A Terrific Website with Terrific Recipes
How cool is it that a common baking ingredient for desserts and pastries just happens to be not only delicious, but good for you, too? I’m talking about coconut.
Besides being high in fiber and protein, coconut is also high in short-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) which are easier for the human body to digest than animal fats. You’ll get plenty of iron, manganese, copper, and magnesium in coconut as well. To top it all off, this wonderful food contains goodly amounts of vitamin C.
This coconut sales pitch is my way of introducing you to the point of my article. I’d like you to meet Eileen Gray, a 30-year pastry chef. She has a TERRIFIC website, www.baking-sense.com, where she shares not just amazing recipes, but all the science around baking you could ever want to know.
And her resources section is one of the best I’ve ever seen. For instance, it was on BAKING SENSE that I learned how to properly prepare my cake pans: Eileen says we should never butter and flour cake pans. Instead, we should use a parchment round on the bottom of the pan. Once the cake is baked, all we need to do is run a small knife or spatula around it and it will come right out.
Eileen explains that leaving the sides of the pan ungreased allows the cake batter to grip the sides of the pan, giving the cake a much better rise. She says also that if you don’t have parchment, all you need to do is butter and flour just pan’s bottom. Running a knife around the pan will release the cake. (I knew about parchment paper on the bottom of the pan, but I did not know the pan’s sides should not be greased!)
I don’t typically deliberately recommend websites (although I quote from them all the time), but this site deserves special attention—especially if you like to bake.
ANYway, bake to coconut. Eileen does marvelous things with coconut. She says this about it: “After 30 years as a pastry chef, I can tell you that no one seems to be neutral about coconut, they either love it or hate it. Me? I’m definitely in the love-it camp. Savory or sweet, I love the taste and texture of coconut. If you're in the love-it camp with me, I've got a great recipe collection for you to peruse.”
“Great” collection is an understatement. I’ll close with one recipe from her collection, and sincere encouragement to visit www.baking-sense.com as soon as you can. You won’t be disappointed.
(BTW, I get no benefit from you visiting her site. I don’t know her personally and am in no way affiliated with her. I just like to pass on good news, and for all you avid bakers out there, Eileen is definitely good news!)
SHORTBREAD
1 cup unsalted butter room temperatures (see note *)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
COCONUT SUGAR
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon coconut flour
Directions:
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Besides being high in fiber and protein, coconut is also high in short-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) which are easier for the human body to digest than animal fats. You’ll get plenty of iron, manganese, copper, and magnesium in coconut as well. To top it all off, this wonderful food contains goodly amounts of vitamin C.
This coconut sales pitch is my way of introducing you to the point of my article. I’d like you to meet Eileen Gray, a 30-year pastry chef. She has a TERRIFIC website, www.baking-sense.com, where she shares not just amazing recipes, but all the science around baking you could ever want to know.
And her resources section is one of the best I’ve ever seen. For instance, it was on BAKING SENSE that I learned how to properly prepare my cake pans: Eileen says we should never butter and flour cake pans. Instead, we should use a parchment round on the bottom of the pan. Once the cake is baked, all we need to do is run a small knife or spatula around it and it will come right out.
Eileen explains that leaving the sides of the pan ungreased allows the cake batter to grip the sides of the pan, giving the cake a much better rise. She says also that if you don’t have parchment, all you need to do is butter and flour just pan’s bottom. Running a knife around the pan will release the cake. (I knew about parchment paper on the bottom of the pan, but I did not know the pan’s sides should not be greased!)
I don’t typically deliberately recommend websites (although I quote from them all the time), but this site deserves special attention—especially if you like to bake.
ANYway, bake to coconut. Eileen does marvelous things with coconut. She says this about it: “After 30 years as a pastry chef, I can tell you that no one seems to be neutral about coconut, they either love it or hate it. Me? I’m definitely in the love-it camp. Savory or sweet, I love the taste and texture of coconut. If you're in the love-it camp with me, I've got a great recipe collection for you to peruse.”
“Great” collection is an understatement. I’ll close with one recipe from her collection, and sincere encouragement to visit www.baking-sense.com as soon as you can. You won’t be disappointed.
(BTW, I get no benefit from you visiting her site. I don’t know her personally and am in no way affiliated with her. I just like to pass on good news, and for all you avid bakers out there, Eileen is definitely good news!)
Coconut Shortbread
Ingredients:
SHORTBREAD
1 cup unsalted butter room temperatures (see note *)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
COCONUT SUGAR
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon coconut flour
Directions:
Combine the butter, sugar and salt in a mixer bowl and beat until softened and combined, do not aerate. Add the coconut flour and mix to combine. Add the flour. Mix until a dough comes together.
To make square cookies: On a sheet of parchment paper pat the dough to a small square. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll to a 10"x 10" square. Use the straight edge of a ruler or a bench scraper to square off the edges. Slide the paper on to a sheet pan and chill for 30 minutes. (At this stage the dough can be wrapped frozen for later use).
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F.
To make "petticoat tail" cookies: On a sheet of parchment paper pat the dough to a small disc. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll to a 10 round. Use your fingers or a fork to crimp the edges of the round. Use a long knife to score the round into 16 wedges, do not slice all the way through the dough. Poke each wedge with a fork 3x. Slide the paper on to a sheet pan and chill for 30 minutes. (At this stage the dough can be wrapped and frozen for later use). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F.
While the dough is chilling, combine the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon coconut flour in a small bowl.
For square cookies: Remove the pan from the refrigerator and slide the paper with the dough off the pan. Use a pizza cutter or paring knife to cut the dough into twenty five 2" x 2" squares. Slide the dough with the cookies back onto the sheet pan and space them out evenly. Poke each cookie 3x with a fork. Sprinkle the cookies with the coconut sugar, reserving a couple of tablespoons to add after baking.
For petticoat tails: Remove the pan from the refrigerator and sprinkle the cookies with the coconut sugar, reserving a couple of tablespoons to add after baking.
Bake the cookies until the center is set and the edges are lightly browned, about 10-20 minutes (shorter for square cookies, longer for petticoat tails). If you're oven bakes unevenly, rotate the tray halfway through baking. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle them with a light coating of the reserved coconut sugar. For the petticoat tails allow the round to cool completely then use a long knife to cut along the scored lines.
NOTES
*The butter should be pliable and slightly cool, not greasy or melty.
To make square cookies: On a sheet of parchment paper pat the dough to a small square. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll to a 10"x 10" square. Use the straight edge of a ruler or a bench scraper to square off the edges. Slide the paper on to a sheet pan and chill for 30 minutes. (At this stage the dough can be wrapped frozen for later use).
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F.
To make "petticoat tail" cookies: On a sheet of parchment paper pat the dough to a small disc. Lightly flour the top of the dough and roll to a 10 round. Use your fingers or a fork to crimp the edges of the round. Use a long knife to score the round into 16 wedges, do not slice all the way through the dough. Poke each wedge with a fork 3x. Slide the paper on to a sheet pan and chill for 30 minutes. (At this stage the dough can be wrapped and frozen for later use). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325°F.
While the dough is chilling, combine the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon coconut flour in a small bowl.
For square cookies: Remove the pan from the refrigerator and slide the paper with the dough off the pan. Use a pizza cutter or paring knife to cut the dough into twenty five 2" x 2" squares. Slide the dough with the cookies back onto the sheet pan and space them out evenly. Poke each cookie 3x with a fork. Sprinkle the cookies with the coconut sugar, reserving a couple of tablespoons to add after baking.
For petticoat tails: Remove the pan from the refrigerator and sprinkle the cookies with the coconut sugar, reserving a couple of tablespoons to add after baking.
Bake the cookies until the center is set and the edges are lightly browned, about 10-20 minutes (shorter for square cookies, longer for petticoat tails). If you're oven bakes unevenly, rotate the tray halfway through baking. As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle them with a light coating of the reserved coconut sugar. For the petticoat tails allow the round to cool completely then use a long knife to cut along the scored lines.
NOTES
*The butter should be pliable and slightly cool, not greasy or melty.
Recipe formatted with the Cook'n Recipe Software from DVO Enterprises.
Alice Osborne
Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2006
Email the author! alice@dvo.com
