Holiday Baking

Gadzooks - just about everyone on this thread is an editor. Misti and I are just about the only normal people - although what's normal, anyway?!
Sheesh!

margo, Normal? I hadn't noticed!

I've seldom been described as normal, and certainly not by anyone sane. In this thread, I'm afraid the editors are "normal". So there !!!

Rhubarb is also a vegetable, Jerry. Put it in a pie and it's still a vegetable. I do eat my vegetables.

See - another editor! Us newbies are, like, intimidated!!!!!

Oh, don't be like that, margo. Anyway, I'm only editor on one of the more innocuous forums.

Hmmm. Just edit to run spellcheck. Just how reliable is that thing supposed to be.

Psst margo - over 100 people on the site aren't editors. And who said I was normal, with or without a title? :wink:

Hey Margo, you just found where the "cool kids" hang out,..don't tell!!!
Here's my basic Chocolate Birthday Cake, with White Frosting,..love this!!

I made this to produce 2 twelve inch layers, but since the "home standard" is 9", it will make three of those, I don't recommend scaling down this recipe, the results are not as good. But Hey, mothing wrong with keeping a layer of chocolate cake in the freezer,..you know, in case of emergency! Will freeze for a good three months!

Chocolate-Sourcream cake

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/3 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups hot coffee
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 3, 9-inch cake pans. In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, or using a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and eggs and mix until fluffy. Add the vanilla, cocoa, baking soda and salt; mix. Add half of the flour, then half of the sour cream, and mix. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. Pour in the hot coffee and mix until smooth. The batter will be thin.
Pour into the prepared pans and bake until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks and let cool completely before frosting.
Vanilla Buttercream:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
4 egg whites
2 cups butter, cut up
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a saucepan place the sugar and slowly pour the water around the edge. Bring to a boil and cook to softball stage (235 degrees F.) Meanwhile, whip the egg whites in a mixer with a whip attachment until light and fluffy. When sugar is at softball, slowly pour it into the bowl down the side and continue whipping, adding vanilla, until incorporated and then cooled. Add the butter 1 piece at a time while whipping until it is a thick frosting. Keep at room temperature while frosting the cake.

that's NOTHING,..not "MOTHING",...LOL

MMM,..I'm making these right now!!

I usually mix them into my assortment of holiday cookies, cause they're easy,..not to mention
(trying my best "Cartman" voice),..."chocolatey and delightful!!"

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups (2-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350°F. Stir together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with mixer until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Gradually add flour mixture, beating well. Stir in chocolate and white chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8 to 9 minutes. (Do not overbake; cookies will be soft. They will puff while baking and flatten while cooling.) Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

About 4-1/2 dozen cookies.

Jerry
Love the recipes, especially the choccy cake, but I'm a bit confused about the US terminology.
Can you elaborate, explain, expand, or something:

1. Cake flour. (is this flour with a rising agent - called here self-raising flour, or something else?)

2. Sticks of butter. How much is a "stick" of butter, in mg's, oz' or something

3. How big is a "cup"?

4. All purpose flour. (?Flour without a rising agent?)

I can probably translate back if you can give me the measurements in imperial. We use metric measurement here.

Thanks

Hi margo,

A cup is 8 ounces

Cake flour is made from what is called "soft wheat". It is ground to a finer texture and has a lower gluten content than all-purpose flour. The lower gluten content lends itself to a more tender cake or baked good. Gluten is the protein that, when dough is kneaded, traps gasses and helps create the structure of baked goods and bread in particular

All-purpose flour is made from a combination of hard and soft wheat. It has a slightly more granular texture and contains more gluten than cake flour, it's great for quickbreads, pie doughs and cookies.

Bread flour contains mostly hard wheat and has even more gluten, making it a better choice for breads and heartier baked goods

(As a basic ingredient, none of the flours I mention will contain a raising agent, unless it is specified)

In the states, butter is sold by the pound, most commonly in "sticks",..four per pound,..each stick is a half cup

1 stick of butter=1/2 cup=1/4 pound

I'll check for conversion charts

1 pound = 454 grams

1 ounce = 28 grams

1 ounce (volume) = .03 liter

Metric Conversions


Here are some conversions!

Thanks Craven!

OK, fixed last post!!!

Jerry is such a guy! Chef, link poster, humorist, dog lover - he's got it all.

Thanks Jerry and Craven!

AWWW Shucks ehbeth!!

But apparently, I can really screw up the sizing thing,...don't know what I did, I DO know how!!