White peaches are my favorite type of peaches to eat plain, so I often stock my kitchen up with them when they are in season. This means that white peaches make it into my desserts and baked goods more often than standard yellow peaches do. The two fruits …
What is a crumb coat?
AÂ crumb coat is a term that comes up fairly often for those of us who like to bake cakes, but it is not often well defined in recipes. Sometimes, it isn’t mentioned at all, although anyone who has ever tried to frost a cake and ended up with lots of crumbs …
What is dulce de leche?
Dulce de leche is a thick, milk-based caramel sauce. It is probably most popular in South American Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, but variations exist in other countries and cultures as well. The most simple caramel sauce starts with sugar, and depending on the variation you have in mind, ingredients like cream and …
What is cocoa butter?
In the simplest terms, cocoa butter is the fat in chocolate that makes it melt in your mouth and in your hand. It is a plant fat from the cocoa bean that has a melting point that is just around body temperature (somewhere around 95F, give or take a few degrees, actually), meaning that …
What is shortening?
Shortening is a type of solid fat that is made from vegetable oils, such as soybean and cottonseed oil. Shortening seems to get its name from the fact that it shortens gluten strands in wheat by adding fat. Since it is 100%, as opposed to the 80% fat content of butter or lard, it …
What is arrowroot?
Arrowroot, or arrowroot starch, is a powdery product made from the arrowroot plant, a starchy tropical root. The plant is dried and ground up to make the powder, which is primarily used as a thickener in the kitchen, much like cornstarch. Much like cornstarch, it is an excellent thickening agent. It has about twice …
What is buttermilk?
I often get asked questions about what buttermilk is and how to substitute for it because people don’t keep it “on hand.” The best answer to this is to say that buttermilk is a wonderful dairy product that makes for some delicious baked goods, and it should always be kept on hand if you …