Chicky Treats

Can You Freeze Cookies With Buttercream Frosting?

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Freezing cookies keeps them as fresh as the day you baked them without sacrificing their integrity. While buttercream frosting serves as both a great sandwich ingredient and an excellent decorative component, it raises a new complication for cookie freezers. Does frozen frosting maintain and what is the best way to freeze it?

You can freeze buttercream frosted or filled cookies and they can last up to three months. They need to be adequately sealed though. The process for freezing buttercream iced cookies is simple and straightforward and prolongs the life of your treats by quite a large margin.

 This article will discuss how to prepare your cookies with buttercream frosting for freezing, how to store them, and how to freeze any excess buttercream icing. Let’s get started!

What Is Buttercream Frosting?

Buttercream frosting is butter-based, thus the name. Most icing is sugar-based, but buttercream icing creates a thicker, more durable spread. It’s available in three key formats. 

There are three primary types of buttercream frosting, which are:

  • American Buttercream
  • Swiss Meringue Buttercream
  • Italian Meringue Buttercream

American Buttercream

American buttercream is a very simple combination of butter, sugar, and milk or cream. You can flavor this icing easily, however you see fit. American buttercream is the sweetest of the frosting’s varieties, at a two to one sugar to butter ratio. 

It is easy and quick to whip up for both beginners and advanced chefs. This frosting works best for:

  • Basic cupcakes and cakes
  • Rush icing jobs
  • A foundation for more elaborate designs

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

As the name suggests, Swiss meringue buttercream requires the chef to create a meringue. This process is more complicated than making American buttercream. Bakers need to use a double boiler, egg whites, and sugar. Butter is added to the meringue to create a less sweet frosting than the American buttercream. 

Making this icing requires a bit more skill but results in a frosting that takes color better and more vividly than American buttercream. 

This icing is best used for:

  • Layer cakes
  • Smooth finishes 
  • Cakes that require vivid colors

Italian Meringue Buttercream

Italian meringue buttercream is arguably the most difficult icing to make. This icing requires the incorporation of boiling hot sugar syrup into egg whites. If the incorporation isn’t handled delicately, a hot liquid can lead to cooked eggs. 

Careful and experienced bakers must ensure they don’t burn the egg whites when creating the meringue. Executed correctly, Italian Meringue buttercream maintains a light and easily tinted color that doesn’t form a crust when exposed to air.

The Italian meringue buttercream works best for:

  • Enduring high temperatures
  • Taking colors
  • Creating elaborate patterns and designs

How To Freeze Cookies With Buttercream Icing

Buttercream frosted or filled cookies are easy to freeze, either by stacking or by layering. Cookies with buttercream frosting last for two days at room temperature and five days refrigerated. 

Freezing the confections adds considerable time to their lifespan – frozen buttercream frosted or filled cookies last up to three months. Successfully freezing your treats takes only a few simple steps. Two easy methods are employed.

Layer Your Buttercream Frosted Cookies

Before even considering cookie storage, allow your buttercream to set sufficiently. Buttercream begins to stiffen within two hours, but it’s best to let the iced cookies sit overnight before stacking them. 

Allow your buttercream frosting to set until hardened before attempting to freeze your cookies. Once the frosting sets:

  1. Arrange the cookies in a single, untouching layer on a tray or a plate.
  2. Place the cookies in the freezer.
  3. Once the cookies are frozen, fill the bottom of a freezer-safe container with a single layer of the confections. 
  4. Cover the base layer with a piece of waxed paper.
  5. Place the next layer of cookies onto the waxed paper, ensuring no overlap.
  6. Continue this layering process until the container is filled or all your cookies are stored. 
  7. Close the container with an airtight lid. 

Properly stored cookies last three to four weeks in the freezer. 

Stack Your Buttercream Frosted Cookies

The stacking method allows you to store your cookies both effectively and economically. This method takes up less space, though a bit more time and preparation. Stacking your buttercream iced or filled cookies is relatively easy; just follow these simple steps:

  1. Layer your cookies on a tray. 
  2. Put them in the freezer and allow them to freeze.
  3. Once the cookies are thoroughly frozen, place the unfrosted sides of the two cookies against each other.
  4. Wrap the paired cookies tightly in plastic wrap. 
  5. Pair all of the cookies in this fashion, and store the wrapped confections in an airtight, freezer-safe container.
  6. Close the lid tightly.

Cookies frozen this way will last up to four weeks.

How To Freeze Extra Buttercream

Properly frozen buttercream lasts up to three months. The freezing process is easy; simply place your extra buttercream in an airtight, freezer-safe container, seal, and freeze. 

Freezing your buttercream prolongs its lifespan considerably and once you’re ready to use the frosting, simply move it to the refrigerator to allow it to thaw overnight. Give the icing a good whip before using it. 

Softening Buttercream

Buttercream spreads best when it’s at room temperature. However, thawing frozen buttercream requires some finesse. 

  1. Move frozen buttercream from your freezer to your refrigerator twenty-four hours before you intend to use it. The time your icing spends in the refrigerator allows for a gradual thaw and prevents temperature shock.
  2. Once your buttercream thaws, take it out of the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature. 
  3. After your frosting reaches room temperature, whip it until it’s fluffy and spreadable. 

Conclusion

Buttercream comes in three primary varieties, each with its own strengths and purposes. While butter is the universal foundation, American buttercream, Swiss meringue buttercream, and Italian meringue buttercream each have their own strength. 

These icings freeze well. Correct and careful freezing of buttercream on cookies prolongs their lifespan by quite a bit. The process is simple and manageable and allows your confections to endure up to three months longer than at room temperature. The cookies are quickly thawed, and any excess frosting is easily stored and frozen. 

Cookies vs. Cake Mix: What’s the Difference?

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Dessert lovers enjoy their fair share of cookies and cake. Oddly enough, these two desserts are made of vastly similar ingredients, but the end-product is quite different. It calls into question, what is the difference between a cookie mix and a cake mix? 

Cookies and cake mix include fat, flour, sugar, and eggs. Cookies have a much thicker consistency, forming a dough that you can place, drop, spread on a tray, or make shapes out of in little amounts. In contrast, cakes have more liquids, so the mix is essentially a batter that you can pour. 

This article dives into the difference between cookies and cake mixes in detail. It also answers an essential question that baking enthusiasts generally have. Stay tuned! 

Components of Cookies vs. Cake Mix

The different consistencies of cookies and cake are due to varying ratios of ingredients that go into them. Let’s look at all components and see what proportion goes into making each dessert.

Different Amounts of Liquid

Cake mixes comprise a high amount of liquids, including milk and water. These bind the ingredients together, forming a batter that can be poured directly into a baking pan. It also creates bubbles, ensuring that the cake turns out airy, soft, and fluffy. 

It’s also worth noting that using fats isn’t necessary to make a cake mix, but it helps.

Cookies are derived from cakes and sweetened bread, but the mix has less liquid content. A cookie’s mix primarily consists of fats, including vegetable oil and softened butter, as well as eggs. These elements bind the dry ingredients to form a dough that the baker can place, drop, or spread in a pan in small amounts. 

The fats in a cookie mix don’t evaporate but remain part of the batter. Also, they are responsible for coating the flour particles. So they basically seal in the starch to give the cookie its shape. 

Leavening Amounts Are Different

A leaven is a substance used to expand batter or dough. Baking powder, baking soda, and yeast are elements included in this category. A cake mix has a higher amount of leavening than a cookie mix because a cake is supposed to rise more than a cookie. 

On the other hand, the latter is required to have a denser, more concentrated structure.  

Proportion or Ratio of Ingredients

Even if you’re a beginner at baking, you’ve probably figured that the proportion or ratio of ingredients plays the most significant role in getting the end product you want. This article is the perfect guide to learning about the ingredients that go into cakes and cookies, along with their optimal ratios. 

To sum it up, you’ll need a 1:1:1:1 ratio of fat to sugar to eggs to flour for cakes. Meanwhile, cookies have a 3:2:1 ratio of flour to fat to sugar. Easy enough to memorize, but not to bake, though! 

Type of Flour

Cookie mixes always make use of all-purpose flour. They also utilize nut-based flours, including almond, hazelnut, or cashew. Cake mixes also use all-purpose flour, but they mostly have cake flour, which is lighter and gives the cake an airy texture. 

Technique and Mixing Method

Of course, cookies and cake mixes go way beyond their components. The end product is highly dependent on how the baker handles and incorporates the ingredients. Let’s look at how making a cake mix differs from cookies. 

Cookies Mix

A cookie mix mainly uses the creaming method that involves beating cream and granulated sugar together till you get a light, fluffy and consistent mixture. The extent of creaming and the amount of spread determines a cookie’s texture. 

Thorough creaming ensures that the sugar dissolves completely and keeps the butter nicely aerated. Ultimately, it helps the baker achieve maximum spread. You can cream the butter and sugar less if you want a lesser spread. 

Unlike cakes, there’s no need to alternate between wet and dry ingredients while making your cookie mix because a smaller amount of liquid goes into making cookies. Also, a cookie mix with a higher fat content than usual doesn’t require thorough creaming. 

If you overbeat such a mix, you’ll end up with cookies that crumble easily. 

Bakers can leaven a cookie mix using an agent such as baking soda or baking powder or with just air and steam. Gluten overdevelopment isn’t a huge issue if a cookie mix has high fat and low moisture content. 

However, beware of over-mixing your dough because it will cause your cookies to turn out dense. 

Cookie mixes are thick and, essentially, form a dough. So it’s not recommended for the baker to use an electric beater since it won’t be able to withstand the consistency of the dough. Although, you can use a motor specifically constructed to mix the dough. 

Generally, though, a wooden spoon is used to mix ingredients for a cookie mix together. Once it turns into dough after adding sufficient flour, it becomes difficult to stir with a wooden spoon. Then the baker can knead it together. 

A cookie mix containing eggs or liquid is folded gently but rapidly with flour to prevent gluten overdevelopment. For the same reason, mix-ins such as nuts or chocolate chips are folded in too. 

Cake Mix

The ingredients in cake mixes should be well-incorporated with each other, which requires the baker to mix all the ingredients with an electric beater. Also, cakes require much more finesse, so following the recipe you’re using to the dot is imperative. 

There are many methods to make a cake mix. Let’s briefly go through some of the most popular ones.

Creaming Method

The creaming method is the most popular one for making cake mixes. It involves incorporating a good amount of air into your cake batter, ensuring that it rises to the maximum. So you end up with a stable final product that’s still light and fluffy. 

Reverse Creaming or Paste Mixing Method 

The reverse creaming or paste mixing method is also commonly used by bakers for making a cake mix. It results in a sturdy, moist cake ideal for slicing and stacking. It involves blending room temperature butter and lukewarm liquids with the dry ingredients until a slight crumble form. The milk is added next, and the eggs go in last. This method gives a thicker cake. 

Blended Way

This method is ideal if you’re using a pre-packaged cake mix or have included a higher liquid content in your batter. First, all the dry ingredients go into the mixing bowl. Then the liquids are added, one at a time. 

Commercial kitchens use this method the most because it’s quick and gets the job done well. 

Foaming Method

Foam cakes, such as the angel food cake, are made using a unique mixing technique, i.e., the foam method. Here, the baker whips the egg whites to incorporate them with maximum air. Cream of tartar is added to this mix to add stability. Lastly, the baker gently folds in flour to increase the volume of the batter while keeping it perfectly aerated. 

Flavoring

To make cookies of a specific flavor, you can throw in nuts, raisins, fruits, white or black chocolate chips, or other elements, without changing the recipe. A thick mix makes it easier to incorporate these elements. 

On the other hand, a cake’s flavor and look come from different types of essence and food coloring. 

Sometimes, they may incorporate lemon zest or nuts. The recipe for chocolate cake calls for reducing the amount of flour and replacing it with cocoa powder, so the recipe for cakes differs according to the flavor. 

It’s also worth mentioning that a cookie mix has much less sugar than a cake mix because a cake mix incorporates more sugar for flavor. However, cookie mixes derive their sweetness from other items, such as chocolate. 

Shaping 

Because of a cake mix’s flowy consistency, you cannot shape it by hand. The baker needs to have baking pans to create the shape they desire. 

On the contrary, cookie mix can be dropped on top of a baking tray greased and lined with parchment paper. After that, the baker can spread them as they like. Some people also use ice cream scoops to get cookies of consistent proportion and shape. 

Alternatively, for cookie mixes that form a tough dough, the baker must use their hands to shape them. They can also use cookie cutters to create shapes of their liking. 

Can You Turn a Cake Mix Into a Cookie Mix?

Many bakers face the problem of having cake mix leftover, and they wonder if they can be innovative with it. Can they make cookies out of it instead of just making another cake or its derivatives, such as cupcakes or cake pops? 

You can turn a cake mix into a cookie mix through trial and error. You need to add more eggs and oil to the cake batter. You can also add more flour to make it into a dough. Mix it nicely to get a thick and smooth consistency, shape it however you want, and bake to get fresh cookies. 

Conclusion

There you have it, an absolute treat for baking enthusiasts. This article has a thorough rundown of cookies vs. cake mix. Despite the apparent differences, it’s exciting to know that you can turn cake mix into the cookie mix.

This Is Why Your Cake Is Sticky on Top After Baking

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If you’ve been a home baker for long enough, you know that a cake taken fresh out of the oven can often feel sticky on top. Luckily, this is a pretty common occurrence that doesn’t always warrant concern—even pro pastry chefs have to deal with it from time to time! However, learning a bit more about the factors that might be triggering this phenomenon can help you better control the texture and consistency of your baked goods.

Your cake is sticky on top after baking because the sugar in the batter has reacted to the water molecules found in high-humidity air, attracting them and creating a wet or sticky surface. The phenomenon can also occur due to errors made during the baking process.

Read on to learn more about the reasoning behind this phenomenon, what can trigger it, and how to troubleshoot and fix some of the most common culprits. In the following sections, I’ll also take you through some tips and techniques on how to keep your cake from getting sticky after baking in the first place and how to fix an already sticky cake top.

Why Does the Top of a Cake Get Sticky After Baking?

The good news is that a sticky cake top is generally nothing to worry about; however, looking into the probable causes and attempting to fix them will give you better control over your baked goods’ texture and overall quality, which is ultimately what every home baker wants.

A cake gets sticky after baking due to various problems that may occur during the baking process. Such problems include a chemical reaction between sugar and water, using incorrect ingredient ratios in the batter, and covering your cake with plastic wrap before it’s completely cooled down.

Let’s take a deeper look into each of these common issues.

Chemical Reactions Between Water and Sugar

This is the most common reason why so many cakes feel moist when they come out of the oven. Unfortunately, it isn’t always preventable.

When a cake bakes inside an oven, the moisture found in the batter (from the liquid ingredients) will start evaporating. However, given that the pan is placed inside an enclosed space, the vapors don’t have enough space to escape. As a result, they start rising to the top of the oven (which is right above the cake), increasing the moisture level of the surrounding air even further.

This phenomenon in itself wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t for the sugar content inside the batter. All sugars are hygroscopic (some more so than others—more on this in a moment), which means that they tend to absorb water from the air. As a result, the excessive moisture gets drawn onto the surface of the cake, leaving it wet or sticky.

If this is the case, there’s likely nothing you can do to change the outcome and nothing to worry about. As long as the issue isn’t too extreme, the cake’s taste and texture shouldn’t suffer too much. Simply frost the treat as you usually would (after it has fully cooled down, of course), and I assure you that you won’t even notice the stickiness once you eat the finished cake.

Stickiness Is Preferable to Dryness in Cakes

This is also a good time to mention that a sticky top is a more promising sign to notice in a freshly-baked cake than a dull, lackluster surface. 

If your cakes usually turn out sticky (even when they’re cooked perfectly) and a particular sponge comes out looking drier than usual, chances are you’ve overcooked it.

Environmental Humidity Impacts the Baking Process

Moreover, it’s important to note that the moisture coming from the batter itself isn’t always the culprit behind this phenomenon. For example, people living in high-humidity locations will often find themselves having to deal with this issue no matter how dry their batter is. This is because excess moisture in the surrounding air will always react the same way with sugar, no matter its source.

Consider Key Ingredients and Ratios

Another point to note here is that the type of sugar you use and the ratios you use also matter. As mentioned, some sugars are more hygroscopic than others. For example, dark brown sugar is the most hygroscopic variety out of all, closely followed by its light brown counterpart.

This is why cakes that are made with brown sugar (e.g., carrot) are much more likely to come out looking shiny and sticky on top. On the other hand, vanilla sponges, which are always made with white sugar, will usually look and feel much drier after baking.

Using Incorrect Ingredient Ratios in the Batter

Even though white sugar is the least hygroscopic variety of all, it can still yield the same sticky results when used in abundance. Therefore, ingredient ratios also matter. If you use a bit too much sugar compared to what the recipe called for, chances are you’ll have to deal with an overly moist surface once the cake finishes baking.

The same goes for the liquids you’ll be adding to your batter. Since excessive moisture is the main trigger for this phenomenon, you’ll want to avoid adding too many (or too much of the) liquid ingredients in your recipe, no matter how badly you want the cake to be a bit extra moist and soft.

Covering Your Cake With Plastic Wrap Before It Has Cooled Completely

This is yet another culprit that you have control over, which is why you’ll want to avoid making this mistake at all costs. As my fellow home bakers know, sometimes the most challenging part of what we do is exercising patience.

Finding the right ratios, taking exact measurements, and experimenting with flavors is one thing; however, when it comes to waiting an hour or two doing nothing before moving on to the next step of the process, our discipline and self-control seem to fly out the window.

Covering your cake with plastic wrap (or otherwise storing it in a closed space) before it has completely cooked down is one of the most common mistakes that leads to an overly moist and sticky surface. 

Covering Traps Condensation

The residual heat that the cake will eventually release (in the form of vapors) will condensate once it meets the cold plastic wrap, and the resulting water will have nowhere to go, settling right back on top of the cake.

The issue can be further exacerbated if you live in an especially humid area, which is something you’ll want to consider before storing your sponges away.

Properly Identify When the Cake Has Cooled

One of the main reasons why this is such a common occurrence is that most home bakers don’t have a good enough understanding of when a cake is completely cooled down. Some feel that the sponge is slightly warm to the touch and consider that as a sign that it is cooled down enough. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In some instances, even sponges that feel room temperature aren’t cooled down enough—especially if they’ve been sitting in a sweltering kitchen. Therefore, when it comes to cooling time, it’s always best to overshoot than not leave your cake enough time to settle (especially if you’re considering storing it away for later).

Use Sugar To Restore Moisture Lost During Cooling

If the sponge ever becomes too dry for your liking, you can always brush it with some simple sugar to bring back some of the moisture. Dealing with a too-wet or sticky cake, on the other hand, isn’t as simple.

At the end of the day, it’s crucial to remember that even when you do everything right, there are still bound to be some-sub par cakes; that’s just the nature of baking. Therefore, it’s better to focus on the components that you have control over (ratios, ingredient quality, technique, etc.) rather than spend precious time worrying whether your sponge will come out sticky on top or not.

As I previously mentioned, the issue is unlikely to affect the overall taste and texture by much; even if it does occur, it’s not the end of the world.

How To Keep Your Cake From Getting Sticky After Baking

As with everything else, prevention is better than cure when it comes to dealing with a cake that feels sticky after baking. The best way to deal with such an issue is to prevent it from happening altogether. However, for those that don’t have this option, I’ll be exploring some strategies on how to fix a sticky cake top in the following section, so make sure to read until the end. 

Here are some of the most effective ways to keep your cake from getting sticky after baking.

Choose the Right Recipe and Follow It Carefully

As I’ve already mentioned, the ingredients and ratios you use when making your batter can have a significant impact on the texture of the final product. Therefore, the process of preventing your cake top from getting sticky starts from the moment you choose a recipe.

During this process, it’s essential to pay attention to ingredient type and sugar to liquid ratios. Your climate’s humidity level should be taken into account when choosing a recipe as well. When reading through the description, you’ll want to look at the consistency said recipe is designed to achieve.

Pay Attention to Recipe Ingredients

For example, some cakes are meant to be sticky, and if there are some elements that can exacerbate this quality, you might want to look for another recipe instead.

Moreover, if a sponge requires too much sugar, liquid ingredients, or dark sugar specifically, either brace yourself for a possibly sticky surface or change direction altogether.

Follow Ingredient Ratios Precisely

Even though sometimes you can experiment with lowering the suggested sugar quantity, it’s usually best to stick to a recipe as written. The slightest deviation can lead to a reaction that you’re not even aware of, making your cake susceptible to issues far worse than a sticky top. So, until you gain some confidence and experience, following the recipe to a T (especially if it’s coming from a credible source) is usually the best route of action.

With this in mind, it’s always best to measure each ingredient to the gram to make sure that the quantities and ratios are correct.

Before moving on to the following section, I also want to note that it’s essential to make sure your sponge is cooked all the way through before looking for ways to combat its stickiness.

Refrain From Wrapping or Storing Your Cake While It’s Still Warm

If you’ve read through the previous sections, this might sound like a given, but it’s worth mentioning again. The easiest, most surefire way to make sure that your cake’s surface doesn’t get too tacky or moist is to let it cool down completely before attempting to store it in an enclosed space.

This tip can also help keep an already sticky sponge from getting worse, so be sure to follow it through.

A fully cooled down cake should radiate absolutely no warmth from its surface, which is why you’ll want to leave a sponge out for a few hours before wrapping or storing it (sometimes even more if you’re working in an especially hot environment).

If you haven’t got the time, you can always refrigerate the cake to speed up the process. Doing so will not only help cool down the sponge faster, but it can also allow it to dry a bit quicker and release some of the excess moisture as well.

How To Fix a Sticky Cake Top

Here are a few ways to fix a sticky cake top:

Invest in Food-Safe Desiccants

Food-Safe desiccants work just like silica gel packs. When you store them along with a sticky or wet sponge, they help draw out some of the excess moisture, leaving the cake texturally perfect.

Food-safe desiccants can be especially helpful if you live in a high-humidity climate and have to deal with sticky cake tops all year round.

Draw Excess Moisture Using Baking Soda

If you can’t get your hands on food-safe desiccants and are looking for a DIY alternative, baking soda works wonders when it comes to drawing excess moisture out of any food item.

All you have to do is sprinkle some of it on a paper towel and place the latter on the bottom of the container you’re planning to store your cake in. As time goes by, you should notice the sponge losing most of its stickiness.

Some other strategies you can use to salvage a sticky cake include:

  • Frosting the cake.
  • Scraping off the sticky exterior.
  • Using the stickiness to adhere fun topping to the cake.
  • Freezing the cake.

Final Thoughts

Many cakes come out feeling sticky right out of the oven. The main reason behind this phenomenon is a reaction that occurs between hygroscopic sugar and the water found in the air. 

There are various other reasons that might be causing this issue; luckily, most of them can be remedied through a few quick strategies.

What Does Biscotti Taste Like?

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If you’ve ever visited a traditional Italian coffee shop, you might have noticed that your coffee came with an interesting-tasting, hard cookie. This is biscotti, a traditional Italian cookie that tastes delicious with a good cappuccino. So, how does biscotti taste? 

Biscotti tastes slightly sweet with a subtle vanilla flavor note. The almonds give it a nutty and faintly bitter taste but this is offset by the orange zest and if the biscotti includes dried fruit. Biscotti is baked twice and has a hard, dry texture. 

Read further to find out what gives biscotti its unique taste. I’ll also explain what pairs well with biscotti, where you can buy it, and how to make it. 

What Gives Biscotti Its Unique Taste?

It’s impossible to find another cookie type quite like biscotti. So, what gives biscotti its unique taste? 

Biscotti gets its unique taste from the combination of almonds, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Its texture is also notable as it is hard and dry due to being baked twice.

Biscotti is ideal if you don’t have a sweet tooth and enjoy a semi-sweet cookie as it’s not overwhelmingly sugary like other cookie types. 

Biscotti was first created during the Roman ages when people needed a foodstuff that would last during their travels. They discovered that if they baked dough twice, it would result in a hard and thoroughly dry starch, making the staleness less noticeable over time. 

The dry texture also meant that biscotti was less likely to become moldy, and would last longer. 

What Pairs Well With Biscotti? 

In the previous section, I described how satisfying it is to bite into a hard piece of biscotti and how tasty it is. Aside from eating it on its own, what else goes well with biscotti? 

Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate pair very well with biscotti. Due to its sweet flavor and nutty texture, it pairs excellently with your morning beverage. It also goes well with desserts like ice cream and sweet wine, and more savory flavors such as plain yogurt, milk, and butter.

I’ll explain why these items pair well with biscotti in more detail below: 

  • Coffee. Biscotti is delicious after dunking it in coffee for a few seconds. The hard cookie soaks up the coffee, giving it a rich taste and a softer texture. 
  • Tea. Biscotti tastes delicious alongside any type of tea and makes a delightful and light snack. You can dip it into your tea or eat it between sips. 
  • Hot chocolate. Hot chocolate adds extra richness and flavor to biscotti. The almonds or hazelnuts bring out the hot chocolate’s sweetness, while the crunchy texture perfectly contrasts the hot chocolate’s smooth consistency. 
  • Ice cream. If you want to make a boring ice cream flavor more exciting, crumble up some biscotti, and mix it in. 
  • Sweet wine. Instead of a fattening dessert, opt for a piece of biscotti that you occasionally dunk in some sweet wine. 
  • Butter or margarine. If biscotti is too dry for you to eat by itself, spread a little butter or margarine on it for a more satisfying treat. 
  • Mascarpone cheese. Mascarpone cheese can be too rich if you eat it with another rich food, but biscotti is light enough for you to enjoy this cheese’s creamy taste. 
  • Milk. If you’re on a budget but still want to enjoy the finer things in life, a piece of biscotti with a glass of milk makes an inexpensive but luxurious snack. 
  • Plain Greek yogurt. Whether you spread your biscotti with some plain Greek yogurt or place the biscotti in your yogurt, this plain yogurt flavor is more exciting.  

Where Can I Buy Biscotti?

Now that I’ve described how delicious biscotti is and some interesting ways to eat it, you’re probably keen to try some. Where can you buy biscotti? 

You can buy biscotti online, at Italian specialty stores, and from many grocery stores, including Kroger, Trader Joe’s, and Giant Eagle. Some farmer’s markets also sell it. 

Nonni’s Biscotti Variety Pack from Amazon.com is an excellent introduction to biscotti because it’s affordable and offers four delicious flavors: 

  • Original 
  • Chocolate
  • Turtle pecan
  • Lemon

How Do I Make Biscotti?

If you’re feeling adventurous and want to make biscotti instead of buying it, the good news is that it’s pretty easy to make. So, what’s a good recipe for biscotti? 

You can make biscotti by combining two different types of sugar with flavored extracts and traditional cake ingredients. You will need to bake them twice to create authentic biscotti.

Here are the ingredients of biscotti: 

  • 90g (3.17oz) of caster sugar
  • 90g (3.17oz) of brown sugar 
  • Two eggs
  • One teaspoon of vanilla extract 
  • One teaspoon of orange extract (or one zested orange)
  • One teaspoon of baking powder
  • 300g (10.58oz) of cake flour
  • 150g (5.29oz) of chopped almonds 

Almonds are a traditional biscotti ingredient, but you can replace them with hazelnuts. Adding chopped dried fruit (such as cranberries) can help you to personalize your biscotti recipe. 

Here is an easy recipe for tasty biscotti: 

  1. Heat your oven to 150°C (300°F). Grease a baking sheet or line it with baking paper. 
  2. Beat the eggs, caster, and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until they become pale yellow and fluffy.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients and stir them until they form a stiff dough. 
  4. Add the dough to a floured board or work surface, and create two flat logs.
  5. Transfer the logs to the baking sheet, and place them in the oven for 15 minutes. 
  6. Remove the logs from the oven and cut them into one centimeter (0.4 inches) thick pieces. 
  7. Bake the biscotti again for ten minutes or until they appear light brown and crispy. 
  8. Remember to store your biscotti in an airtight container to preserve their crunch and freshness. Your biscotti can last several weeks if you store them in this way. 

Conclusion

Biscotti is a semi-sweet, dry, and crunchy cookie with subtle hints of vanilla. The almonds give it a slightly bitter taste but this is offset by the orange zest and if the biscotti has dried fruit pieces. 

Biscotti’s texture is dry and crunchy, and it’s the perfect cookie type to dunk in your tea or coffee. 

You can buy biscotti online or at most grocery stores, but it’s easy to make, and you can customize your biscotti recipe by replacing almonds with hazelnuts or adding cranberries.

How To Make Muffins Crispy on Top (Complete Guide)

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There’s nothing better than a bakery-style muffin—a moist, light interior domed with a crunchy, glistening top. Sometimes, achieving that distinct textural difference between a muffin’s interior and its exterior seems impossible, no matter how hard you try. Luckily, by following a few simple tips and tricks, you’ll be able to recreate a bakery-style muffin at home in no time.

Here are six tips on how to make muffins crispy on top:

  • Always use butter.
  • Brush the tops with a mixture of sugar and butter.
  • Add milk solids to the batter.
  • Don’t overmix the batter.
  • Use cake flour.
  • Closely monitor the oven’s temperature.

Keep reading to learn more about each of these techniques that are guaranteed to help you achieve that crispy muffin top while keeping the center delightfully airy and moist. If you want to refine your baking skills, consider this as the complete guide on how to make muffins crispy on top.

1. Always Use Butter

Making sure your muffins come out crispy on top is a process that starts the second you begin preparing the batter. Even though different types of fats are often seen as interchangeable in a recipe, this usually isn’t the case when it comes to baking.

Baking is more of a science than an art in that it requires specific reactions to occur for the end result to turn out how you want it to. Therefore, when baking muffins, try to steer clear of oils, margarine, or other types of fats that aren’t butter; these can negatively affect the taste and texture of the final product.

If a crispy exterior is what you’re after, butter is your best bet. Its viscosity and overall chemical qualities help the batter become crunchy on top while still retaining plenty of moisture on the inside.

Another consideration you’ll want to keep in mind when adding butter to your mixing bowl is to melt it down beforehand. Chunks of solid butter in the mixture will only end up ruining the texture and consistency of the muffins while doing very little to help them brown on top.

2. Brush the Tops With a Mixture of Sugar and Butter

Okay, I know that many baking purists might consider this cheating. Still, in my book, as long as you achieve the result you’re looking for, the technique doesn’t really matter. Moreover, brushing the tops of your muffins with a mixture of sugar and butter can add a unique layer of flavor and texture complexity to the finished product, and I highly recommend giving it a try. 

Let Preference Guide Recipe Adjustments

The usability of this technique also depends on your personal preferences. For example, if you prefer the muffin tops to be crispier but not really crunchy, you might want to stick to the traditional approach. If you want them to be decently crisp, you’ll want to add the mixture of sugar and butter I’ll be discussing in the following paragraphs. 

However, if you prefer the muffin tops to make an audible crunch as you bite into them, you’re better off topping them with a layer of straight-up sugar.

As you can see, there’s a lot of room for adjustments and experimentation when it comes to this technique, which is why I often recommend it to home bakers complaining that their muffins aren’t turning out the way they want them to.

For example, you can first try topping your muffins with just sugar to see how you like the texture. You can use granulated, powdered, or brown sugar (for that extra caramelly flavor). However, be careful not to overdo it, as you don’t want to affect the taste of your muffins—only the texture. Simply sprinkle a bit of the sugar of your choice on top of the batter before it goes into the oven; you’d be surprised how well this technique can work.

If you’re looking for a softer crunch or want to provide a bit of additional buttery richness to your muffins, you can opt for a sugar and butter mixture instead. 

How To Brush Muffin Tops With Sugar and Butter

Brushing muffin tops with a mixture of sugar and butter to get them crispy is a straightforward process that won’t take more than a few minutes of your time. Here’s how you can go about it:

  1. Melt the butter.
  2. Mix the melted butter with your sugar of choice (the consistency of the drizzle should still be runny).
  3. Put the muffins in the oven and wait until they’re done rising.
  4. Briefly take the muffins out of the oven and brush them with the sugar and butter mixture.
  5. Bake until the tops become golden brown.

3. Add Milk Solids to the Batter

This is a technique that many home bakers fail to incorporate, as it’s not often talked about. However, adding milk solids to the muffin batter can make a great deal of difference in the final product’s texture. 

The browning process that occurs in baked goods is otherwise known as the Maillard reaction. You can learn more about the science behind this phenomenon in this article; however, the gist of it is that browning occurs when there’s a reaction between sugars and proteins placed under heat. As a result, adding a few teaspoons of milk solids into the batter can help bump up that protein content without negatively affecting the taste or texture.

When you think about it, you’ll realize that muffin ingredients themselves don’t contain a lot of protein. Sure, you have eggs and a bit of milk, but given that they’re usually included in small quantities (especially compared to sugar), you simply aren’t benefiting from the Maillard reaction as much as you can.

Therefore, try adding a few teaspoons of milk solids into the batter next time you make muffins. Not only will you notice that the muffins come out much crispier on top, but their overall taste and texture will significantly improve as well.

4. Don’t Overmix the Batter

Overmixing is yet another common mistake that many home bakers make when trying to get bakery-style muffins. I’ve said this a million times in the past, but it bears repeating: overmixing leads to excessive gluten formation.

Gluten gives structure to your baked goods and is thus essential. However, too much of it can lead to a tough, gummy, or chewy texture that is far from the airy, moist, yet crunchy-on-top consistency you’re looking for.

Moreover, excessive gluten formation can prevent your muffins from rising properly and cause them to sink instead. As a result, they’ll become dense instead of airy.

You’d be surprised just how drastically your mixing technique can affect the quality and texture of the final product. With this in mind, you’ll want to stop messing with the batter as soon as the ingredients seem decently combined and there are no visible flour lumps or chunks.

Furthermore, overmixing also crushes the air bubbles formed during the first stages of the process, further preventing the muffins from rising and achieving that perfectly airy consistency.

5. Use Cake Flour

This is yet another baking concept that many home bakers aren’t aware of: the type of flour you choose can make or break the final product. 

Most muffin recipes call for all-purpose flour; however, if you’re struggling to get the tops crispy while keeping the center moist, it might be worth switching things up a bit and giving cake flour a try. It is notably lighter, finer, and softer.

Cake flour is an impressive upgrade from its all-purpose counterpart in many baked goods recipes, and muffins are no exception. The use of high-quality cake flour promotes tenderness while requiring far less mixing, leading to an airier interior and crispier exterior.

If using exclusively cake flour results in a muffin that is too fragile, you can always opt for a combination of all-purpose and cake flour to provide your baked goods with the structural integrity they require without compromising on texture and taste.

However, if you opt for cake flour, beware that the variety contains less protein than its all-purpose counterpart. In this instance, adding those few teaspoons of milk solids to the mix might be even more important.

6. Closely Monitor the Oven’s Temperature

You’ve used all the right ingredients, and you made sure not to overmix the batter. Now it’s time to go through the most crucial process when it comes to getting your muffins crispy on top: baking.

When baking your muffins, it’s essential that you monitor the oven’s temperature as closely as possible. Not only will this assure you that the baked goods are cooking at an ideal heat level, but it also allows you to experiment and adjust as you go.

First, make sure to take the oven’s temperature with a thermometer before even putting the muffin tray in. If the reading matches your expectations, you can start baking the muffins for the recommended time. However, throughout this process, you want to be watching them like a hawk.

Make Temperature Adjustments As Needed

An excellent approach to use is to increase the temperature a bit right as the muffins go into the oven. This allows for the exterior to brown quicker while the interior remains moist and keeps rising. Afterward, turn the temperature down again to prevent the tops from burning while the interiors finish cooking through.

As long as you make these adjustments at the right time, you should end up with perfect bakery-style muffins that are airy and moist on the inside and crisp on top.

Key Takeaways

Bakery-style muffins feature a beautiful textural contrast between their interior and exterior. By following these six simple tips and tricks, I guarantee you’ll finally be able to make the perfect bakery-style muffins at home—glistening golden brown and crispy on the outside; soft, moist, and airy on the inside. 

How To Freeze Muffins

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When you bake muffins, do you like to make a big batch so that you can enjoy eating them whenever you experience a muffin craving? Me too! If you’re not going to eat all the muffins within a few days, instead of keeping them in the fridge where they’ll dry out quickly, it’s better to freeze them to preserve their taste and softness. 

Here’s how to freeze muffins: 

  1. Let your muffins cool down before freezing them. 
  2. Don’t frost muffins before freezing them. 
  3. Wrap muffins individually in cling film. 
  4. Wrap muffins a second time with tin foil. 
  5. Put your muffins in a freezer bag. 
  6. Remove air from the freezer bag. 
  7. Don’t forget to label the bag! 
  8. Store muffins on the bottom freezer shelf. 
  9. Only defrost what you’ll eat right away. 

Read the rest of this article to get more details on all the steps you should follow when freezing muffins. I’ll also cover how long you can safely freeze muffins before they start to spoil. 

1. Let Your Muffins Cool Down Before Freezing Them

Before you freeze the delicious muffins you’ve baked, make sure they have time to cool down completely. You don’t want steam to accumulate inside the freezer bag where you’ll store your muffins. Moisture will cause your baked goods to lose their flavor and texture. No one wants soggy muffins! 

An easy way to cool baked muffins is to leave them in a single layer on a wire rack to encourage moisture to escape so your muffins remain moist but don’t become soggy. 

2. Don’t Frost Muffins Before Freezing Them

While you might want to frost your muffins, you shouldn’t do this before freezing them. Cake frosting tastes best when thawed and re-whipped. Therefore, freeze the frosting in a separate container or bag so it’ll be easy to whip before you decorate the muffins with it at a later stage. 

Another idea is to make the frosting from scratch when you’re ready to take the muffins out of the freezer and eat them. Doing this will ensure that the frosting is as fresh and tasty as possible. 

3. Wrap Muffins Individually in Cling Film

It’s a good idea to wrap your muffins individually in cling film so that the plastic protects each one against the icy temperatures of your freezer. (This is another reason it’s not practical to freeze frosted muffins – it’ll just make a mess.) 

Individually-wrapped muffins will prevent freezer burn, which causes food to lose moisture. Freezer burn dehydrates food and gives it a dry texture. A loss of water also causes the muffins to take on a different flavor and color, as the Journal of Food Science reports. 

4. Wrap Muffins a Second Time With Tin Foil 

It would be best to wrap the muffins again with tin foil as it adds a second layer of protection. 

Tinfoil is one of the most effective food-grade materials to protect food against freezer burn, according to the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture). 

5. Put Your Muffins in a Freezer Bag 

Although you can store your muffins in an airtight container, such as Tupperware, a plastic bag works well. It also saves space in your freezer.

If you’re looking for quality freezer bags, I recommend buying Stasher Platinum Silicone Food-Grade Bags. I love that they’re reusable, reduce plastic waste, and contain a Pinch-Loc seal to keep your muffins fresh. 

6. Remove Air From the Freezer Bag

If you’re using a plastic bag that doesn’t have an airtight seal, check to ensure no air is trapped inside it before storing your muffins. This tip prevents air or moisture from entering the bag and negatively affecting your muffins.

7. Don’t Forget To Label the Bag!

Before putting your muffins in the freezer, label their bag or container to know what type of muffins they are (such as blueberry or chocolate). You should also note the date when you’re putting them into the freezer so that you don’t forget about them.

8. Store Muffins On the Bottom Freezer Shelf 

Since temperature changes can affect your muffins, you want to put them on the bottom shelf of your freezer, where the temperature remains constant and icy cold. Cold air sinks, so it will move to the bottom of your freezer and gather there, as Science Focus reports. 

9. Only Defrost What You’ll Eat Right Away

If you want to defrost a muffin or two to enjoy after dinner, make sure you don’t leave the entire bag of muffins to defrost on your kitchen counter. If the whole batch of muffins thaws before being refrozen, this will reduce its quality. 

How Long Do Muffins Last in the Freezer?

Muffins last in the freezer for up to three months as long as you’ve stored them correctly. Make sure to wrap muffins in cling wrap and foil, and place them in an airtight container with as much air removed. Varied ingredients, whether savory or sweet, won’t affect how long the muffins last. 

How To Defrost Frozen Muffins

When you’re ready to eat your frozen muffins, you can thaw them in one of three different ways: 

  • Leave them on the kitchen counter. Do this the night before you wish to eat them. 
  • Heat them in the microwave for about 30 seconds. You might have to do this a few times in 30-second increments until the muffin is heated all the way through. The larger the muffin, the more time it will need to be correctly warmed up. 
  • Heat them in the oven. This will take approximately 10-15 minutes at 350°F (180°C). 

Key Takeaways

If you’ve baked a large batch of muffins and won’t be able to eat them all within the next few days, consider freezing them to maintain their flavor and texture. Follow the essential steps featured in this article to ensure all your time spent baking and perfecting your muffins doesn’t go to waste. Some of the most important tips include:

  • Freeze muffins in moisture-resistant sealable plastic bags. 
  • Store muffins at the bottom of your freezer, where the temperature is coldest. 
  • Consume frozen muffins within three months. 

How To Fix Undercooked Banana Muffins

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It happens to the best of us—the tempting smell that filled your house while your banana muffins were baking became too enticing for you to bear, so you took the tray out of the oven too soon. If so, time is of the essence: the sooner you notice your baked goods are underdone, the better your chances of salvaging them in one piece. However, even if you spotted the sub-par bake a bit too late, there are still plenty of ways to fix (or make use of) your muffins. 

Here’s how you can fix undercooked banana muffins: 

  • Put the muffins back into the oven. 
  • Let the muffins cool completely. 
  • Make banana muffin cake pops. 
  • Turn the muffins into crumbs. 
  • Make banana bread pudding. 

In this article, I’ll take you through each of these five quick and simple strategies to fix your undercooked banana muffins. In the last section, I’ll also delve into a few tips and tricks on how to know when your banana muffins are done so that your next batch comes out of the oven baked to perfection.

1. Put the Muffins Back Into the Oven

As long as your muffins are still hot from the oven, there’s a chance you can salvage them by putting them back in to bake some more. Granted, the more time your muffins have had to cool down, the harder it will be for them to reach that ideal consistency, but at least they’ll be cooked all the way through. 

This is why you want to monitor your muffins closely during the first few minutes after taking them out of the oven. Repeat the toothpick test several times to make sure there are no undercooked or excessively moist spots in your muffins. Sometimes, even though the centers might be fully cooked, the sides can still be a bit runny if your oven has any cold spots. 

If you notice that the batter seems raw or underdone in some areas, simply put the muffin tray back into the oven for an additional five minutes, after which you can reassess. During this time, you should be observing your muffins closely. Sometimes, they might only need an additional minute or two, and you’ll want to take them out immediately to avoid letting them become too dry. 

As I mentioned, the window for putting back your banana muffins into the oven doesn’t stay open for long, so you want to act as quickly as possible. If your muffins have cooled down to room temperature, you’ll have to consider one of the following strategies instead.

If you put fully cooled-down muffins into a hot oven, the batter will become dry and fall flat instead of rising as you want it to. The attempt would serve no purpose, as you still wouldn’t be able to get the perfectly-baked muffins you were looking for.

When your muffins come fresh out of the oven, they should be soft to the touch but not mushy or runny. The surface should have lost most of its sheen, and the texture should feel airy. I’ll dive further into some of the signs you should look for in a fully baked banana muffin in one of the following sections.

2. Let the Muffins Cool Completely

Sometimes the solution might be simpler than you’d think. Just like cookies (and other individually-sized baked goods), muffins continue to bake even after being taken out of the oven. 

In fact, all baked desserts carry some residual heat that allows them to continue cooking even when left to cool. However, when it comes to individually-sized desserts like muffins, the difference this internal heat can make in texture and cook quality is much more noticeable, as each serving’s volume is relatively low. 

Sometimes it’s best to leave your banana muffins some time to fully cool down before determining whether they’re undercooked or not. As with cookies, some muffins will feel strangely soft right out of the oven, only to firm and gain their structural integrity as they cool down. 

When it comes to finding the right fix for your seemingly undercooked muffins, you might have to rely a bit on your baker’s intuition. When taking a batch out of the oven, you should inspect each muffin to determine whether its texture warrants being left to bake for a few additional minutes or whether you should simply let it cool down instead. 

3. Make Banana Muffin Cake Pops

If neither of the previous strategies worked, I’m afraid you’ll have to let go of the idea of banana muffins in their traditional form and look into some creative solutions. I know these are far from ideal, but at least you’ll still be able to get a presentable dessert on the table instead of serving soggy, undercooked muffins. 

An excellent option is to make banana muffin cake pops. If you’ve baked for long enough, you know that cake pops are the solution for any sub-par sponge. They allow you to still enjoy the flavor and aroma you’ve worked so hard for without having your experience ruined by a less-than-ideal texture. 

All you need to turn your failed banana muffins into cake pops is a frosting of your choice. For example, apple butter frosting pairs perfectly with the flavor and aroma of banana muffins. However, you can opt for whatever combination you prefer (or whatever you currently have on hand). Cream cheese frosting would pair wonderfully in this case as well. 

  1. Turn your muffins into crumbs. 
  2. Mix the crumbs into your frosting of choice until you reach the desired consistency. Make sure to add small amounts of frosting at a time, as you usually need far less than you think. 
  3. Once you’ve reached the consistency you’re looking for, roll the mixture into equally-sized balls, which you can then refrigerate or freeze until they’re solid. 
  4. Now that your cake pop base is done, all that’s left to do is to add some straws, sticks, or any other object you think might do the job. 

You can eat the banana muffin cake pops as is, or you can add some fun toppings to take them to the next level. My recommended topping would be melted chocolate or caramel paired with chopped-up walnuts or pecans.

4. Turn the Muffins Into Crumbs

If cake pops aren’t your thing, there’s still plenty you can do with banana muffin crumbs. If your muffins are texturally sub-par, crumbling them up will allow you to get much more use out of them. 

First of all, crumbly muffins make for an excellent topping that you can use on ice cream, parfaits, cheesecakes, tarts, and so on. If you want to give your crumbs that extra bit of flavor and complexity, mix in a little bit of brown sugar. 

The muffin crumb-brown sugar mix works especially well if you’re planning to use the topping on a baked dessert such as cobbler or pie. 

Another excellent use for your banana muffin crumbs is to incorporate them into a trifle. Trifles are a holy grail for bakers who want to make use of their less-than-perfect creations. They’re delicious, easy to make, and impossible to mess up. 

Simply layer your banana muffin crumbs with some type of flavored cream, jam, custard, fresh fruit, and any other add-on you might have on hand, and call it a day. I like to drizzle some caramel on the sides of the trifle bowl for some added flavor and aesthetic appeal. You can also add any type of nut or dried fruit you think would go well—don’t be afraid to get creative. 

5. Make Banana Bread Pudding

Granted, this will be more of a banana muffin pudding, but you get the gist. This type of recipe calls for chopped-up muffins (which you’ll then have to bake again either way, which is why flavor is far more important than texture in this instance). Add a milk, egg, and sugar mixture (complete with flavorings) to the muffin pieces and bake until the bread pudding reaches your desired consistency. 

Here’s a great recipe you can follow. 

How To Know When Your Banana Muffins Are Done

Here’s how to know when your banana muffins are done: 

  • The tops have taken on a golden brown color. 
  • The surface is soft to the touch but not wet or runny. 
  • The batter has lost most of its sheen. 
  • A toothpick inserted in the center (or any other spot) comes out clean. 
  • The muffins spring back when you poke them lightly. 
  • The muffins have just started pulling away from the sides (be careful: by this time, they’re on the verge of overbaking. 

Conclusion

Fixing undercooked banana muffins doesn’t have to be as challenging as seems. As long as you notice the issue soon enough, you can simply put the tray back in the oven for the batter to bake for a few additional minutes. In some instances, residual heat might cook the muffins through even after they’ve been taken out of the oven. 

If neither of these fixes seems plausible, you might want to incorporate your banana muffins into a new dessert. 

Why Do Your Homemade Cakes Taste Like Flour?

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Baking a cake fills a home with that nostalgic smell of childhood or holidays. The smell alone can make your mouth water and crave the delicious treat. However, if you bite into the cake and you get an overwhelming taste of flour, something may have gone wrong in the cooking process.

Homemade cakes can taste like flour if they are not cooked properly. When cakes taste like flour, it is due to one or more reasons; the ratio of wet to dry ingredients could be off, the components may not have been mixed properly, or the cake is undercooked.  

To avoid this mistake next time you bake, it’s essential to know what went wrong in the first place. Read on to learn the possible reasons why your cake tastes strange and how to fix it.

Why Does My Cake Have a Weird Taste?

There are cakes for everyone’s taste! Some may be light and fluffy; others are dense and rich. While cakes vary in sweetness and flavors, one thing for sure is they should not taste weird or unappetizing.

Cakes taste weird when something goes wrong in the preparation or baking process, such as improper ingredient amounts or an inability to follow directions. When you bake a cake at the wrong temperature or timing, it will not have the correct consistency. 

A chemical taste usually indicates too much baking soda or powder. At the same time, overly greasy cakes mean excessive butter or oil in the mixture. If your cake tastes floury, it is usually because there is too much flour or the cake is not fully cooked.  

Reasons Your Cake Tastes Like Flour

Let’s explore the reasons your cake may taste like flour. If you feel one of them is the culprit behind that extra floury texture or taste, you can correct this issue in the future.

Your Cake Isn’t Thoroughly Cooked

If your cake isn’t fully cooked through, the flour will not get a chance to cook and take on a prominent taste within the cake. Therefore, it is important to ensure your cake is baked fully, including the middle.

The cake should start to separate from the side of the pan when baking. Try sticking a toothpick in the center to test if the middle is ready. If it comes out with significant batter, the cake probably needs more time in the oven. 

The Temperature of Your Oven Is Too Low

Recipes usually give us designated cooking times. However, if your oven temperature is too low, your cake will not have finished baking within this timeframe. 

One way to test your oven’s temperature is to use an external thermometer. Using both the settings on your electric oven and a thermometer, you can determine if your oven’s built-in temperature gauge is off or not.  

The placement of your cake in the oven also matters. If placed too far or close to the heat source, it could bake unevenly, too quickly, or too slowly. Pay attention to any specific placement instructions in the recipe. If the recipe does not mention it, a good rule of thumb is to place the baking tray right in the middle of the oven.

The Ratio of Wet to Dry Ingredients Is Off

If you have more dry ingredients than wet, your cake may taste drier. Since flour is one of the dry ingredients, the cake often takes on a floury taste when this is the case. Be sure to follow the instructions and ingredient amounts carefully. 

You Did Not Follow the Recipe Closely

Recipes are carefully worded because it is not always about what you’re mixing but how you’re mixing it. For example, sifting ingredients is important to avoid chunks of flour turning up in your cake. Make sure to pay attention to the wording and prepare your batter accordingly. 

How Do I Stop My Cakes From Tasting Like Flour?

If your cakes consistently taste like flour, don’t be dismayed! There are tips and tricks to prevent this from happening again.

To stop your cakes from tasting floury, it is essential to use the correct amount of flour. Mix the ingredients properly and let the batter sit out before baking. You also need to test the cake before removing it from the oven to make sure it’s fully cooked.  

Follow these suggestions while preparing and baking to get the desired flavor from your cake.

Use a Recipe That Measures Flour by Weight Not Volume

While most recipes call for flour by volume, they do not consider that flour can be denser or lighter depending on how tightly it is packed. Using a recipe that uses weight rather than volume prevents packed flour from throwing off the ratio of ingredients. 

Mix the Ingredients Thoroughly

If flour is not mixed adequately, there may be chunks in the batter. Chunks will not bake properly, resulting in chalky, floury bits and unpleasant bites. 

Make sure to follow the directions. Pay attention to the vocabulary used. Do they want you to sift the flour or mix wet and dry ingredients separately? It is not always about the ingredients used but also how these get combined.

Let the Batter Sit Before Baking

Although you might be tempted to pop the batter immediately in the oven, it can be beneficial to let it sit out in a cool area for 5-15 minutes before baking. This is a little trick many home bakers have come to learn. Letting the cake batter sit for a while enables the egg proteins to relax, preventing them from forming a solid mass. 

Test the Cake Before Removing It From the Oven

Before you remove your cake from the oven, ensure that the middle is fully cooked. As mentioned earlier, test this by using a toothpick or fork to pierce the center. If significant batter sticks to the fork, the cake is not ready. Allow it to cook for 5-15 minutes longer. 

Adjust the Recipe at High Altitudes

Air is drier at higher altitudes, making batter dry out faster. Depending on the altitude and type of cake you’re making, you may need to adjust the recipe accordingly. 

A general rule is to increase the oven temperature by 15-25 degrees Fahrenheit (-9 to -3 degrees Celsius) and decrease baking time by 20-30%. 

Final Thoughts

If your homemade cakes taste like flour, there’s a cause. Where there’s a cause, there’s a solution. By discovering the reason– or reasons– you may be able to fix the problem easily. 

Cakes are meant to be delicious! Get to the bottom of it to return to that tasty cake flavor and texture you love.

How To Store Frosted Cake Overnight (3 Methods)

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Baking a cake is a labor of love that takes a lot of time, skill, and effort. Nobody likes seeing a delicious cake go to waste simply because it was not stored properly. It might be tempting to eat a whole cake in one go, but if that’s just too much for you, then you’ll have to find a way to store your cake for later while preserving its texture and taste.

Here’s how to store frosted cake overnight:

  • Store your frosted cake at room temperature.
  • Store your frosted cake inside the fridge.
  • Store your frosted cake in the freezer.

In this article, I’ll take you through three different ways of storing frosted cake, including some extra steps and precautions you might need to take. I’ll also discuss various ingredients that will affect your storage method of choice and the possible consequences of consuming cake that may have gone bad. Let’s get started!

1. Store Your Frosted Cake at Room Temperature

Frosting can act as a layer of protection for your cake. Whether it’s ganache, buttercream, or fondant, the frosting can help seal in moisture. If your cake is still uncut, you can leave it at room temperature for up to 5 days. Just make sure to keep it safe inside a cake keeper, cake dome, or covered in a large bowl to keep dust, insects, and other unwanted particles away. Ensure that the containers and covers do not touch the cake so as not to ruin it.

If your frosted cake has already been partially consumed, the frosting can no longer effectively keep moisture in. You may still store it at room temperature, but cover the exposed parts with plastic wrap. You may also frost over the exposed parts if you still have leftover frosting. A cake that has already been cut can last up to 4 days at stable room temperature. 

A stable room temperature is about 70℉ (21℃). Room temperature varies from house to house depending on location, current weather conditions, and other environmental factors. Make sure that the temperature in the area where you plan to store your frosted cake doesn’t fluctuate.

If the room temperature isn’t stable, your frosted cake will be at risk of spoilage. Its elements may also be damaged, such as the frosting and the cake decorations. It would be better to store your cake in the fridge or freezer if you aren’t confident about your room’s temperature stability. 

Kinds of Buttercream Not Suitable for Room Temperature Storage

There are different kinds of buttercream and not all of them can withstand room temperature storage. Some of the ingredients used in certain buttercreams may make your frosted cake go bad quickly. Keep this in mind when deciding on how to store your frosted cake.

These are the kinds of buttercream not suitable for room temperature storage:

  • Swiss meringue buttercream. It contains beaten egg whites and cooked sugar. This buttercream frosting forms a silky smooth covering – not a crust – over your cake. The eggs are perishable and may not hold out at room temperature.
  • Italian meringue buttercream. This contains whipped egg whites and boiling hot sugar syrup. It forms a light, luxurious texture around your cake. The eggs can make this frosting go bad sooner if left on your kitchen counter overnight.
  • French buttercream. This type of buttercream contains whipped egg yolks and boiling hot sugar syrup. It forms a custard-like frosting around your cake and may not hold up well at the average room temperature. 
  • German buttercream. This contains whole eggs and butter and is particularly known for not holding up well in higher temperatures. It forms a light, fluffy layer over your cake.
  • Russian buttercream. This buttercream contains whipped butter and condensed milk. It forms a light texture that is just slightly thicker than whipped cream. The combination of milk and butter may make this frosting susceptible to spoilage.
  • Korean buttercream. It is similar to Italian buttercream, except it is made with cold butter. This ingredient allows the mixture to form a glossy frosting over your cake. Like Italian buttercream, it may not survive overnight on your kitchen counter.

Traditional American buttercream is best suited for room temperature storage. It is made by simply mixing butter, confectioners’ sugar, and milk or cream. It forms a thin crust around the cake and helps in locking moisture in.

2. Store Your Frosted Cake in the Fridge

If your home is particularly hot and humid, or if temperatures tend to fluctuate, you will need the help of a trusty refrigerator when storing your frosted cake. Heat, humidity, and unstable conditions provide a great environment for bacteria to grow and thrive. Keeping your frosted cake in the fridge is also an excellent idea if you don’t think you can consume it within the next 3 days. 

If you choose to store your frosted cake in the fridge, keep in mind that doing so will make it dry out faster. You need to take extra steps to ensure that your cake stays deliciously moist.

How To Store Frosted Cake in the Fridge

Frosted cake can last up to 4 days inside the fridge. Here is how to properly store your frosted cake:

  1. Place your uncovered frosted cake inside the fridge. Leave it there for about 15 minutes to allow the frosting to set
  2. Take your cake out of the fridge and cover it loosely but securely with plastic wrap. This helps ensure that moisture won’t easily escape. 
  3. Place your wrapped frosted cake into a cake dome and store it in the fridge. You can improvise with an upturned bowl or a large airtight container if you don’t have one. 

It’s important to note that extra care should be taken when storing cake with tinted fondant in the fridge. Condensation might cause the colors to bleed, which could ruin your cake. Make sure to place your plastic-wrapped frosted cake inside an airtight container to further prevent moisture from escaping.

If your cake has already been cut, pay extra attention to the cake’s exposed parts while wrapping. Moisture will easily escape through there. 

Serving Your Frosted Cake From the Fridge

Before serving your frosted cake, take it out of the fridge and let it sit on your kitchen counter until it comes back to room temperature. Do not unwrap your cake yet. Condensation will occur, and it is better to let moisture develop on the wrapping rather than on the cake. Bringing it back to room temperature ensures that the original taste and consistency are achieved.

Perishable Cake Ingredients

The ingredients you used in your cake’s filling or frosting  will also determine if you need to refrigerate it. Some ingredients go bad sooner and may make your cake taste rancid and sour if stored at room temperature. If your frosted cake has any of the perishable ingredients below, you might have to keep it in the fridge.

Cake filling and frosting ingredients:

  • Eggs
  • Dairy products
  • Fresh fruit
  • Custard
  • Mousse
  • Cream cheese 
  • Whipped cream

Your cake tasting rancid and sour isn’t the biggest issue if you fail to refrigerate a frosted cake that contains these ingredients. Perishable elements are more prone to bacteria and mold growth, especially when left at room temperature. Aside from making your cake taste bad, bacteria and mold will also make it begin to rot. Consuming spoiled cake can be harmful to your health.

Consequences of Eating Spoiled Cake

It’s never okay to eat cake that may have gone bad. If you suspect that your frosted cake has started to spoil, throw it out at once. Don’t think twice about all your hard work going down the drain because the consequences of eating spoiled cake are far worse.

Food poisoning happens when you eat food that is contaminated or spoiled. Here are some issues you might expect if you eat cake that has gone bad:

  • Mild fever
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Abdominal cramps
  • Diarrhea
  • Loss of appetite
  • Headache
  • Weakness

What To Do if You’ve Eaten Spoiled Cake

Consuming just a small portion of cake that has gone bad probably won’t do any harm. However, if you’ve eaten a large quantity, call your doctor or seek medical attention immediately. Food poisoning can last for as long as 8 weeks if you’ve consumed a larger portion and if the bacteria or parasites that have contaminated your food are particularly potent.

Here are some life-threatening consequences of eating spoiled cake:

  • Fever higher than 102°F (38.9°C)
  • Diarrhea that won’t go away after 3 days
  • Blood in your urine
  • Difficulty in keeping fluids down
  • Difficulty in talking and seeing
  • Severe dehydration (includes dry mouth and producing very little urine)

3. Store Your Frosted Cake in the Freezer

Freezing cake is an excellent way to save it for later while making sure that you get to enjoy it as if it was freshly made. Freezing is also a great way to prepare for a special occasion, so you don’t have to be too busy and stressed on the actual day. If you decide to freeze your cake, keep in mind that you need to allot more time preparing it for storage and defrosting it before serving.

It is also important to note that not all cake frostings do well when frozen. Some ingredients may separate when stored in the freezer. Others might become soggy when the cake is thawed. Mushy, sloppy cake is not only an eyesore – it tastes unpleasant too.

If you have these ingredients in your frosting, your cake may not be suitable for freezing:

  • Meringue 
  • Fruit
  • Light cream
  • Custard
  • Yogurt

How To Store Frosted Cake in the Freezer

A frozen frosted cake will be safe to eat for a year. However, it is best to consume it within 2 – 3 months from the day it was first frozen. But who can really leave a delicious cake sitting in the freezer for this long without eating it?

Here is how to properly store your frosted cake in the freezer:

  1. Place your uncovered and unwrapped frosted cake inside the freezer for at least 4 hours. Allow the frosting and decorations to set and to avoid damaging the cake. 
  2. Take your cake out of the freezer and wrap it in 2 layers of plastic wrap. Double wrapping your frosted cake helps avoid freezer burn.
  3. Wrap your plastic-wrapped frosted cake in aluminum foil. This further ensures that moisture is locked in.
  4. Place your wrapped cake inside a freezer-safe airtight container. 
  5. Store your frosted cake in the freezer.

If your frosted cake has already been sliced and you want to freeze it, follow the same procedure mentioned above. Pay particular attention to the exposed parts of the sliced cake. Ensure that these areas are completely sealed by plastic wrap and aluminum foil. You can even wrap and freeze individual cake slices if possible. This saves space and ensures that each slice of cake is properly protected.

How To Serve Frosted Cake From the Freezer

Like refrigerated cake, you should not serve frozen cake straight out of the freezer. This is how to do it:

  1. Take your frosted cake out of the freezer.
  2. Loosen the wrappings and place the cake in the fridge to thaw. Leave it for about five hours until defrosted. 
  3. Move the cake out of the fridge and into room temperature. Don’t take out any of the wrappings while thawing, so condensation forms on the wrapping and not on the cake itself.
  4. Serve your cake once you’ve brought it back to room temperature. 

How To Tell if Your Frosted Cake Has Gone Bad

Properly preparing your frosted cake for storage – whether at room temperature, in the fridge, or the freezer – is not a guarantee that it will not spoil. No matter how well you wrap it and make sure temperatures are just right, other factors may still contribute to spoilage. It is always best to check the quality of your cake before consuming it. 

Here are some clues to watch out for:

  • Texture is harder and drier than normal
  • Discoloration
  • Unpleasant smell
  • Slimy cake filling
  • Mold formation

Key Takeaways

You can store your frosted cake in the fridge, inside your freezer, or even just on your kitchen counter. Depending on the ingredients and frosting used, choose the storage method that will best preserve the quality of your cake. Never let a good frosted cake go to waste again by making sure that it is always stored in ideal conditions. 

How To Keep Gingerbread From Expanding and Spreading

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What signals winter and the holidays more than the inviting aroma of freshly baked gingerbread? Half the appeal is as lovely as gingerbread smells and how gorgeous they look. The perfect gingerbread, whether you’re making little gingerbread people or the pieces that go into constructing a gingerbread house, the key is that each gingerbread needs to be uniform and keep its shape even after it’s baked.

Here’s how to keep gingerbread from expanding and spreading:

  • Skip the leavening agent.
  • Don’t overbeat the mixture.
  • Increase the oven temperature.
  • Measure your ingredients accurately.
  • Use high-quality butter.
  • Use parchment paper.
  • Chill the dough.
  • Use a good-quality baking sheet.
  • Roll the dough into a thinner layer.
  • Don’t overcrowd the oven.

If you’ve spent hours baking a batch of gingerbread, only to be disappointed that they expanded and spread in the oven, continue reading to learn how to prevent this from happening with the next batch.

1. Skip the Leavening Agent

Many cookie recipes, including gingerbread, call for a leavening agent. Examples of leavening agents are baking powder, baking soda, instant dry or active yeast, whipped egg whites, and cream.

Adding a leavening agent makes the confectionery light and fluffy, increases its volume, and creates the ideal texture and crumb. 

 

Leavening agents do this by releasing gas after it’s been mixed with heat, liquid, or acid, causing the dough to expand. This is ideal for baked goodies like cakes, scones, and pancakes that need to be light and fluffy, but cookies can be a little heavy and dense.

 

Adding a leavening agent to your gingerbread dough will cause it to spread in the oven and lose its shape. It will still taste nice but don’t expect to have uniform gingerbread people or whatever shape you cut.

 

If you intend to build a gingerbread house, it’s unlikely that the walls and other bits and pieces will be uniform. Omitting the leavening agent also gives you a firmer, durable cookie and less likely to break, especially if you’re gifting it and need to transport it.

2. Don’t Overbeat the Mixture

Usually, the first step to baking gingerbread or any cookies is to cream together the butter and sugar, and if you’re not careful, you can mess up the dough during this step. The trick is not to over mix. When you cream the butter and sugar, you add air into the mixture. This gives your cookie a lighter texture and prevents it from becoming too dense.

Adding too much air will cause the cookies to expand or collapse as they bake. 

The trick is to cream the butter and sugar until they are incorporated, which usually only takes about a minute or two. Stay close by when you’re beating them together so that you can check when it’s time to stop.

3. Increase the Oven Temperature

The temperature at which you bake your cookies will determine their texture. Even a novice baker knows that you must preheat the oven and wait until it’s at the right temperature before putting your cookies in the oven to bake.

If you’re looking for a chewy texture, bake your gingerbread or cookies at 325℉ (162.8℃) but if you like them crispy, bake them at 350℉ (176.7℃).

If your gingerbread spreads in the oven, you can try increasing the oven temperature to higher than the recommended temperature. The hotter the oven is, the quicker the gingerbread sets and the less time it has to spread. 

When it sets, it holds its shape.

You may want to open the oven to check on the cookies, but don’t do this. Even if the oven is open for just a few seconds, it introduces cool air inside and causes the oven to lose heat. This drops the temperature inside the oven, slowing down the speed at which the gingerbread sets and causing it to expand.

The best thing to do is to be guided by the suggested time on the recipe and peek through the glass in the oven door to check on the baking progress.

4. Measure Your Ingredients Accurately

Unlike cooking, baking is an exact science. With just one slight inaccuracy, your entire bake can be thrown off. Fats in the dough melt in the oven, and if there aren’t enough dry ingredients to hold the fat, it spreads, and the gingerbread loses its shape. 

However, too many dry ingredients will cause the gingerbread to be crumbly and dry, so it’s vital to get the balance of the ingredients right.

When measuring dry ingredients like flour, spoon it into a measuring cup and level it before adding it to the wet ingredients. Another option is to weigh your ingredients to get the most accurate amount. 

If you add the correct quantity of flour but your gingerbread still spreads, try adding a bit more flour to the dough.

Sugar is another culprit that can cause your gingerbread to expand. When sugar is heated, it becomes liquid and melts, making the gingerbread spread. While you need sugar in your gingerbread, only add in the recommended quantity or slightly less. 

Reducing the amount of sugar will, of course, make the gingerbread less sweet, but this means the other spicy flavors like cinnamon, ginger, and molasses will stand out.

5. Use High-Quality Butter

The amount of liquid in your dough determines whether or not the gingerbread will expand in the oven, so it makes sense that if you use butter with high water content, your gingerbread will expand.

There’s no way to tell which butter brands contain more water as this isn’t printed on the packaging, but generally, better quality butter has less water. 

Experiment with different butter brands to find one that works best in your recipe.

Another essential factor to do with butter is the temperature. You don’t want to use butter that is too warm or melted. This will make the dough runny, and it will take the gingerbread a longer time to set in the oven. As mentioned above, the longer the gingerbread takes to set, the more time it has to spread.

The butter shouldn’t be too cold or hard. If you put hard butter into your electric mixer, it won’t mix with the sugar and it will stick to the whisk. When you eventually get it going, it will take much longer to cream the butter and sugar, introducing too much air into the mixture.

The ideal temperature for butter is room temperature. 

If it’s winter or you live in a cold climate, take the butter out the night before and leave it on the kitchen counter to get to room temperature.

If you live somewhere warm, you’ll only need to take the butter out of the fridge about an hour before. Never attempt to bring the butter to room temperature in the microwave as it never works. The outside of the block always melts, which affects the texture.

6. Use Parchment Paper

When you’ve poured your heart into making perfectly shaped gingerbread, the last thing you want is for it to stick to the cookie or baking sheet. We’ve all been there, where we forget to grease the baking sheet and then are forced to scrape the gingerbread or cookies off the sheet resulting in broken bits.

While you need something a bit slippery between your gingerbread and the cookie sheet, don’t grease it with butter, oil, nonstick spray, or any type of fat. Again, it’s the liquid and the fact that it’s very slippery. 

The liquid and slippery surface are what marks the gingerbread spread.

Instead of butter or nonstick spray, line your baking tray with parchment paper, remembering to keep the glossier side facing up, so the gingerbread sits on it. If you’re concerned about using single-use parchment paper that will end up in the trash, you can use a reusable silicone baking mat instead. 

Make sure you clean it properly after each use as grease builds up quickly on it, which can cause your gingerbread to expand.

7. Chill the Dough

Even if the recipe doesn’t indicate that you need to chill the dough, it’s best to chill it. This prevents the butter and other liquid ingredients from becoming warm and melting. The colder the dough, the easier it is to work with and the less likely it’s to spread while baking.

Once you’ve made the dough, wrap it in plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge for at least an hour or overnight. If it’s in the fridge overnight, take it out about ten minutes before, so it has a bit of time to soften. You want it to be chilled, not hardened.

Never leave it in the fridge uncovered because this will dry it out. Wrapping it in plastic wrap locks in the moisture, or you can put it into an airtight container.

When the dough has chilled sufficiently, remove it from the fridge, roll it flat and cut it into the desired shapes. Put the cutout shapes back in the fridge for about 15 minutes. This step is handy if it’s hot since the gingerbread dough is prone to melting and losing its shape.

8. Use a Good Quality Baking Sheet

The quality of your ingredients, tools, and equipment makes a huge difference in how your gingerbread turns out, including the baking sheet you bake them on. The best baking sheets have a thick base and are dull in color. 

While these might be a little pricier, they’re worth the investment. They’ll last a long time, so you won’t need to replace them frequently.

Thin baking sheets might be inexpensive, but they warp easily, which causes heat to be unevenly distributed. This means that your gingerbread might overbake and burn on some parts of the sheet, while on the cooler sides, the gingerbread will take too long to set and then spread.

The color of the sheet is also important.

A dull color prevents your gingerbread from overgrowing and helps the gingerbread to bake evenly. Insulated baking sheets are another no-no as they slow down the setting process causing the gingerbread to expand.

Always place your gingerbread dough on cool or room temperature baking sheets. The dough will melt if the baking sheet is warm, and the gingerbread will lose its shape. If you only have one baking sheet and need to bake the second batch of gingerbread, wash the baking sheet and stick it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to cool before placing your gingerbread dough cutouts on it.

9. Roll the Dough Into a Thinner Layer

How thick or thin your gingerbread is will influence how it behaves in the oven. If your gingerbread is thick, it will take longer for them to set in the oven, and it will spread. Ideally, try to roll your dough to be under 1 cm (0.4”) thick. Be careful not to roll it too thin, as it can become difficult to handle and break.

If you like your gingerbread to be on the thicker side, increase the oven temperature by a few degrees so that the gingerbread sets faster.

10. Don’t Overcrowd the Oven

If you’ve baked a big batch of gingerbread and have a few baking sheets waiting to go into the oven, resist the urge to fit them all in at the same time. 

Gingerbread bakes best with one sheet in the oven at a time, placed in the center.

The temperature is different in the various spots of the oven, so having two or three baking sheets in the oven means that each sheet or each part of the sheet gets an uneven temperature causing some of the gingerbread to spread.

Final Thoughts

Gingerbread is an absolute crowd-pleaser because it’s delicious but also visually appealing. To maintain the visual appeal, you need to ensure that the gingerbread doesn’t expand and spread. 

To this end, make sure you use high-quality ingredients and equipment. Also, ensure that:

  • You don’t overmix.
  • The dough is chilled.
  • The oven is hot.
  • The ingredients are correctly measured.