Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (5 page)

To save time chocolate may be chopped coarsely before it is melted.

I always cover the pot until the chocolate is partially melted (not long enough for steam to condense inside the cover and drop onto the chocolate—some people place a folded paper napkin or towel under the cover to absorb any steam and avoid the chance that it may drip into the chocolate), then I remove the cover and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. To be sure the chocolate doesn’t overcook, remove it from the heat a bit before it is completely melted.

Unsweetened chocolate will run (liquefy) as it melts; sweet, semi-sweet, and milk chocolates hold their shape (although they are melted), and must be stirred.

Some semisweet chocolates might not melt as smoothly as unsweetened. If the chocolate is not smooth, stir it briskly with a rubber spatula, pressing against any lumps until it becomes smooth.

Various chocolates have different consistencies when they are melted. Unsweetened chocolate is the thinnest, and milk chocolate is the thickest.

When you melt chocolate in or with milk (or when you mix melted chocolate and milk), if the mixture is not smooth—if the chocolate remains in little flecks—beat it with an electric mixer, wire whisk, or an egg beater until smooth.

ABOUT MEASURING

Meticulously precise measurements are essential for good results in baking.

Glass or plastic measuring cups with the measurements marked on the side and the 1-cup line below the top are only for measuring liquids. Do not use them for flour or sugar. With the cup at eye level, fill carefully to exactly the line indicated.

Measuring cups that come in graded sets of four (¼ cup, ⅓ cup, ½ cup, and 1 cup) are for measuring flour, sugar, and other dry ingredients—and for thick sour cream. Fill the cup to overflowing and then scrape off the excess with a dough scraper, a metal spatula, or the flat side of a large knife.

Standard measuring spoons must be used for correct measurements. They come in sets of four: ¼ teaspoon, ½ teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon. For dry ingredients, fill the spoon to overflowing and then scrape off the excess with a small metal spatula or the flat side of a knife.

TO ADD DRY INGREDIENTS ALTERNATELY WITH LIQUID

Begin and end with dry. The procedure is generally to add about one-third of the dry, half of the liquid, a second third of the dry, the rest of the liquid, and then the rest of the dry.

Use the lowest speed on an electric mixer for this (or it may be done in a bowl using a wooden spatula, or your bare hand). After each addition mix only until smooth. If your mixer is the type that allows you to use a rubber spatula while it is in motion, help the mixing along by scraping the sides of the bowl with the spatula. If the mixer does not allow room, or if it is a hand-held mixer, stop it frequently and scrape the bowl with the spatula; do not beat any more than necessary.

ABOUT FOLDING INGREDIENTS TOGETHER

Many of these recipes call for folding beaten egg whites and/or whipped cream into another mixture. The whites and/or cream have air beaten into them, and folding (rather than mixing) is done in order to retain the air.

This is an important step and should be done with care. The knack of doing it well comes with practice and concentration. Remember that you want to incorporate the mixtures without losing any air. That means handle as little as possible.

It is important not to beat the whites or whip the cream until they are actually stiff; if you do you will have to stir and mix rather than just fold, thereby losing the air.

Do not let beaten egg whites stand around or they will become dry. Do not fold whipped cream into a warm mixture or the heat will deflate the cream. Generally it is best to fold the lighter mixture into the heavier one and to actually stir a bit of the lighter mixture into the heavier (to lighten it a bit) before you start to fold. Then, as a rule, it is best not to add all of the remaining light mixture at once; do the folding in a few additions.

Although many professional chefs use their bare hands for folding in, most home cooks are more comfortable using a rubber spatula. (Rubber is better than plastic because it is more flexible. Spatulas come in three sizes. The smallest is called a bottle scraper. For most folding, the medium size is the one to use. But for folding large amounts in a large bowl, the largest rubber spatula can be very helpful. The one I mean might measure about 13 to 16 inches from the end of the blade to the end of the handle; the blade will be about 2¾ inches wide and about 4½ inches long. That large size is difficult to locate; try specialty kitchen equipment shops or wholesale restaurant suppliers.)

Folding in is best done in a bowl with a rounded bottom. Following the recipe, place part (occasionally
all) of the light mixture on top of the heavier mixture. Hold the rubber spatula, rounded side toward the bottom and over the middle of the bowl, and cut through to the bottom of the bowl. Bring the spatula toward you against the bottom, then up the side and out, over the top, turning the blade as you do this so it is upside down when it comes out over the top. After each fold, rotate the bowl slightly in order to incorporate as much of the ingredients as possible. Return the spatula to its original position, then cut through the middle of the mixture again. Continue only until both mixtures are combined.

Occasionally a bit of beaten egg white will rise to the top. If it is just one or two small pieces, instead of folding more, simply smooth over the top gently with the spatula.

If the base mixture has gelatin in it, it should be chilled until it starts to thicken. The perfect situation for folding is to have the gelatin mixture, the whipped cream, and the egg whites all the same consistency.

ABOUT PREPARING PANS AND COOKIE SHEETS

In many recipes, after buttering the pan I dust it with bread crumbs, because in many recipes, but not all, there is less chance of sticking if you use crumbs rather than flour. (I have had my share of “sticking” problems. After following a recipe carefully, and using wonderful ingredients, it feels rotten to invert the pan and see half of the cake still in the pan and the rest on the cake rack.) The crumbs should be fine and dry. They may be homemade (see below) but I always have bought ones on hand also. If you buy them be sure to get the ones marked “plain” or “unseasoned,” not “seasoned.” Some brands are O.K. to use just as they are, some are a bit too coarse; they may be ground a little finer in a food processor or a blender. You can grind a whole boxful at a time.

To prepare a tube pan: When directions call for buttering the pan and then coating it with flour or crumbs, the only way to get the flour or crumbs on the tube itself is by lifting the flour or crumbs with your fingers and sprinkling it/them around the tube with your fingers.

Many of these cookie recipes call for lining the sheet with aluminum foil. That is not specified in order to keep your cookie sheets clean (although it will, and if you do a lot of cooking you will be delighted with not having to wash and dry the sheets). Mainly, it is so the cookies will not stick; also, it is quick and efficient, saves time, and in many cases results in cookies that hold their shape better than they would on buttered sheets. And if you have the right kind of cookie sheet, which means that the sheet has three flat sides and a raised edge on only one side (somehow manufacturers seem to have stopped making that kind, and all I can say is that I don’t think they ever bake cookies themselves or they would know better), you can line up many pieces of foil, place all of the cookies on the foil, and then just slide the sheet under the foil when you are ready. And slide the foil off when they are baked. However, whichever way you do it, if a recipe calls for foil between the cookies and the sheet, do it—or the cookies might stick.

The foil may be wiped clean with a paper towel and reused.

HOMEMADE DRY BREAD CRUMBS

Remove and discard the crusts from plain sliced white bread. Place the slices in a single layer on cookie sheets in a 225-degree oven and bake until the bread is completely dry and crisp. Break up the slices coarsely and grind them in a food processor or a blender until the crumbs are rather fine, but not as fine as powder.

In all of these recipes, butter and flour or bread crumbs used to prepare the pans before baking are in addition to those called for in the ingredients.

ABOUT WRAPPING COOKIES

Unless I am baking cookies to serve right away, I wrap them in clear cellophane. It gives them an attractive and professional look, keeps them fresh, easy to handle, easy to pack for the freezer or a lunch box or picnic, and makes it quick and easy to slip a few of them into a little bag, basket, or box as a gift.

But clear cellophane is hard to find. It is available from wholesale paper companies, the kind that sell paper napkins, etc., to restaurants. In my experience they are agreeable about selling a single roll of cellophane to individuals. It usually comes in rolls of different widths, and sometimes in packages of precut squares. It you buy a roll, it is easier to handle one that is not too wide. And it is easier to cut with a knife than with scissors.

If you cannot get cellophane, wax paper is better than plastic wrap (which is too hard to handle and takes too long).

Cut off a long piece, fold it in half, cut through the fold with a long, sharp knife, fold again and cut again, and continue to fold and cut until you have the right size pieces. If the size is close but a bit too large, do not cut the papers individually (it takes too long). Instead, place the whole pile in front of you and fold one side of the entire pile to the size you want. Place your left hand firmly on the pile, holding the folded sides down and at the same time holding the pile so that the papers do not slip out of place. With your right hand cut through the fold with a knife. (If the pile is very large, cut about a dozen or two at a time.)

Bar cookies should be wrapped individually. Small drop cookies or thin rolled cookies may be wrapped two to a package, placed with their bottoms together.

Wrap one cookie as a sample to be sure that the papers are the right size.

Spread out as many pieces of paper as you have room for (or as many as you have cookies for).

1. Place a cookie in the center of each paper.
   

2. Bring the two long sides together up over the top.
   

3. Fold over twice so that the second fold brings the paper tight against the cookie.
   

4. Now, instead of just tucking the ends underneath, fold in the corners of each end, making a triangular point.
   

5. Then fold the triangle down under the cookie.
   

HOW TO PREPARE THE SERVING PLATE BEFORE YOU ICE THE CAKE

This is done to keep any icing off the plate. It will result in a clean, neat, professional-looking finished product.

Begin by tearing off a 10-inch piece of wax paper. Fold it crossways into four equal strips (fold it in half and then in half again), then cut through the folds with a sharp knife, making four 10 × 3-inch strips.

Lay the strips in a square pattern around the rim of the plate, put the cake on the plate over the paper, and check to be sure that the papers touch the cake all around.

After the cake is iced (before the icing hardens) remove the papers by gently pulling each one out toward a narrow end.

ABOUT DECORATING CAKES

Cake decorating can be just as much a creative art as painting or sculpting. But to me the pure untouched simplicity of a smooth, shiny chocolate glaze, or a topping of barely firm whipped cream, is perfection and adding anything to it would often be unnecessary and would detract from an already perfect work of art. The same goes for a plain un-iced pound cake or loaf cake. Of course there are times when I like to wield a pastry bag and don’t ever want to quit. But please don’t feel that every cake needs decoration; simplicity is often decoration enough. Anything else might be gilding the lily.