Archive for the ‘Product Reviews’ Category
Madeleines are one of those baked goods that require a specialty pan to get them right, because even though you can bake the batter in mini muffin tins, you just can’t capture the spirit of a madeleine (the cake that writers wax so poetic about) in any other form. Madeline pans can carry a wide range of price tags and can be made out of a wide range of materials. The price tag of expensive imported pans that promised the only good results kept me from biting the bullet and buying madeleine pans for a long time, but I had heard good things about the Chicago Metallic Nonstick Madeline Pan – and had had good results with their other bakeware – and bought some to give them a try.
The pans are lightweight and made of carbon steel, brushed with a nonstick coating. My madeleines baked very evenly and rose up well, developing that slight “dome” on the top that is a signature of many madeleines. The pan comes with a recipe that is easy to use and quite tasty (although they’re usually even better the day after baking) if you don’t have a favorite madeleine recipe already.
Working with the pans, I found that they allowed the tips of the madeleines to caramelize slightly and turn a lovely golden color, while still giving me a clean release. You get an even better look by brushing the cavities with a little bit of melted butter just before baking. The only downside to these pans is that they only bake a dozen madeleines at a time and most recipes bake more cakes. Fortunately (thanks to the nonstick coating), you can pop the madeleines out and the pans will cool down very quickly so that you can bake a second batch. Their price tag is also reasonable enough that if you are a big fan of madeleines you can justify adding a second one to your collection.
Most cake recipes are going to bake up a full sized bundt, sheet or layer cake, which means that your options are limited when you want to have just one piece of cake to satisfy your sweet tooth. If you already have leftover cake sitting around, of course, you won’t have a problem. If don’t already have cake available, you may be tempted by a microwave cakes for one that you make in a mug for a single-serving of cake. I’ve made this type of cake before (and have seen similar ideas on many other blogs over the years), and it’s essentially a small, steamed cake that isn’t going to beat out a slice of devil’s food layer cake, but will certainly satisfy a craving. I recently picked up a box of Dr Oetker Caramel Mug Cake, a cake mix that promises to simplify this simple cake idea even more. I wanted to see how it stacked up to the homemade version.
The cake mix is poured into a mug and mixed with a small amount of milk before being microwaved for less than 90 seconds. The cake rises up to the top of the mug as it bakes, then falls slightly as it cools before it is ready to eat. Mine looked just like the cake on the box, although I suspect that I used a slightly larger mug than the “standard mug” recommended. It was very moist and very tender, more than I expected that a steamed cake would be. It also had a very pronounced caramel flavor, as though you had poured a generous amount of warm caramel sauce over it before serving. It is sweet, but very good for a cake that takes just over a minute to make!
I turned mine out of the mug and topped it with a little whipped cream to dress it up, but if you happen to give these a try (they’re sold at many specialty stores, as well as Cost Plus World Market, which is where I got mine) you can eat it right out of the mug with a spoon.
The brand of butter that you buy may be influenced by where you shop, the price of the butter and even the packaging. most people don’t take the time to realize that not all butters are created equal and that the flavor can vary quite a bit from brand to brand. In a recent test, the magazine Real Simple tasted and compared 78 different brands of butter to pick out their favorites in a variety of different categories.
Best Unsalted: Land o’ Lakes, which had a very creamy flavor and smooth texture. This is a favorite butter for baking.
Best Salted: Kate’s Homemade, which is “batch churned the old fashioned way” and is studded with crystals of sea salt
Best Organic: Organic Valley Unsalted, much more flavorful than other organic unsalted butters and made from antibiotic and pesticide free milk. This is another good choice for baking
Best Whipped: Organic Valley, made from butter with air whipped into it for a light, spreadable consistency. Great for topping toast, potatoes, etc.
Best European-style: Plugra Unsalted, uses less water and more butterfat than regular butters, this one is intensely rich and creamy.
The magazine also gave a nod to Country Crock Spreadable butter, which is a blend of butter and canola oil that is good as a spread and topping, and to Brummel & Brown Made with Nonfat Yogurt as a “butterlike”-spread, as another good topping. Land o’ Lakes Light butter was smooth and mild, again made for spreading on toast. None of these choices are good for cooking or baking because they contain things besides pure butter, but they’re not bad choices (in addition to all of the high scoring brands mentioned above) to keep in your fridge for bagels, toast and other foods that might need a little smear of butter.
I find that homemade pie fillings are always the best fillings, but there are some good, gourmet pie fillings out there these days and I like to keep my options open by giving them a try. These gourmet pie fillings can be good when you need a filling fast, but they’re even better for dishes, like quick fruit cobblers, and ice cream sundae or oatmeal toppings. If you get a good one, with high quality ingredients, they can definitely be worth it. Over the holidays, I tried Trader Joe’s Apple Pie Filling and recently picked up these Streamline Fruit Toppings & Fillings in Apple & Cherry. These carton-packed fruit fillings are imported from Denmark (I picked them up at Cost Plus World Market) and they’re made with all natural ingredients, with lots of real fruit. The most appealing thing about them was that the ingredient list only had things that you would put into a real pie filling: fruit, sugar, thickening agent (pectin, though I typically use cornstarch or flour in my pies) and a little citric acid.
The apple pie filling was good, but didn’t have quite enough large pieces of apple in it to make it a favorite of mine. It was not too sweet with a great apple flavor and no spices to cover up that real fruit. You could really tell that they opted for tart Granny Smith-type apples when making it, which made it seem very fresh. I could see using it as a topping for oatmeal or ice cream, but it simply needed more pieces of apple to make it into one of my apple pies, even though the flavor was good.
The cherry pie filling, on the other hand, was very good and had plenty of cherries it in (50% cherries, by weight). The cherries were also not too sweet, and had a dark black cherry flavor. The syrup that accompanied the cherries was silky smooth with a nice consistency. Again, I liked the fact that no extra spices or flavors were added so that the filling tasted very fresh. I’d definitely consider this one for a pie filling or keeping a few in the pantry for an easy-to-make fruit crisp.
Cake and brownie mixes can offer a lot of convenience when you need a foolproof treat quickly, and it’s not a bad idea to keep one in the back of your pantry. I’m usually a little more interested in seeing how upscale brownie mixes compare both to homemade and other box mixes, since I’ve been seeing more and more chocolate makers branch out into brownie and cake mixes. This Spicy Maya Brownie Mix is from Chuao Chocolatier, a San Diego-based artisan chocolate company. I happened to get this box as a gift from a friend who picked it up at a specialty retailer (though it’s sold online) because she knew that I had a soft spot for spicy chocolate treats.
These dark chocolate brownies are spiced with pasilla chilies, cayenne pepper and cinnamon, and you simply add melted butter and eggs to the mix before putting it into the oven. The brownies bake up to be thick and chewy, with a dense and fudgy center. The main ingredient is dark chocolate and you can really feel that in the density and richness of the brownies, which did remind me more of a bar of chocolate than a piece of chocolate cake. The chilies and spices are not too aggressive, but leave a lasting heat in your mouth that grows once you have taken a few bites.
I have to admit that I prefer my own Mexican Chocolate Brownies to these, but this mix is a good one that packs a lot of chocolate punch, a great consistency and a very unusual flavor (for a mix) into one package. They’re worth a try for a chocoholic and would make a great addition to a gift pack for chocolate lovers!
