Murdoch Books - Mastering the Basics: Desserts

Basics

Common ingredients

Butter is the most commonly used fat when making desserts. It adds flavour, shortness/tenderness and colour. When it is beaten, air is incorporated which, in turn, helps leaven baked goods as they cook. It can also be rubbed into flour or melted and mixed with other ingredients. Unsalted butter is sweeter than salted and gives you more control over the amount of salt in your desserts you can then add as much as you want. If you are creaming butter, make sure it is softened by standing at room temperature for 3060 minutes (depending on the room temperature) before using. If rubbing into dry ingredients, make sure it is well chilled.

Cocoa powder is simply the unsweetened ground powder made from grinding the cocoa solids when the cocoa butter (the fat) is removed from cocoa beans. Make sure you sift it before using to remove any lumps. Sweetened cocoa powder is sold as drinking chocolate. Dutch cocoa is considered the best quality cocoa powder, having a rich and intense flavour and a dark colour.

Cream is used extensively in dessert making. The fat content of cream determines how rich it is and also its whipping characteristics the higher the fat content, the easier it will be to whip and the thicker it will be when whipped (low-fat cream wont whip at all). Double (thick/heavy) cream has a 48 per cent butter fat content and is the thickest type of cream. Pouring cream, also known as whipping or single cream, has a fat content of 35 per cent. Thickened cream, also known as whipping cream, is pouring cream with gelatine added to thicken it slightly and make it more stable. It is ideal for whipping. Sour cream adds a pleasant acidity, as well as richness, to dishes.

Eggs enrich, give structure, bind, lighten, tenderise and add flavour to desserts. Store them, pointed end down, in their original carton in the refrigerator. Always bring eggs to room temperature before using if youre short on time, you can put them in a bowl of lukewarm water for 10 minutes. All of the recipes in this book use 59/60 g (2 oz) eggs.

Flour is used extensively in dessert making and provides the basic structure for the majority of baked desserts. Self-raising flour is simply plain (all-purpose) flour with baking powder added. You can make your own by adding 2 teaspoons baking powder to every 150 g (5 oz/1 cup) plain flour. Sift them together several times before using.

Gelatine is used in many chilled desserts to help them hold their shape. It is a tasteless ingredient and is available in both powdered and leaf (sheet) form.

Honey and golden syrup are used to sweeten desserts. Honey should be selected to suit the type of dessert, such as a delicate floral honey to sweeten a panna cotta. Golden syrup is invaluable in rich hot puddings, tarts and sweet sauces.

Milk forms the basis for many desserts, such as ice creams and baked and stirred custards. Always use full-fat milk unless otherwise specified in the recipe. Buttermilk, a cultured milk, adds a subtle acidity to baked desserts and batters such as pancakes.

Oil is mostly used in dessert making to deep-fry or pan-fry. The oils used generally have a mild flavour, such as sunflower, vegetable and light and regular olive oils.

Sugar adds sweetness, flavour, moisture and tenderness. There are several types of sugars and the most widely used in dessert making is white granulated, caster (superfine) or icing (confectioners). Granulated is the most commonly available, but caster sugar, with its fine grains that dissolve quickly, is a better choice for most desserts. Icing sugar is powdered white sugar and is available as pure icing sugar or icing sugar mixture, which has a little cornflour (cornstarch) added to prevent it forming lumps. Brown sugar, sometimes called light or soft brown sugar, is fine, granulated sugar with molasses added to enrich the flavour. Dark brown sugar has even more molasses added. If you want to substitute brown sugar for white, or vice versa, measure out the same weight (grams or ounces), rather than volume (cups).

Vanilla is used in various forms. Natural vanilla extract and vanilla essence are concentrated flavours derived from vanilla beans. Buy pure essence or extract and avoid those labelled with artificial or imitation as they dont contain any real vanilla. Thick vanilla bean paste is also available and offers a convenient way of adding vanilla seeds to desserts. If using vanilla beans, wash and dry the pod thoroughly after use and place it in a container of sugar to subtly flavour it.