Tag: The Word on Baking

Apple Pie From Scratch

By Svara Jayasinghe

This weekend I decided to bake apple pie from scratch, using a recipe off the Buzzfeed app Tasty. There is a video showing someone making the pie along with step by step instruction. The pie itself is fairly simple to make, but there are some things I changed around. First off, on step 5 where you peel and cut your apples, I suggest after slicing them into normal sized pieces, to slice them into even smaller pieces. This makes it easier to put the apples in the pie. I also put 1/4 of a teaspoon of salt in the pie instead of 1/2 of a teaspoon in the apple mixture, because most recipes tend to use too much salt. I would recommend doing 1/4 of a teaspoon instead of 1/2 of a teaspoon, so the salt doesn’t create a weird taste in the pie. In addition to that, I only put half of the amount of nutmeg listed on the recipe in the apples. This is because nutmeg is really overpowering, and if you put too much, it could ruin the taste of the pie.

The pie turned out amazing! The crust was not too crunchy, but not so soft that it was falling apart. At first, I was a little skeptical about the way the apples would turn out, but they were absolutely delicious! Without a doubt, I am going to make this apple pie again, and I recommend you try it out too! Here is the link to the recipe:

https://tasty.co/recipe/apple-pie-from-scratch

Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

By Svara Jayasinghe

This weekend, I baked cinnamon rolls from scratch, using the Best Homemade Cinnamon Rolls Recipe by Laura from JoyFoodSunshine. These are a bit complicated to make, and take several hours, but the results are definitely worth it! The recipe includes all the ingredients, how much of each ingredient you will need, and step by step instruction. Although the recipe does have some helpful tips, here are some suggestions of my own. If you don’t have a standing mixer, and are using a hand-held electric mixer, make sure you have a wooden spoon and/or spatula nearby. As the dough gets thicker, it will get stuck in the beaters, so after the dough reaches a certain consistency, make sure to switch from the electric mixer, to using a spoon and/or spatula. Another important tip is to be careful not to put too much flour in your dough. Putting too much flour in your dough will result in your cinnamon rolls turning out extremely dry and crumbly. When making the dough, stick to the recommended amount on the recipe. If the flour is too sticky, carefully add a little bit of flour and continue to knead the dough until it is smooth and only slightly sticky. In the scenario that you do add too much flour, just put the dough in the freezer for about 5 minutes, so the dough can gain moisture.

For me, the cinnamon rolls turned out almost perfectly. The dough was perfectly baked, the cream cheese frosting was just the right amount of sweet, and there was the perfect amount of cinnamon. Baking these cinnamon rolls was a fun experience, and I recommend trying it. Here is the link to the recipe:

https://joyfoodsunshine.com/cinnamon-rolls-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-13774

Magnolia Table Chocolate Chip Cookies

By Svara Jayasinghe

Picture by the Jayasinghe Family

Last weekend, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies from scratch, using the Magnolia Table Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe by Joanna Gaines. The recipe is fairly simple, but I do have a few tips that can help. If you are using a hand-held electric mixer instead of a standing mixer, when you are mixing the flour mixture with the mixture from step 3, make sure you put small amounts of the flour mixture at a time, so flour doesn’t fly everywhere. Another tip is, when the dough is getting thicker, you might want to switch from using a hand mixer, to using a wooden spoon or spatula. This is because when you add more ingredients and the dough gets thicker, it will easily get stuck in the beaters of the mixer, so using a spoon or spatula would be much easier. Do the same when you add in the chocolate chips. If your dough is a little too thick, and not close to being light and fluffy, try adding another egg, or even adding a little bit more butter to the dough.

For me, the cookies turned out amazingly well. They were gooey, chocolate-y, a little bit crunchy on the edges, but were extremely soft towards, and in the middle of the cookie. I had a bunch of fun making these cookies, and I’m 100 percent going to make these cookies again. The recipe is straightforward and easy, and I definitely recommend making these cookies. Here is the link to the recipe:

https://www.thekitchn.com/joanna-gaines-chocolate-chip-cookies-recipe-257520

Classic Mint Chocolate Brownies

By Svara Jayasinghe

The mint chocolate brownies

This past weekend my sisters and I decided to bake. Kiran made tiramisu, Simran made a cheesecake, and I decided to make mint chocolate brownies. I made the brownies with Ghirardelli brownie mix and then made mint frosting and chocolate ganache by following a recipe which is linked down below. If you are a more advanced baker you can make the brownies from scratch (the instructions are included in the recipe.) The mint frosting is very thin, and the instructions on the recipe doesn’t make a lot of frosting, so if you would like a lot of mint frosting on your brownies make sure to double the amount. The frosting and ganache are easy to make, so even if you are new to baking, this is very simple. Overall the brownies turned out pretty good. The mint added freshness to the brownies, and since the mint frosting was extremely strong, the chocolate ganache balanced out the mint to chocolate ratio. My family tried out the brownies and really liked it. It’s super fun and easy to make, and you should definitely try baking it during quarantine. (Kiran’s tiramisu and Simran’s cheesecake turned out good too, but they were obviously not as good as my brownies😂).

https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/classic-mint-chocolate-brownies/