Category Archives: baking

Changing A Recipe

by Mirabaking, fats and oil, grains, holidays, questions, recipes, substitutions, sweetenersingredients, recipe, swap

For many people learning to cook is a fun activity; often it's something you learn when you're growing up. In the beginning you learn by simply following the recipes. That's why baking is sometimes equated to science, it has to do with the exactness of the recipes. That science-type focus can make it difficult to understand what to do when it comes to changing a recipe though.

Why do you need to know how to change your recipes? Maybe you've run out of certain ingredients, or, need to make dietary changes to your recipe. Making these substitutions is not always easy and actually can be somewhat challenging. You need to understand the differences between ingredients, which can be subtle and often requires trial and error.

Below are some guidelines to help you get started when it comes to switching up your ingredients.

Baking soda or baking powder?

Before we get into the substitutions I feel it's important to clarify the difference between baking soda and baking powder. A lot of people think they're interchangeable. They can be but you need to be aware of how they each function in order to know if the substitution will work. Some recipes may call for both while other recipes may call for just one of them.

Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate, requires acidity plus heat in order to create the rising action. However, this means that when you're using baking soda you need to be able to pop the recipe into the oven as soon as possible after mixing to take maximum advantage of the rising ability.

Baking powder, on the other hand, is essentially baking soda pre-mixed with an acidifying agent such as cream of tartar plus a drying agent, or starch, of some kind. Single-acting baking powder becomes active immediately after it is mixed with liquid. So the batter does need to be put into the oven as soon as possible.

Double-acting baking powder has a split reaction, partly when the liquid is added, and then a second reaction when the batter is exposed to heat in the oven. Because of this, recipes using double-acting baking powder can be held aside for a short while before you bake them.

Baking powder can be a good substitute for baking soda. If you only have baking soda and need baking powder you'll need to add 2 parts cream of tartar to 1 part baking soda; as an example, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar plus ½ teaspoon baking soda creates the correct ratio.

Substitutions

I've made some great doorstops/hockey pucks in my time by switching everything in a recipe and not understanding where or how I needed to make further changes. Keeping notes along the way is important. It can help you understand the evolution of your recipe and help prevent those inedible disasters.

I will share from personal experience that if you try to change everything at once you may find that you get an unpleasant result, so be careful when swapping. I usually change the flour first, then the fat, then the sugar.

Sugars

1 cup of sugar → substitute 1 cup of applesauce

You'll need to reduce the liquid in the recipe by ¼ cup – good for cookies, muffins, and quickbreads

2 Tablespoons sugar → ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Good for any baked goods, up to 4 tablespoons of sugar

1 cup sugar → 2 Tablespoons stevia powder or 1 teaspoon liquid stevia

The recipe may need further modification to make up for the loss of the volume of sugar

Flour/Starch

7/8 cup white flour → 1 cup whole wheat flour

You may need to let the batter sit for a few minutes to allow the extra fiber to absorb some of the liquid in the recipe

1 cup white flour → 1 cup mashed black beans

Wonderful in brownies

1 cup white flour → 1 cup nut flour + ½ teaspoon baking soda or baking powder

1 cup white flour → 1/3 cup coconut flour + 1 egg + a splash of water

Good for pancakes, cookies, and cake

1 cup white flour → 1 cup gluten-free flour blend

Depending on the recipe you may need to add tapioca starch or xanthan gum to make up for the loss of gluten

Fat and Dairy

1/2 cup oil or butter → ½ cup applesauce

Good for muffins or quick breads

1 cup butter → ¾ cup prunes + ¼ cup boiling water blended together

Good for brownies and other chocolate-flavored baked goods

1 Tablespoon butter → 3 Tablespoons ground flax seeds + 1 Tablespoons water

Let the mixture sit for 8-10 minutes to thicken before adding to the batter

1 cup oil or butter → 1 cup mashed banana

Good in brownies, muffins, or cookies

1 cup buttermilk or kefir → 1 cup whole milk + 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Let the mixture sit for at least 5 minutes to sour

1 cup milk → ½ cup evaporated milk + ½ cup water blended together

If you need a slightly thicker consistency you can use a little more evaporated milk and a little less water

Eggs

The video below is a great resource for how to make substitutions for eggs.

The Power Of Mesquite And Hawthorn: Ancient Foods For Modern Health

by Mirabaking, gluten free, legumes, protein, questions, sweetenerscarob

Mesquite Flour

My friend Misty recently asked me, “What do you know about mesquite flour?” Mesquite (genus Prosopis) is a deciduous, leguminous tree that thrives in Texas and Mexico, extending as far north as Kansas and westward to Southern California. While many use the wood to impart a flavorful smoke to barbecued meats, mesquite also serves another purpose.

Before moving to Texas, I had heard of people using mesquite flour, which is high in protein and fiber, and was originally part of the Native American diet among Southwestern tribes. Further research revealed that mesquite flour boasts a favorable nutritional profile, rich in calcium, manganese, iron, zinc, and the amino acid lysine. Its high soluble fiber content and low glycemic index make it a potentially good option for diabetics, despite its reported sweet flavor.

Traditionally consumed by the Pima Indians, mesquite flour’s decline in their diet is linked to a rise in diabetes cases among them. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested that the slow digestion and absorption of starch in traditional foods helped protect susceptible populations from diabetes. These foods included corn, lima beans, white and yellow teparies, mesquite, and acorns. Additionally, an ethnobotanical study highlighted in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology noted mesquite's potential for diabetes treatment.

Given its leguminous nature, mesquite flour lacks gluten, making it suitable for quick breads, cakes, muffins, and cookies rather than yeasted bread. Moreover, the flowers of the mesquite tree are attractive to bees, leading to the production of flavorful mesquite honey, which you can find online along with recipes for using mesquite flour. It seems somewhat similar to another legume flour, carob, which I’ve discussed previously; both are sweet, high in fiber, and provide good protein content.

Hawthorn for Health

In another inquiry, Karen asked, “What do you think about using hawthorn berries to help prevent the flu?” While I’m not an herbalist, I did some digging and can share my insights.

Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) is a small tree or shrub predominantly found in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Often grown as a hedge, its leaves are edible in salads, and the fruits (berries, known as haws) are commonly used in jams, jellies, syrups, or to flavor brandy for liqueur. Hawthorn’s herbal properties are known to be cardiac, astringent, and diuretic, with the blossoms and berries being the most utilized parts. It’s primarily effective for lowering high blood pressure, aiding diarrhea, and promoting cardiac health. However, I could not find specific information on using hawthorn berries or their powder as a flu preventative.

To avoid the flu, the best methods remain the obvious ones: wash your hands frequently with soap (especially monitoring small kids who may skip the soap), avoid contact with anyone infected, and consume immune-boosting foods like garlic, ginger, cayenne, and vitamin C.

As an interesting side note, I learned that the oldest known hawthorn, the Hethel Old Thorn, is reputed to be over 700 years old and is located in Norfolk, East Anglia, United Kingdom.

Gluten-Free Coconut Almond Cookie

by Mirabaking, gluten free, nuts, questions, recipescookies

My friend Helene recently shared a wonderful gluten-free cookie recipe with me. She said it was so fabulous that she was going to have to freeze the cookies, otherwise she was afraid she might eat them all. Frozen cookies have never stopped me, sometimes they are even better that way.

While we were talking Helene also asked if there were any eggs in shortbread. The answer is no.

Shortbread is a particular type of cookie that has a 1-2-3 recipe. One part sweetener (usually sugar), two parts butter (or other shortening), three parts flour (although old-fashioned shortbread was and is made with oats) and then enhanced with flavorings and or spices. The "short" refers to the crumbly dough. Fat retards gluten so even if you used wheat flour, the high amount of fat would prevent the dough from forming long gluten strands.

Helene's Coconut Almond Cookies:

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Ingredients

1 c. coconut Flour
1 1/2 c. Almond Meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. butter
1/4 c. honey
1 Tbsp Almond Extract

Instructions

Mix the dough together in a cuisinart until a ball forms
Freeze dough for approximately 30 mins
Preheat oven to 350 deg F
Roll dough between two sheets of was paper
Cut cookies using a cookie or biscuit cutter
Bake for 7 mins, remove to wire rack to cool

Shortbread cookies are typically baked low and slow so they will be very light in color. They can be formed in long rectangles, also called fingers, large circles which are cut into triangles as soon as they are removed from the oven, or small round biscuits. Although most people think of them as Christmas cookies, shortbread can also be made savory (such as this Parmesan Shortbread from Epicurious).

Rainy Day Muffins: A Delightful Cinnamon Raisin Recipe

by Mirabaking, grains, nuts, recipescinnamon, muffin

I'm happy but sad.

Happy, yes I am, mostly because I am sitting here eating this delicious muffin. Sad, yup, that too, because I'm not sure I'll be able to replicate it.

It's raining here today...for the third day in a row. Big bolts of lightning, huge crashes of thunder and a torrential downpour. Enough to make me decide that I needed some muffins and a cup of tea to cheer myself up.

Not sure what kind of muffin I wanted I decided to rummage and see what we had. Leftover flours in the freezer, millet, corn, oat and wheat yielded just enough flour to feel "muffin-y." I had some applesauce, a few raisins, some pecans, mixed those together with a couple of glugs of oil, an egg, cinnamon, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, salt and voila! It tastes scrumptious. I just wish I had remembered to measure before I started throwing things into the bowl.

But the important thing to remember here is to be creative with your food. If you have a little of this, a little of that try it, you'll never know but you may find a new favorite. If you start with good ingredients you'll usually end up with a pretty successful result. I think part of what makes this creation so successful is that it is basically a cinnamon raisin muffin with pecans but the balance of the different flours is what makes it special. A previous family favorite of greens and beans was also a "smattering" recipe it came about because I had a lot of little bits of leftovers.

To the best of my remembering (in other words guesstimating amounts) here is the recipe.

Cozy Cinnamon Raisin Muffins with a Nutty Twist

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Ingredients

3 C. *King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure
1 C. applesauce
1/3 C. avocado oil
3/4 C. sucanat
1 t. vanilla
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 C. pecans - crushed
1 C. raisins
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1 egg

Instructions

Mix all ingredients together
Spoon into greased muffin tin
Bake 375 F for 15-18 minutes
Rest 2 minutes in tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!

Notes

*King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure

PS: My friend Mary who stopped by for tea tells me that these are "Yum yum yum!" hope you enjoy them too

Pear Delights: Experimenting With A Torte And A Galette

by Mirabaking, recipesgalette, pear, phyllo

The other day, my friend Teresa generously gave me a bag of home-grown pears. They looked delicious. "Eat them right away," she said, "you want to eat them while they are still firm."

Pears are a great fruit—very high in fiber, a good source of vitamin C, and they also provide dietary copper. Copper is an antioxidant required by the body for good health, aiding in iron processing. Fairly low in calories, a medium-sized pear has around 70 calories, making them a great snack choice.

Initially, I thought of canning the pears since firm pears hold up the best to the heat of canning. Or perhaps making pear butter. But in the end, I decided to make a torte for dessert. The flavor and sweetness were balanced, and the pears were just right—firm and not too mushy. However, the torte turned out too dense and a little dry. It definitely could have used a sauce to help out. My husband’s response was, "it needs some ice cream."

If I make this recipe again with regular pears, I’d consider a few changes—possibly adding applesauce to moisten it up, soaking the flour in a small measure of apple juice to soften the fiber, or adding a little more fat. I’m not sure, but it’s clear that getting it just right on the first try isn’t always easy. Keep playing with it, and enjoy the process and the results.

A few days later, I found myself with some extra phyllo dough and more perfectly ripe pears, which inspired another dessert. I must admit that I’m not very good at making pie crusts, so I rarely make two-crust pies. Besides the obvious increase in calories, there's also the need to roll out two crusts.

As I looked at the pears, I realized that phyllo might make an excellent flaky “crust,” allowing me to make a galette-style tart instead.

According to the Food Dictionary at Epicurious, a galette is: "Hailing from France, a galette is a round, rather flat cake made of flaky-pastry dough, yeast dough, or sometimes unleavened dough. The term also applies to a variety of tarts, both savory and sweet, with as many variations as there are French regions." My galette turned out even better than I imagined, and it’s something I will definitely make again.

Phyllo Pear Galette

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Ingredients

8-10 sheets thawed *gluten-free puff pastry
1/4 C. butter melted
3 medium pears, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/4 C. raisins
1/4 C. sucanat
1 T. lemon juice
2 t. lemon zest
1 t. cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F
Mix pears, raisins, sucanat, lemon juice, zest. and cinnamon together and set aside
Working one layer at a time brush the bottom of a pie dish with butter and layer in one sheet of phyllo
Brushing butter on each sheet layer them one at a time into the pie dish using damp paper towels to keep the edges moist
Arrange pear mixture in the dish
Fold the edges of the phyllo over the mixture
Brush top edges with butter
Bake 30 minutes

Notes

*gluten free puff pastry

Simple Pear Torte

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Ingredients

3 pears
2 eggs
1/4 C. milk
1/2 t. salt
1 C. Organic Cane Juice Crystals
1 1/2 C. *King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 deg F
Peel, core, and slice pears
Mix together eggs, milk, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and organic cane juice crystals
Add flour and mix well
gently mix in pears
Grease a 9" cake pan
Coat the pan with sucanat
Pour torte mixture into pan
Bake 30-35 minutes or until done
Enjoy!

Notes

*King Arthur Gluten Free Measure for Measure

Optional: serve with vanilla ice cream

Maple Syrup: How Is It Made, Grades, & Oat Pie Recipe

by Mirabaking, oats, recipes, sweeteners

Recently at the grocery store, I overheard a conversation. The couple standing in the middle of the aisle were looking for Grade B maple syrup and couldn't find it. They also were wondering what the heck the difference was between Grade A and Grade B.

Having lived in Vermont before and having spent some time in a sugar shack (just tasting mind you, not cooking) I thought I would share a little information about maple syrup.

About Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is made from the sap of the sugar maple tree. In the spring when the weather warms up the sap starts "running". At this point, the trees are tapped and the sugar shacks start boiling to create the syrup. We don't often think about it when buying those small containers of maple syrup at the grocery store, but it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. And the average maple tree produces approximately 10 gallons of sap. Once they start boiling in the sugar shack they don't stop until the sap stops. That includes shifts to cover 24 hours a day until there's no more to boil. As you can imagine, this can make for some very long days.

Grades of Maple Syrup

There are five grades of maple syrup, Grade A Light Amber is the fancy grade and the one most people use. Grade A Medium Amber and Grade A Dark Amber are darker, obviously and they have a slightly different taste. Grade B is even darker and thicker than Grade A Dark Amber and has a more pronounced flavor. It is more often used for cooking because of the more intense flavor. The last grade is Grade C, or commercial, which is for flavorings and other commercial uses.

When we lived in Vermont and my kids were little they used to love seeing the smoke curling out of the sugar shack down the road. That meant that there was an opportunity to stop by for a sip. And if they had the time we could also sometimes make sugar on snow, taking just a little of the fresh syrup and pouring it over a pan of snow to make a maple candy.

If there was some already bottled we would buy a gallon and bring it home. Until I left Vermont I didn't really appreciate how lovely it was to buy syrup directly from the source and use it for baking and other recipes. The premium that you pay for bottle syrup is so high we are now back to purchasing small bottles and doling it out.

According to Ed, the guy who owned the sugar shack down the way, Vermont maple syrup is better than any other because they use more gallons of sap per gallon of finished product, boiling it thicker and making it more flavorful.

Sweetening with Syrup

I never learned to drink coffee with maple syrup (which a number of people in Vermont do). I did, however, get a recipe from my friend Carol for a Maple Oat Pie which is a Vermont specialty. I've modified the recipe slightly over the years but still call it Carol's Maple Oat Pie and think of her every time I make it (warning, this is not a low-calorie food but it sure is good).

Maple Oat Pie

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Ingredients

1 cup organic cane juice crystals
1 cup organic butter
3 eggs
1 cup grade A maple syrup
1 cup gluten free old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of sea salt
1 cup crushed walnuts

Instructions

Preheat over to 325°F
Cream together sugar and butter
Add eggs one at a time
Add remaining ingredients
Pour mixture into unbaked 9" gluten free pie crust
Bake for 10 minutes
Reduce heat to 300°F and bake another 45 minutes or until set

Baking Subtitutions

by Mirabaking, oats, recipes, substitutionsbaking, substitution

I love to bake; I've been baking for decades and have made a wide assortment of baked goods for family, friends, fundraisers, and more. As a baker, one thing you quickly learn is the need to be able to make substitutions if you don't have what you need on hand. This is a list of my favorite baking swaps. I encourage you to print this out and either keep it in a binder or tape it to the inside of your baking cupboard so you always have it handy.

Note: The chart below assumes ingredients are organic, whole fat, or best quality as needed.

Ingredient Substitutions

Ingredient	Amount	Substitution
Arrowroot Powder	1 Tbsp	1 Tbsp flour or cornstarch
Baking Powder	1 tsp	1/2 tsp cream of tartar + 1/4 tsp baking soda
Baking Soda	1/2 tsp	2 tsp baking powder
Brown Sugar	1 cup	Light - 1 cup sugar + 1 Tbsp molasses Dark - 1 cup sugar + 2 Tbsp molasses
Butter	1/2 cup	1/4 cup applesauce or Greek yogurt 1/3 cup + 2 tsp pumpkin puree
Buttermilk	1 cup	1 cup milk + 1 Tbsp vinegar (let sit 5 minutes)
Cream Cheese	8 oz	8 oz ricotta
Cream of Tartar	1/4 tsp	1/2 tsp lemon juice
Egg	1	1 Tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 Tbsp hot water 2 Tbsp arrowroot + 3 Tbsp hot water 3 Tbsp aquafaba 1/4 cup applesauce or mashed banana or yogurt
Half and Half	1 cup	1 Tbsp melted butter + 1 cup milk
Honey	1 Tbsp	1 Tbsp maple syrup or molasses or golden syrup or silan (date syrup)
Lemon Juice	1 tsp	1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Mayonnaise	1 cup	1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
Milk	1 cup	1 cup alternative milk 3/4 cup heavy cream + 1/4 cup water
Olive Oil	1 cup	1 cup avocado oil or coconut oil or melted butter

If you find yourself regularly making substitutions to recipes you use often I encourage you to write directly in the cookbook or on the recipe card so you always have the needed substitutions available.

Don't forget to also grab a copy of my free Kitchen Conversions handout!