Ready to take your baking to the next level during quarantine? Here are some tips from the pros
More home cooks are turning to baking while self-isolating, both as a fun and time-intensive project and as a way to keep the entire family fed and entertained. If you’ve been looking at impressive bakes on social media, but have yet to jump into the baking fray, local professional bakers offer up tips for new and advanced home bakers alike.
For those just now learning their way around the oven, simple and classic cakes and cookies are a go-to treat and fool-proof enough that getting creative won’t mean disastrous results.
“A great easy project is to follow the chocolate chip recipe on the back of the (chocolate chip) bag, but instead of putting chocolate chips in, put a different flavor chip (there are so many great ones out there — salted caramel, white chocolate, espresso, mint, toffee, etc.) in to change it up a bit. You can also melt some chocolate, dip the cooled cookie in it and add sprinkles to make it fancier,” said Melissa Stitzer, owner of Bellefonte’s The Cakery.
At Giovanna’s Gourmets in Boalsburg, owner and cookie artisan Jean Franzetta specializes in expertly decorated sugar cookies and reassures plain and perfect sugar cookies are easy enough for anyone — so long as you follow a few tips. She cautions bakers to only use room temperature butter and eggs (at 60 to 70 degrees) and to avoid the temptation to microwave a stick of butter to get it to mixing consistency. Follow your recipe precisely, mixing your ingredients in the specified order, while avoiding over-mixing (which results in tough cookies).
“Let your dough rest 30 to 60 minutes before rolling and cutting,” she adds. “I do this in lieu of refrigerating. This gives all the ingredients time to ‘marry.’ Most recipes call for your dough to be refrigerated before rolling and cutting. Don’t do it! It is nearly impossible to roll a cold piece of dough.
“Instead, refrigerate it after rolling, but before cutting out your cookies. Cold cookies can easily be picked up and moved to a baking sheet, whereas warm dough cutouts would get misshapen. Cutting cold dough also ensures crisp edges to your cookie shapes. Freeze your cutouts for a minimum 10 minutes before baking.”
She also recommends baking using parchment paper rather than a nonstick spray or butter.
Cheri Christian, owner of downtown State College’s Sweet Tooth Bakery, makes things even easier for home bakers, removing the oven out of the equation, recommending beginners make a Crock Pot cake or cake in a mug.
“Both recipes are great with whipped cream or ice cream,” she said.
For those confident in their baking skills, now is the perfect time to attempt a new and challenging baking project.
Franzetta recommends trying one’s hand at pate a choux.
“(It) sounds fancy, but it is the base for many French pastries and is actually very easy to make,” said Franzetta, who explained that the dough is used for many advanced home baking projects, including eclairs, cream puffs and profiteroles.
Stitzer encourages advanced bakers to get creative with baking recipes they’ve already mastered.
“For example, take a basic recipe like a vanilla or chocolate cake and vanilla (or) chocolate frosting and try to amp it up by adding spices, like cinnamon or cayenne pepper or citrus zest. Or make flavored simple syrups to brush the cake layers with after baking and cooling and before adding frosting,” she said. “It’s really fun to play around with flavors to see what fun combinations you can come with! This is a great time to clean out your kitchen pantries (and) cabinets to see what things you have forgotten about that you could use to flavor or decorate a cake.”
But what are these professional bakers mixing up in their own homes?
“I’ve been experimenting with a whole bunch of new recipes for the store, from new cupcake flavors to fancy mini desserts. As far as cooking, I’ve been really into trying out different kinds of salads, especially now that it’s getting warmer. After slaving over the mixers and ovens in the baking kitchen all day, I don’t want to make crazy dinners,” Stitzer said.
Franzetta has been staying busy with DIY cookie kit orders and cookie orders for virtual parties (and made more than 100 hot cross buns and 20 dozen cookies for Easter).
“I have actually been overwhelmed with support from our local community at this time, and have been very busy,” she said. “I have been doing no contact, appointment pickups only. However, when I am not busy, the number one treat requested by my hubby is a fruit pie.”
Crock Pot Cake
Recipe from Cheri Christian, Sweet Tooth Bakery
1 box chocolate cake mix
16 oz. sour cream
1 box chocolate instant pudding
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup water
Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray. Mix ingredients in bowl and pour into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours (may be done before that).
Cake in a Mug
Recipe from Cheri Christian, Sweet Tooth Bakery
4 Tbsp. flour
4 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa
1 egg
3 Tbsp. milk
3 Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. choc chips (optional, but why not?)
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Put dry ingredients in mug and mix well. Add egg and mix. Pour in milk and oil and mix well. Add choc chips and vanilla and mix again. Microwave 3 minutes. Cake will rise over top of mug but don’t be alarmed! Eat from mug or dump onto a plate.
Sugar Cookie Buttercream
Recipe from Jean Franzetta, Giovanna’s Gourmets
2/3 cup room-temperature butter
4 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup liquid (milk or water; adults may substitute half with a favorite flavored liquor; cointreau is nice)
1 tsp. vanilla, lemon, orange or almond extract
Beat butter til soft. Mix in all remaining ingredients and beat until soft. Add more liquid or sugar until desired consistency is reached for icing your cookies!