What are You Baking? March 2024

What difference do you find with whipping the cream?

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Well, THIS sounds like a great idea! How much longer do you bake them directly from the freezer, @BierMonk ?

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First of 5 “Paskas” Ukrainian Easter Bread i will bake. Anxioux to see the inside colour. I always buy my ordinary eggs at Costco but i ran out and since i was at Whole Foods and they only had running free ones i bought those. The yolks were orange in colour and this bread contains 4 yolks and one egg. The bread is a little sweet


like a brioche with a hint of lemon. One for us and rest to family and friends.

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The 365 Pastured eggs I buy at WF have great orange yolks.

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I’ll see how this turns out and might buy these eggs for a special bake. They are $$. close to $8.00 for a dozen here in Canada

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I did a side-by-side a couple of years ago ( results here), and decided whipping the cream gave slightly more loft. I don’t think it’s a deal breaker, but when I have the time and inclination, I’ll do it. One of my favorite RLB scone recipes calls for whipping the cream. Shauna Sever also demonstrates it here.

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If I remember correctly it took a good 20-25 Minutes or more in a Convection Oven.
I used RLB Recipe for “Irish Cream Scones” as the base.
You can tell by look pretty easily.

Sounds fantastic :blueberries:

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Banana cake with pecans and a chocolate ganache glaze. This is a soft, fluffy cake with a moist interior and a thin crisp crust. Adapted from a cupcake recipe which I haven’t made in a very long time. This took only 15 minutes to bake, I made two layers of chopped pecans rather than mixing in with batter. The five cup mold was just right for the half recipe. (Inspired by “ Mari’s Banana Cupcakes” .


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I am in the middle of baking the semiannual

With the…

Over the last 15 years :roll_eyes: I have been working towards a more semi, and less sweet chocolate for the ganache, and trying to get a sense of how to make sure it’s the right consistency to spread, when I’m ready to spread it.

I’ve learned from sources online, and from you good folk every year! Thank you.

This year I found something saying ganache can be kept at room temp for two days!

I assume this includes the days actually on the cake, which I have kept at room temperature for almost a week. :grimacing:

Does it matter what ratio of chocolate to cream?

Are there other suggestions, temperatures maybe, to have it ideal for a creamy frosting?

My chocolate is mostly Van Leer “semisweet” or “Dark” Chocolate 53% chunks from a bulk bin at Winco, but there is also some 64 percent labeled “bittersweet” discs that I think are Callabaut, and some bars of 64 percent “semisweet” Guitard.

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Hi shtinkrap, since you are generally pleased with your frosting and would only like to reduce sweetness, would you consider swapping out a couple of ounces of the chocolate for a higher ratio chocolate. This shouldn’t affect the texture, perhaps try it in a reduced quantity?

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Cheesecake cookies from a book I was getting rid of. Didn’t have the called for cherries or the graham crumbs to roll in (used crushed amaretti). Pretty good but prob wouldn’t repeat.


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Thank you!

Right now I am mostly trying to figure out how to keep it spreadable for hours, rather than what has felt like a small window of opportunity; maybe 20 minutes.

You don’t wish to use it as soon as you make it or you want a softer texture on the cake?

I don’t want to use it as soon as I make it.

I was actually wanting to make it the day before I made the cake, but at this point, both have been prepared with all but the wet ingredients, so I may do both within a few hours of each other.

The cake will still need to cool completely, so timing the frosting is still on my mind.

Well, leaving it out overnight and then giving it a gentle whisk would be fine, but honestly, I wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving it unrefrigerated for an extended period of time.
Saying that, you’ve mentioned that your DH prefers it unrefrigerated.
Making both in the same time frame seems to be the best option. While the cake bakes, the frosting could be put together, and then frosted when cake cools.

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You remembered!

In the past, I’ve still sometimes found it can be somewhat stiff for spreading , even at room temp. Apparently it depends on the net percentage of chocolate. When I used to use a higher proportion of milk chocolate , it would stay too soft at room temp.

From 2023-2018.


Argh! I am totally overthinking this! This is why I am not a baker.

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Well you are correct regarding the higher percentage of chocolate increasing the stiffness, which is why if you just increase it by a small amount , you might get to your Goldilocks consistency.

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You can always add a few drops of warm cream if it’s too thick for your liking. Heat a little extra and hold back on it until you mix and then add as necessary in very small increments.
The cake is looking delicious!

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Thank you. Those cakes are from various trials over about five years.

That sounds like the perfect solution! Thank you again!

I tend to gather chocolate where I can find it, and since I might be mixing ounces of 50 percent, 55 percent, 61 percent, it gets tricky to calculate.

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