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Norie's Kitchen - Chocolate Mousse

Chocolate Mousse - Norie's Kitchen

Here are these week’s baking tips

A lot of people loves cake and cookies but not all of them would try to bake a batch for themselves. Baking may seem complicated but in reality if you know how to follow instructions you can bake a cake which would impress your family and friends. If you would like to try out baking, here are some tips that can help you make your baking life a lot easier.
If you really think that baking is too difficult for you, you can first try out making cakes that no need baking like my chocolate mousse.

If your interested to order my cakes or pastries you can reach me at :

email: cakesbynorie@gmail.com

facebook: Norie’s Kitchen Page

Temperature & Cookware

  • If your oven temperature is questionable, invest in an oven thermometer. Some ovens can be off by as much as 75°.
  • Before mixing the batter, prepare the pans, turn the oven on, and make sure the rack is in the center.
  • Shiny pans reflect the heat, and are your best choice for cake baking.
  • Reduce the oven temperature by 25° when using glass pans.
  • Substitute 8-inch square pans for round if you want, or use 2 to 3 8 X 4-inch loaf pans. The baking time will be less, so begin checking about 15 minutes before the time suggested.
  • Have all ingredients at room temperature for best results.
  • Grease pans with about 1 tablespoon of fat per layer pan.
  • Use cocoa (or carob powder) instead of flour for dusting a greased pan when making a chocolate cake.

    Ingredients & Techniques

  • When measuring flour, fluff it in the bag then spoon into the measuring cup; level off with a knife.
  • To “lighten” a hard wheat flour, spoon 2 to 4 tablespoons of cornstarch into a 1-cup dry measure, then sprinkle the flour in until full and scrape off the excess with the back side of a knife.
  • For better texture, try substituting buttermilk for regular milk in your cake recipe. For each cup of buttermilk used, add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the dry ingredients.
  • Beat butter and sugar for as long as the recipe directs.
  • To make a lighter cake, separate the eggs first. Add the yolks to the butter mixture, beat the egg whites then fold into the batter.
  • In general, use 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder for every cup of flour in cake batters.
  • To speed up the softening of cold butter, grate or thinly slice it and let stand for about 10 minutes over a bowl of warm water.
  • Toss nuts, raisins and chopped fruits in flour first. This will help keep them suspended in batters.
  • To split layer cakes loop a long strand of unflavored dental floss around the center of the cake horizontally. Cross the ends and slowly and firmly pull on each end to cut cleanly through the cake.
  • Cool the cake thoroughly before frosting.
  • To moisten confectioners’ sugar frostings, use other liquids in place of milk. Melted jelly, fruit juices, coffee, peanut butter (with a little milk), honey, or maple syrup are just a few alternatives.
  • Make chocolate whipped cream by combining 2 tablespoons each unsweetened cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar in a mixing bowl. Gradually stir in 1 cup whipping cream, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before beating.
  • The Easiest Chocolate Cake Recipe

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    I haven’t personally used this but this seems a good start for a newbie baker since you don’t have a to own a cake pan or even an oven. It just uses a MUG and a MICROWAVE oven.

    Send me your comments if you ever try this out.

    Enjoy!

    Five-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
    (adapted from here)

    50g dark chocolate
    3 tablespoons butter
    4 tablespoons plain flour
    1 tsp ground cinnamon
    3 tablespoons sugar
    1 egg
    3 tablespoons milk

    1. Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler. Set aside to cool.
    2. Add flour, ground cinnamon and sugar to a small mixing bowl, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and mix well. Add the melted chocolate and mix again.
    3. Pour the mixture into a large microwavable coffee mug. Microwave for 2 minutes on medium, 1 minute on high. It should be cooked (skewer test comes out with moist crumbs), but still a lil moist. Remember, it will continue to cook while standing.
    4. Allow to cool a little, give yourself a pat on the back, and indulge!