Taste Buds Summer Baking Camp

Do you have a budding pastry chef? Check out Taste Buds Summer Baking Camp for Kids. Your child will learn the joy of baking and leave creating goodies like a pro!

Is There Life After Wilton Class Buttercream?

Many cake decorators got the cake decorating "bug" after taking a Wilton Method cake decorating course. The class buttercream (a mixture of confectioner's sugar and solid white vegetable shortening) is a "must have" supply for budding cake decorators learning the 3 essential techniques of cake decorating: (1) icing consistency, (2) pressure, (3) and angle. The buttercream crusts well but is very sweet, and then there is the matter of all that solid vegetable shortening.

Swiss Buttercream is a light, buttery, and simply delicious alternative. It may not be the best icing to use in warm weather but 'tis the season for making this yummy icing for your next confection. Intimidated? No need to be. In a NYC Cake Decorators cupcake baking and decorating class, Chef Fougere showed us how easily this icing can be made. I'm a believer. If you haven't made Swiss Buttercream yourself, you can obtain a recipe for classic Swiss Meringue Buttercream from your favorite cookbook or online. Ice your cake, pipe beautiful borders and flowers and just sit back and wait for the applause!

Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream

4 large egg whites (1/2 cup)
3/4 cup granulated sugar (150 grams)
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter (285 grams), softened but not melted
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla (or other flavor)
4 squares semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled, then whippted into 1 cup of the finished buttercream before being blended into the whole mixture)

Combine the egg whites and sugar in a large metal mixing bowl and place over simmering water (the bowl should not touch the water), whisking occasionally until the mixture is warm and the sugar has dissolved, which is approximately 120 degrees F.

As soon as the mixture reaches the correct temperature, remove from heat, add the cream of tartar and salt, and using an electric mixer beat on high speed until stiff peaks form. The whites will appear shiny.

Continue beating on medium speed until the meringue reaches room temperature (cool the touch). Still on medium speed, add the butter, a piece at a time, until all the butter is well blended. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl from time to time. Add flavoring.

Weight vs. Volume

Ever wonder why you can bake a cake one time and it's perfect and follow the recipe exactly another time and something goes wrong? Well, a number of things might account for your disappointment but one thing to consider is whether you measure by weight or volume. Chef Jean-Romy Fougere recommends using measurement by weight for precise baking. If a recipe calls for 3 large chicken eggs, for example, each large egg doesn't exactly weigh the same amount. This may cause a variance in your baking results even though you followed the recipe exactly. Scales that measure by weight (grams) can be purchased at any quality bakware retail store and are relatively inexpensive.

Plugrá an über Butter!

Doing lots of baking for the holidays? Making lots of cake cash? Using the best ingredients you can afford ensures that your beautifully decorated cakes will taste as scrumptious as they look. Chef Jean Fougere recomends Plugrá unsalted butter for baking. Luckily, Plugrá is available to the home baker at fine supermarkets. Plugrá is a European style butter lower in moisture and higher in butterfat than conventional butters. Plugrá butter imparts a richer taste and smoother texture to foods and is long preferred by leading chefs, bakers, confectioners and anyone who appreciates fine food.

What's the difference between Plugrá and regular butter? Regular butter contains 80% butterfat. The remaining 20% consists of water and milk solids. Plugrá European style butter contains 2% more butterfat and is slow-churned in a way that creates a lower-moisture, creamier texture than other butters. In the preparation of baked goods any time a recipe calls for butter, try unsalted Plugrá butter. This allows you to control the salt content like a professional baker or chef.