...what flavour are the cakes/icing? Would you mind sharing the receipes?
SGC - finally got the marshmallows...looking forward to making my own fondant...knowing my luck...it wont turn out right! But wish me luck i will start soon!
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
Thank you Sunset. I used yellow butter cupcake and chocolate butter cupcake recipes by Rose Berenbaum in her book Heavenly Cakes. I dont have the recipe written down since i returned the book to the library and plan to purchase it myself. If i find a link online i will post it soon. The icings were rose buttercream for the yellow ones and choco buttercream for the choc ones and i also filled the cakes with freshly whipped cream.
As an aside, i dont know what recipe you are using for MMF but here is one i have tried and liked.
Wilton Discussion Forums - Marshmallow fondant recipe and tips for success
I like this thread! :D
I was skimming it last night, and then I couldn't fall asleep because my brain went on an overdrive trying to think of cakes I can make. I just finished a beginners course from McCalls.
I have 2 questions though:
Is there any other icing that can be used that does not crust over? My buttercream cake is all crusted over, which is why no one's eating it. What do you do when you want a soft icing?
What do I do for chocolate icing, if I want it to be a chocolate cake?
Ira, a quick question about cupcakes. I made them once and put them in the Wilton baking cups .... and they turned out fine, except the cupcake literally stuck to the baking cup. Is that normal? It's like I had to peel the baking cup off. How do the baking cups come off easily, like the ones at Tim Horton's, Starbucks, etc.?
Mehnaz, i have no clue how the starbucks cupcakes are. These ones came out pretty easily although a certain amount of "peeling" is required so the cakes dont fall out of the liner. I think i also used wilton liners, from Micheals.
Its totally normal! The Starbucks ones have to be peeled off too... I think its the nature of the batter. It should peel off quite easily though- if your cupcake is crumbling then its too dry and needs more moisture. I tend to slightly underbake my cupcakes if I'm not filling them as they stay soft and gooey on the inside. Speaking of Starbies, have you tried the red velvet cupcake? Its amazing! The chocolate and vanilla are just meh.
SGC, you are a couple of days late! I had to get rid of the leftovers else they would have added to my expanding waist line!
Duuuuuddeee, I'm sad :(
SGC - finally got the marshmallows...looking forward to making my own fondant...knowing my luck...it wont turn out right! But wish me luck i will start soon!
sweeet!!! good luck! it'll turn out perfectly, trust me! :)
Re: Baking - The Beginners Guide
You know what? I have NEVER had red velvet cake. I should try making it.
Curious Lady, do you mean the consistency is too tough? Try adding WARM water to it and mix it some more. See if that makes any difference. If this isn't what you mean, then please explain what you are trying to say (i'm a bit confused :p ).
I like this thread! :D
I was skimming it last night, and then I couldn't fall asleep because my brain went on an overdrive trying to think of cakes I can make. I just finished a beginners course from McCalls.
I have 2 questions though:
Is there any other icing that can be used that does not crust over? My buttercream cake is all crusted over, which is why no one's eating it. What do you do when you want a soft icing?
What do I do for chocolate icing, if I want it to be a chocolate cake?
hrm... buttercream crusts over cos the butter in it gets hard... to keep it fluffy, you can cover your cake with a damp cloth once the buttercream has crusted over slightly and is no longer sticky. personally, i think there's a certain kind of satisfaction when you bit into a cupcake with crusted-over frosting and then hit the moist goodness just under that. mmmm.....sooo goooddd...
for chocolate icing, try chocolate buttercream!
there are many different ways of making buttercream, btw. try a few different recipes and see maybe those won't crust over? i've only used the Wilton recipe thus far.
here is Rose Berenbaum’s blog- Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum
maybe the recipes are here?
ooh wait, found 'em! God bless the interweb! 
http://www.recipezaar.com/yellow-butter-cake-by-rose-levy-beranbaum-407413
yellow butter cake
http://www.recipezaar.com/Perfect-Chocolate-Butter-Cake-29976
chocolate butter cake
definitely!!! but follow a proper southern recipe for it- most people just tint chocolate cake red and call it Red Velvet, but thats so not it.
here’s a recipe rated 4 stars by over 6000 people (!!) - Red Velvet Cake - All Recipes
but its always good to read the reviews, or skim through them as they offer alterations sometimes that can make the cake better.
its traditionally iced with cream cheese icing, but this one calls for something different.
interesting! i think i want to try it too!
and here’s the recipe from Magnolia Bakery in New York for their Red Velvet Cupcakes- Red Velvet Cupcakes with Creamy Vanilla Icing Recipe at Epicurious.com