13 Baking Tips from Ace of Cakes' Adam Goldstein

Source: Oprah

There's nothing worse thank a cake that falls flat, crumbles at the smallest touch or just tastes off. Help stop a "caketastrophe" with this excerpt from Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes by Duff Goldman and Willie Goldman.

To avoid catastrophe, store eggs and butter at 38 degrees F.

To avoid a "caketastrophe," allow them to come to room temperature before mixing.

To restrain hair without the stigma of a hairnet, wear a beanie.

Do not leave cake unattended around vultures, jackals, or underpaid art students.

If your cake turns out a little dry, try eliminating an egg white or two next time.

If your butter cake turns out rather heavy, chances are that you didn't cream the butter and sugar long enough—at least five minutes is a good rule of thumb.

To take your chocolate cake to the next level, try adding brewed coffee to the mix.

If your recipe calls for baking soda, make sure there is an acidic component (buttermilk, vinegar, citrus) in your ingredients as well—unless, of course, you're going for the always popular soapflavored cake.

Preheating your oven is not optional in baking.

The toothpick test is still the best way to determine if a cake is done—give it a poke in the center, and if the toothpick is clean, you're good to go.

For perfect, easy-to-spread ganache, use slightly more (by weight) cream than chocolate. So if you have 1 1/2 pounds of chocolate, use about 1 3/4 pounds of cream. And make sure to allow for ample time for the ganache to set up.

When making a meringue, it is better to underwhip your egg whites a little than risk overwhipping and drying them out.

When whipping egg whites, make certain that your bowl is clean and that you haven't gotten any yolk in the mix. Fat spells doom to light, fluffy meringues.

Restrain yourself—or have someone else restrain you—from cutting into the cake until it is completely cool. If you plan to ice the cake, this is particularly important.

Pam's Tin Roof Fudge Pie Recipe

It is with Pam's permission to copy this recipe so I can try baking this in my daughter's new kitchen as she has a nice oven to convert into a laboratory kitchen.

Pam of Mom's Mutterings blog apparently is an expert baker with lots to share to her followers and readers. Kindly follow her blog IN THIS LINK for more and better surprises.

In this particular recipe, I left the picture out. You can see what it looks like when you pay her blog a visit. It looks super delicious and mouth watering.

I posted this recipe here so I will have easy access to her recipe board. One thing, I have never baked a pie in my whole life. Hope this will be a good start to begin with pie making. Hooray!

My newly married daughter wanted to learn baking, so this will be her new added interest to fill her time as a new wife, her new life.

Thank you very much Pam for your kindness.


Ingredients:

2 ounces semisweet chocolate
1 tablespoon butter
1 pastry shell (9 inches), baked

PEANUT LAYER:
20 caramels
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1-1/2 cups salted peanuts

CHOCOLATE LAYER:
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Whipped cream and salted peanuts, optional

TOPPING:
3 caramels
5 teaspoons heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
In a small saucepan, melt chocolate and butter over low heat; stirring until smooth. Spread onto the bottom and up the sides of crust; refrigerate until the chocolate is set.
For peanut layer, in a small saucepan, melt caramels and cream over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in peanuts. Spoon into pie shell; refrigerate.
For chocolate layer, in a microwave, melt chocolate and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl beat cream and vanilla until soft peaks form. Carefully fold a third of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture; fold in the remaining whipped cream. Spread over peanut layer; refrigerate until set. Garnish with whipped cream and peanuts if desired.
For topping, in a small saucepan, melt caramels, cream and butter over low heat. stirring until smooth. Drizzle over pie. Store in the refrigerator.

The Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup Created by Rori Trovato

The stock recipe makes more than the soup recipe calls for. Store the remaining stock in small airtight, freezer-safe containers, up to 3 months.

Ingredients:

Serves 6 to 8

Stock:

• 1 whole chicken , halved and cleaned and 6 chicken wings
• 3 carrots , trimmed
• 1 onion , peeled
• 2 leeks , thoroughly rinsed
• 4 stalks celery
• 3 parsnips , trimmed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 bunch parsley
• 1 whole lemon

Soup:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion , chopped (about 2 cups)
• 3 carrots , peeled and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch coins
• 2 stalks celery , cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 2 tablespoons chopped dill
• 1 pound egg noodles
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper , to taste

For the stock: In a large pot, combine all ingredients and add just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to the barest simmer and cook 4 hours, occasionally skimming the scum off the surface. Strain stock into a large bowl and discard solids except for chicken halves; set those aside.

To make soup: In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery. Cook about 10 minutes. Add 6 cups stock. Cook 25 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.

Meanwhile, pull chicken into shreds from reserved chicken halves; discard skin and bones. Add chicken to stock, along with dill and noodles and cook until noodles are al dente, 8 to 10 more minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper (the stock is unsalted; it may need more than you think). Serve hot.

Butternut Squash and Sage Soup by Rori Trovato

Try this delicious recipe!

Ingredients:

Serves 4 to 6

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion , chopped (about 2 cups)
• 2 butternut squashes , peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage , plus 8 to 18 leaves for garnish
• 4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
• Vegetable oil , for frying

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, 8 to 10 minutes. Add squash; cook 5 more minutes. Add chopped sage and broth; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and cook until squash is very tender, about 30 minutes. With an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth (or puree in small batches in a food processor fitted with knife blade). Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In a small pan, heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil until hot. Drop sage leaves in about 3 at a time and fry until just crisp; remove to a paper-towel-lined plate. Serve soup hot, garnished with 2 or 3 sage leaves per bowl.

Creamy Potato Soup with Sour Cream

Found this in Oprah online magazine and thought I'll keep this till winter comes down under during America's summertime. Since there are food that we are not allowed to eat, it is easy to find ideal substitute for them. We love soups, so I am going to give this a try.

In due credit to Rori Trovato, the recipe owner.

Description: a thick puree served with classic baked-potato toppings.

Ingredients:

Serves 6 to 8

• 6 strips bacon(silver side as my substitute)
  
• 1 large onion , chopped (about 2 cups)
• 3 large cloves garlic , chopped
• 3 pounds unpeeled russet or baking potatoes (about 4 potatoes), cut into 1-inch chunks
• 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped chives

In a large pot, cook bacon over medium-low heat until crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Remove bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate, break into small pieces and set aside.

Drain from the pot all but 2 tablespoons fat. Add onion and increase heat to medium. Cook until golden, about 12 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 more minute. Add potatoes and broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes.

With an immersion blender, puree soup until chunky-smooth (or puree in batches in a food processor fitted with knife blade). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot, in bowls, topped with bacon bits, sour cream, Cheddar cheese and chives.

Tinolang Manok

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, regular size, cut
1 stem of fresh lemon grass (dry lemon grass, optional)
White gourd or upo, peeled and cut into desired size
1 cup green beans, cleaned and halved
1 cup deboned moringga leaves or "kalamunggay"
1 tsp annato powder (soy sauce, optional)
water, salt to taste


White Gourd or "Upo"

Scrumptious Diced Fruit Salad

Now don't get mislead. They are not your average fruit salad for dessert. This is only one variation of salad using raw mango ideal for Barbecue dishes to break down fatty components of the meat that need to be burn down in your system.

Here are my Ingredients:

1 piece of raw mango

1 red truss tomato

1 Granny Smith Apple

1/2 cup of mixed marinated Kalamata olives and stuffed olives.

Method:

Peel the fruits, core, dice and place together in a bowl. Add the marinated mixed olives (I bought from a Deli shop)and mixed well. Garnish with parsley or anything that you may fancy of decorating.

Serve with newly cooked barbecue (meat of your choice).

Helps to digest the fat. You may add red and green capsicum.

Remember Cooking is an Art. Be creative. Be imaginative. The secret is all in your palate. How's your tastebuds going?