Rose's Heavenly Cakes (85 page)

Coffee Extract

A good-quality coffee extract offers the most rounded, pure coffee flavor possible. Nielsen-Massey (see
Ingredients Sources
) produces an excellent one. Coffee extact will keep in a cool, dark place for 1 year, and longer if refrigerated.

Oils

Boyajian orange, tangerine, lemon, and lime oils, squeezed from the rind of the fresh fruit, have a perfectly pure flavor without bitterness and are great for adding extra intensity to cakes and frostings. They can also be used in place of zest as their quality is often superior; however, they don't contribute the little flecks of bright color of the zest. By weight, fruit oils are equal to about ten times the amount of zest. By volume, they are equal to sixteen times the volume of loosely packed zest (see
Ingredient Equivalencies and Substitutions
). These oils are available at gourmet stores such as Dean & DeLuca and Williams-Sonoma (see
Ingredients Sources
). Exquisite steam-distilled French fruit essences such as wild strawberry, passion fruit, and apricot are available in tiny bottles from La Cuisine (see
Ingredients Sources
). They are expensive but well worth the price. Perfumer Mandy Aftel calls these finely tuned essences that she produces "essential oils" (see Aftel, in
Ingredients Sources
). A few drops go a long way, so start with just one drop at a time. I adore her coffee, bitter orange, blood orange, and lemon essential oils. Her vanilla essential oil caused me practically to pass out with pleasure on first scent. Mandy recommends storing the citrus oils refrigerated for up to 4 months and says the other essences will keep indefinitely at room temperature.

Lecithin

Liquid lecithin, available in health food stores, is a soy derivative (but it is also found in egg yolks) and acts as an emulsifier in butter cake batter. It makes cakes slightly higher and more moist and adds a subtle, sweet aftertaste, but it also slightly dulls the assertive buttery flavor. I recommend using it if you are making a butter layer cake 3 to 4 days in advance of serving. To the eggs, add ½ teaspoon per 2 to 2½ cups flour/7 to 8.7 ounces/200 to 250 grams. Be sure to store the lecithin in the refrigerator as it is highly prone to rancidity; if it has an off smell, don't use it.

Citrus Fruit

Different varieties of citrus fruit vary greatly in the amount of juice and zest they will yield, so the amounts listed in the chart that follows are estimates. Consider them as helpful guidelines for how many fruits to buy. It's always a good idea to get a few more than you think you will use. I buy the largest ones available for their zest and the heaviest ones for their juice.

Oranges

Valencia oranges, also referred to as juice oranges, yield more juice than navel oranges, but navel oranges are a better choice for zest because of their thick, rough skin. The bitter Seville oranges have the most acidity and intensity of all oranges. They are ideal for making orange curd, but the peel, which has a horrible taste unless it is heavily sugared as for marmalade, should be discarded. These oranges are very thick skinned but also very juicy. Their juice freezes well. They are available from January through March.

Lemons

Meyer lemons from California have the most mellow flavor, but many people prefer the intensity of the more commonly available lemons.

Zest

Zest is the colored portion of only the citrus peel or rind that is grated. The white portion, or pith, should be avoided as it is quite bitter. Fruit should be zested before squeezing, which is why it's listed in the ingredients lists slightly out of order from where it's added to the recipe. Be sure to wash the fruit in soap and hot water and rinse it well or it will add a bitter taste to the recipe. If a recipe calls for finely grated zest, after grating it with a Microplane grater, use a chef's knife to chop it to a fine consistency, or process it with some of the sugar in the recipe.

Candied Lemon and Orange Peel

If you think you don't like candied fruit, try the extraordinary varieties available from Italy, Switzerland, and France (see ChefShop, in
Ingredients Sources
). I prefer to avoid citron and use only the orange and lemon peel.

Lemon Curd

Commercial lemon curd varies widely in quality. Tiptree brand, available in most supermarkets, is very close to and sometimes better than homemade because it is prepared by hand in small batches. Its exceptional quality is also due to the flavorful Spanish lemons used in its preparation.

Passion Fruit

This aromatic fruit is available year round from Florida, California, and New Zealand. Store it at room temperature until slightly dimpled, then store it in the shell in an airtight freezer bag in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a year. One passion fruit equals 1½ tablespoons of puree. Although no one having indulged in the fruit would question the appropriateness of the name, the term "passion fruit" actually came from Catholic missionaries in Brazil who, upon seeing passion fruit vines in flower around Easter, were reminded of the passion of Christ and the crucifixion.

Purees

These intense concentrations of fruit and pulp make fabulous additions to buttercreams or as delectable decoration when dabbed on in small dollops. An excellent frozen passion puree is carried by Albert Uster Imports, SOS Chefs, and an equally excellent double-concentrated version is available from Perfect Purée and Kalustyan's (see
Ingredients Sources
). They carry a wide variety of other purees as well, including ginger, which can be frozen for as long as a year. Boiron purees are also top quality and are available through L'Épicerie (see
Ingredients Sources
).

Preserves

Across the board, American Spoon Food (see
Ingredients Sources
) has excellent preserves and butters. Their strawberry and raspberry butters are fantastic added to buttercreams. A good replacement for apricot lekvar is Solo's Apricot Filling, available in most supermarkets.

Bananas

As bananas ripen and develop black spots, their flavor becomes much sweeter, the peel thinner, and the pulp softer. It can take more than a week to reach this point. In a banana emergency, an alternative method of ripening is to freeze bananas in the peel overnight. They can be defrosted in less than 30 minutes in a room-temperature water bath, then slit lengthwise and the pulp removed. Ripening bananas naturally, however, produces a sweeter flavor. Any extra banana pulp can be frozen for several months.

When buying bananas, keep in mind that the peel of a banana represents about 25 percent of its weight. A cup of mashed banana weighs about 8 ounces/227 grams. Baby bananas have a sweeter and more intense flavor and are fine to use for all recipes calling for bananas.

Coconut

One average coconut weighs about 1½ pounds/680 grams and yields about 4 cups/11 ounces/310 grams of finely shredded coconut. One cup weighs about 2.6 ounces/75 grams.

To prepare a fresh coconut:
With a metal skewer or screwdriver, pierce two of the eyes. Drain the milky liquid. If desired, strain the liquid and use it for cooking or drinking. With a hammer or the back of a cleaver, sharply tap the coconut about one-third of the way from the opposite end of the eyes. Continue tapping it in a circle around the coconut until it breaks open. Use a knife to divide the coconut into portions that can be lifted easily from the shells and lift out each section. Cut off the brown skin and grate the white flesh into fine flakes. If using a special coconut grater (see
Coconut Graters
), there is no need to remove the shell. Simply insert the head of the grater into the hollow coconut half and turn the crank.

Unsweetened, flaked coconut, softer and fresher tasting than most commercially prepared coconut, is available from specialty stores (see
Ingredients Sources
). Excellent-quality coconut in many textures and degrees of fineness is available in some Middle Eastern markets and Indian food stores such as Kalustyan's (see
Ingredients Sources
).

Baker's Coconut is sweet, moist, and flavorful. Once opened, it will keep for about 1 week refrigerated in its own package or for 3 to 6 months frozen. Unopened, it will keep for about 18 months refrigerated.

Coconut cream is derived from the pressed flesh of the coconut. It is available in cans. Coconut cream powder is the dehydrated form of coconut cream. Coconut milk is obtained by diluting the liquid coconut cream with water. All three are available at Kalustyan's (see
Ingredients Sources
).

Gelatin

Gelatin is made from ground-up animal by-products, including hooves and bones. According to Knox, the ubiquitous maker of gelatin products, their gelatin, which comes in 7-gram/¼-ounce packages, will gel 2 cups of liquid. I find that one package of gelatin measures 2¼ teaspoons, so 1 1/8 teaspoons are needed per cup of liquid.

Powdered gelatin needs to be softened in cool water for at least 5 minutes before being heated to dissolve it, which enables it to be effective as a thickening agent. According to the Lipton tea company's research department, "While it is true that extensive boiling will denature unflavored gelatin... normal use in recipes, including boiling, will not adversely affect the product."

Gelatin requires a minimum of 4 hours to thicken and will continue to thicken a mixture over a 24-hour period. Once it has reached maximum thickness, it will not thicken more, even on freezing, but freezing will not affect its thickening power. A gelatin mixture can be frozen, thawed, remelted, and refrozen several times before it loses its thickening capability. I use Grayslake powdered gelatin, available at cake decorating supply stores such as Sweet Celebrations (see
Ingredients Sources
), in recipes calling for gelatin. Kosher gelatin, which is made of vegetable gum, tapioca dextrin, and acids, is produced by Kojel (see
Ingredients Sources
).

Cinnamon

There are many varieties of cinnamon available. My favorite is Korintje because it's sweet and mellow (see Penzeys Spices, in
Ingredients Sources
). If choosing other types, such as Vietnamese, use only two-thirds the indicated amount as they are very intense, reminiscent of cinnamon Red Hots candies.

Poppy Seeds

These tiny gray-blue seeds are delicious when fresh, but they become bitter and rancid if held too long at room temperature. Store poppy seeds in the refrigerator or freeze them. They are more perishable when ground, so for the freshest flavor it's best to grind them just before using them. Penzeys carries the "A-1" type called Holland Blue.

Beeswax

Used for making spun sugar because of its high melting point, beeswax helps keep sugar strands flexible. Beeswax is available at sculptors' supply stores, some sewing supply stores, and, of course, through apiaries.

Flowers

Fresh flowers and leaves marketed specifically for dessert making offer beautiful and sometimes even flavorful additions to cakes, but be sure to choose only those flowers that have not been sprayed and are safe for human consumption. Not all flowers are edible and some are highly poisonous. Edible flowers include apple blossoms, borage flowers, citrus blossoms (orange and lemon), day lilies (not tiger lilies, which have spots), English daisies, funcia, hibiscus, hollyhocks, honeysuckle, lilacs, nasturtiums, pansies, petunias, roses, tulips, and violets. Rose geranium leaves and mint leaves also make lovely and aromatic garnishes, especially when sugared (see
Crystallized Flowers and Leaves
).

Royal Icing, Gum Paste, and Crystallized Flowers

To make these exquisite cake adornments on your own takes great expertise and patience and a few special ingredients to accomplish. Fortunately, you can get such items as royal icing, gum paste, and crystallized flowers from Petal Crafts, Lucks, Pfeil & Holing, and Paris Gourmet (go to Brands and then Deco Art; see
Ingredients Sources
). Paris Gourmet doesn't sell to the consumer, but if you find something you like on their site, their sister site, Chocolate Crafter should carry it (see
Ingredients Sources
).

Gum paste flowers can be so exquisitely lifelike that it is hard to tell them from real flowers. Betty Van Nostrand is the undisputed queen of gum paste and has taught many of the people who are producing these flowers for sale.

The most breathtaking crystallized flowers of many varieties are made by Sweetfields (see
Ingredients Sources
). My favorites are the ones filmed with a transparent veil of gold dust; some even have a lovely flavor. They are referred to as SweetDust.

Gold

There is no cake decoration more stunning than edible gold. Twenty-three-karat gold and silver leaf, flakes, and powder are available from Edible Gold, Easy Leaf Products, and the Gilded Planet (see
Ingredients Sources
). When dusted on a cake glazed with a shiny chocolate frosting, such as the
Deep Chocolate Passion Wedding Cake
or the
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cake
, it lends the appearance of a starry night. Lovely gold and other hues of luster dust are also available in cake decorating supply stores.

Water

I list water here because of the significant way in which it relates to volume and weight.

One of the beauties of the metric system is that it has terms for volume—"milliliters" and "liters"—and different terms for weight—"grams" and "kilograms." The metric system is based on water, that is, the volume value for water is equal to the weight value (100 milliliters are equal to 100 grams). Our avoirdupois system is less elegant and somewhat confusing because not only does the word "ounce" refer to both volume and weight, 1 fluid ounce of water does not equal 1 ounce in weight; it equals 1.042 ounces. So one 8-ounce (in volume) cup of water is actually equal to 8.33 ounces (in weight).
Webster's American Dictionary
defines water with an equation: 1 gallon equals 8.337 pounds (133.392 ounces). This divides down to 1 cup equals 8.337 ounces/236.35 grams.