[BakerAunt]

Here is a link to a KAF recipe for "Welsh Cakes." I thought of it when I read your post because it is on my list of one to try some day. (Thanks, Luvpyrpom for saying they are good. I'd probably get out my several flat griddles, put them on the burners--as I do when I make English Muffins--so I can do a lot at once.)

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/welsh-cakes-recipe

Of course these are cakes and not cookies.

Back before I found my perfect Pfefferneusse recipe, and was trying various ones, my grandmother sent me one that she had never baked that had been given to her by a lady who had gotten it from her mother-in-law but had never baked it. Well it was the goopiest mess, and I had to keep throwing more and more flour into it (way too much liquid). It made me wonder how well those in-laws got along!

[BakerAunt]

I have also wondered about this, since more than one cookie recipe I have says to refrigerate the dough or let it sit before scooping, even though the recipes contain baking soda. Perhaps it is different for cookies and cakes?

[BakerAunt]

KAF dropped me from the e-mail list, even though I ordered twice this summer, and even though I still have their Baker's Advantage. KAF did send an e-mail after closing the Baking Circle asking if I want to renew the Baker's Advantage. That was odd, as it does not expire until October. I'm taking some time to think about it, but I will likely renew, as I can make it work out to my advantage. KAF is the only place where I can find first clear flour and the duram wheat flour, and I like the baking powder, the cheese powder, and the coarse white sugar, the non-melting sugar, and the glazing sugar. I still use the special dried milk, although not as much as I did before my experiments with buttermilk began. If I order enough for Baker's Bucks, then it is a good deal to have 30 pounds of flour delivered, and once we are living in a small town in the Midwest, it will be more convenient and cheaper than Walmart. I will continue shopping at KAF, but it is strictly business now. The warm fuzzies are gone. I've started ordering most flours and grains from Bob's Red Mill, since as Aaron has noted the prices are lower, especially for bulk purchases, and $50 earns free shipping.

[BakerAunt]

I found a 9 oz. bottle of Rose & Ivy Madagascar bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract (9 oz.) at TJ Maxx for $9.99. It has water, 35% alcohol, and vanilla extractives. No sugar. It comes in a stopper bottle, so that might be nice if I ever decide to try making my own from scratch. I'll report on smell and taste in baked goods.

[BakerAunt]

The coffee flavor does mellow after a day. My husband, however, does not care for it. That is unsurprising, as he does not like coffee. He does like the cake, so I may see if some other frosting will go well with it. The cake is still tender and not dried out today. (I didn't refrigerate it once we cut it.)

• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

While no one gushed about the cake, I noticed that everyone finished off his or her piece, so that would be success.

If I have occasion to bake it again, I will either use mini-chocolate chips in the cake--and not a lot of them--or leave the chips out altogether. The cake is wonderfully light (probably too light to hold up the chips), and having the chips concentrated in one location messes up the slicing. I'm not sure the cake needs chocolate chips in it; this cake can stand on its own. I'd still decorate the top with mini-chocolate chips.

I would cut back a bit on the espresso powder, if I use KAF's powder, which I think may be more concentrated than instant expresso. The frosting did work well with the cake, so it balanced out, but I still thought the coffee needed to be toned down--and I'm a coffee devotee.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Apparently they sank for a person who commented on the recipe page. That person told the site to specify parchment paper to line the bottom of the pans, since otherwise the chocolate chips would stick to the pan, making it hard to remove.

There may be something to be said for dense cake when it must support add-ins. 🙂

Update: I frosted the cake this evening. I had trouble with that caked KAF espresso powder. Even after I ground it in the coffee grinder, it wanted to clump, and that may have affected measuring it. The frosting has a slight bitter taste to it. I'm hoping that with the chocolate chips on the top, and in combination with the sweet cake with its chocolate chips, that the bitterness will mellow out. I decided to put the two bottoms next to each other, so it will look like I meant to have a chocolate layer in the center next to the frosting!

• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I just removed the two layers from the cake pan. From what I can tell, however, the chocolate chips appear to have sunk to the bottom. There was no evidence of them on the top side. The cake did come out of the pan without any issues, but I am cooling them on the rack with the bottom sides up, just as they came out of the pan. I used one cup of regular sized chocolate chips. In the picture with this recipe, the chips appear to be suspended in the batter.

I used the weight measurements (grams). I used AP flour and sifted it. The cakes did rise nicely in the USA pans. I noted that the one stick of my salted butter is a bit shy of the weight; I needed to add about 1/4 Tbs. more. I used whole milk.

The cake should be good even if the chips are all on the bottom!

[BakerAunt]

I checked the Nielsen-Massey, and it has the following ingredient list: water, alcohol (35%), sugar, vanilla bean extract.

Their vanilla paste has the following: sugar, water, vanilla extract, vanilla bean, gum tragacanth (a natural thickener)

Penzey's single strength: water, alcohol, sugar and vanilla bean extractives

The ingredient list for the double-strength is the same.

I suspect that for most of us, we won't taste a difference in the various real vanillas, but if corn syrup is added, I'd pass. While I do use corn syrup in the occasional recipe, I like to know that I have chosen to add it.

[BakerAunt]

I use Nielsen-Massey vanilla, probably because KAF sold it in large bottles (quart-size) at much less than I would pay in the store. I've also found it at TJ Maxx and Ross in smaller bottles. I kept several of the 8 oz. bottles, and I move it to those smaller ones. (A tag on one says $9.99.) I've used the Penzeys, when it came to me in gift boxes, and I can't say that I tasted any difference, although the Penzeys' vanilla comes with a piece of a vanilla bean in it. Last week, when rummaging through my stock of extracts after seeing "vanilla paste" called for in a cookie recipe, I found THREE jars of vanilla paste from Nielsen-Massey that I picked up at either TJ Maxx or Ross. It is somewhat thicker than the vanilla extract, and there is a vanilla bean in it as well. The directions say to use it 1:1 for vanilla extract. Based on a single usage, I detect a slightly richer flavor.

I have such faith in S. Wirth's internet searching skills that if she cannot find those flavored powders, then they are likely not to be found. Swirth--I'm glad that you were able to find a way to make your hoard of powders last.

[BakerAunt]

Hello, Rascals. It is good to hear from you. Join us when you can and know that you are in our thoughts.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Cwcdesign. That information is helpful.

I will stick with the KAF espresso powder. I will try pounding it into pieces, and see if I can measure it correctly that way. I worry that its gumminess might mess up my coffee grinder. I've tried using a piece of saran over the top before screwing on the lid, but that did not fix the problem. I will try putting the contents of my next jar into Tupperware and see if that works.

I found that freezing the layers (an idea I got from the Sift issue that dealt with cakes) really improved the result when I make a white chocolate cream cheese frosting for a chocolate cake. It keeps the crumbs from getting loose. Also, that frosting is always much too soft by the time I finish beating it, and I had to refrigerate it until it was cold, then beat it again. With the frozen layers, it spread smoothly, and the cake looked beautiful (without a crumb coat needed first!). I'll try the technique with this cake when I make it on Tuesday and report back.

I like your idea of just decorating with the chocolate chips. I think that the mini ones will be perfect for that.

[BakerAunt]

I bought the Sugar in the Raw at Walmart, as it was the cheapest option ($3.24 for 2 pounds). I also decided that I will use mini-chocolate chips to decorate the top, but stay with regular chocolate chips for the cake (all semisweet). My King Arthur espresso powder is not in good shape. I'm used to it drying out in my part of Texas, but I also took it to Indiana where there were some periods of sustained humidity. So, what I have is a kind of dampish clump. I will check to see if a store here carries instant espresso, but I may have to make do.

Cwcdesign--does the frosted cake do ok in the refrigerator? I will need to frost it Tuesday night for the birthday on Wednesday noon. Lately, I've been freezing cake layers, then frosting them frozen and refrigerating the finished product. Do people think that will work for this cake?

[BakerAunt]

Luvpyrpom--The unhelpful answer you received is typical from the people answering baking questions for KAF these days. It was something that I noticed with KAF about a year ago. There seems to be a culture change there.

Cwcdesign--I'm curious. Is the Facebook group mostly social or mostly about baking?

[BakerAunt]

I heard from Cass, and posted his helpful suggestion for those Norwegian Coffee Buns.

I've got one or two recipes for a pumpkin based pasta. I keep thinking that I'll get to it. I have a pasta attachment for my Cuisinart Food Processor (both given to me by my mother), but I've never gotten around to trying out the pasta attachment. It may be a project for after I retire next summer.

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