I knew it would be. I knew there’d be plenty of criticism, but I was surprised at the number of food science types who wrote in to express their relief that somebody, somewhere was willing to engage in a pro-additive discussion. Seems In Praise of Chemicals has popped a cap on some pent up frustration. […]
READ ONAt its heart, this chocolate sorbet recipe is actually quite basic. It omits the bar chocolate that seems to be the rage with a lot of the newer chocolate sorbet recipes. Even so, you’ll be amazed at how rich and creamy a dairy-free frozen chocolate dessert can taste. It’s excellent when made without the Cremodan, […]
READ ONWhy risk a week of nasty-grams by celebrating food additives? Because it’s high time somebody did. I’ll wager there’s nary a food columnist, cookbook writer or blogger working right now that doesn’t in some way, shape or form pay obeisance to the local/natural/organic food movement. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of things […]
READ ONOh sure, it seems like an innocuous topic, but mark my words, before the week is out it’s going to blow up into a firestorm of controversy. And why might that be? Because in addition to lauding dessert ices, I shall also be mounting a full-throated defense of certain food additives, notably a stabilizer by […]
READ ONThis is something of a Southern treatment of a classic coffee cake, as it calls for both buttermilk and pecans. If you like, you can substitute either yogurt or sour cream in the batter, and swap the pecans in the streusel for walnuts — even almonds — if they’re more convenient. All the egg yolks […]
READ ONReader Joe from Israel asks: I’ve seen the terms “tender crumb” and “open crumb” and I think I know what they mean. Can you define it for us? What affects the crumb of the cake: processing methods, ingredients or both? Thanks Joe! “Crumb” is simply the word for the interior of a bread, cake or […]
READ ONReader Diane asks: Your Crumb Coffee Cake seems to be constructed similarly to the muffin method. I thought with the muffin method you are supposed to barely stir it after adding the wet ingredients. So whats’s with all the beating? I love that question! In fact the method I’m using for this cake is the […]
READ ONThough Danish-style coffee cakes are very close to my heart, I must confess that there’s nothing like the comfort of a piece of simple “crumb” cake with a nice hot cup in the morning. Make this exactly as you would a layer of butter cake. The formula is: 7 ounces (1 1/3 cups) all-purpose flour […]
READ ONThe word is often confused with “strudel” here in the States, but they’re not even close to the same thing. Strudel is of course a type of layered pastry that hails from Austria. Streusel is a crumb topping that was first popularized in Germany. The word itself means “scattered” or “sprinkled”, or more literally “strewn.” […]
READ ON…but it’s not a Danish-style, it’s a classic crumb-cake style, which I couldn’t really ignore during coffeecake week. Plus I promised reader Kristin that I’d do something with streusel. Recipes are coming up!
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