Easy Homemade Vanilla Custard Recipe

Homemade Vanilla Custard can also be called Pastry Cream and sometimes Vanilla Pudding.

This custard is used in various different baked items.  Cream puffs, chocolate eclairs, Boston Cream Pie, various pastries and it is just so good by itself as a pudding/custard.

Since this is an egg based product with preservatives it remains perishable even after cooking.  So it must be cooked down to refrigerator temperature (under 40ºF/5ºC) with in an hour.  And it should not be left out at room temperature for over an hour.

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Baking Measuring 101

 Baking Measuring 101

Baking is not nearly as forgiving as cooking is.  When you are making a soup, a little extra of an ingredient does not make much of a different most time.   But in baking,  getting and extra 1/4 cup of liquids at a time can make all the difference between success and failure.

We are going to talk about measuring our ingredients.  In the United States most people want to measure everything using measuring cups, many time people only use a liquid measuring cup.  But are measuring with cups accurate? read more

How to Cut and Assemble a Cake From Start to Finish Tutorial

 Cutting and Assembling a Cake is Easy once You Have Your Mise en Place (Everything Prepared)

Think about it.  What is the difficult part of almost any cooking project.  This is measuring and gathering you ingredients.  This greatly applies to baking and cake decorating.

 

What is the big saying in carpentry?  Measure twice and cut once.    Well the same rule should apply to baking.  Measure twice and do the recipe once.  How hard can it be to measure?  Thing about measuring a 1/3 cup of vegetable shortening.  Do you use the water method – or do you fill a 1/3 cup measuring cup.  And then the clean up.  How about measuring it by weight with a scale.  Zero the scale, add the shortening to the proper weight and you’re done.  But remember, always review you ingredients and measure them twice.

Lay your ingredients out after double checking them twice.  Then look over the recipe again verifying that you have the correct ingredient, correct amount specified, correct temperature and all your ingredients. read more

Flavored Whipped Cream Recipe

 Flavored Whipped Cream

Who would of though it would be so easy to make.  This whipped cream is made using heavy cream and instant pudding.  Since the instant pudding comes in so many different flavors, feel free to pick the flavor you desire and of course you may want to add a few drops of food coloring to let everyone know its flavored since we eat with our eyes.

Chilling the work bowl and the whisk in the freezer  before starting is a help because the cream whips best when chilled.

This whipped cream is stabilized by the instant pudding so there is no need to a gelatin mixture.  Also remember whipped cream is very perishable and should only be out of the refrigerator for less than an hour.  When used to ice a cake it must be kept refrigerated and it is best eaten the same day it is iced. read more

White 4 Braid Bread Recipe

Today we are going to be making a White 4 Braid Bread from scratch by hand.  This means we will be doing all the kneading by hand and not using the stand mixer.  I am doing this to give you the experience to get in touch with your bread and show it is a labor of love.

While this recipes does not have eggs in the bread, I am using an egg wash to give a nice golden brown color on the crust and as a glue to hold our toppings.  You can replace the egg wash with some cream or milk which will give you a more duller color, but it will be just as tasty. read more

Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

Red Velvet Cupcakes are so yummy.  The original Red Velvet batter was made by accident when the vinegar added to a recipe gave the cake a red tint.  Well in this modern age, we expect to see a red velvet cake  RED, not a brownish red, we want a bright RED, so food coloring is also added to color these lovely pieces of heaven.

I use a powdered red food coloring.  If you do not have access to powdered food colorings that is okay.  Check the notes section of the recipe for substitutes.

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Pizza Recipe

With this recipe, we already have our pizza dough proofed and ready to use. Our sauce has been made. So now is the time to assemble our pizza. There will be a few different options on how to assemble and bake the pizzas. One is using a pizza pan and the other is directly on a pizza stone. read more

Pizza Dough Recipe

Homemade Pizza Dough from scratch is so easy and much better tasting than bough pizza.  You are going to say to yourself why do I ever buy the frozen pizzas.  Make this dough and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and make pizza on short notice, quicker than delivery.  This recipe is only for the dough, while the video does show how to make a pizza, I will put that in a separate recipe. read more