Welcome to my Kitchen

A new batch of culinary magazine offers arrived in my mail box recently. Some are just an envelope of tantalizing advertisements, while others include sample recipes, or a sample copy of the publication. Cook’s Country magazine sent a sample issue that happens to have some handy tips to solve several cooking dilemmas recently sent my way.

Several questions about cakes have come up. Why do the cake layers bake with a hump in the middle? Usually, this is caused by a batter that is too thick, either because of inexact measuring of ingredients, or over mixing. Solutions: measure carefully, use the correct size eggs. Don’t mix or beat batter longer than specified and use the recommended mixer speed. Grease and flour only the bottom of the pans. Additionally, spread batter evenly to the edges of the pan with the back of a spoon, making a slight depression in the batter at the center of the pan.

Why do the cake layers crack or break when turned out on wire racks to cool? Usually this happens when cake is not cooled long enough in the pan before turning out. Another reason is over flouring the pan before adding the batter. To much flour will cause a thin crust to form when baking that will crack when the cake is turned out, causing the cake to break into several pieces. Solutions: Cool cake in baking pan the recommended time in the recipe, generally 10 minutes. Dust greased pans lightly with flour, tapping out any flour that doesn’t stick.

Packaged cake mixes come in all sorts of flavors and are nearly fool proof, but sometimes you need a cake, but have no mix available. Two Egg Chocolate Cake, a recipe I received from my sister, Billie O’Mack around 1976, is an easy from scratch recipe, made from pantry staples that turns out well each time.

Two Egg Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup milk or buttermilk, divided

1/2 cup shortening, at room temperature.

3 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease well and lightly flour the bottoms of two, 8 inch round cake pans, set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sifted flour with sugar, baking soda and salt. Add 3/4 cup of the milk and the shortening. Blend well at low speed, then beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrap sides of bowl with spatula. Add melted chocolate and remaining 1/4 cup milk and the vanilla. Beat at low speed for 1 1/2 minutes.

Divide batter evenly between the two pans and spread batter to edges of the pans making a slight depression at the center. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched near the center or a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Loosen cake around pan edges and turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Frosting chocolate cakes with white or light colored frosting can be tricky, as those chocolate crumbs like to come loose and show in the frosting. When ready to frost your cake, use a pastry brush to whisk loose crumbs from the cake surfaces. Then place layers in the freezer for 30 minutes. This freezes just the surface.

Place two or three small dabs of frosting on cake plate and set cake on the plate. This will keep the cake from sliding on the plate. Spread frosting on top of first layer then place second layer on top of frosted layer. Now frost the sides of the cake, then lastly the top of the cake.

Here is a tip from Cook’s Country, to write names or greetings on cakes, use a toothpick to draw the letters in the frosting. If it is not to your liking on the first try, you can “erase” with the frosting knife and redo. Then use your pastry tube to pipe frosting along the letters you have placed.

Traditional frostings consist of powdered sugar, a bit of butter, some flavoring and a little milk, water or fruit juice to create a spreadable mixture. My favorite Chocolate Frosting is so easy, but a bit unusual in ingredients and preparation.

Chocolate Frosting

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1 1/2 Tbsp light corn syrup

12 ounces (2 cups) semi sweet real chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter, thickly sliced, no substitutes

In a 2 quart saucepan over high heat, bring cream and corn syrup to a boil, stirring occasionally. This will take 3-4 minutes.

Put chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes, then stir until smooth. Add butter and stir until melted and mixture is smooth.

Let frosting cool, stirring occasionally, until thick and spreadable, 2 to 3 hours at room temperature or 1 1/2 hours in the refrigerator.

Note: use only real chocolate chips and real butter.

One more tip from Cook’s Country, “square is the new round”, in biscuits that is. One of the things that puts people off of making biscuits from scratch is the cutting them out and re-rolling the scraps mess. The trick: pat or press the dough into a square the recommended thickness, then cut into squares with a sharp knife. Bake as directed in your recipe.

Lastly, want really light biscuits? Substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour, the finer grind is easier for the leavening to expand quickly before the oven temperature seals a crust that inhibits expansion.

Share your favorite recipes and cooking tips with your fellow readers. What is your favorite recipe/cooking publication? There are so many to choose from. I would like to know which ones you, the readers find interesting and helpful for meal preparation and recreational and special occasion cooking. Mail to:Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Odessa Record, P.O. box458, Odessa, WA 99159, email to: therecord@odessa office.com or drop them in the Welcome to My Kitchen mail tin in The Odessa Record office.

Don’t let this exceptionally warm spring weather fool you into setting out tender plants.