Hacks from my Happy Place – XXVII

josborne17602

Sep 28

Helpful serving hint: If you are going to be slicing more than one piece of a cake at one time, wrap a piece of parchment paper over your knife's sharp edge before slicing the first piece. The knife will still be sharp enough through the paper to make the cut, but your knife won't gather crumbs of the cake when you then carry over to the next slice as you cut it. You can start at one end of the parchment paper and work your way over to the other side so that each slice you make starts with a perfectly clean and smooth cutting surface.

Helpful recipe hint: Have you ever wondered why some recipes say, "melted butter" and others say, "butter, melted"? Well, take note! It's because one way (melted butter) you measure the butter once it is melted. The other way (butter, melted) you measure the butter before it's melted!

Helpful recipe hint: If a recipe calls for buttermilk and you don't have any (it's certainly not something you'll randomly find hanging out in my fridge!), you can make your own by combining 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let it sit for a few minutes before using it.

Helpful produce tip: Store an apple (any type) with your potatoes to keep them from sprouting.

Helpful baking tip: To get your cookies to appear perfectly round, place an appropriately sized glass upside down over each of them before putting your baking sheet into the oven and move the glass several times in a circle. This repeated movement will touch different places on the dough as you swirl it, shaping it perfectly!

Helpful baking tip #2: I knew this tip but I haven't baked cookies in about 10 years, so I thought I'd remind everyone else as well. If you are using a recipe that includes butter or margarine, once your dough is thoroughly mixed, put it into the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. This will help your butter/margarine get cold again, which will keep the cookies from spreading out so much and becoming flat.

I think there has seldom been a day that I haven't looked at recipes offered on the Internet (several articles usually appear on my default home page). Lately, I seem to be finding the same recipes across various links, which frustrates me as a poor use of my time. I also seem to be finding more recipes that call for items that people (at least those I know) don't keep on hand - things like buttermilk or heavy cream, "fresh" spices as opposed to the dry ones I have in my cupboard, etc. I have collected some recipes to share, after I've tried them first.

Having said that, when I saw this recipe it immediately made me wonder if it's the same way my grandma used to make it. She would make this when fresh fruits came into season, and sometimes she'd use it as a shortcake substitution. We didn't just do strawberries over shortcake, but blueberries, raspberries, blackberries as well as peaches. We always ate our shortcakes in a bowl with milk and sugar, and I still like that better than whipped topping or ice cream.

I don't know if this recipe is exact (it's been at least 50 years since I've had any), but I'm pretty pleased with the taste and texture.

Hot Milk Sponge Cake

4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk (substitutions coconut milk, nut milk, evaporated milk, 2 % milk)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or see optional flavors below
(Optional Flavors: orange extract, lemon extract, almond extract, anisette extract, coconut extract)
Other Optional Additions: 2/3 cup nuts of any kind or/and chocolate chips
Garnish topping: powdered sugar
13 x 9 pan sprayed or lined with parchment paper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9- x 13-inch baking pan with cooking oil spray or lined with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, using an electric beater, beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
In a medium-size bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt, then gradually beat into the egg mixture.
In a small saucepan over low heat, heat milk and butter until butter is melted.
Gradually add to batter, beating until combined.
Stir in the vanilla or any flavoring you're using.
Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool completely, then cut into squares.
Garnish with sprinkled powdered sugar. (I garnished mine with the powdered sugar as soon as the pan was cool to the touch, because I wanted it to melt in a bit.)