Page 38 - Chocolate Cake Doctor
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20                      C H O C O L A T E  C A K E  M I X  1 0 1

              • Butter: Unless  the  recipe  states  mixed with water as directed on the label.
           “unsalted,”  use  lightly  salted  butter.  • Heavy    (whipping)   cream: For
           Lightly  salted,  I  found, can  offset  the  sweetened  cream  frosting,  fillings,  and
           sweetness of many cake recipes. However,  chocolate ganache.
           unsalted  is  needed  when baking  with     • Sour cream: Makes cakes moister.
           brownie mixes, for they taste saltier than  You can substitute the lower-fat version,
           cake mix. Don’t substitute margarine for  but don’t use the fat-free.
           butter unless it is called for in the recipe.   • Cream cheese: Critical to cheese-
              • Vegetable  oil: Use  light,  unfla-  cakes, and it adds interest to brownies.
           vored vegetable oils such as canola, corn,  You can get by with lower-fat, but not fat-
           safflower,  soybean,  and  sunflower.  Don’t  free. Full-fat is best.
           use olive oil.                              • Yogurt: Use plain yogurt as a sub -
              • Sugar: The  recipe  will  specify   stitute  for  sour  cream.  Experiment  with
           types  of  sugar  if  more  than  one  kind  is  vanilla,  coffee,  and  chocolate  flavors,  too.
           called for in that recipe. If the recipe sim-  Low-fat and nonfat yogurt work as well as
           ply lists sugar, it means granulated sugar.  full-fat.
                        l
           Be sides  granu ated,  you’ll  need  confec-  • Ricotta  cheese: Fold  into  pound
           tioners’  (powdered) sugar  and  light  and  cakes.
           dark brown sugars.                          • Citrus  fruit: Oranges,  limes,  and
              • Extracts  and  spices: Always  use  lemons provide  juice  and  grated  zest  to
           “pure” vanilla, almond, orange, and lemon  flavor cakes, frostings, and glazes.
           ex tracts. For other flavorings that are not
           available  in  pure  form,  such  as  coconut
                                                    Freezer
           flavoring, use what you can find. The most
           used  spices  are  ground                   • Unsweetened    grated   coconut:
             cinnamon, allspice,                    Available regionally, mostly in the South.
           and ginger.                              Use to make the Chocolate Coconut Ice-
                                                    box Cake and in bars and cookies.
           THE
                                                        • Pecans, walnuts, sliced almonds,
           EXTENDED
                                                      and other nuts: Keep a supply in the
           PANTRY
                                                    freezer (it extends their shelf life, too).
           Refrigerator                                • Whipped topping: Certain recipes,
              • Buttermilk: If you can’t find the    like  the  Watergate  Cake  (page  186),  call
           liquid form, then use powdered buttermilk  for this. Thaw before using.
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