Fundamentals Of Baking: Terminology Every Baking Enthusiast Should Know

Angel Food Cake: As the name suggests, this particular cake is extremely light as well as fluffy. The batter is made using just flour and also sugar with well beaten egg whites.

Butter cream: This is a mixture of sugar, eggs as well as butter which is whipped till light as well as fluffy and also used to fill and frost cakes.

Caramel: It is used for glazing, making praline paste as well as giving decorative touches to many desserts, caramel is basically sugar cooked at a temperature of 320-350 degrees.

Cookie Varieties: As versatile as they are scrumptious, cookies are categorized by the way they are formed. Molded cookies are generally cut using a cookie cutter or shaped manually; drop cookies are dropped from a spoon directly onto the baking sheet; piped cookies are shaped with the cookie gun or a pastry bad as well as bar cookies are baked in sheets before cutting into bars or squares.

Custard Sauce (Crème Anglaise): Also known as pouring custard, this is a mix of milk, sugar and also egg yolks which is simmered till the yolks coagulate enough to thicken the custard. It is usually served as an accompaniment to particular cakes as well as puddings as well as fruit desserts.

Dacquoise: Comprising of butter cream layered between baked nut meringues, this is a traditional French cake.

Docking: It is the process of piercing pastry dough with the fork to allow the vapor to escape. This prevents the dough from becoming misshapen because of internal bubbling.

Flaky Pastry: This standard American batter for pies is made by rubbing a combination of butter and shortening into flour, which is moistened with water to make the batter. Rubbing the fat in more finely results in a dough which is more mealy and less flaky.

Gateau: Gateau is French for cake

Glaze: Used to give desserts an even, shiny finish, glazes are manufactured from different elements depending on whether they are being used for cakes, tarts or fruit pastries.

Ladyfingers: Tiny sponge cakes, generally 3 ½” extended, lady fingers are mostly used for making Charlotte's.

Lemon Curd: A rich, tart spreading cream, lemon curd is basically a cooked mixture of lemon juice with egg yolks, butter as well as sugar.

Meringue: This is a mixture of egg whites as well as sugar beaten till it forms stiff, shiny peaks.

Pastry Dough: Made with butter as well as shortening, this is the standard American dough for pies.

Pet-its Fours Secs: These are the thin, delicate cookies sandwiched with praline paste or preserves.

Petit Fours Frais: These are the small pastries that are filled with butter-cream or pastry cream.

Petits Fours Glacés: These are the petite iced cakes, daintily decorated as well as sandwiched with ganache, butter cake or preserves.

Royal Icing: A traditional English icing, this is made with a combination of egg whites as well as confectioner’s sugar. It hardens while it dries as well as is usually utilized to create filigree patterns and to ice conventional English wedding party cakes.

Tarts: Shallow, with straight sides, tarts are generally baked in flan forms or in the pans with removable bottom as well as typically have only a bottom crust.

Torte: This is the Eastern European name for cake.