Baking Secrets

A good scone should be tender and buttery, and while it may not need accompaniments like butter, cream or jam to improve the overall flavor, it never hurts to have some at hand to finish the scone off as you eat it. These scones are a bit of an exception, because they really need no accompaniment - no matter how much you like spreading a bit of jam on your scones.

These Butterscotch Pecan Scones start out with a buttery, light scone dough and are studded with butterscotch chips and toasted pecans. Butterscotch chips are quite sweet on their own, but work very well against the buttery but not sweet background of the scone. I used lightly salted, toasted pecans in these to make sure that they would contrast well with the butterscotch chips and the butterscotch drizzle that I added. Feel free to use unsalted nuts, if you prefer, but do take the time to lightly toast them in a skillet to bring out their flavor and make them just a bit more crisp before adding them into the scone dough.

These scones are great when they are fresh, because the scone itself is crisp on the outside and very moist inside, with a great combination of flavors in each bite. I’d make them shortly before serving, if possible. That said, they do keep well when stored in an airtight container, loosing only a little crispness but none of the flavor. If you must make them in advance, don’t glaze them and pop them back into a 350F oven for a couple of minutes to freshen them up before serving!

(more…)

Go to Source

I find that it is very easy to remember a good dessert, but some desserts truly stick in your mind as something special. The cookbook Unforgettable Desserts certainly hopes to put each of its 150 recipes into this category, and offers a wide range of recipes, from very simple to complex showstoppers, to bakers to try. What you end up trying in your own kitchen and what you end up remembering is, of course, up to you, but there is no shortage of ideas in this book.

The cookbook starts out with a chapter full of basic recipes. From pie crusts to puff pastry, these are recipes that you’ll use over and over with the recipes in this book and with others. Ingredients and equipment are also touched on in an introductory chapter before getting into the recipes. The recipes are well written and easy to follow, and there are notes with tips on baking each specific recipe to help answer any questions that might come up while you work. I like the fact that many of the recipes have a twist that makes them stand out (hence the unforgettable name!), such as oatmeal cookies that sandwich a bright purple blueberry ice cream. That isn’t a dessert that you’ll easily forget.

The only drawback here is for photo fans, since not every recipe in the book comes accompanied by a photograph. This isn’t a problem for some of the cookies and things, but might make you shy away from trying the more involved cake recipes if you are the type who prefers to know what the finished product should look like, or wants some visual assistance when putting all the components of a dessert together. Still, a well-written recipe will get you through the process and if you just have a little extra confidence (and are willing to take a chance on decorating without a guide), you’ll do just fine here.

Go to Source

When liquours are included in baked goods, the flavor doesn’t always make it through to the finished product. This definitely isn’t the case for these boozy Irish Cream Brownies. There is quite a bit of Irish Cream mixed right into the brownie batter, infusing it with flavor. There is also some in the glaze that finishes these off, adding yet another little kick to these grown up brownies.

The brownies themselves have a nice chocolate flavor to them, as well. They are moist and tender, with a texture that falls somewhere between cakey and chewy on the brownie spectrum. There is only a small amount of leavening in the recipe to keep the brownies on the dense side and make sure that they taste more like brownies than cake (which they definitely do!). This recipe was inspired by one I saw that used some artificial Irish Cream flavoring. The real thing is a much better option, taste-wise. It also made more sense for me to use the real thing because, as much as I like Irish Cream, it is so rich that it takes a very long time to finish off a bottle and so I don’t mind using a very generous portion in baking from time to time.

These brownies keep well when they are stored in an airtight container. The glaze is a little on the softer side, so while it does set up, it may soften when the brownies are stored. Cut these into small pieces and serve them with coffee. Coffee will really enhance both the chocolate and the Irish Cream flavors.

(more…)

Go to Source

Buttery shortbread can seem a bit plain when you compare it to cookies loaded up with chocolate chips, nuts and other goodies. I’ll take it any way it comes, because I am a big fan of shortbread when it is good, but it is worth noting that there are plenty of ways to dress up this relatively simple cookie. One way is to bake it in a specially made shortbread pan. These shallow pans have designs stamped into the bottom that emboss the shortbread dough with a pattern as it bakes. When the shortbread is done and has cooled, it can gently be turned out of the pan to reveal the design. Another plus of this type of pan is that they also have lines indicating where the shortbread pieces should be cut, or could be broke off into individual servings.

St Patrick’s Day is coming up and this Celtic Knot Shortbread Pan would be ideal for dressing up a batch of shortbread for the holiday. Its swirling Celtic designs are very pretty, and a little bit more sophisticated than a pattern that relies on four-leaf clovers to evoke the holiday. This particular pan is ceramic and comes with a booklet of shortbread recipes to use with it, though most shortbread recipes can easily be adapted to work in a pan this size and shape

Go to Source

Irish soda bread is one of my favorite things to make when I want a quick loaf of bread fresh from the oven. Soda bread gets its name from the fact that it is leavened with baking soda, rather than with yeast. This means that very little time passes between starting to mix up bread dough and eating the finished loaf. Irish soda breads are moist, hearty and while there is a traditional way to make them, there is plenty of room for variation, too.

This Irish soda bread has some rolled oats in it and is sweetened with a little bit of honey. I threw in some raisins for good measure, partially because I like their moistness in soda breads in general, but primarily because their natural sweetness is brought out even more with the addition of the honey. This loaf is a little bit dense, but is tender and moist. It is great slathered with some butter while it is still warm from the oven - particularly if you are using Irish butter - and it also makes great toast. Despite the honey and raisins, it isn’t too sweet and pairs well as a side dish with chilis and soups.

Kneading soda bread gives it a better rise in the oven, so I always knead my bread for a minute or two before putting it on a baking sheet. I like to knead this type of bread right in the mixing bowl because there is no need to add additional flour that may toughen up the texture of the bread - and because there is no need to clean up the counter afterward! This recipe doesn’t make a huge loaf, but you could easily double the recipe and make two if you need to serve a crowd. I like big slices of soda bread personally, so I would say that this is a good sized loaf for up to 6 people.
(more…)

Go to Source