Category: Baking

Best Gifts for Foodies

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Grilling, Topic, UsingLeave a comment

Foodie gift ideas range from kitchen tools to spice blends, infused oils, and edible subscriptions and gift packs. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
When I was asked to come up with some categories of gifts for foodies—and ideas to fill them—I didn’t hesitate in saying yes. My work for The Spruce Eats has given me many chances to suggest kitchen-focused gift ideas based on the tools I use every day in my own kitchen. This product roundup let me explore further ideas for specific types of foodies, from cocktail geeks to gardeners.

The piece has just gone live, in time for your last-minute holiday shopping or to keep in mind for upcoming birthdays and graduations. The ideas go beyond tools for the kitchen to include spice blends, infused syrups and oils, lunch kits, and food and beverage subscriptions and gift packs.
Learn choosing gifts for foodies

Choosing Wooden Spoons

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, ToolsLeave a comment

I reach for wooden spoons all of the time; when baking, sturdiness and handle comfort matter most. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
As the holiday baking and gifting season begins, you may want to check out my recent piece for The Spruce Eats. I tested a dozen wooden spoons for the website earlier this year, using each of them to stir multiple batches of cookie dough or quick bread batter, as well as sautés, soups, pasta, and more.

I reach for wooden spoons all of the time in my kitchen, but they probably get the most use when I’m baking. Overall, I found that sturdiness and handle comfort mattered most when mixing doughs, especially dense ones. Some spoons I tested had additional features, like an edge shape that easily scraped down a mixing bowl or a small rubber scraper on the top of the handle that could clear out a measuring cup. A few had a shape that worked best when gripped a certain way to mix dough.
Learn about choosing and using wooden spoons

Late Tomatoes

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Ingredient3 Comments

Late tomatoes never match midsummer fruit, but I treasure them as the season’s final flush. Get tomato recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Tomatoes are the last true summer crop that I grab from the garden. The shift comes as swiftly as the fall back to standard time: one deep temperature swing makes every green fruit still on the vine inedible. Each fall, I follow weather forecasts, gamble on their accuracy, and try to pluck every fully formed tomato before the first killing frost.

Even if I succeed, the reward isn’t the perfectly red, juicy treats I’ve been feasting on all summer. It’s boxes of hard, underripe tomatoes. Some I’ll eat or preserve while green, but most sit for weeks beside my desk, where I watch them gradually ripen.

These tomatoes never match the bright, sweet bite of sun-kissed midsummer fruit, but I treasure them as the season’s final flush. Rather than eating them out of hand, I’ve found that letting them cook slowly, like in this savory pie, maximizes their maturing flavor.
Learn to make Late-Season Tomato Pie and Herb and Cheese Pie Crust

Ginger and Lemon Cupcakes

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Topic4 Comments

These birthday cupcakes were created by an 8-year-old head dessert chef, with me as sous chef. Get cupcake recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I celebrate Twice as Tasty’s birthday every June with special treats and reflections on the past 12 months. But October is a big personal birthday month in my family. My niece Hayley celebrated her 8th birthday last week, and she and her dad made vanilla cupcakes with pink frosting and sprinkles for the occasion. For my birthday this week, Hayley was head dessert chef and I was sous chef, creating a new cupcake recipe inspired by one in American Girl Cupcakes.

If you peruse the Twice as Tasty recipe index, it’s clear that I love ginger desserts. You’ll find recipes for gingerbread pancakes, quick bread, and cookies. I also bake triple-ginger cookies and cake and use ginger in many other sweet and savory recipes. So when Hayley stopped browsing recipes on a page for gingerbread cupcakes, we knew we’d found this year’s Auntie Julie birthday dessert.

Our recipe brings in more ginger and spices, swaps some of the butter out for homemade applesauce, and makes other improvements. Hayley then helped me write the instructions and provided tips and tricks. The results are delicious.
Learn to make Very Ginger Cupcakes and Lemon and Sugar Glaze

Baking with Zucchini

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Topic3 Comments

I’ve improved on one of Mom’s staples for feeding zucchini to kids: chocolate cake. Get zucchini recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I lost all sense of theme in this month’s blog posts, which ranged from grilling tofu, to induction cooking and canning, to pickling eggs. So I might as well round it out with another random topic: baking with zucchini.

People rarely plant zucchini seeds without later bemoaning the endless crop. It’s hard to plant just the two or three hills recommended for a family and even harder to thin each zucchini hill to a single plant. I watched my dad make this mistake every season and then watched my mom as she stared at a kitchen counter hidden under baseball bat-sized zukes, wondering what to do with them all. Yet year after year, I make the same planting mistake, and although I’m diligent about plucking zucchini when they’re about the thickness of an empty paper towel roll, some always get away.

So every year I eat, process, and give away lots of zucchini. But only recently have I returned to, and improved on, one of my mom’s staples for feeding zucchini to kids: Chocolate Zucchini Cake.
Learn to bake with zucchini and make Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Cupcakes and Buttercream

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Topic2 Comments

If your celebratory cupcakes turn out less than picture-perfect, no one will comment when they’re topped with silky buttercream. Get the recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
Although I’ve been blogging all month in celebration of Twice as Tasty’s 5th birthday, I’ve saved the best for last: dessert. I decided this year to share my first cupcake recipe on the blog, with my favorite way to decorate any celebratory cake: buttercream.

I first made this cupcake recipe when my mom turned 75. We were gathering with CRASH, a group of long-time family friends that over the years had grown to three generations and more than 30 people. So for the birthday celebration, my sister and I decided to make 75 cupcakes.
Learn to make Buttery Jam-Filled Cupcakes and Basil Buttercream

More Cakes and Curd

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Refrigerating, Topic3 Comments

Fruit curds dress up any celebration, for breakfast or dessert. Get the recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
I’ve always been a breakfast girl, regardless of the time of day. So when it’s time to celebrate an occasion like Twice as Tasty’s 5th birthday, there’s no reason to save the special treats for an evening dessert.

This post is prefaced “more” because I’ve already shared one of my favorite cakes and curd pairings: Gingerbread Pancakes with Berry Curd. I make this breakfast throughout the year, using fresh berries in summer and frozen ones in winter. But in spring and early summer, I switch up the flavors to use my most prolific early crop: rhubarb. The tangy flavor of rhubarb balances the richness of the egg yolks and butter in the curd. Its tang also pairs well with my favorite childhood pancakes, made light and bright by a scoop of yogurt.
Learn to make Rhubarb Curd and Yogurt Pancakes

Sticking with Sourdough

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic5 Comments

Sourdough baking should fit into your lifestyle and let you build a habit of using it. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Another Twice as Tasty sourdough giveaway is winding down; there are just a few days left to get your starter. This month, I delivered jars of bubbly starter to local bakers and shipped dehydrated starter as far away as Slovenia. People have been sharing their creations of longtime and new Twice as Tasty recipes, including this month’s cracker, cookie, and ciabatta recipes and variations. I’m excited to see what everyone makes in the coming months.

For some of you, just remembering your starter may be the biggest challenge as the year takes off. Sourdough baking should fit into your lifestyle and let you build a habit of using your starter often enough to keep it lively. It may take a few attempts, and I’m always happy to resend starter if you need a fresh try. But a sourdough culture is more resilient than you think. So as life distracts you from baking, you have several options to bring your starter back to life.
Read more about sticking with sourdough

Sourdough Ciabatta & Bread Variations

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic1 Comment

With a handful of easily mastered recipes, including Sourdough Ciabatta, you can make every batch of sourdough look and taste unique. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Long before I got hooked on sourdough, I made yeast-based Italian slipper bread using Patricia Wells’s Trattoria. I used the recipe from the 1993 edition of her book without changes because it is so good.

Once I started into sourdough, I fell for the flavor and texture of long-ferment loaves, and Sourdough Cabin Bread, aka Auntie Julie’s Special Bread, became my go-to recipe. But one day I flipped passed the slipper bread recipe and was inspired to create a version that could use sourdough starter.

Wells describes Italian slipper bread, or ciabatta, as “ideal for those who want great flavor in a hurry.” This sourdough version takes a little more time to build than a yeast loaf but far less than long-ferment doughs that spend hours to days in the fridge. It’s definitely a high-hydration dough: expect it to be wet, sticky, and hard to shape. Your final loaf will look different every time, with lots of holes inside, and will cool and be ready to eat more quickly than denser loaves.
Learn to make Sourdough Ciabatta and bread variations

Sourdough Cookies

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Fermenting, Giveaway, Topic2 Comments

Putting sourdough starter in cookies bumps up against some problems, but you can solve them. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Sourdough cookies, like last week’s sourdough cracker recipe, have two goals: capture some sour flavor and use your starter. Sourdough’s leavening power doesn’t take charge: you’re still relying on baking soda, baking powder, or both to create the cookies’ shape. That puts them in the same category as Sourdough Pancakes, Sourdough Waffles, and quick breads.

But unlike those baked goods, putting sourdough starter in cookies bumps up against some problems. Most cookies have a low hydration level—they have little or no added liquid. The “wet” ingredients they do have usually contain fats, proteins, and other elements that balance the cookie recipe. This week, I focus on things I’ve learned about baking cookies with sourdough and the best recipes to use with your starter.
Learn to make sourdough cookies