Rose's Heavenly Cakes (86 page)

The metric system is a model of logic, simplicity, and clarity, and I long for the day when it is embraced in this country.

Ingredient Equivalencies and Substitutions

Making one thing into another is never 100 percent. In a pinch, however, it is helpful to know how to come close to an original ingredient and quantity. Substituting ingredients such as granulated sugar and molasses for brown sugar comes closer to the original because that substitution is often made commercially, although I prefer using unrefined brown sugar that has the original molasses in it (see
Sugar
). It is not possible to give a substitution for molasses, however, because in order to have enough molasses contained by the sugar, too much sugar would need to be added.

Ingredients Sources

Aftel Essential Oils

www.aftelier.com
510-841-2111

Albert Uster Imports

www.auiswiss.com
800-231-8154

American Almond Food Service Products

www.pastrycraft.com
800-825-6663

American Egg Board

www.incredibleegg.org
847-296-7043

American Spoon Foods

www.spoon.com
800-220-5886

Bakels

www.bakels.com

Baker's Joy

www.bakersjoy.com
815-372-4485

ChefShop

www.chefshop.com
800-596-0885

Chefswarehouse

www.chefswarehouse.com
718-842-8700 ext. 20104

Chocosphere

www.chocosphere.com
877-992-4626

country kitchen sweetart

www.countrykitchensa.com
800-497-3927

Crossings

www.crossingsfrenchfood.com
800-209-6141

Dean and DeLuca

www.deandeluca.com
800-221-7714

Easy Leaf Products

www.easyleafproducts.com
800-569-5323

Edible Gold

www.ediblegold.com
415-407-5097

Eggology

www.eggology.com
888-669-6557

Gilded Planet

www. gildedplanet.com
415-407-5097

India Tree

www.indiatree.com
800-369-4848

Kalustyan's

www.kalustyans.com
800-352-3451

Keenan Pistachios

www.keenanpistachio.com
559-945-1400

Kojel

www.vipfoodsinc.com
800-83kojel, 718-821-5330

La Cuisine

www.lacuisineus.com
800-521-1176

L'Épicerie

www.lepicerie.com
866-350-7575

Lucks Food Decorating Company

www.lucks.com
800-426-9778

Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut

www.hersheygifts.com
800-454-7737

Nielsen-Massey Vanillas

www.nielsenmassey.com
800-525-7873

Paris Gourmet

www.parisgourmet.com
,

www.chocolatecrafter.com
800-727-8791 ext. 1

Pastry Chef Central

www.pastrychef.com
561-999-9483

PatisFrance (French language)

www.patisfrance.fr

Pearson Farm

www.pearsonfarm.com
888-423-7374

Penzeys Spices

www.penzeys.com
800-741-7787

Perfect Purée of Napa Valley

www.perfectpuree.com
800-556-3707

Petal Crafts

www.petalcrafts.com
818-249-2460

Pfeil
&
Holing

www.cakedeco.com
800-247-7955

San Saba

www.sansabapecan.com
575-526-5745

SOS Chefs

www.sos-chefs.com
212-505-5813

Sunnyland Farms

www.sunnylandfarms.com
800-999-2488

Sweet Celebrations

www.sweetc.com
800-328-6722

Sweetfields

www.sweetfields.com
877-987-9338

Taam-Tov foods (kosher chocolate)

718-788-8880 ext. 127

Vanilla.Company

www.vanilla.com
800-757-7511

Vital Choice (organic nuts)

www.vitalchoice.com
800-608-4825, 866-482-5887

Williams-Sonoma

www.williamssonoma.com
877-812-6235

Wilton Industries

www.wilton.com
800-794-5866

Zingerman

www.zingermans.com
888-636-8162

Equipment

When it comes to cake baking, aside from specialty pans, very little equipment is needed. Special equipment and serving plates, however, make the pleasure of baking that much more enjoyable. My great uncle Nathan George Horwitt, designer of the Movado Museum watch dial, was an industrial designer. It was from him that I learned to appreciate the Bauhaus principle of form following function. There is little that excites me more than a tool that makes a job easier and the results nearer to perfect. For me, a well-designed tool is a work of art and deserves to be on permanent display. I have continued the family tradition by designing some special equipment under the name Rose Levy Bakeware. It is available from LaPrima Shops (see
Equipment Sources
).

Note that sources are listed when distributors are exclusive or the item is hard to find, but this can change. Some places will special order or direct you to the distributor if they no longer carry a given item. And, of course, the Internet is an excellent way to search for just about anything.

The Baker's Dozen Essential Pieces of Equipment for Cake Baking (listed in order of importance)

Measuring cups for liquids

Scale for large quantities or measuring cups for solids

Measuring spoons

Basic cake pans

Pan liners: Teflon sheeting, Silpat, and parchment

Cake strips for even baking

Food processor

Heavy-duty stand mixer or heavy-duty handheld mixer

Instant-read thermometer

Spatulas: small metal spatulas (straight and offset) and silicone spatulas

Fine-mesh strainers and sifters

Wire racks for cooling

Microplane grater

For all appliances such as digital thermometers and scales that are battery operated, be aware that as the battery wears, accuracy decreases.

Liquid Measures

The most-accurate and well-marked heatproof plastic and glass measuring cups I have found are made by POURfect and Anchor Hocking (see
Equipment Sources
). A cup of water, read below the bottom of the meniscus (the curved upper surface), should weigh close to 8.3 ounces/236 grams to be acceptable. If using a metric cup, this is equal to 236 milliliters (as milliliters are based on the weight of water). The standard metric cup is 250 milliliters, about 1 tablespoon more than the standard U.S. cup.

The plastic POURfect beakers are designed to pour without dripping. They are heat resistant up to 190°F/88°C. The glass cups by Anchor Hocking are ideal for pouring hot sugar syrups and caramel. I use my 1-cup measures the most, but the 2-cup and 4-cup measures are often useful as well. When measuring sticky substances such as syrups and molasses, spray the cup (or measuring spoon, for smaller amounts) with nonstick cooking spray before using. A mini measure is perfectly accurate for measuring small amounts of liquid. It measures from 1 teaspoon up to 6 teaspoons (2 tablespoons).

Scales

I am a major proponent of weighing ingredients rather than measuring for baking. In fact, I once wrote an article on its virtues for the
Los Angeles Times
entitled "Weigh to Bake." Most recently I updated it and published it on my blog. I am updating it yet again here because it is so central to successful and enjoyable baking. I can't imagine life without a countertop scale to weigh ingredients! If I wrote books or recipes just for myself, I wouldn't even include cup measures. While I'm going out on a limb, I might as well admit that given my druthers, I would use only the metric system. It's so much easier, faster, and more reliable. Can you imagine how crazy-making it is to create and proof all the ingredients charts in my books that list each ingredient in volume, ounces, and grams? But I've got to cater to those resistant to weighing because as far as I'm concerned, it's better to bake by volume than not to bake at all. And baking makes me happy, so I want to share it with everyone.

Bakers are born, not made. We are exacting people who delight in submitting ourselves to rules and formulas if it means achieving repeatable perfection. The rewards of this discipline go beyond providing absolute sensory pleasure. There is also a feeling of magic and alchemy that comes from starting with ingredients that don't remotely resemble the delicious magnificence of the final result.

I've been championing the use of scales for baking for years, but now I have a new and persuasive argument that just might tip the balance. Two of the most important ingredients used in baking have changed in their packaging over the past few years, impairing accuracy of baking results. At first I thought it was a fluke, but when I mentioned it to other bakers and chefs, they also were puzzled but aware of it.

I've been finding more and more often that when I unwrap a stick of butter and weigh it, instead of getting the 4.0 ounces listed on the label, it weighs only around 3.86 ounces. I just don't get it. There used to be laws and fines that encouraged manufacturers to go a little over the mark rather than risk going under (in more ways than one).

The unnatural change in egg yolks, however, presents a real mystery of nature. I first noticed something weird when I was baking at a friend's house in the French countryside. I was making a lemon custard tart and instead of the six yolks I would normally use I had to use about ten to equal the same weight. Each "large" egg in the shell weighed the standard 2 ounces/56 grams, but the yolk inside was tiny. Happily, most French households have kitchen scales so it was no problem weighing it. Several years later, I noticed the same thing happening in the United States. Now, as you know, the yolk is primarily the living embryonic organism and the egg white is its extra food. Could this new imbalance be a metaphor for the trend toward excessive food, starting even this early in the development of life? I remember thinking at the time, "Poor little yolk—what happened to you?" And then yolk after yolk appeared in the same sad size.

Another curious thing I've learned about eggs is that the law dictates that a dozen large eggs in the shell weigh in at a total of 24 ounces, but there can be significant variance in the weight of each individual egg as long as the total adds up.

Before you start thinking that the problem is me, I should add that several of my scales are very high-caliber laboratory scales that I calibrate on a regular basis.

Recipes may not suffer greatly if variations are minor in weight, but they will not be perfect either. Of course not everyone's goal is to be a perfect baker, but if you're reading this book I will bet that you are interested in investigating the possibilities of perfecting your baking. So here are some more of my pro-scale arguments:

Any lover of baking ultimately will adore using scales once he or she is past the fear of what sometimes, at first, is perceived as a foreign object (except when standing on it). Weighing ingredients is not only reassuring, it is much faster than measuring and results in far less cleanup. Consider how much easier it is to weigh cocoa than to sift it and then measure it, and I wouldn't dream of trying to figure out how tightly to pack brown sugar into a cup when I can weigh it in a flash. Also think about how much more pleasant it is to weigh sticky corn syrup or honey. And if a recipe calls for a number of ounces of chocolate that is not the exact weight of a chocolate bar, isn't it nice to rely on the scale to determine the exact amount?

When adding syrup to cake layers, I place each layer on the scale and brush the appropriate weight on each side. I also use the scale to distribute batter evenly between two pans.