Today's Test Kitchen

I was getting ready to log onto Simply Divine's facebook page and let everyone know I am working on a new flavor combination. When I remembered that I've been staying off of the facebook screen sucking addiction, I remembered Amy.  But not for the reasons you think...nor the reason I might be adding some "Not Me Monday" posts.

So Misty and I decided it would be best to go dancing and leave facebook to those not afraid of the tide.

Ok, no. Not really. But those were some fun plugs! So check out those links when you get a chance.

Seriously though. I was going to post on facebook and thought to myself, "Well then, what is the real purpose of your blog? Post there you silly baking-because-it's-raining fool!"

Ok. I'm actually not sure if I know how to be serious. I do try.

Anyhoo.

I am working on developing a new cupcake.  So far, even though the cupcake is delicious and moist and YUM, it does not have enough of the coconut flavor I was working with.  If you watch Cupcake Wars, Florian Bellanger would be saying to me:

[frenchie, french accent]

"Aimm sorreee. Shu cupca e goo bu Ai canno fines ze flavo ough ze coconu."

translation:

"I'm sorry. Your cupcake is good but I cannot find the flavor of the coconut."

Yeah, yeah. I need the subtitles too sometimes.

Moving on.

I will work on bringing more of the coconut flavor into the cupcake for a true yummy coconut cupcake.  In the meantime I am topping these very buttery and slightly nutty flavored cupcakes with the following combinations.

• Butterscotch whipped topping (alone)
• Butterscotch whipped topping with caramel
• Butterscotch whipped topping with chopped peacans
• Butterscotch whipped topping with peacans and caramel
• Coconut buttercream.

You have to come back after I take pictures and I'll let you know what my taste testers think.  You can also leave me a comment with what YOU think would taste best.

And in the words of Florian Bellanger,

"Happee Baykeen"

Tuesday Tip!

I think that probably the most difficult thing about writing these Tuesday Tips is to refrain from thinking, "Oh, everybody already knows that!" and then not even attempting the topic flirting in my mind.

The most fun thing I can see for this blog (still in it's infancy), is to have a few pages. Some would be dedicated to "Tuesday Tip", while another would be dedicated to recipes, still another to any awesome wrecks from my kitchen, and the main page would be the landing site...and so on.  That way in the future, any new visitors would simply click on a tab and find any previous hidden goodies.

So without further waiting for my loyal ten followers this week...here we go.

Butter.

There is so, so, so, so much I could write about this velvety smooth beauty but I'm going to stay very basic this week.  The question I used to ask all the time was: salted or unsalted?

When a recipe was not specific, I honestly had no idea which would be better in my desserts and I had been creating for YEARS!

Now part of it may be that I didn't pay enough attention to my culinary professor (Yeah, I was 19 and only completed four months of formal training. I'll blame it on "teenage short attention disorder". HA!) The other part is that I probably didn't want to store two different types of butter in my fridge. So I always went back and forth between the two.

Ummm...ask me today how many different types of butter I have. Usually no less than three. That's no lie.

Eh, hem...Moving on.

Your best choice for baking is UNSALTED butter. That way you can control how much salt you use in your recipes and it delivers a more consistent end result because there is no variation in the store bought salted item.  And when I say "butter", I mean real butter.  Unless you have an allergy to dairy, "stick" to the truest form of buttery goodness. Just leave the salted butter for your morning toast.

I know there are so many other things about butter you may have questions over. For instance:

• cold vs room temperature
• melted vs softened
• slow churned vs regular
• why real butter over margarine or oil spread?
• generic vs national brand
• ...and so on

If you would like me to give you my suggestions on any of these OR you have something else you've been wondering about, leave a note in the comment section and we'll go from there.

Happy baking!

Tuesday Tip!

Here we go! Here we go! Here we go! Our very first "Tuesday Tip".  And like I said in the previous post, this may be old news to many but may be new to some. So this is for you.

Buttermilk.

Let me say it again. Buttermilk. Yes, some people drink it but that is not our purpose today.

Buttermilk is a type of fermented drink that has a tart flavor and gives richness to the end product. When baking (or making pancakes), buttermilk is the better wet ingredient for your recipe.  Yes, it is more expensive than regular milk but it is so worth using.

Now if you bake alot like me, you won't have buttermilk left over sitting in your fridge wondering when it will ever see sugar and flour again.  You will always be in search of it. As a matter of fact, the dairy section in the supermarket can be a scary place for someone like me because as I turn the corner I always approach with caution.

Do they? Do they? Do they...have...some...today?

[opens eyes slowly as if watching a horror movie]

YES! They do!

And off I go with two of the largest containers I can find, which is usually no more than a half gallon carton.

But this Tuesday Tip is not just about buying buttermilk and using it. It's about how much to use and what to do if you don't have any. Ahhhh...now that is something I always need to remember.

First, in a pinch or if you simply don't bake enough to stock your fridge with even a pint of the sour goodness, you can make a fair enough substitute. Just remember that real buttermilk is always best.  Here you go:

• 
  
  Bring 1 cup of milk (preferably whole) to room temperature (30 minutes is actually fine)
• 
  
  Add 1 tbsp of lemon juice (the acid needed to "spoil" the milk)
• 
  
  If you do not have lemon juice handy you can also use apple cider vinegar
• 
  
  Let sit for an additional 10 minute
• 
  
  Milk will have a curdled appearance...because it is :)

Next, how much to use.  I have found that replacing the amount of milk called for in a recipe with buttermilk is a good match.  Also, I have found that when using a box mix (pancakes, cake, muffins, etc) you can replace the water called for with buttermilk too. The end product comes out tasting wonderful!  Buttermilk makes everything better.

Who knew being "spoiled rotten" would be so good! HA!

And that my friends is our first Tuesday Tip. Please let me know what you think or even if you already knew about using buttermilk.  I would really appreciate it.

Happy baking!