Baking tips

I love to cook, and even like to bake, but am not noted for baking.  I have gathered the following little tips which she incorporates in to the novel itself, from the book "Bread Alone", a culinary novel by Judith Ryan Henricks.

SCONES:

* Fluffy Scones: for fluffier, biscuit-like scones use more cream and eggs.

* Short Scones: for denser, shortbread-like scones use more sugar and a lot more butter.

* Butter must be very cold, can even be frozen.

* Don't handle dough more than absolutely necessary or they will be tough.

* To cut scones into shape, use a VERY sharp knife or biscuit cutter. The sharper it is, the higher they'll rise.

* After cutting into shape, they can be stashed in freezer for later baking.

CAKES:

* The secret to a well-risen cake is to cream butter and sugar forever, so a lot of air is incorporated.

Quote from the book:
"Diane usually walks away and does other things while the Hobart beats the bejeezus out of the stuff"

* To get an even, flat layer cake and eliminate the "dome" in the center.
Wrap strips of wet towels around the cake pans, the batter will rise evenly as it bakes.

* Use a thin-bladed knife to surgically remove charred crust from an overdone cake.

CRUMB COAT:

* Mix some cake crumbs with your buttercream icing for the first "coat of icing" on a cake.
The second coat of plain buttercream icing will stick on better.

MISC.

* Spritzing hazelnuts with water before you toast them steams the skins and they slip right off.

* All small items such as muffins, scones, even cookies
- can be frozen unbaked and then baked without thawing.

* Almost any disaster can be salvaged.
No matter how awful it looks, if you keep your head and don't just start dumping things into the garbage.

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