There are several types of flour at the local grocery store. They are not all the same, and using the wrong flour in your baking recipe can result in a baking disaster. Here is a brief analysis of the types of flour you might use to bake with.
Bread flour - Bread flour is made from wheat flour and is responsible for raising your bread and giving it texture. There is one main use for bread flour, and that is to make bread.
Cake flour - This form of flour is very fine and is high in starch, allowing it to help set baked goods and help raise them slightly. This flour is most commonly used in the preparation of cakes.
Buckwheat flou r- Buckwheat flour is from buckwheat plants and is primarily used in baking because it is gluten free. There are no set usages for this form of flour. Rather it serves as a replacement for other flours for bakers who are gluten intolerant.
Self-rising flour - Flour that is self-rising is different from all other flours in that it contains a certain amount of salt already, and does not have much protein. It is not to be used with any yeast products, and is most commonly seen in the baking of biscuits.
Pastry flour - Pastry flour is most closely related to all-purpose flour, and can yield flakiness to any products that it is baked with. Of the most common are pie crusts, biscuits, and of course pastries.
All-purpose flour - Most bakers are under the impression that all-purpose flour is suitable for all baked goods, and while there is some truth to this, all-purpose flour does have specific uses. It is produced in bleached and unbleached forms and is made of wheat. It can be used in cookies, pancakes, yeast, and more.
Now that you have a basic understanding of the types of flour and their uses, how do you decide which flour is the right flour for your baking needs? Simply reading a little more into your recipe, or using the flour recommendations can offer you some insight as to which is appropriate for your baked good.
Next time you are attempting to bake something from a recipe, double check that there are no requirements or suggestions as to what form of flour should be used. If there are recommendations it is best to follow them to ensure the final success of your product. If there are no suggestions or requirements as to which flour is appropriate, you should then use your basic understanding of flour and which ones work best with your baking need at the time. For example, if you are making bread and are unsure of what type of flour to use you can choose between a bread flour, a buckwheat flour (if that is your preference), or all-purpose flour.
Finally, if you are unsure as to what flour works best for what baked item, and there are no recipe suggestions, your safest bet is to use all-purpose flour. It is the only flour that will not have drastic implications in the event that you are using the wrong flour for your dessert or bread.
Criss White is a professional article writer for My Baby Shower Favors and an avid baker who enjoys baking cakes and cookies. To check out some holiday cookies or some birthday cookies, visit My Baby Shower Favors.
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baking. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
3 Tips for Baking Healthier Cookies
While making a healthier cookie may not sound as appealing as a cookie that is packed with sugars, fats, or sweet candy, it is possible to make a healthy cookie that still tastes good. It might be somewhat hard to fathom, but there are healthy ingredients and substitutes that can be added to cookies so they maintain their flavor, but are not as bad for you. Implementing simple changes into your current family cookie recipe can help you stick to your diet and give you just the little bit of sweet that you are craving to make it to your next meal.
With so many people turning to health conscious lifestyles, cookies do not have to be thrown out of your diet entirely. Instead consider some of the following tips to help make your family some healthier cookies.
1. Add Dried Fruit
For recipes that call for chocolate chips or any kind of extra sugar-based additives consider adding in pieces of dried fruit to your cookies. Dried fruits are healthy to consume and contain natural sugars that will still give your cookies a bit of a sweet flavoring. You can choose fruits that will compliment the other flavors in your cookies, or simply experiment with various fruits that you can find at the grocery store. Here are some dried fruits that are commonly used in cookie baking and can be found at your local grocers or farmers market:
Cherries
Raisins
Figs
Prunes
Cranberries
2. Think Whole Grains
Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet, so why not incorporate fiber into your cookies? Replace your all-purpose flour with much healthier wheat flour when baking your cookies from scratch. Even if you replace half of the entire flour amount that is recommended for a recipe with whole wheat flour then you are making a healthier cookie. The wheat flour will make your cookies denser than they would be with all-purpose flour, thus carrying more nutritional value and fitting into your diet just a little bit better.
Another trick that some bakers use to add nutritional value to cookies is adding oats to the mixture. The oats will give the cookie a crunchy texture and can add additional fiber to your cookies.
3. Substitute your other Ingredients
Think of all the ingredients that you use to make your typical cookie recipe. Now, think of better ingredients that can make your cookies just a little healthier but taste as good as they are normally. The replacement of just a few different ingredients you can make a healthy cookie. Consider some of the following ingredient replacements for your healthy cookie batch:
Replace the oil and butter from your cookie recipe with applesauce
Replace eggs with an egg substitute or even just egg whites
Replace milk chocolate chips with semi-sweet chocolate pieces instead
Replace white sugar with sucanat (sugar cane) or stevia
Remember that if you want to get healthy, you have to think and make healthy food. With these simple tips you can transform what would otherwise be an unhealthy, sugar-filled, fattening cookie into a healthier, lightly sweetened cookie snack.
Criss White is an article writer and baking enthusiast. To check out some holiday cookies or some other decorated cookies, visit My Baby Shower Favors.
With so many people turning to health conscious lifestyles, cookies do not have to be thrown out of your diet entirely. Instead consider some of the following tips to help make your family some healthier cookies.
1. Add Dried Fruit
For recipes that call for chocolate chips or any kind of extra sugar-based additives consider adding in pieces of dried fruit to your cookies. Dried fruits are healthy to consume and contain natural sugars that will still give your cookies a bit of a sweet flavoring. You can choose fruits that will compliment the other flavors in your cookies, or simply experiment with various fruits that you can find at the grocery store. Here are some dried fruits that are commonly used in cookie baking and can be found at your local grocers or farmers market:
Cherries
Raisins
Figs
Prunes
Cranberries
2. Think Whole Grains
Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet, so why not incorporate fiber into your cookies? Replace your all-purpose flour with much healthier wheat flour when baking your cookies from scratch. Even if you replace half of the entire flour amount that is recommended for a recipe with whole wheat flour then you are making a healthier cookie. The wheat flour will make your cookies denser than they would be with all-purpose flour, thus carrying more nutritional value and fitting into your diet just a little bit better.
Another trick that some bakers use to add nutritional value to cookies is adding oats to the mixture. The oats will give the cookie a crunchy texture and can add additional fiber to your cookies.
3. Substitute your other Ingredients
Think of all the ingredients that you use to make your typical cookie recipe. Now, think of better ingredients that can make your cookies just a little healthier but taste as good as they are normally. The replacement of just a few different ingredients you can make a healthy cookie. Consider some of the following ingredient replacements for your healthy cookie batch:
Replace the oil and butter from your cookie recipe with applesauce
Replace eggs with an egg substitute or even just egg whites
Replace milk chocolate chips with semi-sweet chocolate pieces instead
Replace white sugar with sucanat (sugar cane) or stevia
Remember that if you want to get healthy, you have to think and make healthy food. With these simple tips you can transform what would otherwise be an unhealthy, sugar-filled, fattening cookie into a healthier, lightly sweetened cookie snack.
Criss White is an article writer and baking enthusiast. To check out some holiday cookies or some other decorated cookies, visit My Baby Shower Favors.
Healthy and Unhealthy Forms of Sugar
Who doesn’t like sugar when they are baking? Yes, there are some people who prefer to go sugar-free, but the majority of us can’t get enough of that sweetness. Sugar comes in many shapes and forms when baking, making it hard to know which one is best for what dessert. It is difficult to bake with sugar when you are trying to eat healthy, but it’s not impossible.
Here is an overview of some common baking sugars, what types of desserts they are best used for, and how healthy they are for your family:
Granulated white sugar - Granulated is the most common form of sugar used in cooking and in recipes. It can be used for just about anything you can think of to bake. Unfortunately, there are no nutritional benefits in using this form of sugar. In fact, there are 108 calories in just one small serving size of granulated sugar!
Powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar) - Powdered sugar looks precisely like its name, powder. This type of sugar is used in meringue pies, some icings, and toppings for pastries. While powdered sugar may have small amounts of vitamins in minerals it is not significant to warrant the whopping 466 calories that are in a cup.
Brown sugar - Brown sugar is made from refined white sugar with molasses added to it. Brown sugar is a common ingredient in spice cakes, muffins, some cookies, and they give a great taste to baked apple goods. It is considered a cooking myth that brown sugar is healthier than granulated sugar. In fact, in most manufactured brown sugar granulated white sugar is used, so the only health value comes from the molasses, and it is miniscule.
It is important to note that these are not the only three sugars that can be used in your favorite dishes. However, they are the most common. Although these sugars are the most commonly used in cooking and baking, they are definitely not healthy. However, nature has provided us with many forms of sweeteners that are pure and do contain some health benefits.
Some of the purest sweeteners and their health benefits include:
Maple syrup - Natural maple syrup is lower in calories than any processed sugar. It contains nutrients like manganese, giving you energy, and is high in zinc, making it good for your heart health. Maple syrup is also linked to building your immune system and maintaining reproductive health in men.
Molasses - Molasses is a good source of vitamins and minerals when consumed in moderation, since it has as many calories as white sugar. Aside from that small downfall, it also contains calcium, iron, potassium and manganese, and is good for the health of your muscles, bones and teeth.
Honey - Honey is a great immunity builder, it is used as a natural remedy, and it is a natural energy pick-me-up. Honey is actually proven to help seasonal allergy sufferers when a teaspoon is eaten daily!
Corn syrup - Caro syrup is a natural form of corn syrup that has been used for a century to treat ailments like pharyngitis and constipation in babies. It is goof in moderation as it is linked to weight gain and increasing heart attack risks.
Whether you are baking cookies for the holidays or just a snack at home, there are many choices a baker has when reaching for a sweetener. If you prefer the taste of processed, it’s not a crime, however moderation is the key to consumption. Switch up your baking and use white sugar for cookies then maple syrup the next time. You are in control of your health and you control the measuring cup. Just decide which type of sugar you want to scoop up!
Criss White is an article writer for My Baby Shower Favors and enjoys baking holiday cookies and other decorated cookies. Criss also enjoys reading when not writing.
Here is an overview of some common baking sugars, what types of desserts they are best used for, and how healthy they are for your family:
Granulated white sugar - Granulated is the most common form of sugar used in cooking and in recipes. It can be used for just about anything you can think of to bake. Unfortunately, there are no nutritional benefits in using this form of sugar. In fact, there are 108 calories in just one small serving size of granulated sugar!
Powdered sugar (confectioner’s sugar) - Powdered sugar looks precisely like its name, powder. This type of sugar is used in meringue pies, some icings, and toppings for pastries. While powdered sugar may have small amounts of vitamins in minerals it is not significant to warrant the whopping 466 calories that are in a cup.
Brown sugar - Brown sugar is made from refined white sugar with molasses added to it. Brown sugar is a common ingredient in spice cakes, muffins, some cookies, and they give a great taste to baked apple goods. It is considered a cooking myth that brown sugar is healthier than granulated sugar. In fact, in most manufactured brown sugar granulated white sugar is used, so the only health value comes from the molasses, and it is miniscule.
It is important to note that these are not the only three sugars that can be used in your favorite dishes. However, they are the most common. Although these sugars are the most commonly used in cooking and baking, they are definitely not healthy. However, nature has provided us with many forms of sweeteners that are pure and do contain some health benefits.
Some of the purest sweeteners and their health benefits include:
Maple syrup - Natural maple syrup is lower in calories than any processed sugar. It contains nutrients like manganese, giving you energy, and is high in zinc, making it good for your heart health. Maple syrup is also linked to building your immune system and maintaining reproductive health in men.
Molasses - Molasses is a good source of vitamins and minerals when consumed in moderation, since it has as many calories as white sugar. Aside from that small downfall, it also contains calcium, iron, potassium and manganese, and is good for the health of your muscles, bones and teeth.
Honey - Honey is a great immunity builder, it is used as a natural remedy, and it is a natural energy pick-me-up. Honey is actually proven to help seasonal allergy sufferers when a teaspoon is eaten daily!
Corn syrup - Caro syrup is a natural form of corn syrup that has been used for a century to treat ailments like pharyngitis and constipation in babies. It is goof in moderation as it is linked to weight gain and increasing heart attack risks.
Whether you are baking cookies for the holidays or just a snack at home, there are many choices a baker has when reaching for a sweetener. If you prefer the taste of processed, it’s not a crime, however moderation is the key to consumption. Switch up your baking and use white sugar for cookies then maple syrup the next time. You are in control of your health and you control the measuring cup. Just decide which type of sugar you want to scoop up!
Criss White is an article writer for My Baby Shower Favors and enjoys baking holiday cookies and other decorated cookies. Criss also enjoys reading when not writing.
4 Common Baking Mistakes
Even the best bakers are likely to make small slip-ups. For most, these slip-ups can mean the difference between a great dessert or bread and an inedible food item. It is not unheard of, however, that a mistake, like a wrong added ingredient, does not affect the outcome of your cooking. If you know how to fix your mistakes then your finished product can still turn out okay in the end.
Here are four of the most common, yet entirely fixable, baking mistakes:
Your cake or bread falls apart or sticks to the pan after baking
First of all, you have to resist the temptation to take your finished product out of the pan or off of the baking sheet until they cool. If it is still warm it will lead to half of it sticking to the pan and the other half coming off. Allow sufficient time for your dessert to cool so that the whole dessert picks up cleanly and easily. A second reason why you might fall victim to this mistake is that the pan that it was baked in was not a non-stick pan or was not lined with oil, flour, or butter. This simple step in the beginning of your baking process is necessary to ensure a successful final product, so always remember to follow through with it.
You have a sink in the center of your baked goods (and they are not doughnuts)
This can be caused by a number of mistakes, the first of which is continuous opening and closing of the oven door. If you want to check on your dessert look through the oven window until baking time is nearly completed. The constant open and close exposure to cold air will make your dessert fall. Another reason you might have a sink in your dessert is that there was too much liquid in the batter for your dessert. A cake that has too much liquid will not rise as it normally should, leaving you with a wet mess.
Your cake is undercooked in the center
When you take your cake out of the oven, if it is well cooked on the outside and undercooked in the center, then it is likely that you used the wrong oven temperature. Before you place your dessert in the oven, be sure that you are setting the oven temperature to the appropriate setting. If your oven is set to 450° instead of 350° you have created too much heat for your cake. Putting your cake back in the oven will only lead to a burned cake, so the solution to this problem is to double check your temperature settings.
You misread the recipe for your dessert
Sometimes, we are just not as focused on baking as we should be. For even serious bakers it is possible to misread a recipe and add too much flour, or too few eggs. These mistakes are part of human nature. However, it is important to double check your work when baking. This means that if you think you have read a 1/2 cup of milk, pour the milk in the measuring cup, but before you add it to your mixing bowl look back at your recipe for verification that indeed it calls for a 1/2 cup. While this might seem to take an extra second or two, you will be glad when your final product comes out identical to the recipe and no doubt delicious.
Criss White is an article writer and baking enthusiast who enjoys baking decorated cookies and other holiday cookies. Criss also enjoys hosting parties when not writing.
Here are four of the most common, yet entirely fixable, baking mistakes:
Your cake or bread falls apart or sticks to the pan after baking
First of all, you have to resist the temptation to take your finished product out of the pan or off of the baking sheet until they cool. If it is still warm it will lead to half of it sticking to the pan and the other half coming off. Allow sufficient time for your dessert to cool so that the whole dessert picks up cleanly and easily. A second reason why you might fall victim to this mistake is that the pan that it was baked in was not a non-stick pan or was not lined with oil, flour, or butter. This simple step in the beginning of your baking process is necessary to ensure a successful final product, so always remember to follow through with it.
You have a sink in the center of your baked goods (and they are not doughnuts)
This can be caused by a number of mistakes, the first of which is continuous opening and closing of the oven door. If you want to check on your dessert look through the oven window until baking time is nearly completed. The constant open and close exposure to cold air will make your dessert fall. Another reason you might have a sink in your dessert is that there was too much liquid in the batter for your dessert. A cake that has too much liquid will not rise as it normally should, leaving you with a wet mess.
Your cake is undercooked in the center
When you take your cake out of the oven, if it is well cooked on the outside and undercooked in the center, then it is likely that you used the wrong oven temperature. Before you place your dessert in the oven, be sure that you are setting the oven temperature to the appropriate setting. If your oven is set to 450° instead of 350° you have created too much heat for your cake. Putting your cake back in the oven will only lead to a burned cake, so the solution to this problem is to double check your temperature settings.
You misread the recipe for your dessert
Sometimes, we are just not as focused on baking as we should be. For even serious bakers it is possible to misread a recipe and add too much flour, or too few eggs. These mistakes are part of human nature. However, it is important to double check your work when baking. This means that if you think you have read a 1/2 cup of milk, pour the milk in the measuring cup, but before you add it to your mixing bowl look back at your recipe for verification that indeed it calls for a 1/2 cup. While this might seem to take an extra second or two, you will be glad when your final product comes out identical to the recipe and no doubt delicious.
Criss White is an article writer and baking enthusiast who enjoys baking decorated cookies and other holiday cookies. Criss also enjoys hosting parties when not writing.
5 Critical Baking Utensils for the Serious Baker
A serious baker typically will have gadgets and utensils that most other kitchens in America don’t. These bakers can be skilled in various disciplines from cake baking, to pastry making and cookie cutting, or all of the aforementioned skills. It is crucial that a serious baker fill their kitchen with serious utensils, so that they can bake with ease and their final product is spot on delicious. The following five utensils are critical to every successful baker’s kitchen:
Measuring cups and spoons
Whether you are baking from a recipe, or from memory, there is always going to be the need to have the exact measurement of a particular liquid or solid. An extra cup of flour or even an extra teaspoon of salt can ruin the entire finishing product you are baking. For that reason, it is important to use measuring utensils to obtain the exact amount of the ingredient you are adding. A serious baker will have measuring cups in at least half cup increments and measuring spoons with a teaspoon and tablespoon increment.
Mixing bowls
Mixing bowls are necessary for the preparation stage of any great baker’s dessert. Your bowl should be large enough to accommodate all your ingredients and with room to mix without spilling easily. Some bakers prefer the use of stainless steel bowls and others prefer plastic, the choice is entirely personal. Smaller mixing bowls can also be useful for sorting out egg whites or mixing icing, this will keep your ingredients separate until you need them put together. A serious baker will need mixing bowls to put together each ingredient for their baking.
Plastic spatula or wooden spoon
Plastic spatulas are great for mixing everything from cake batter to icing a cake. Plastic spatulas are also great for scrapping the side of mixing bowls or pots without scratching the surface of the container. It is to the baker’s advantage to have more than one spatula, in different sizes, so that there is no need to wash between mixing ingredients. For those that are not fond of the spatula a wooden spoon can also serve the same purpose. A serious baker will need some sort of spatula or spoon to thoroughly mix together the dough or ingredients of their masterpiece.
Baking Pans (baking sheets and muffin tins)
Clearly, every great baker needs a tool to bake in. Depending on your needs this can be a baking sheet, a baking pan or even a muffin tin. To make your job easier it would be to your benefit that your baking apparatus is non-stick, as this will save the time of ensuring your finishing product does not stick. At the least your pan should be 9” x 13”, and you might even opt for an 8” or 9” round or square pan. A serious baker will have multiple baking pans to cook in so that they can bake anything quickly and when they desire.
Rolling pin
A serious baker understands the need to have uniformity in items like cookies, pastries and such. Large and small rolling pins are useful for various needs, and the most common kind is wooden. A rolling pin will allow a baker to evenly spread out their dough so that it can yield the most cookies or doughnuts possible.
Criss White is an article writer and baking enthusiast. To check out some decorated cookies or some other holiday cookies, visit My Baby Shower Favors.
Measuring cups and spoons
Whether you are baking from a recipe, or from memory, there is always going to be the need to have the exact measurement of a particular liquid or solid. An extra cup of flour or even an extra teaspoon of salt can ruin the entire finishing product you are baking. For that reason, it is important to use measuring utensils to obtain the exact amount of the ingredient you are adding. A serious baker will have measuring cups in at least half cup increments and measuring spoons with a teaspoon and tablespoon increment.
Mixing bowls
Mixing bowls are necessary for the preparation stage of any great baker’s dessert. Your bowl should be large enough to accommodate all your ingredients and with room to mix without spilling easily. Some bakers prefer the use of stainless steel bowls and others prefer plastic, the choice is entirely personal. Smaller mixing bowls can also be useful for sorting out egg whites or mixing icing, this will keep your ingredients separate until you need them put together. A serious baker will need mixing bowls to put together each ingredient for their baking.
Plastic spatula or wooden spoon
Plastic spatulas are great for mixing everything from cake batter to icing a cake. Plastic spatulas are also great for scrapping the side of mixing bowls or pots without scratching the surface of the container. It is to the baker’s advantage to have more than one spatula, in different sizes, so that there is no need to wash between mixing ingredients. For those that are not fond of the spatula a wooden spoon can also serve the same purpose. A serious baker will need some sort of spatula or spoon to thoroughly mix together the dough or ingredients of their masterpiece.
Baking Pans (baking sheets and muffin tins)
Clearly, every great baker needs a tool to bake in. Depending on your needs this can be a baking sheet, a baking pan or even a muffin tin. To make your job easier it would be to your benefit that your baking apparatus is non-stick, as this will save the time of ensuring your finishing product does not stick. At the least your pan should be 9” x 13”, and you might even opt for an 8” or 9” round or square pan. A serious baker will have multiple baking pans to cook in so that they can bake anything quickly and when they desire.
Rolling pin
A serious baker understands the need to have uniformity in items like cookies, pastries and such. Large and small rolling pins are useful for various needs, and the most common kind is wooden. A rolling pin will allow a baker to evenly spread out their dough so that it can yield the most cookies or doughnuts possible.
Criss White is an article writer and baking enthusiast. To check out some decorated cookies or some other holiday cookies, visit My Baby Shower Favors.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tips for Using Candy in Your Baked Goods
It is tiresome to have to always rely on expensive caterers for a party as they always serve the same things. It is also a challenge to have to think up unusual foods for the party to make it more memorable for everyone who attends it. A good idea is to have an edible baby shower candy cake or birthday cookies with candy imbeds that can be either ordered from a baker or made at home.
One way that bakeshops sell their goods is through their sample baskets and displays on the counters and windows. If one were just starting out on a business involving these then giving samples to friends or making the souvenirs for the baby showers is a good way to sell the talent.
People don’t often use candy in their baking because they aren’t common cooking ingredients, but they are a unique way to make some delicious sweet treats for family and friends. Because candies are heated before they could be made to completion, they are usually safe inside the oven as well.
Candies can be used as effective cake decorations and embellishments. If you have a plain white cake with frosting, you can easily decorate it with candy. Grab hold of some gummy candies like gummy bears, insects, ribbons or other shapes and use these to decorate the perimeter and the center of the cake.
Choose colors that are complimentary to the color theme chosen for the occasion and choose the forms of the gummies that match the theme you have chosen for the cake. Gummy ribbons and licorice sticks come in several flavors and colors and these can be plain fruity flavors or sour ones.
To make a basket, arrange the ribbons alternately to get a basket weave effect. Surround the sides of the cake with these ribbons, do not be scared they will fall apart for the icing can hold on to them like glue and if there is doubt just pin a lollipop or a thin toothpick to keep the ribbon in place. To make handles, simply thread a ribbon with floral wire and shape.
Once the basket is done, get all sorts of candies, wrapped individually or not, and just place them inside the space of the basket. Any candy will do, even lollipops. There are also gum paste flowers that can be used if you want to achieve that exotic look, or just look for floral shaped candies to stick inside. Add green gummy ribbons and cut to shape leaves and stick in the spaces as accents.
This floral basket is a great cake that is easy to make and delicious to look at. If that is not the look that you want to achieve, just decorate a plain iced cake with any candy that you desire and you will still have a great delicious looking cake.
You can also use chocolate to give your baked goods extra flavor. Cut up some baby shower chocolate cigars or some peanut butter cups and you can use these to sprinkle around the perimeter of a chocolate or cream based cake. These can also be used in place of chocolate chips in cookies, particularly as the chocolate from chocolate cigars are usually of higher quality. Other fun baked treats to experiment with using candy are muffins, pastries, and even pies.
One way that bakeshops sell their goods is through their sample baskets and displays on the counters and windows. If one were just starting out on a business involving these then giving samples to friends or making the souvenirs for the baby showers is a good way to sell the talent.
People don’t often use candy in their baking because they aren’t common cooking ingredients, but they are a unique way to make some delicious sweet treats for family and friends. Because candies are heated before they could be made to completion, they are usually safe inside the oven as well.
Candies can be used as effective cake decorations and embellishments. If you have a plain white cake with frosting, you can easily decorate it with candy. Grab hold of some gummy candies like gummy bears, insects, ribbons or other shapes and use these to decorate the perimeter and the center of the cake.
Choose colors that are complimentary to the color theme chosen for the occasion and choose the forms of the gummies that match the theme you have chosen for the cake. Gummy ribbons and licorice sticks come in several flavors and colors and these can be plain fruity flavors or sour ones.
To make a basket, arrange the ribbons alternately to get a basket weave effect. Surround the sides of the cake with these ribbons, do not be scared they will fall apart for the icing can hold on to them like glue and if there is doubt just pin a lollipop or a thin toothpick to keep the ribbon in place. To make handles, simply thread a ribbon with floral wire and shape.
Once the basket is done, get all sorts of candies, wrapped individually or not, and just place them inside the space of the basket. Any candy will do, even lollipops. There are also gum paste flowers that can be used if you want to achieve that exotic look, or just look for floral shaped candies to stick inside. Add green gummy ribbons and cut to shape leaves and stick in the spaces as accents.
This floral basket is a great cake that is easy to make and delicious to look at. If that is not the look that you want to achieve, just decorate a plain iced cake with any candy that you desire and you will still have a great delicious looking cake.
You can also use chocolate to give your baked goods extra flavor. Cut up some baby shower chocolate cigars or some peanut butter cups and you can use these to sprinkle around the perimeter of a chocolate or cream based cake. These can also be used in place of chocolate chips in cookies, particularly as the chocolate from chocolate cigars are usually of higher quality. Other fun baked treats to experiment with using candy are muffins, pastries, and even pies.
Baking Tips: Turning the Crunchy Cookie into a Chewy Cookie
Cookies are always a tasty treat that everyone loves, both kids and adults. There are so many recipes for cookies to choose from and people are always coming up with new ideas all the time.
Cookies are also a great gift idea. People often bake their own wedding cookies or baby shower cookies. But the question of what kind of cookie to make can be dictated by the following three considerations: the occasion or party theme, the choice of flavors for the cookies and the desired texture of whether they are crunchy or chewy or something in between?
A baker will usually know all kinds of recipes and can bake specialized cookies for any event. They should be able to make the cookies either crunchy or chewy. Most people who bake at home don’t know how to do control the texture and softness of the cookie, but it is not difficult to do. Here is a simple cookie baking tip that you can use to control a cookie’s texture:
Cookies are usually made from butter, shortening, eggs and sugar and then there are the added ingredients. Look at the recipe first and take note of the sugars used in it. There should be two ingredients that are commonly found: white and brown sugar. The secret of the texture is in the sugar and simply changing the ratio between white and brown will easily make a crunchy cookie into a chewy cookie.
To achieve a crunchy cookie, white sugar should have the heavier concentration than brown sugar. If the recipe calls for brown sugar, eliminate it completely and substitute with white sugar. For example: an oatmeal cookie recipe might ask 2 cups of white sugar and 2 cups brown sugar. To achieve a crunchy cookie, do away with the brown sugar and simply use 4 cups of white sugar. This is going to be a really crunchy cookie.
Semi-chewy/crunchy cookies will need another sugar measurement ratio. Again, going back to 2 and 2 between white and sugar, to make it a little more chewy use three cups brown sugar and one cup white sugar, but if you want it more crunchy than chewy then reverse the ratio to three cups white and one cup brown sugar.
The chewy cookies are going to be achieved by doing away with the white sugars altogether. So if the recipe calls for the half and half do away with the white and use the same measurement but this time using brown again. So use 4 cups of brown sugar and the gooey chewy cookie will be achieved easily.
Now, an added secret: to add more of the gooeyness to the cookies by adding honey, molasses or maple syrup. Use the same amount of brown sugar minus 1/4 cup. Use that amount for the substitute. That should make the cookie gooier than ever before.
Cookies are also a great gift idea. People often bake their own wedding cookies or baby shower cookies. But the question of what kind of cookie to make can be dictated by the following three considerations: the occasion or party theme, the choice of flavors for the cookies and the desired texture of whether they are crunchy or chewy or something in between?
A baker will usually know all kinds of recipes and can bake specialized cookies for any event. They should be able to make the cookies either crunchy or chewy. Most people who bake at home don’t know how to do control the texture and softness of the cookie, but it is not difficult to do. Here is a simple cookie baking tip that you can use to control a cookie’s texture:
Cookies are usually made from butter, shortening, eggs and sugar and then there are the added ingredients. Look at the recipe first and take note of the sugars used in it. There should be two ingredients that are commonly found: white and brown sugar. The secret of the texture is in the sugar and simply changing the ratio between white and brown will easily make a crunchy cookie into a chewy cookie.
To achieve a crunchy cookie, white sugar should have the heavier concentration than brown sugar. If the recipe calls for brown sugar, eliminate it completely and substitute with white sugar. For example: an oatmeal cookie recipe might ask 2 cups of white sugar and 2 cups brown sugar. To achieve a crunchy cookie, do away with the brown sugar and simply use 4 cups of white sugar. This is going to be a really crunchy cookie.
Semi-chewy/crunchy cookies will need another sugar measurement ratio. Again, going back to 2 and 2 between white and sugar, to make it a little more chewy use three cups brown sugar and one cup white sugar, but if you want it more crunchy than chewy then reverse the ratio to three cups white and one cup brown sugar.
The chewy cookies are going to be achieved by doing away with the white sugars altogether. So if the recipe calls for the half and half do away with the white and use the same measurement but this time using brown again. So use 4 cups of brown sugar and the gooey chewy cookie will be achieved easily.
Now, an added secret: to add more of the gooeyness to the cookies by adding honey, molasses or maple syrup. Use the same amount of brown sugar minus 1/4 cup. Use that amount for the substitute. That should make the cookie gooier than ever before.
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