As Published by The Georgetown Guide-Let Them Eat Cake!

Delicious Cake w/ both fruit & Icing

Let Them Eat Cake

Culinary Quips

By Elizabeth Sabol-Jones

Published: Thursday, February 2, 2012

Updated: Thursday, February 2, 2012 18:02

Original Link to The Guide

For this week's quip, I thought I would take readers through a couple of scenarios in which baking a cake can go awry. As a Chinese language major, the nuances of the language bleed into the various facets of my life, including the kitchen.

In Mandarin Chinese, when you run into an unfortunate situation and feel the need to shout out your frustration, zaogao is a pretty common expression. Now, you may be asking yourself, What does a Chinese cry of distress have to do with a foodie column? Here's your answer: Zaogao's direct translation into English is "wretched cake." And honestly, when you think about it, what could be worse in a kitchen than taking the time to make something, especially a cake, only to taste it and realize you messed up.

Fallen Cake

As I wrote in my previous column, cooking and baking are about taking risks. I would definitely propose that when you first start your culinary adventures in the kitchen, you must recognize that success is one part skill, one part intuition, two parts precision and a whole lot of luck. So even if you think you've made a mistake, make sure you try to problem solve a bit before abandoning your culinary efforts.

So, here are some tips for when things get dicey in the kitchen so that you don't have to start over from scratch, literally:

1. If you have noisy roommates who jump around too much or you mistakenly slam the oven door at the wrong moment, your cake could collapse in the center. It could be still tasty, but if you were aiming for presentation, the Chairman from "Iron Chef" would definitely take off points. Your cake goes flat due to the fact that the rising process was disturbed. As the rising agent (baking soda, baking powder, etc.) works its magic, the stability of the cake's structure becomes more sensitive to disturbances that affect the chemical processes.

Remedy: Never fear, icing is here! If you're concerned about the looks of your cake, and you're planning to frost it, the icing will cover up any sunken-in appearance the cake may expose. Additionally, flipping the cake upside down and then frosting it will give you an even surface.If you want to add an extra ingredient to your solution, fruit could be used as a cake topper that fills in the space where the cake went flat.

2. On some occasions, you might sit down with a lovely slice of cake only to realize it's incredibly dry. This usually happens when the cake pan is too shallow for the amount of batter, or if the cake has been left in the oven too long.

Remedy: One way to prevent this from happening is to use the "toothpick method." First, make sure you check on your cake a few minutes ahead of the suggested bake time. Often the time a cake needs to bake varies based on the oven, altitude and ingredients, so it never hurts to check a couple of minutes early. Second, stick a toothpick straight into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean or with a couple of crumbs, you're basically done. If you're very worried about dryness, then don't wait for the toothpick to be clean, and take the cake out when only a few crumbs are left.

Now, if you've already removed the cake and found it is incredibly dry, here's a creative solution: Pour something on it. Yes, it is as simple as pouring a bit of liquid over your finished product to add some moistness back. A bit of orange juice will give it a citrus flavor or a cup of coffee can curb the sweetness while rejuvenating the cake's texture. And, for the over-21 crowd, a little Bailey's never hurt anyone. The sky's really the limit on what you decide to use, but be sure to pour in small increments so as to avoid flooding your creation.

Almost Perfectly Risen Cake

Elizabeth A. Sabol-Jones is a junior in the College. She can be reached at saboljones@thehoya.com. CULINARY QUIPS appears every other Friday in the guide.

As Published by The Georgetown Guide-Cocoa for College Cooking

Cocoa for College Cooking

Culinary Quips

By Elizabeth A. Sabol-Jones

Published: Thursday, January 19, 2012

Updated: Friday, January 20, 2012 14:01

Scared of trying a new recipe? Not quite sure how to make a cake without a boxed mix? Unsure of what to do when you get halfway through a recipe and realize that you're missing two key ingredients? All of us have done something similar before, and we might as well admit to our mini-mistakes now. If you want any hope of getting comfortable with cooking and baking, you should consider throwing caution to the wind — or maybe some salt over your shoulder — and accept your previous kitchen mishaps so you can learn to use them to your advantage.
After testing and developing recipes for Nightly Noms over the past two years and cooking in a college environment where my mom's kitchen is not at my disposal, I've experienced plenty of miniature disasters. From not being able to melt chocolate without its seizing up to realizing that you need an 8x8 baking pan when you only have a 12x6 , you are bound to face both large and small cooking conundrums. Each small mishap that I have encountered since my college cooking days commenced, however, has forced me to become resourceful with what I have on hand. I'm not here to tell you how to bake; I'm here to give you some basic knowledge, random tips and fun recipes that will hopefully make you more comfortable in the kitchen and give you the ability to cook properly in a college environment with an improvisational flare.

Cake Poppers

If you're looking to impress your friends, have something delicious and a bit healthy to snack on, and if you don't want to spend a small fortune at Godiva, chocolate-covered fruit is a tasty option. The cool freshness of the fruit mixes with the smooth, rich chocolate to create a delicious substitute to plain fruit salad or a gigantic slice of chocolate cake. Still, chocolate-covered anything is easier said than done. While some may have luck with melting chocolate in the microwave, if you try melting large amounts of chocolate or become careless, you will soon open your microwave door to find that your chocolate has a grainy consistency, which means it has seized up.

Basically, there are two preferred ways to melt chocolate. If you're new to working with the substance, the microwave or a small pot with a bit of butter is your best option.



If you're using the microwave, make sure to start melting in 20-second intervals and then gradually microwave less as you see the chocolate melting. You really only need to melt until about 80 percent of the chips or chunks of chocolate are melted, since at that point the heat from the already-melted chocolate will take care of the rest.

If you're using your stovetop, make sure you keep the heat on low when you first place your pot on the stove.

Disclaimer: If there's one thing you need to know about melting chocolate, it's that water and too much heat are your enemies.

Remember, cooking and baking are as much about exact measurements and gaining control of kitchen chaos as being creative and taking risks. So push yourself to try something new!

Elizabeth Sabol-Jones is a junior in the College. She can be reached at saboljones@thehoya.com. Culinary Quips appears every other Friday in the guide.

How to: Melt Chocolate

1. Use either two pots, or a bowl and a pot, and place the smaller on top of the other. Fill the bottom pot with enough water to maintain a steady boil, but be cautious that the boiling water does not touch the bowl above it.
2. Turn on the flame to low/medium, add part of your chocolate and a bit of butter. The butter helps temper the chocolate while it melts; however, in most cases, butter is not necessary, so you can decide whether to add it.
3. Keep stirring to help distribute heat evenly and continue adding chocolate as the melting process continues.

4. Stir mixture on-and-off until chocolate melts,
remove from heat and either begin dipping fruit or combining with another mixture or batter.



 

Mission Accomplished: Chocolate Peppermint Cookies and Snickerdoodles

Hello Nomsters,

Wrapped Up and Ready to Go!

Happy New Year! Hopefully everyone's enjoyed the holiday season and has been ringing in 2011. Regardless of my unpunctual post, I did in fact manage to successfully carry out the Cookie Challenge. I opted to make two different kinds of cookies, the Chocolate Peppermint Cookies (which some of you had the chance to order) and straight up Snickerdoodles. After a morning of present opening and Christmas cooking, I spent my afternoon and evening rolling and baking the cookie dough that I had made the previous night. Spending an afternoon running back and forth from the oven with cookie sheets, I was happy to finally see over six dozen cookies all lined up on my counter. The final touch was packaging. I went and bought little clear bags from Target (in the gift wrap isle) and used typical present wrapping ribbon to add a personal touch to the cookies. The recipe for Chocolate Peppermint Cookies is included and pictures are floating around throughout this post.

Enjoy and look out for more posts and updates on 2011 here soon!

All the best!

The Georgetown Foodie
 
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies (anywhere from 2 dozen (lrg) to 4 dozen (small/med) cookies)
Ingredients:
-1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
-3/4 cup cocoa powder
-2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp salt
-12 ounces semi sweet chocolate (that's one bag of Toll House Chocolate Chip)
-1/4-1/2 package of Herseys' candy cane kisses (optional, basically any mint chocolate can be used, but the candy cane kisses are a nice touch because the cookies end up having specs of red)
-4 large eggs
-1 Tbsp vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp peppermint extract
-1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter (or salted) at room temperature
-1 or 2 Tbsp butter (to be used when double boiling)
-1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (I used dark, because that's what I usually had in my pantry)
-1/2 cup granulated sugar

For the pink chocolate ribbon:
-1/3 to 1/2 (about 10-20 kisses)
-Microwave


Process:
Cookies:
*Preheat oven to 350f. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment.
-Combine  the flour, cocoa, and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
-Cream the butter for about 1 minute, add the white and brown sugars and mix well on medium. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each to incorporate. Mix in the vanilla extract and peppermint extract
-Double boil to melt the chocolates and then let cool down for about 5 minutes.
-Add the chocolate in a stream and mix well.
-Mix in the dry mixture (flour, salt, etc) and mix until the flour just disappears.
-Allow the batter to sit for about 20 minutes if you plan to bake straight away; however, I like my cookies to be chewy and "chubby," therefore I often transfer the dough to Tupperware that has been lined with saran wrap, and place it in the fridge overnight. If you want to follow my method exactly, see the "Cookie Note" I post in the next day about freezing/rolling cookies.
-If you choose to make the cookies directly after waiting 20mins, then scoop out the batter with a spoon or a small cookie scoop leaving about an inch between each cookie. If you plan to roll cookies, then let sit in fridge until firm and use a a spoon to get chucks that can be rolled into balls for baking.
-Bake for about 10 minutes (or until cookies are slightly cracked on top), let cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes, and then remove from the tray and finish cooling on a rack.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Pink Chocolate Ribbon:
-melt down kisses using a small bowl and microwaving in about 20 secon intervals, stirring after each. As the kisses get hotter and melt, they'll help other kisses melt also.
-use a spoon to dab lines back and forth across cookie. Starting at the top of a cookie, dab a bit of chocolate and then stretch to other side of cookie and dab once more. Continue this process until cookie is covered in desired design. 

All Rolled Up (Chocolate Peppermint Cookies)

Snickerdooles

Getting ready for the freezer

 







The Double Boil Method:
Basically, this is the best way to melt chocolate. If there's one thing you need to know about melting chocolate, it's that WATER IS YOUR ENEMY.... hands down, most important rule. Well, that and make sure you don't over cook the chocolate. When in doubt, just melt until almost all is melted, because at that point the heat from the melted chocolate will take care of the rest.
1. Use either two pots or a bowl and a pot and place the smaller on top of the other, fill the bottom pot with enough water to maintain a steady boil, but not too much that it could risk boiling over.
2. Turn on the flame to low/medium, add part of your chocolate and the butter. (I feel as though the butter helps keep the chocolate moist while it melts; however, in most cases of melting chocolate butter is necessary, so you can decide whether to add it or not.).
3. Keep stirring chocolate to help distribute heat evenly, and continue adding chocolate as melt process continues.
4. Continue stirring mixture on and off until chocolate melts, then let cool until ready to combine with other mixture/batter.

Snickerdoodles

The Line Up

Tis the Season! The Cookie Challenge

Peppermint Sandwich Cookie

Hello Nomsters,

It's obviously been a while since my last post, which I must apologize for, no excuse, but maybe I can tempt you with some yummy cookie recipes that are to come!

Mom's English Trifle

Each year around Christmas, my mom and I always say we want to do the whole "Christmas Cookie" thing, whereby we bake around 4-5 different types of delicious cookies, package them in cute little tins, and sent them off to all those that we want to surprise with a bit of holiday cheer. In reality, this Christmas Cookie event has never happened, go figure. But! We always manage to make some sort of dessert, like my mom's English Trifle or my grandmother's Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookie

This year, I've decided to attempt what I'm going to call "The Cookie Challenge." One of my friend's has her annual Holiday Party on the 26th, therefore I will be attempting to make an assortment of cookies for my friends that will be neatly packaged and labeled by the 26th. While this isn't a huge undertaking, finding the time, ingredients, and cleaning up the aftermath isn't exactly Christmas/Holiday cheer (especially for my mom). Therefore, stay tuned! Following my successful packaging of cookies, I will be posting the recipes/tips on the blog! I'm thinking Chocolate Peppermint Cookies, Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, and maybe something Eggnog? We'll see tomorrow!

Stay tuned!

-GF