Ready for Dessert (2 page)

If you’re going to take the time to bake a cake
or churn up a batch of homemade ice cream, the results should truly shine. My desserts don’t have a lot of fussy decoration. Instead, they impress with pure flavors, so it’s imperative that you begin with good-quality products. But you need not go broke buying the most expensive or exotic ingredients. Good-tasting chocolate costs only slightly more than the mediocre stuff. And ripe fruit in season is a lot cheaper and infinitely better tasting than its out-of-season counterpart. There’s absolutely no reason to use rock-hard blackberries from the other side of the world or apples that have spent eight months in storage when there’s so much to choose from that’s fresh and local.

There’s been a spate of “premium” or “European-style” products on the market, everything from baking flours and sugars to high-fat butter. Aside from a few recipes that benefit from high-percentage chocolate, I don’t use specialty ingredients when creating recipes since the results can vary widely and I strive for everyone to have the same results that I do. If you do want to use them, just keep in mind that they’ll sometimes behave differently and you may have to rely on your baking instincts when working with them.

“Organic,” “locally produced,” and “sustainable” are important factors to consider when shopping. I don’t like to get preachy, but I do my best to try to buy products that I feel make the most sense for my circumstances. When you shop, you’ll need to make some decisions, too. Should you buy organic and locally grown or conventional strawberries? Is that organic milk in the glass bottle really worth the additional cost? Will farm-fresh eggs make a more flavorful ice cream? In spite of how much we all like to economize, I think it’s okay to splurge for your family and guests. Not only is it a nice gesture, but it’s fun to discover new products. And it feels good to support the local growers and producers who are part of your community.

I’m often asked about ingredient substitutions. For the most part, in recipes, I’ve reduced my use of sweeteners and fats to modest amounts without sacrificing flavor or texture, and I strongly encourage you to make the recipe as written for best results. Substituting nonfat milk for whole milk for custards and ice cream bases is inadvisable, and I avoid using artificial sweeteners. For those on restricted diets or with food allergies, you’re likely familiar with how to choose and modify recipes, and which ingredients will work for your particular needs.

ALCOHOL

Any alcohol used in baking should always be of good quality, especially since it will likely be consumed outside the kitchen, too (at least in my house it is). I always have on hand: dark rum, Cognac, bourbon, Chartreuse, kirsch, pear eau-de-vie, and an orange-flavored liqueur such as Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or Triple Sec. You don’t need to buy the most expensive brands, but do buy ones that are drinkable.

ALMOND PASTE

This rich mixture consists of nearly equal parts ground blanched almonds and sugar kneaded into a paste. You can find it in the baking aisle of most supermarkets and specialty food stores. Or you can order a very good-quality almond paste from Love ‘n Bake (see
Resources
). Note that almond paste is not the same as marzipan, which contains more sugar and is mostly used for modeling and shaping.

BAKING POWDER

This is a leavening agent. I use only baking powder that is aluminum free because it has no bitter, metallic aftertaste. Rumford is the most common brand, available at natural food markets and well-stocked grocery stores. Replace baking powder that is over 6 months old, or test its efficacy by mixing some with a small amount of hot water—it should bubble vigorously.

BAKING SODA

This leavening agent usually appears in recipes that also contain an acid ingredient to activate it. Often it’s a partner to natural cocoa powder, which is more acidic than
Dutch-process cocoa powder
. Unlike baking powder, baking soda doesn’t lose its oomph over time.

BUTTER

I prefer the wonderful, natural flavor of butter to that of margarine or vegetable shortening, products I don’t use. For most cakes, it is important to use room-temperature butter and cream it with the sugar (beat the mixture until light and fluffy) to incorporate air into the batter. When making cookies, however, you need to cream the butter only long enough to thoroughly combine it with the sugar, about 1 minute. Don’t overbeat the butter or the cookies will spread too much during baking.

The recipes in this book mostly call for unsalted butter, although in recent years I’ve become fond of using salted butter. When small amounts of salted butter are called for—a tablespoon, for instance—the quantity of salt added isn’t going to make a difference in a dessert, so I often call for either. But since most people are accustomed to using unsalted butter for baking, a majority of the recipes call for that. Salted butter contains about ¼ teaspoon of salt per stick; if you prefer to use salted butter, adjust the salt in the recipe accordingly.

CHOCOLATE

I love chocolate and you’ll notice there are quite a few chocolate recipes in this book, something I feel no need to apologize for. Americans have always been chocolate lovers, and a recent surge in bean-to-bar chocolate makers has made the chocolate aisle a much more interesting place. Until the last decade or so, if you wanted good chocolate, you had to choose one that was European. And while a lot of European
chocolates are excellent, you now have the choice of some really good American-made chocolates as well. (See
Resources
for ordering information for some of my favorites.)

I normally don’t recommend specific brands unless it’s very important to the recipe. Instead, I encourage you to discover on your own which brands you prefer. The best way to find a good chocolate, and one that you like, is to taste as many as you can, a task that most people won’t find all that difficult. I’m often asked what’s a “good” chocolate. My response: “If
you
like the taste and think it’s good, then it’s good chocolate.” If price is a concern, buy chocolate in bulk or large tablets, which are much more economical than individual bars.

Unsweetened, bittersweet, and semisweet chocolates will keep for several years if well-wrapped and stored in a cool, dry place. Milk chocolate is more delicate—wrapped well, it will keep in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year. White chocolate is perishable and should be purchased in small quantities as needed.

Unsweetened Chocolate

If a recipe calls for unsweetened chocolate, that means chocolate without any added sugar. Sometimes it’s labeled “99 percent” or “100 percent” unsweetened chocolate, references to the percentage of cacao solids. If you come across “bitter chocolate,” verify that it’s unsweetened chocolate by looking at the ingredients list (it shouldn’t contain any sugar) or look carefully for the percentage of cacao solids.

Bittersweet or Semisweet Chocolate

If a recipe calls for bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, you can use either as they’re interchangeable. Both, by law, are required to have a minimum of 35 percent cacao solids, but many premium brands have much higher percentages, sometimes over 70 percent.

The recipes in this book that call for bittersweet or semisweet chocolate were tested with chocolate that’s between 50 percent and 65 percent cacao solids. I like a lot of the high-percentage chocolates (ones with more than 70 percent cacao solids) for eating. I don’t bake with them, however. One can run into problems due to their lack of fluidity, a result of reduced amounts of sugar and cocoa butter. And their greater acidity can cause mixtures to curdle.

Milk Chocolate

Not too long ago, our only option for milk chocolate was those vapid brown bars sold in the candy aisle of the supermarket. But milk chocolate has come a long way and we now have good-tasting choices. Contrary to my advice for buying dark chocolate, I recommend getting milk chocolate with the highest percentage of cacao solids as possible. Standard milk chocolate bars usually contain about 10 percent whereas some of the new “dark” milk-chocolate bars have 35 to 40 percent and taste a lot better. I use those.

White Chocolate

Buy only real white chocolate, one that contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk powder. In products labeled “white coating,” the flavorful cocoa butter has been replaced with vegetable fat. It’s awful and I don’t use it—and neither should you.

Chocolate Chips

A majority of the chocolate chips are made of what’s called “baking resistant” chocolate, which means that they have less cocoa butter so that they hold their shape during baking. This makes them suitable for cookies but not great for melting. Some upscale brands are made from regular (melting) chocolate. But with so many brands out there, unless you know for sure that the chips melt smoothly, don’t use them in place of bittersweet or semisweet chocolate that will be melted.

Cocoa Powder

To make cocoa powder, cocoa butter is pressed out of unsweetened cacao paste until the paste is reduced to a powder. There are two kinds of cocoa powder: natural and Dutch-process. “Dutching” cocoa powder involves treating the cacao with an alkalizing agent to neutralize acidity, which also darkens the color of the cocoa.

I generally use Dutch-process cocoa since it tastes better to me. But there are some good natural cocoa powders out there, although they’re not easy to find (
see Resources
). Dutch-process cocoa is usually labeled as such. If you’re questioning whether it is, check for an alkalizing agent (potassium
bromate or carbonate) in the ingredients list; if it’s listed, then it’s Dutch-process. Always use the type indicated in the recipe. In some cases, I give you the option to use either. If your cocoa powder is lumpy, sift it before using.

COCONUT

When using dried coconut, I use unsweetened, which can be found in natural and specialty food stores. If a recipe specifies unsweetened coconut and you don’t have unsweetened coconut, you can soak sweetened coconut in boiling water, wring it out well in paper towels, and dry it in a low oven. I use dried shredded coconut (sometimes labeled “desiccated”) that resembles coarsely grated Parmesan cheese. Dried coconut sold in larger, longer shreds can be pulsed in a food processor until it’s in smaller pieces.

COCONUT MILK

Canned coconut milk is not the watery liquid from inside the coconut, but a mixture of the flavorful, rich meat blended with the liquid. It’s very time-consuming to make, so I use Thai canned coconut milk, available in Asian food stores and well-stocked supermarkets. My favorite brand is Chaokoh (beware of similar-sounding brands). Always shake the can before opening because the milk separates as it sits. Unused coconut milk can be frozen in a plastic container for future use.