All-New Cake Mix Doctor - Anne Byrn [8]
Lemons and oranges, orange juice: Keep citrus fruit in the drawer of your refrigerator for cooking and baking. Rinse and dry them before removing the zest with a Microplane grater. Any leftover zest can be placed in a small plastic bag and frozen. Cut the fruit in half and squeeze out the juice. You will get about a teaspoon of zest and from two to three tablespoons of juice per mediumsize lemon. Oranges yield more. A carton of orange juice is handy to have on hand to add to cake batters instead of water. Or add orange juice to butter and confectioners’ sugar for a quick buttercream frosting.
Peanut butter: Creamy or chunky, I love peanut butter as a doctoring ingredient. Add it to cake batters or to frostings.
Canned fruits: Canned apricots, pineapple, applesauce, mandarin oranges, peaches, and pears are all nice to have on hand to use in cake recipes. You can drain, chop, and add the fruit to the cake batter or puree apricots and pears first.
Pumpkin: Plain and simple, canned pumpkin is a great add-in; you’ll find it in many of my recipes. It is low in fat and high in fiber and makes a moist cake.
Butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, toffee bits: Keep these in a baking drawer for folding into cupcake batters, topping brownies before baking, or decorating cakes.
Coffee: Leftover brewed coffee is delicious as a substitute for water in brownie recipes. Use instant coffee granules or espresso powder in batters and in frostings. Store the coffee powder on the pantry shelf.
The Cake Baker’s Equipment Essentials
Bowls: Whether you use stainless steel, ceramic, glass, or plastic bowls really depends on what you have on hand. All work. A variety of sizes is nice: Two large, a medium-size, and a few small bowls will be useful. But should you be looking to buy new bowls, I have my preferences. Choose stainless steel bowls that nest inside each other for ease of storage. These bowls are lighter in weight than glass or ceramic ones, which makes pouring batter into cake pans a lot easier. And these bowls go right into the dishwasher. The benefit of a glass bowl is that it can be placed in a microwave oven, convenient when a recipe calls for melted butter or chocolate or when the cream cheese is still cold and needs to be briefly zapped and softened.
Pans: If you’ve read my books or heard me quoted you know I am adamant about using shiny bakeware. Dark pans cause the edges of cakes to darken. They cause those edges to bake more quickly and thus the cake doesn’t cook evenly. Shiny baking pans reflect heat, resulting in even baking. There are several good brands out there made from either aluminum or aluminized steel. Invest in good pans because they’ll last you a lifetime. I am still baking strong with my 9-inch rounds, sheet pans, and Bundts.
What to Give the Cake Baker
About to buy a gift for a friend who loves to bake? Here are a few gifts all bakers would love to open.
A new cake saver. Pick out a durable one with a handle and a locking lid. Tie a bow on the handle and place a freshly baked cake inside.
A cake stand. Like shoes, you can’t have too many. Your first cake stand needs to be stainless steel or glass. These are the most durable and any cake looks great on them. Then move into ceramics in basic colors or brights—one of my favorites is a pink scalloped stand, on which I place cupcakes or a chocolate layer cake. Search flea markets for antique glass stands. Also fun are stackable stands for a multitiered look when the baker entertains.
Bowls. Bakers always love a new bowl—a large stainless steel or a retro glass one. Maybe it’s a set of nesting bowls, which are perfect for small kitchens. Maybe it’s a bright orange ceramic bowl to be used for mixing and also holding goodies on Halloween.
Metal icing knives. Again, the more the merrier.