BakingAsked Jun 08, 2022 by Beth N.
I took this recipe from the Irish examiner and carefully transposed the recipe to US measurements: 1/4 c sugar, little less than 1/2 c flour and 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons butter and it was flat and very oily. I beat the eggs vigorously as they were the only leavening ingredient but am not sure what I did wrong. I love the idea of a simple, light and not too large sponge and can't find anything comparable online to this recipe.
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
1. Melt the butter without getting it very hot. Then mix all the ingredients except the rhubarb and beat vigorously.
1. Spread the mixture over a well-greased Swiss roll tin and cover with the diced rhubarb.
1. Sprinkle generously with sugar and bake for 45 minutes, lowering the heat slightly if cake looks like getting too brown. Cut into slices and remove them carefully with a spatula to cool on a cake-rack.
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 270g butter
- 50g sugar
- 50g flour
- 1 dessertspoon lemon juice
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 400g rhubarb, diced
- pinch of grated nutmeg
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Beth - It seems like something is off with this recipe. That is 19 tablespoons of butter for only 1/2 cup of flour - even accounting for differences in flour from country to country or the possibility that they are using self-rising flour, that ratio of fat to flour is \way\ off. I can’t imagine it would yield anything other than what you describe. Unfortunately we don’t have a recipe for this in our archives, but I would search for a simple rhubarb cake as an alternative. Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Apr 05, 2022 by Carol J.
I had never heard of toasting sugar before. I didn't even know that was possible! Is it worth the effort and does this really make a difference you can taste or is it more of a novelty?
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Carol - I would definitely say that, for certain applications, it definitely makes a difference. When you toast or roast sugar it develops more caramel-like flavors and becomes less sweet overall. In desserts where sugar is there for sweetness but also structure (e.g., meringues, marshmallows, ice cream), it can tame the sweetness. We find it a perfect addition to angel food cake. Since it has so few ingredients, the sugar is really at the forefront. Roasted sugar makes the flavor more complex and less simply sweet. Hope that helps! Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Mar 29, 2022 by Patricia C.
I am trying to make this recipe and having a hard time looking for a good conversion table on the internet. This is the recipe, I would appreciate it very much if you could convert it to US measurements.
220 grams flour
100 g greek yogurt
100 g 2% milk
30 grams olive oil
3 grams salt
7 grams baking soda
7 grams baking powder
Thank
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Hi Patricia,
Thank you for reaching out. I don't believe this a Milk Street recipe. We did not develop or test this recipe using either measurements, so we cannot guarantee the results. Converting measurements from weight to volume can be messy, measuring by weight is easier (with a scale) and more accurate.
These conversions were made using a calculator found online: https://www.inchcalculator.com/cooking-conversion-calculator/
220 grams = 7.75 ounces/≈ 1 3/4 cups flour
100 g = 3.5 ounces/≈ 1/3 c Greek yogurt
100 g ≈ 1/3 c 2% milk
30 grams ≈ 2 1/4 Tbsp olive oil
3 grams salt ≈ 1/2 tsp
7 grams ≈ 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
7 grams ≈ 2/3 tsp baking powder
Read MoreAsked Feb 20, 2022 by Melody F.
I'm a novice baker. I live in the Denver metro area and at my house, we are a little more than a mile high. I made the Glazed Sour Cream and Brown Sugar Bundt Cake and it fell creating a nice trough around the center. I measured very carefully using weights where those were provided. I was very careful to follow all of the directions as written. Would the altitude account for this problem and if so what should I do differently next time? By the way, the cake is absolutely delicious!
Thank-you.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Melody - It's very likely the altitude. Baking at altitude is a pretty complex subject and there are a lot of variables you need to account for in order to produce the same product at altitude as at sea level. This guide from Colorado State will help guide you to modify recipes when baking at high altitude. Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Feb 01, 2022 by L K.
Unlike most bread recipes I've made, the Butternut Squash brioche does not include instructions to punch down the dough after the first proofing & before refrigerating the dough. Is this an error or intentional? Thanks/
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi L.K. - "Punching down" the dough is sort of antiquated term since most bread bakers prefer to be a little more gentle with their dough. For example, in a focaccia or artisan loaf you don't want to knock all of the air out or you won't get that light, bubbly texture inside. The goal in punching it down is to simply prevent it from over proofing. Since we are cutting and rolling this dough to form it, there's no need for a formal "punch down" as the cutting and rolling process will deflate it enough to prevent over proofing. Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Dec 20, 2021 by Samantha V.
Is guava juice an acceptable substitute for the guava nectar for the sauce? I assume the nectar is thicker/sweeter, so if so, would you make any changes to the quantity if using juice, e.g. increase the quantity of juice by some amount and still reduce to the 1 1/2 cups?
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Samantha - We find that guava nectar is more widely available than guava juice (Goya and Ceres are both widely available brands). The pulp in the nectar is necessary to achieve a really velvety sauce. Thinner juice will produce a more syrup-like sauce than a true fruit sauce. It will still probably taste OK, just not exactly the right texture. If you decide to try it with juice, we would just make sure to reduce 3 cups of juice to 1 1/2 cups. Since nectar usually contains more sugar, you may find you need to make it a little sweeter and you may want to add a little more cornstarch slurry to thicken it a bit more. Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Oct 28, 2021 by Barbara P.
I am not succeeding when it comes to bagels. Sourdough, Seeded Multigrain, Challah, White Sandwich Bread, French Bagettes - all good. Bagels, not so much. I am following the recipe in Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice relentlessly and exactly. But when I proof them overnight in the fridge, by morning they seem ready to boil - bagel shaped and puffy, but by the time I get the plastic wrap (spray coated) off the top of them and gently peel them off the parchment paper (spray coated) and into the boiling water, they have become deflated intertube tires. My husband says they taste good - but he loves me and would say anything to be nice. What am I doing wrong? See attached pics. This was a particularly bad batch. After this, I took to putting tall custard cups in the proofing bag to hold the plastic wrap up off the bagels so the plastic did not adhere to the bagel and cause deflation when I removed the bag. That fixed the adherence problem but the larger issue of flat dense Frisbie like bagels persisted. The shame!!!!
after the overnight proof.jpg
IMG\_6788.jpg
after being boiled.jpg
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Barbara - I can't give a perfect diagnosis since I'm not 100% sure, but I think it's possible that your bagels are either over-proofed or being boiled for too long. When a recipe calls for a cold ferment in the fridge it assumes you're going to put the dough way in the back of a very cold refrigerator and basically never open it. Not very realistic! While this is usually not a problem with most doughs, it might be a problem with bagels since they go through the process of being boiled and then baked so there's more chance for that over-proofed "puffiness" to deflate. I'm not sure how long you are boiling them for but I recommend no more than 30 seconds a side to get the dough just set. Boiling too long sets the dough too much and doesn't allow for oven spring.
I haven't made Peter Reinhardt's recipe but I have made this one from Stella Parks at Serious Eats that is, at least for me, pretty foolproof. Bonus: the bagels will stay fresh for a few days thanks to the Japanese-style technique called yukone.
Good luck!
Best, Lynn
Read MoreAsked Sep 27, 2021 by Bonnie P.
On a recent radio show you recommended a frosting by a female baker. What was her name so I can look it up and any baking cookbooks she may have.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Bonnie - I'm not 100% sure to which episode of the show you are referring, but I know Chris loves the Marshmallow Buttercream from Stella Parks. You can find the recipe in her book, "Brave Tart - Iconic American Desserts." I also love her version of American buttercream (the key is using organic powdered sugar, which is less sweet and more flavorful than conventional) which you can also find in her book. Good luck! Best, The Milk Street Team
Read MoreAsked Aug 16, 2021 by Lynn F.
I have been on a multi-decade hunt for a recipe that produces a sort of doughy center to these cookies, like the cookie my grandmother made. Anyone have one to share?
The recipes I find and have tried all yield a crispy center.
What am I looking for in a doughy-center recipe... is it the addition of an egg? powdered sugar rather than granulated? less butter? relatively less flour?
Thanks for saving me the trouble of making yet another disappointing recipe!
Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau
Dear Lynn,
Perhaps you have already found the solution to making doughy centered Mexican wedding cookies. If not, this article from Food 52 might be able to help. The author mentions "The addition of ground-up nuts almost guarantees tender cookies."
Here is the link. https://food52.com/blog/19002-swap-one-ingredient-get-entirely-new-rich-buttery-cookies
Also, I would be happy to do a little research to see if your grandmother made something similar to Mexican wedding cookies but was something else entirely. If you could tell me where your grandmother was from, where she lived and in what time period, we might find a solution to your multi-decade hunt.
Best,
Elizabeth
Milk Street's Culinary Researcher
Read MoreAsked Aug 06, 2021 by Carol R.
I recently bought half sheet pans from a major flour vendor. I use the pans for 450 degree recipes for rustic bread and pizza. There is also a Cookish chicken recipe that cooks at 500 degrees.
Alas the pans buckled starting at 425 degrees. What brands are people using that work at 450-500 degrees without buckling?
Thanks!
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Carol - Hopefully some other folks will weigh in on specific brands they recommend - we haven't tested sheet trays at Milk Street - but almost all sheet trays will warp a little bit as a result of the metal expanding as it heats. In general, most sheets won't warp permanently. Once the metal temperature equalizes it should return back to the correct shape. Personally, at home I use this one which has warped a little bit but not enough to affect cooking in any way. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.
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