Baking & Desserts Answers

Working with store-bought puff pastry

If puff pastry has been thawed in the refrigerator and left there for 2-3 days, can it still be used? Will I get the same results as if I had let the puff pa...

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Troubleshooting a brownie recipe

Lately, after baking brownies I notice craters or indentations on the bottoms. I can't figure out why this is happening. Should I try tapping the pan on a co...

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What is almond flour?

I have come across a few recipes that call for almond flour and have not been able to find any reference to the making of it anywhere. Can you please help?

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Why sugar syrup seizes up

I was making a caramel sauce for filling in cookies and used only about 3 tablespoons of water with sugar. Anyway, the liquid never turned "amber" until afte...

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Using fruit sweeteners in recipes

I downloaded a recipe from the ( , ) cookbook by Janice Feuer for Our Famous Cinnamon Rolls. Each element of the recipe calls for fruit sweetener which I hav...

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Pumpkin pie without the crust

I would like to make pumpkin pie filling without it being in a pie shell. Is it possible to do this and if so, how do I do it?

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Sugarless fudge

My husband and I do not like using or eating refined white sugar. Do you have any suggestions for making fudge using honey or maple sugar? Any recipes would ...

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Making bread chewier

I would like to know how I can make my homemade breads very chewy. I use bread flour from the supermarket. Is there a better flour to use that will help?

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Making Dobos Torte

Dobos Torte, a famous Hungarian cake, should be made with a special baking pan, multi-layered, so as to bake the 7 or 8 layers at the same time. Where can I ...

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Measuring superfine sugar

Do you use the same amount of superfine sugar as you do regular sugar? This may sound kind of stupid, but I've never used superfine sugar before!

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Kneading pizza dough

I've tried to make pizza dough and I just can't make it nice and smooth. It's always sticky. Sometime it doesn't even rise.

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Lining a pan with parchment paper

A recipe for a cheesecake instructs one to, "Grease, lightly flour and line the bottom of an 8- inch springform pan." My question is this: what do you line t...

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Jazzing up a boxed cake mix

Can I add unsweetened cocoa to a store-bought white cake mix to make chocolate cake mix? And how much cocoa would I add?

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Is my yeast alive?

How do you know for sure that yeast is active? Does it have to bubble???

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Creaming butter for cookies

Consumer Reports once did an article on the Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie, with their own tested recipe. I tried it and sure enough, it was the best I'd ever...

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Cleanly cutting pies & cakes

I have a hard time cutting lemon pie with my butcher knife; it always sticks to my knife. Is there a trick to it so I will not pull all the meringue apart? A...

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Creaming butter

I never had trouble creaming butter until last night; it just wouldn't cream. The recipe called for 3 Tbsp. of butter and 1-1/2 cups of sugar. I thought it w...

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