Chaos Cooks

[chao$]

Baking is MUCH more measurement sensitive than cooking. I don't measure anything when I'm cooking, I just add until I have a flavor I like, but when baking, you have to either be precise to the recipe, or understand baking enough to know how to alter the recipe, which most people don't.

To improve on a recipe you have to be able to repeat it consistently. That means measuring in grams and keeping records. I keep cutting back on sugar and butter until they can't be cut any more without ruining the recipe.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Baking is MUCH more measurement sensitive than cooking. I don't measure anything when I'm cooking, I just add until I have a flavor I like, but when baking, you have to either be precise to the recipe, or understand baking enough to know how to alter the recipe, which most people don't.

To improve on a recipe you have to be able to repeat it consistently. That means measuring in grams and keeping records. I keep cutting back on sugar and butter until they can't be cut any more without ruining the recipe.

I don't bake enough to do that. Now cooking, I cook enough that I don't use measurements, or even recipes really. I just add how much of what I think will taste good in something.

When I DO bake, I follow the recipe.

 

[chao$]

I don't bake enough to do that. Now cooking, I cook enough that I don't use measurements, or even recipes really. I just add how much of what I think will taste good in something.

When I DO bake, I follow the recipe.

It would take 3 pages to post a recipe for my homemade lasagna, pizza, or calzone, because I make my pasta, bread and sauce from scratch. Sometimes I make my own cheese and grind a fresh sausage blend. I know the odds of anyone trying any of my recipes is slim to none but you should try my banana walnut cake at your restaurant.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

I don't bake enough to do that. Now cooking, I cook enough that I don't use measurements, or even recipes really. I just add how much of what I think will taste good in something.

When I DO bake, I follow the recipe.

It would take 3 pages to post a recipe for my homemade lasagna, pizza, or calzone, because I make my pasta, bread and sauce from scratch. Sometimes I make my own cheese and grind a fresh sausage blend. I know the odds of anyone trying any of my recipes is slim to none but you should try my banana walnut cake at your restaurant.

As I've said before, I don't have to do with the recipes or menu decisions at our restaurant.

We have an executive chef, and trust her to make those decisions.

Occasionally we'll "recommend" a menu change or such, but it's pretty rare, we hired a pro, and let her do her job.

She hired a pastry chef who's pretty good too. The cheesecake ...........................

 

[chao$]

She hired a pastry chef who's pretty good too. The cheesecake ...........................

No offense to your pastry chef, Boo Boo, but I stumbled on my banana walnut cake by accident long before your pastry chef was born, and long before Al Gore invented the internet. I was young and dumb and wanted to make a pound cake. The only problem was I didn't have any butter but saw some bananas rotting in the trash. I throw a dozen eggs, some sugar and the rotting bananas in the mixer, turned it on and walked away. When I got back it looked ready for some flour. All we had was a pizza oven so that's where I baked my butterless pond cake. To everyone's surprise the darn thing was edible. I improved on it over the years but I still don't add the butter.

Plus Japanese cheesecake is nothing like American (New York) cheesecake.

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

She hired a pastry chef who's pretty good too. The cheesecake ...........................

No offense to your pastry chef, Boo Boo, but I stumbled on my banana walnut cake by accident long before your pastry chef was born, and long before Al Gore invented the internet. I was young and dumb and wanted to make a pound cake. The only problem was I didn't have any butter but saw some bananas rotting in the trash. I throw a dozen eggs, some sugar and the rotting bananas in the mixer, turned it on and walked away. When I got back it looked ready for some flour. All we had was a pizza oven so that's where I baked my butterless pond cake. To everyone's surprise the darn thing was edible. I improved on it over the years but I still don't add the butter.

Plus Japanese cheesecake is nothing like American (New York) cheesecake.

I hope you don't really think you could offend me over something like that LOL

And I usually use box cakes at home on the rare occasion that I DO make them, I'm just not that into baking.

And when I do , I've taken to replacing the eggs and oil with a can of soda.

Yes, that works , diet , caffeine free, whtatever you have. It works great, plus you can add a level of flavor this way. Seven Up in a lemon cake, for instance.

 

[koshergrl]

Well did a longer cooking time keep the cake from falling???

 

[chao$]

Well did a longer cooking time keep the cake from falling???

Yes, thank you. A lot better than last time. I like this Japanese style cheesecake so much more than American pie/cheesecake.

 

[koshergrl]

I always underestimate bake times when I'm winging it. I've had as many cakes fall as not lol. My zucchini bread this am fell just a weensie bit because instead of just sitting on top of it for the last ten min I HAD to open the oven and touch the top....