Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

Scaling Baking Recipes Up and Down

Doubling or tripling recipes or cutting them in half successfully requires more than simple multiplication. Recipes for baked goods rely upon a number of “sensitive” ingredients, such as leaveners, flavorings, seasonings, and thickeners. These ingredients don’t scale up or down directly in proportion with other ingredients. If you are planning […]

Chef's Blog, Chef's Notes Plus

The Blending Mixing Method

The blending method, sometimes called the straight method, is the most basic and straight-forward mixing method, used for mixing quick breads and simple cakes. The blending method consists of making two mixtures, one with the wet ingredients and one with the dry, then combining (or blending!) the two together. 1. […]

Pies and Tarts

The CIA Apple Pie

Makes one 9-inch pie They say if you love somebody, you give them diamonds—but we think if you truly love someone, you bake them a pie. This classic apple pie is a crowd-pleaser no matter what table it lands on, and friends and family will taste the love in each […]

Cakes

Vanilla Sponge Cake

Sponge cake, whether you know it as génoise or pan di Spagna, is a light, sweet, delicate cake rich in eggs. These cakes are made from egg foams with very little or no added fat. To add moisture, sponge cakes are often liberally brushed with sugar syrup. Fill the cake […]