Baking/Candy Making Discussion
Baking this year's first batch of gluten free Christmas cake, a truly epic feat I've been doing most years for more than a decade (originally with gluten, though for many years without). Not a recipe for a lightweight, mixing the batter is like mixing sticky concrete, only you need to use 1 hand to hold the bowl! My arms are more tired than when I do my overhead press/bicep curl routine, just brutal. The funniest part, I've used tricks to make the mixing easier, and it is still a beastly job. Min 3.5 hours baking, usually do 4 hours... this is serious cake! 
My biggest trick is using fully melted butter, which is so much easier to mix. As in, probably twice as easy. The only other trick is mixing the dry completely, then adding and stirring in the liquids, and finally, stirring in the 'aggregate' dried fruits, nuts, and candied fruit.
This year I am presoaking the various raisins in brandy before baking, hoping to avoid the slightly burnt raisins on the outside of the cake. It wasn't a big problem, but I am seeking perfection, not just 'good'!
This might have further eased stirring. I used a heavier brandy for the soaking, so it should leave some flavour even after it has evaporated during cooking.
After it cools, I wrap the cakes in fresh cheesecloth and season it daily with good brandy, usually pouring 1 or 2 tbsp daily until the cake is pretty saturated. This is pretty expensive cake if you haven't figured it out, but its usually fit for royalty. Hell, if I ever get married I'll be able to make a traditional cake. This isn't anything like the dry fruitless shame-loafs they sell as fruitcakes at stores, these are truly transcendent. I still can't believe the noble fruitcake is the butt of jokes, but I admit purchased ones are often atrocious.
This first batch is close to the original recipe, but with doubled candied cherries (the recipe was a bit light on them, and most of my family loves the cherries... I suspect they'd eat candied cherries if they could do so with dignity!). This year I used freshly ground nutmeg, ground up very fine in my 40lb mortar. Love using that monster, even if it's a hassle to get out! After this batch, I'll bake 3 specialty cakes, each 1/3 of a batch.
This is a lot of mixing, but I love to try new versions, and this year I will be baking a blueberry cake using pecan nuts and no cherries spiced with cinnamon, a cake with tons of candied peel with cashew nuts spiced with cloves and ginger, and a black current based cake which I need to fully work out still. I've baked the first two before very successfully, but I'm going out on quite the limb here trying black currents. I have to do some research I think, black currents have an unusual flavour after all.
I should make a big batch of caramels this week too, though I really need to buy a good thermometer I think. My results are never bad, but they seem to vary the equivalent of 10 degrees sometimes, so I've had soft batches and some a bit hard. I've also had fudge that refused to set, but I think I didn't boil it long enough. Candy is science damnit!
All this reminds I ought to lose some 20lbs by Christmas, or none of my pants will fit me by January. On that note, I'm going for a jog!
My biggest trick is using fully melted butter, which is so much easier to mix. As in, probably twice as easy. The only other trick is mixing the dry completely, then adding and stirring in the liquids, and finally, stirring in the 'aggregate' dried fruits, nuts, and candied fruit.
This year I am presoaking the various raisins in brandy before baking, hoping to avoid the slightly burnt raisins on the outside of the cake. It wasn't a big problem, but I am seeking perfection, not just 'good'!
This might have further eased stirring. I used a heavier brandy for the soaking, so it should leave some flavour even after it has evaporated during cooking. After it cools, I wrap the cakes in fresh cheesecloth and season it daily with good brandy, usually pouring 1 or 2 tbsp daily until the cake is pretty saturated. This is pretty expensive cake if you haven't figured it out, but its usually fit for royalty. Hell, if I ever get married I'll be able to make a traditional cake. This isn't anything like the dry fruitless shame-loafs they sell as fruitcakes at stores, these are truly transcendent. I still can't believe the noble fruitcake is the butt of jokes, but I admit purchased ones are often atrocious.
This first batch is close to the original recipe, but with doubled candied cherries (the recipe was a bit light on them, and most of my family loves the cherries... I suspect they'd eat candied cherries if they could do so with dignity!). This year I used freshly ground nutmeg, ground up very fine in my 40lb mortar. Love using that monster, even if it's a hassle to get out! After this batch, I'll bake 3 specialty cakes, each 1/3 of a batch.
This is a lot of mixing, but I love to try new versions, and this year I will be baking a blueberry cake using pecan nuts and no cherries spiced with cinnamon, a cake with tons of candied peel with cashew nuts spiced with cloves and ginger, and a black current based cake which I need to fully work out still. I've baked the first two before very successfully, but I'm going out on quite the limb here trying black currents. I have to do some research I think, black currents have an unusual flavour after all.I should make a big batch of caramels this week too, though I really need to buy a good thermometer I think. My results are never bad, but they seem to vary the equivalent of 10 degrees sometimes, so I've had soft batches and some a bit hard. I've also had fudge that refused to set, but I think I didn't boil it long enough. Candy is science damnit!
All this reminds I ought to lose some 20lbs by Christmas, or none of my pants will fit me by January. On that note, I'm going for a jog!
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Comments
This time of year, I always want to make sweet potato pies. I like a really spicy pie, so generally double up the spices, lots of cloves, cinnamon and all spice. I don't have the recipe handy, or I'd post it.
The one hassle I have with making pies, is the crust takes far longer than any other step. Folding in that butter and shortening, and then rolling it out takes time. It just seems ridiculous the little bit of shell takes the most effort, but doing it right is so worth it.
I'll probably do a couple to get warmed up for thanksgiving, then I can take one in to work with me. By thanksgiving I'll be all warmed up on my pie cooking again, and can nail it, and serve it for dessert after smoked turkey.
I kept meaning to get around to making some lemon meringue pies all summer, and just never got around to it. The best way to make the filling is with lemon zest, it makes the flavor really pop. It's one of those recipes where the order you do things really matters when it comes to the filling so it won't have clumps. You mix the sugar and flour together first, then mix it in with cold water and start heating it after it's thoroughly mixed. The sugar being well mixed with the flour helps prevent clumping, and mixing it into cold water prevents clumping compared to if the water were already hot.
My mom traditionally baked pumpkin pies this time of year, but sweet potato is more rich, but I've never tried a homemade one. Might have to bake one myself.
Hmmm... that's a good point about mixing flour and water, its easy to get clumps, and the hotter the water the worse clumps! I can usually remember this when making sauces, but sometimes mistakes happen. I use plantain flour often for sauces, its got good food value I think, and a pleasant taste. Going gluten free has some hassles, though some changes aren't really for the worse.
Pasta with just olive oil and garlic can be surprisingly delicious. Not to mention cheap, easy and fast.
When I went to trade school, I lived with mostly a microwave and toaster oven to cook with, though I also could slowcooker meals, and couldn't eat gluten. Apparently white and red rice are both effectively microwaveable, as are hulled split mung/urad beans... I loved chopping up leak or onion (leak smells better by far though!), adding some beans and rice and microwaving it while I cooked fish or ground beef patties in the toaster over for a delicious meal. I regularly made it for breakfast actually, esp with fish, as that cooks pretty quick. I even cooked up fish and rice for a girl I was hanging out with. I am a pretty good cook now, so when I say it was good, it really was legit good. Its shocking how much you can do with a couple 120v plugs, assuming you have relevant breakers to prevent overloading! That said, microwaved hardboiled eggs in those egg cookers are not the best.
Fish actually is one of the better breakfast foods... I seem to need a fair amount of protein though, so 30g of fish protein is a good start for me.