Figuring out if a cake is really baked all the way is a challenge. Recipes give an oven temperature and a range of time. Recipes might indicate using a toothpick to test if the cake is done. Depending on the cake the place to test might be the center or for brownies halfway between center and sides. Others recommend touching the middle of the cake to see if it bounces back. Cheesecakes talk about the jiggle test, if the center jiggles a bit its done.
For the toothpick test one challenge is how many crumbs are ok? What constituents a proper jiggle?
Recently I have been baking French Apple Cake several times, a recipe I got from Cook’s Illustrated. It recommended the toothpick test. Using that test I got no crumbs and took the cake out. Turned out it was a fair bit short of being baked all the way. The cake has a ton of apples and depending on where the toothpick goes in it will come out without crumbs long before it is done.
So of course, I had to find a way to objectively determine when a cake is done. Several websites recommend using an instant read thermometer to test when the cake is done. This turned out to be exactly what was needed for my French Apple Cake. Baking it until the center reached 205 F is the sweet spot where the cake is baked but isn’t starting to dry out.
The pain is you have to open the oven to test the cake and this usually involves 2-4 tries before the cake is done. Each time you have to be careful not to burn your hand and each time you open the oven door the temperature drops significantly. Also, you’ll end up with either one hole that is a bit large if you test in the same spot or several holes if you move around a bit where you have tested the cake. To avoid opening the oven door I needed a mean of measuring the temperature with the door closed. I searched on line to see if there were any existing temperature probe clips that would support the probe vertically in the center. I found these clips
The next challenge was how to support the clip. I needed some sort of jig or structure to support the clip. So off to Home Depot. I figured a piece of angle “iron” would do the trick. “Iron” of course would be a bad choice as it rusts so Angle Aluminum is what I wanted. If the link isn’t working this is the Home Depot part number:887480014075
The angle was perfect and would easily support the clip but it wasn’t thick enough. The clip would slide and tip left and right very easily. The metal needed to be thicker, Home depot didn’t have anything that was thick enough in aluminum. I didn’t want to use steel as it might rust.
So, looking at the flat stock I found this material. By doubling it up with the angle the clip was firmly in place. Home Depot part number: 887480019377
I cut both pieces to be long enough to cover my cake pans with some to spare. That was about 14 inches. I drilled several holes in the angle to help circulate air. I’ll likely go back and drill some more holes. File any sharp edges.
This is my Cookies and Cream Cheesecake. I’ll post the recipe soon.
Using my ChefAlarm and probe I position the probe so that it is in the center of my cake. The tip is inserted just so that the narrow pointy part is in the batter. For thin cakes be very careful that you don’t go too far and get near or touch the bottom of the pan.
When choosing which holes in the clip to use, pick the holes nearest to the angle. For me the middle one works. If you use the farthest hole away from the angle you risk the assembly tipping.
Set the ChefAlarm high temperature for your target temperature and relax. No need to check cake until the alarm goes off. With that said you will want to experiment to see what is the sweet spot temperature wise for each type of cake you bake. The temperature will vary from cake to cake and from how you like the results versus others.
For my French Apple Cake, it is 205 F. For my cheesecake it is 145 F to get a creamier lighter result. If you like cheesecake that is a bit firmer go 150-155F. I am continuing to work on my support jig as for some cakes the aluminum angle blocks some of the oven heat causing some “banding” on lighter cakes such as the French Apple Cake. It doesn’t affect the taste and doneness, just is an appearance issue. First, I am going to try more and larger holes in the aluminum. I have some other ideas that as I try them, I will share.
Cooling racks took some time to find the right ones. My main issues with many of the mishmash of cooling racks I had was they tended to rust at the crossing point. The weld apparently either broke the coating on the metal or the material used to do the welding was rusting. The rust was more a visual thing for me as I doubt it would be a sanitary issue.
After searching I found these racks They sit a little higher than most racks allowing more air to flow around item cooling. They can be used in the oven which I use to make bacon now. I don’t fry bacon any longer, too much splatter. In the oven you can cookie the whole package. No need to turn or drain. Put the rack in a jelly roll pan, lay the bacon on the rack, put in 375-degree oven.
These racks don’t rust and go through the dishwasher. Very sturdy too. Not often but they do go on sale from time to time. Over time I acquired 8 of these.
As you will pick up, I recommend buying several of things such as cooling racks, cookie sheets, measuring spoons, etc. For cooling racks this allows you to layout a lot of cookies without needing to move the cookies to a bowl or tray while others cool. Cookies are fragile when they come out of the oven and best to let them cool completely before stacking or moving them
Measuring Spoons
Like most of my equipment up to when I started baking seriously, I had a collection of measuring spoons from different manufacturers. Most of them were plastic. They worked fine but I didn’t have enough and the tablespoon size didn’t fit into my spice jars that had spoon scrapers. The Allspice Wood Spice Rack has bottles with spoon scraper making it easy to scrape the spoon when filling it. I needed to find some spoons that were narrower. I found these spoons . I ordered four sets of them; I store them into cups with teaspoons and tablespoons in one cup and the others in another cup. Makes it easy to find the size I need. By having four of each size I can use a spoon and not worry about cleaning it or accidentally using it with a different ingredients cross contaminating it.
So far, I’ve covered temperature as it relates to ingredient and oven. Equipment is more helpful than super critical. Within reason just about any cookie sheet will do but a better quality one does make it easier and helps with consistent quality. And as I would find out more is also better.
Cookie Sheets
After I got married way back yonder and moved into our first house I started baking more frequently. I had a mishmash of cookie sheets and quickly found out that each type of cookie sheet required some adjustment even if minor in baking time. So mixing cookie sheets when baking a batch of cookies made things a little inconvenient.
Before buying a bunch of the same type of cookie sheets I bought one of few different types. I tried the air cookie sheets that had a hollow space in-between two layers of metal. Goal was to bake without browning the bottom of the cookies. For most cookies slight browning of the bottom is important for me. It gives a slight caramelized flavoring by browning some of the sugar.
Many of the other sheets were relatively thin metal and were easily warped or bent. Macy’s has a line of cookware called “Tools of the trade”. In the late 80’s or early 90’s they carried a heavy gauge non-stick cookie sheet that was turned up on one end.
I also liked that three of the sides were flat. I don’t like trays that have turned up edges on all four sides. Cookies are pretty fragile when first out of the oven and being able to slide them off a tray without an edge makes things easier and reduces broken/bent cookies
So, I bought two to try them out.
These were prefect, no warping and no bending. They heated evenly and the turned-up edge was easy to use to pick up. I also like that the sheet wasn’t too wide or long so the heat flowed around the sheet when in the oven. Several of the trays I tried were too wide and/or long leaving little room for air to flow around evenly all edges. The tray from Macy’s was big enough to hold 12 of most cookies I bake.
When making a batch of cookies I had to reuse the sheets since I only had two. I quickly realized that the trays needed to cool to room temperature otherwise the dough would start melting before the tray made it into the oven. So, I bought two more, this gave me time for the trays to cool.
These trays served me well and I still have them, but when I moved into a house with double ovens four trays wasn’t enough to keep the process going smoothly. So, I went back to Macy’s to buy more but with the passage of time they no longer carried the heavy gauge trays. So, my search for more trays began.
What I needed was a heavy gauge sheet that wasn’t too wide or long. Also wanted a non-stick surface and no turned up edges on at least the long sides. I found some that were heavier gauge but they were either too wide/long, didn’t have a non-stick coating or had an awkward turned up edge.
Not sure how I found them but stumbled on Lloyd Pans. Their focus is primarily on commercial users but do sell to the public. They also have a line of consumer-focused products now too. When I cover my cheesecake adventures, I’ll talk about their cheesecake pans.
At the time I bought them they showed the trays on their website along with the price but now best I can tell it is only listed in their catalog and you will need to inquire about the price. On page 12 “Heavy Baking Sheets” are the ones I use. They are 8 gauge, 12 inches wide which is perfect for my oven. Depending on your oven the 14-inch wide might work for you.
I got the Dura-Kote® finish which is a proprietary non-stick surface that you can use metal utensils with and for most baking situations doesn’t need greasing. These are not cheap I paid around $45 each but these will last forever. I ended up getting 8 of them which works out really nicely when making large batches of cookies. Since they are heavy gauge it takes some time for them to cool. I have granite counter tops so after removing the cookies I stack the trays on the granite counter top. Since they don’t warp, they make good even contact with the granite and cool down pretty quickly. When making large batches I can cycle through all 8 without needing to wait for a tray to cool.
Notes
These are not dishwasher safe, but they clean up really easy in the sink using regular dish soap such as Dawn. Rinse them well.
Use of cooking sprays is not recommended
There will be what they call “beauty” marks from the manufacturing process that don’t affect their performance.
Order them well a head of when you want/need them, they do not keep these in stock and will make as needed.
One trick I do even with a cool tray is to put a cold pack under the tray that has cookie dough on it while they are waiting to go into the oven. I put the cold pack in the refrigerator as I don’t want to freeze the dough just keep it cool. Likely you have a few left over from a sport’s injury. If you don’t have any this one is a good size, but pretty much any cold pack will work.
As always appreciate any comments or suggestions on new ways of doing things.
My signature cookie is the Snickerdoodle. It combines two of my favorites, a good sugar cookie with cinnamon. As a reader of Cook’s Illustrated I came across their recipe for Snickerdoodles several years ago. I’d include a link to it but they have changed their recipe and it isn’t the one I use.
In making these cookies I was getting differing results pretty much each time. Sometimes the cookies would spread more than other times. Or they would come out crispier or another time chewier.
The first thing I realized was the importance of using the exact same amount of ingredients each time. My go to resource of Cook’s Illustrated emphasized the need to weigh ingredients such as flour and sugar. They found that depending on your technique the amount of flour in a cup can vary by as much as 20 percent. How to weigh flour
Along with the information provided by Cook’s Illustrated I researched the art of weighing flour and other ingredients on the web. I found that depending on which web site you visited even the weight of a cup of flour differs.
So the conundrum is which weight to use? Cook’s Illustrated lists 5 oz equals a cup. King Arthur lists 4.25 oz equals a cup. For recipes that list the weight I use that weight. For recipes that just list a volume measurement I use Cook’s Illustrated values when I can find a reference to that ingredient either in an article or recipe. Otherwise I will try the brand name’s website or just Google it. For example that is how I determined how much a 1/4 cup of shortening weighs, 50 grams.
Overtime I have collected weights for the most common ingredients such as sugar, flour, honey, cocoa, peanut butter, etc. Using weight for cocoa is a big help as its fluffiness makes it hard to measure by volume. I’ll post my spreadsheet of conversions I use in the near future.
For some ingredients such as honey or molasses that are a real pain to get all of it out of a cup or other measuring devices I will weigh them as I add them to the mixing bowl. So if a recipe needs a 1/2 cup of honey which is 170 grams for me I will zero out the mixing bowl on my scale and pour the honey into the bowl. You do need to go slow once you get close to the amount you need as taking it back out would be difficult if there are already other ingredients in the bowl.
Getting a scale that I really liked has taken a few tries. The first one I got was a bit fancy looking one from Soehne. Pretty sure I got it from Amazon but since the scale doesn’t show a model number readily and the Soehne website doesn’t show anything that looks like it I am assuming it is no longer available.
The scale works fine but an annoying feature is once you get to 16 and above oz it displays lbs and oz. This adds a step when doubling a recipe for say 12 oz of flour to 24 oz which you have to convert to 1 lb 8 oz. Not high level math but still introduces the possibility of an error.
I got a scale from Kitchen Aid that I thought allowed the scale to remain in ounces so it would read 24 ounces but I was mistaken. Still a good scale and I use it when I need two scales to ensure I divide batter between two cake pans evenly.
The scale I finally got that gets around that issue is the OXO 11214800 Good Grips 11 Pound Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display You can set it so the item is always shown in ounces even when more than 16 ounces. It has a pull out display that is helpful when weighing something in a large bowl that would normally hide the ride out. Also I like that it uses regular AAA batteries, the Soehne uses an odd button battery that many stores don’t carry.
That brings me to units of measure. Should I use imperial/English units such as oz and lbs or go metric with grams? With the ounces turning into pounds on some scales I decided to go with grams. Doubling and tripling a recipe is simple math without units changing. So if a recipe calls for 500 grams of flour and I want to double it we get 1000 grams. With my scale set to grams there is no additional math needed even if the scale goes to kilograms. 1.000 KG
For recipes I use and post here I will list the metric weight of items as much as possible. For liquids measured in cups and ingredients measured with tablespoons or teaspoons they will remain in imperial/English units. In notes I will list the standard volume in case you don’t have a scale.
Once I started weighing my ingredients my results improved quite a bit but things were still not quite there. In my next post I’ll discuss “room temperature” and how that doesn’t equate to the temperature most of us keep our homes.
Many recipes call for ingredients to be at “room temperature” but what temperature is that? None of my thermometers or thermostats have a marking for room temperature. In my current house, room temperature in the summer is around 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25.6 Celsius), in the winter most of the day it is 62F (16.7 C). Growing up my house had no air conditioning in the summer so room temperature was pretty much whatever the outside temperature was. That could be well into the 90’s F (>32 C).
My mother, who somehow could effectively cream butter by hand (no mixer just a big spoon), would take the butter out and put it on the counter until she was ready for it. It might be childhood fairy tale memory but it didn’t seem to matter what time of year it was but her cookies always came out pretty much the same way each time and we loved them.
As I started to bake regularly, I noticed that in the summer time it was easier to mix things that used butter but at the same time cookies might spread more or not be as airy. No great mystery that butter being softer made it easier to mix. At the time I thought the softer the better.
In my reading I discovered that butter and other dairy ingredients create an emulsion that traps air. This trapped air expands while baking to give us airy/fluffy baked goods. If the butter isn’t at the right temperature its ability to do this is compromised. And butter loses this ability if you exceed its optimal temperature. If butter gets too soft cooling it down to room temperature won’t do any good
So, what is “room temperature”? Many recipes say you should be able to press your finger into the butter and make an indent easily without any sliding around. Not many of us have calibrated fingers or have the same strength so easy for you might be hard for me and vice versa.
The finger test might work for butter but it doesn’t work for eggs and other ingredients such as milk.
Based on my research 63 to 68F (17 – 20C) is the range that many consider to be “room temperature”. I have good results using 65F (18C) as “room temperature” for butter and works well for most ingredients. I have seen some mention that the brand of butter you use might cause this number to be higher or lower which makes sense based on the fat content in butter will vary from brand to brand. I use Land-O-Lake unsalted butter.
For some ingredients it isn’t that critical as they don’t lose their ability to be creamed/mixed properly. There are a few ingredients that it helps if they are warmer than 65F (18C). I have found mixing cheesecakes benefit from having the cream cheese warmer than 65F (18C)
How to bring ingredients to room temperature.
Most articles indicate taking the ingredients out 1-2 hours before you plan to bake will get things where you need them. As long as your kitchen isn’t too far away from 65 degrees most recipes will work out fine.
If you have forgotten to take the butter out, the best solution I have found is fill a glass/ceramic bowl with hot tap water, let it rest for a bit, empty the bowl. Then place the bowl upside down over the butter for a few minutes. Unless you are really good at it, I highly discourage trying to use the microwave. Main reason is a few seconds too long and you have melted butter and you will have lost the ability to properly cream the butter.
My 78F (25.6C) summer kitchen is a bit too far away from the ideal temperature for butter that I lose the ability to cream it properly. Same for my 62F (16.7C) winter kitchen.
So, to achieve a consistent 65F (18C) I started searching for a solution. In my next posting I’ll explain how I solved it so I get butter and other ingredients to 65F (18C) plus/minus 1-degree F each and every time. I’ll include directions if you want to do the same.
If you chose to build a “room temperature” refrigerator please read and observe all warnings on the products and tools. If you drill the hole for the wires be careful about any sharp edges to avoid cutting yourself and/or nicking the wires. If you buy a new refrigerator for this project drilling the hole will void your warranty. You will need to consider your skill set and if this project matches those skills. If you are uncomfortable doing any step please do not attempt or get someone that is competent to perform the step.
Recipes call for ingredients to be at “room temperature” but rarely indicate what temperature that is. In the summer my kitchen is somewhere in the mid-seventies. In the winter in the sixties. From experience my cookies come out differently depending on the season.
Digging into various sources the temperature most referenced as “room temperature” is around 65 degrees (18C). This is mostly based on butter. Above 68 degrees (20C) butter starts to lose its ability to be creamed incorporating air properly. Once butter has gone above 68 degrees, we can’t get that ability back.
To ensure ingredients are at the same temperature each and every time we need to control the environment beyond putting them on the counter X minutes ahead of time, putting in microwave for X seconds, or under a heated bowl for X minutes.
I researched to see if anyone made something that would maintain 65 degrees. My initial thought was to look at wine refrigerators. Almost all of them did not go up to 65 degrees and depended on the room being warmer than the temperature you wanted to hold at. Some really expensive ones did go to higher temperatures but even most of them depended on the room being warmer than your target temperature. These work by cooling when the temperature was too high and allowing the surrounding room temperature to warm things up if too cool.
If we just set a refrigerator at 65 degrees it might work when the room temperature is above 65 degrees. But if the room is cooler than 65 degrees the refrigerator will stabilize at the room temperature since it can only cool. Most refrigerators can’t be set to 65 degrees to begin with though and we need a way to add heat if needed.
So, I built a “room temperature” refrigerator. I got the idea from beer brewing websites that need to keep beer at the right temperature for fermentation. To maintain the right temperature regardless of the room temperature a heating source is added to raise the temperature when below the target temperature.
We need a refrigerator, heating source and a temperature control device. The temperature control device will turn on the refrigerator (cooling) when the temperature gets too high and turn on the heating source when it gets too low. Adding a fan ensures there are no hot or cold spots along with speeding up the process. These are the items I used.
Obtain a small college room style refrigerator. You might already have one or can find one on Craigs list for about $50. Don’t need to go crazy with getting a top of the line. If possible, pick one that has grill style shelves for better air flow.
The Inkbird temperature controller has two outlets, one controls the cooling device and one controls the heating device. The cooling device is the refrigerator, the heating device is a heating pad designed for beer and wine fermenting. If the refrigerator is located in a room that is warmer than the target temperature the temperature in the refrigerator will gradually rise until it hits the upper limit. For the recommended setting the upper limit is 66 degrees (19C). The refrigerator will kick on and lower the temperature, since the refrigerator is much better at cooling than the heating pad is at heating it will quickly lower the temperature to the lower limit of 64 degrees (17.7 C) over shooting it causing the heating pad to kick on. The heating pad only uses 12 watts so the temperature will rise gradually until we get to 65 degrees and the heating pad turns off. There will be some residual heat in the pad but it won’t typically push things to the upper limit. As long as the room isn’t too warm it will take a while before we need cooling again. By adding some bottles of water, the oscillation between heating and cooling is moderated a bit. Also, since the items we are bringing to room temperature are cool to start with the temperature will tend not to rise much.
Note: You can skip this next step of drilling hole and just feed the wires through the open door and when you close the door position the wires so they lay flat under the magnetic strip on the door. You will need to do this each time you use unit.
Locate a spot in back or side of refrigerator where no wires or pipes pass. (see safety note above) The back will give the best-looking setup. For mine I was able to find a spot low on the back. Drill a hole large enough for cords to pass through and with space left over for insulation. A standard hole saw may work but it will likely be useless when you are done. A ¾” electrician hole saw works great but is about $40-50.
Feed the wires for the fan, heating pad and temperature sensor through hole. Be careful of any sharp edges. Using pipe or other insulation fill in the hole, ensuring the wires are in the middle of insulation away from edges of hole. You can use spray foam if you like, that means any change of equipment will require the spray foam to be dug out. Not that hard but something to consider.
Use the screws that come with fan as legs. Position fan on bottom of refrigerator so that it blows the air up, you may need to move it around to find a location that it doesn’t vibrate. Only matters if the noise is a concern.
Using shelf grate clip position the temperature probe on shelf above fan. Depending on your shelf grill you may need to bend/deform the clip to make it fit. If your refrigerator does not have grill style shelves find a place that you can mount/tape the sensor so that it is in the air flow from the fan.
On side away from fan lay several personal sized water filled bottles on their side and then stack two in-between and if enough room one on top of these to make a pyramid. The grill should allow you to pile them up without the bottles rolling. These serve as a mass that helps moderate the temperature swings. If you have room adding more bottles will help.
Position the heating pad under the bottles. I fashioned a support so that the pad is at an angle and isn’t just laying on bottom so that more of the heat is transmitted into the air and not the bottom of the refrigerator. It is a piece of plywood with holes large enough for a wire hanger wire to fit and bent into loop to support pad. If the pad was smaller, I might have put it in the air stream from the fan. But given the small space and the fan capacity I figure the air is getting stirred up well enough that it doesn’t matter.
This shows the wires coming through the back, the placement of the sensor, fan and heating pad.
For the Inkbird control I attached it with a screw to the side of the refrigerator, you might just lay it on the top. Plug the fan and Inkbird into outlet strip. Plug the refrigerator into the cooling plug on Inkbird and the heating pad into the heating plug.
A sheet metal screen to hold the Inkbird on side of refrigerator.
Turn the temperature control in the refrigerator to maximum cooling. The Inkbird will control turning it on and off. Follow directions for Inkbird to set your desired temperature.
water bottles to help regulate temperature.
I set the temperature target to 65 degrees with a 1-degree window up/down. When it gets to 66 degrees it will turn cooling on, turning off when it gets to 65. When it gets to 64 degrees it will turn on heating, turning off when it gets to 65 degrees. The cooling cycle will turn off at 65 degrees but the refrigerator will continue to cool and may go below 64 degrees triggering heating. Heating doesn’t typically overshoot on the high side. Once things settle down the cooling overshoot will be minimal and since it is on the cool side our butter doesn’t suffer.
The room mine is in is 55 degrees in the winter so the temperature tends to be between 64-65 in winter. In summer room can be in the seventies so the range is 65-66. In winter time the cooling cycle rarely runs. In summer both heating and cooling runs due to the cooling having much more overshoot.
Place butter, eggs and other things you want to be at “room temperature” on shelves above fan. Typically, I just lay them on the shelf, not in a bowl. Shelf grill keeps them from rolling around. If you did put them in a bowl it probably will take a little longer for everything to stabilize temperature wise. I have mine away from my kitchen so I take things in a metal bowl to transport them. After putting the items on the shelves, I put the bowl in the “freezer” section of the refrigerator. Your model refrigerator might not have a “freezer” section. This way the bowl in the summer time is also at room temperature while I transport the items back to the kitchen. Unlikely to really make a difference so in reality it is just a convenient place to put bowl.
This approach does require some advance planning to have the ingredients ready. I try to put things into the refrigerator about 4 hours before I plan to bake. I haven’t done tests to see how quickly ingredients stabilize but my guess is 2 hours should work with the fan helping. Ideally, I put them in the night before so I don’t forget. With that said always take into considerations the go bad time frame for ingredients, milk for example shouldn’t sit out for more than two hours before use. You don’t need to run the refrigerator all the time, I will turn it on as I put the items in and off when I take them out. If the room is warm the cooling will turn on right away so the butter won’t get above 68 degrees.
But you can leave it on all the time if you like, unless your refrigerator is in a really hot place it won’t cycle that much. In the summer it will run the cooling cycle for a few minutes and then the heating cycle for a few minutes. This might happen once an hour depending on how warm the room is. In the winter time, the heating cycle typically runs for a few minutes.
Since setting up my “room temperature” refrigerator I have noticed a vast improvement in the consistency and quality of my baking.
