Back To Basics

Do You Know Your Sugars?

Sugar. It's in almost every dessert. It makes our desserts sweet and delicious and it's usually paired with another ingredient to cut through the sweetness. You can make a simple syrup, candies, caramel, or just use it as it. You are probably familiar with the classic granulated sugar and light or dark brown sugar. But do you know what barley malt syrup is? Maybe not, but you will in a moment! Be enlightened by your simple ingredients! There is more to them than you may think!

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Are You Sure About Flour?

Flour is one of the MOST essential ingredients in your kitchen. The most common type of flour is all-purpose or plain flour, it is used in all sorts of baked goods and even some savory dishes! But, you have probably heard of other types of flour, like cake flour, and bread flour. But, do you really know what they are? What those protein counts really mean? What's the difference and how to interchange these flours when you have a shortage. It seems to be pretty common these days! We're here to help! 

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Eggs

There are many kinds of eggs. Chicken eggs, duck eggs, quail eggs, so many eggs to educate yourselves about and learn how to use. When using any type of egg there is one label you must look out for: "Certified Humane." There are many brands of eggs that will label themselves as cage-free or "pasture-raised" but what exactly does this mean? They are all different levels of describing the welfare of the birds. Find out more about your eggs here!

Leaveners

Leaveners are the ingredients that help create air bubbles in your baked goods that make them to become fluffy and rise.  Some common leaveners that you're probably familiar with are baking powder, baking soda, and yeast. These ingredients are essential to producing a nicely textured and well risen baked good. Find out more about leaveners which one you should use for which baked good and what other types of leaveners you can use.

Milks

There are so many different types of milk out there and now that dairy substitutes are making their way to the top what should you use? You've probably heard a lot about "plant-based" milk options like oat milk, as it is becoming more and more popular among vegans, vegetarians, and more people in general. But, why should you use these (very innovative) milk alternatives? And how can you use them interchangeably? We've got you! 

Fats

Baking usually consists of five or six important elements to make your baked good what it is: A flour, a sweetener, a leavener, a liquid, a fat, and a flavoring or extract. Fat is one of the most important. Fats comes in many forms, but the most commonly used form of fat are usually a stick of butter or a neutral oil like canola or vegetable oil. Ever wonder how these crucial ingredients affect your desserts? We explain all your questions below!

Sterilizing Jars

Sterilization of jars is a good piece of knowledge to have. When canning goods, it is important to make sure your jars are very sterile so no unwanted bacteria, fungi, or yeasts are not already in the jar before adding your food. You shouldn't skip this step because not sterilizing your jars leads to the food going rancid quicker. This is especially important if you are using . 

Browning Butter

Brown butter gives this nutty, caramel-y, and slightly toffee flavor. You can add brown butter to your cookies, cakes, cupcakes and it adds a wonderful nutty toffee like flavor to your baked goods. This depth of flavor takes your desserts to the next level! You can also use this technique for sauces! A brown butter sage sauce sure does sound divine! Let's get down to browning!

Basic Pie Dough Recipe

Pastry is the basis of countless desserts and they are always know for their buttery flakiness. They can be tricky, but if you break it down into simple easy steps like we do here, this seemingly daunting task seems less "impossible." Our homemade pie crust is a wonderful starting point! Use our pie crust for homemade pies and more! Find out how to make the perfect pie crust here!

Perfect Apple Pie

Basic Vanilla Cake

A base cake recipe is an important piece of knowledge to have as baker. You can change up the flavors and add different textures, but getting this cake down, is essential to your success. This cake is made the traditional method. Creaming the butter and sugar together, then adding the eggs and vanilla. Adding the dry ingredients and folding to combine. This method is actually surprisingly similar to the way you would make cookies. Which is odd because the two are so vastly different. But, you are here to practice your cake baking skills, so let's get to it! Start your baking journey here!

Buttercream Frosting

Buttercream frosting is perfect for all types of cakes and cupcakes, and like the Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe above, you can add mix ins! Store bought frosting my be easy to get, but it usually contains unhealthy and unnecessary ingredients like palm oil, corn syrup, a bunch of things you can't pronounce like, "Distilled Monoglycerides" (fat that comes from an animal). Why go through all the trouble when you can make your own delicious frosting with simple and real ingredients? There is no reason, so here's our super easy recipe so you can get your bake on!

Fool-Proof Chocolate Chip Cookies

Homemade chocolate chip cookies are hands down one of the best comfort foods to ever exist, and we all need comfort during these hard times! Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and dipped in glass of milk, these cookies are perfect! Great for any occasion anytime and anywhere! Try out our amazing recipe today! Click the link below to find out how you can make you own homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies! 

The Best Chocolate Brownies

Your brownies can't be limited to boxed brownie mix, this is the step after brownie mix! They are also really simple to make, making it perfect for bake sales and fundraisers. Brownies should have a nice crackly top and a soft and chewy inside. Dotted with pockets of gooey chocolate chips. That's what we have here. There's no beating a good old fashioned and humble brownie! Click the link below!

Homemade Butter

Butter. Butter is a key ingredient in almost all baked goods. Rich and creamy, butter is a wonderful ingredient. But, good quality butter can be expensive. So, here's how you make your own homemade butter! If you've ever started a recipe, then halfway through you realize you have run out or don't have enough butter? Wasting ingredients is not something you want to do. So, here's the solution: homemade butter. If you have heavy cream, some ice water, and a jar, you're good to go! You don't need a butter churner! For the full recipe details click below!

Homemade Jam

This homemade jam is one of our simplest recipes! Yet the results will blow your mind! Simple doesn't always mean boring or flavorless! This jam tastes amazing. The citrus juice provides a tangy flavor and compliments the natural sweetness of the fruit! So, much better than store-bought jam! Some store bought jam is too sweet, others aren't sweet enough! This recipe lets you change the ratio of sugar to berries, so you can change the amount to your desired taste. You can even change the fruit, you can use peaches, berries, apricots, etc! The ideas are unlimited! Click the link below to get the amazingly delicious jam recipe!

Chocolate Ganache 

This chocolate ganache is velvety smooth and can be used for virtually any dessert! This chocolate ganache delivers flavor, texture, and richness to your dessert. You can use it as is to drizzle over a batch of Homemade Ice Cream, profiteroles, or a chocolate tart, and so many more delicious desserts. You can also whip this ganache into a delicious filling for macrons or to cover a cake. This smooth, light, and fluffy ganache can be used for so many desserts and it's very decadent and delicious. If you are dairy-free, do not fear you can replace the heavy cream with full-fat coconut milk! You may have heard many mishaps or even had them happen to you, but if you follow our simple recipe and read our tips, your ganache will turn out velvety smooth! Chocolate lovers, the link is down below! Go check it out! 

Easy Chantilly Cream

Chantilly cream, sounds complicated and fancy, but really it is not what you might think. You are probably familiar with this lightly sweetened topping, as "whipped cream." Although, it may seem simple and plain, chantilly cream can add lightness, sweetness, and volume to a filling or topping. It is important, as a baker, that you have the skills to make a good chantilly cream without making butter. Once you learn how to whip up a quick and easy chantilly cream, you will never go back to the store-bought "whipped cream." It's that good! It only takes 5 minutes to whip up and if you're tight on time, nobody will be mad at you if you make this whipped cream instead of frosting! In a pinch? Check out our super easy chantilly cream recipe down below!

Simple Meringue Kisses

Meringue may seem to be in the world of impossible. But, if you practice and be patient, meringues don't seem so difficult. As long as you follow our simple steps, you will have meringue perfection! You can also flavor and color your meringues! This is a fun way of expressing yourself through desserts! Some of our favorite flavors are: peppermint, chocolate, citrus, and strawberry! We love the clean look of a simple white meringue, but feel free to add a bit of gel food coloring to change the color of the meringue to a pastel, bright, or even multicolored meringues! Find the full recipe below!

Vanilla Ice Cream Base

What's a good pie without ice cream? Learn how to achieve the creamy, smooth ice cream of your dreams! It's not impossible, we promise! You don't have to have any fancy equipment to make tasty ice cream! Customize this simple ice cream with mix-ins and different flavors and textures! Check our simple ice cream recipe out here!

Fruit Compote 

This fruit compote is perfect on top of anything from angel food cake, to vanilla ice cream.  Simple, easy, and best of all customizable. Our fruit compote fairly similar to our delicious strawberry coulis, but can easily be made with any type of fruit!

Berry Coulis 

Coulis may sound hard and fancy, but it's simply French for a fruit or vegetable puree and is super easy to make. This recipe is quite similar to our homemade jam recipe, but you can easily drizzle this coulis on top of everything! Our coulis is perfect to go on top of anything, for example, our Mini Strawberry Pavlovas. You can use any type of berries to make this delicious coulis! To make this simple recipe, click the link below! You won't regret it!!!