Table of contents for November/December 2020 in Bake from Scratch

IF YOU’RE LIKE ME, THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS PRIME TIME FOR BAKING. The celebratory period seems ideal for icing cookies, frosting cakes, and rolling out dough. Maybe it’s the holiday state of mind or maybe it’s just the cold snap, but eitherway, I can’t wait to preheat my oven. Around this time last year, I was celebrating with an annual tradition: eggnog cocktails at Highlands Bar & Grill, one of my favorite restaurants in Birmingham, Alabama. There, I encountered one of their new pastry creations, a gâteau Basque pound cake. To my surprise, when I cut into it, no custard center oozed out. Instead, the cake had been made with the custard acting as its liquid base, meaning the batter baked into a solid, tender-crumbed cake that tasted of pure…

How did you first get into baking and when did you decide that a blog was the next step on your baking journey? LC: My mom had a cake-decorating business when I was a small child, so I remember her teaching me the basics, and I was certainly raised in a baking environment. Then, in 2014, I started working for a company that is very social, and I would bake things to bring into the office every day. It was so fun to have a captive audience, and I was definitely popular around the office for bringing in goodies! Over time, people encouraged me to start a side business, which is how the blog was born. I stuck with it for a while but realized I wasn’t interested in the…

For many, “hands-on” is just an expression. For Maria Provenzano, it’s a way of life. Maria is the ever-capable mind behind From Scratch with Maria, a blog devoted to crafting, and one of the resident DIY experts on The Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family. Whether you’ve ever desired to make a chocolate cake that resembles a roaring bonfire or your own snowflake table setting, Maria has been showing you how to do it all since 2013. But this devotion to the art of creativity began way before the online realm of Pinterest, Instagram, or blogs took off. In fact, Maria’s claim to the DIY throne is a veritable birthright. Hailing from the Great Lakes region of Michigan, Maria learned early that your best tools are your own two hands and…

ORANGE-ANISE BASQUE CHEESECAKE Makes 1 (9-inch) cake This cheesecake is all custard, no filler. An iconic crustless cheesecake from the Basque region of Spain, the Basque cheesecake has a starkly scorched top with a creamy, just-set interior thanks to a high-temperature bake. We infused our custard with orange zest and star anise, aromatics that often make their way into mulled wine, for a holiday twist. 1 large orange (184 grams)2¼ cups (540 grams) heavy whipping cream3 whole star anise (3 grams), lightly crushed3 (8-ounce) packages (680 grams) cream cheese, softened1⅓ cups (267 grams) granulated sugar½ teaspoon (1.5 grams) kosher salt5 large eggs (250 gram), room temperature2 teaspoons (10 grams) tightly packed orange zest1 teaspoon (6 grams) vanilla bean paste¼ cup (31 grams) all-purpose flour 1. Using a peeler, remove zest…

Resembling an edible coronet adorned with glistening almonds and amaretto-plumped golden raisins, the kugelhopf is a majestic cake. The delicate crumb, lighter than air and reminiscent of tender brioche, is the product of the unusual addition of baker’s yeast—creating a bread-meets-cake hybrid. The sugary dough, enriched with eggs and pads of creamy, golden butter, undergoes a single rise in a tall, fluted tube pan before baking. The resultant kugelhopf cake is tall and splendidly contoured, and the final dusting of confectioners’ sugar enhances each distinct curve. Unsurprisingly, the earliest kugelhopf was made popular by royalty. When kugelhopf first made its appearance in the 16th century, the addition of butter and sugar to cakes was a luxury reserved for the wealthy upper class. As copious amounts of butter and sugar are…

What came first, the chicken or the egg? It’s a question with no answer, the perfect example of a logic paradox. An easier question: what came first, the baker or the egg? For most of us, we became a baker once we laid our hands on an egg. No other baking ingredient holds so much potential, purpose, and possibility. One swift crack against the counter, and you’ve opened a door to untold adventure—or folly, if you’re not careful. We’re diving deep into this humble yet temperamental ingredient, from the protein-packed egg white to the rich golden yolk, to ensure that any time you reach for an egg, you understand its power and pitfalls. BUYING EGGS First things first: size. Most recipes—and every recipe developed and tested for Bake from Scratch—call…

GINGERBREAD DUTCH BABY PANCAKE Makes 4 servings Classic Dutch baby pancakes are like the decadent hybrid of a popover and a pancake. The batter comes together in a blender—no stand mixer required—and then gets baked in a piping-hot buttered skillet. Rich enough to be served for a holiday breakfast or festive weeknight dessert, our gingerbread version is warmly spiced and packs a hint of molasses. We finished it all off with a dollop of lemony whipped cream, maple syrup, and a scattering of ruby red pomegranate arils. ¾ cup (180 grams) whole milk, room temperature½ cup (63 grams) all-purpose flour3 large eggs (150 grams), room temperature2 tablespoons (28 grams) firmly packed light brown sugar1¾ teaspoons (3.5 grams) ground ginger1 teaspoon (1 gram) instant espresso powder*1 teaspoon (7 grams) molasses (not…

MUST-HAVES FOR HOLIDAY BAKING AND BEYOND LOOKING FOR A FEW TOOLS AND COOKBOOKS TO BOOST YOUR HOLIDAY BAKING SPIRIT? SPICE UP YOUR LIFE WITH THIS SEASON’S PICKS, FROM SASSY SPRINKLES TO SPACE-SAVING COOKIE CUTTERS, PLUS NEWLY RELEASED TOMES THAT TACKLE EVERYTHING FROM BROWNIES TO MILE-HIGH BAKING. TRENDING TOMES ATTACK OF THE SNACK CAKE! Who says cake is only for dessert? Yossi Arefi’s latest cookbook, Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings (Clarkson Potter, 2020), indulges readers by transforming cake into an anytime treat. The no-fuss, one-bowl recipes in this collection are delightfully simple to throw together, made with ingredients bakers likely have in their pantries and baked in basic pans. This cookbook is perfect for bakers who crave near-instant baking satisfaction. Available at amazon.com on October 27, 2020. THE CREATIVE…

Our Pearls of Sugar Wisdom There are two common pearl sugar varieties: Belgian and Swedish. The sugars differ primarily in pearl size. Belgian offers a bigger granule, which can handle higher heat and maintains its shape better. It is often mixed into doughs and batters where it can melt or caramelize, like in our Suikerbrood or the classic Liège waffle. Swedish pearl sugar is smaller and used mainly as a topping or garnish, like for our Swedish Cinnamon Buns. Despite their differences, they are both equally impressive. We find using Lars Own pearl sugar yields excellent results. Buy Lars Own Belgian Pearl Sugar and Lars Own Swedish Pearl Sugar at amazon.com or at specialty food stores. PEARL SUGAR STREUSEL COFFEE-FRUITCAKE Makes 1 (9-inch) cake Coffee cake meets fruitcake in a chic…

SPARKLING WINE CHOCOLATE GANACHE TART Makes 1 (9½-inch) tart Sparkling wine and chocolate are a winning combination, creating a celebratory tart ideal for this festive season. With a graham cracker crumb base, a semisweet ganache filling, and a sparkling wine-spiked white chocolate cream topping, this tart is chilled perfection. If you abstain from alcohol, you can easily make this tart into a purely chocolate and cream affair (see PRO TIP)—because a chocolate tart is a celebration in itself. 1½ cups (176 grams) chocolate graham cracker crumbs (about 12 sheets)2 tablespoons (24 grams) granulated sugar6 tablespoons (84 grams) unsalted butter, melted10 ounces (284 grams) 64% cacao semisweet chocolate*, finely chopped (about 1⅔ cups)2 cups (480 grams) cold heavy whipping cream, divided¼ teaspoon kosher salt⅓ cup (80 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (30…

My memories of my granny’s five-flavor pound cake may be almost as centered around eating it as baking it. Granny used to make this pound cake for every celebration we had when I was growing up, but it was also the type of cake she would bake and send to us when we went away to college. “Unboxing” was actually a trend Granny may have started all of those years ago. When a pound cake arrived at my dorm, it would be wrapped in many, many—this is not an exaggeration, there were so many—layers of wax paper and then brown paper and then a paper bag and then the actual box. It took 20 minutes to open a pound cake from Granny. But the payoff started when you got down…