Pretty Homemade Platters for Your Baked Goods

Years ago when I was making wedding cakes almost every weekend I discovered a trick that I have been wanting to share for a while. It has to do with flat presentation platters. Wedding cakes have large diameters and they must be placed on perfectly flat and strong bases. Cake decorators have used cake drums for years and while they do have a certain decorative aspect to them with their foil covering, they also leave something to be desired in the aesthetic department. Sturdy, yes. Elegant, no. Wedding cakes aside, there were also certainly times that I needed a large or unusually shaped flat platter (like for Buche de Noel – log shaped) and there had to be a better way.

One day I had a local glasscutter make me a clear glass base. It was inexpensive and I could choose shape and size. I started with a large round and enjoyed it so much that I went back for more rounds of varying diameters, squares and a rectangle for my Buche de Noel and jelly roll type cakes. The more I used these bases the more their versatility became apparent. When not in use for cakes they can be used as platters for brownies and cookies and even for cheese platters and hors d’oeuvres. And at first I loved that they were clear. They blended in with whatever table surface or tablecloth they graced.

Then one day I had another brainstorm. What would happen if I painted one side of the glass then flipped it over to place my food on the glass side? Genius, if I do say so myself. Not only can you custom color your platter, but you can add texture by sponging or spraying or using decorative brush strokes. You can paint patterns or use multiple colors. You don’t have to worry about the paint being food-safe as it never comes in contact, being on the underside. This is hands down the easiest and most inexpensive way to make a custom platter – and it is fun!

Ask your local glasscutter, but in general squares and rectangles are less expensive than rounds – and there is nothing wrong with putting a 14-inch celebration cake on an 18-inch square base! Be creative. Look for ¼-inch plate glass, which is meant for tables and is very strong, and ask to have the edges sanded. To give you an idea of price I could get a 12-inch square for $7 and a 16-inch round for $28 this fall (2014).

Then choose paint. The one pictured up top is one of my favorite looks. It is black “webbing” spray paint and gold spray paint. The “webbing” spray paint (that’s what it will say on the label. I used Krylon) comes out like “silly string”, if you remember that kid’s product. It makes the black “veins”. Once dry, cover with the gold. When you flip the glass over you see the black veins and the gold background as shown in the image. Very elegant.

The photo above shows a glass round with a red rose stencil made with red spray paint and then that was covered with silver spray paint.

I even found glow-in-the-dark spray paint and created a small dish for “Santa’s cookies”. Year round it can be used for your own snacks while watching TV and movies in the dark. You can see your food on the glowing plate!

Our square below was sponge painted with periwinkle blue craft paint and then covered with gold spray paint.

Simply paint the underside to your liking – spray, sponged, you name it. To clean any of your platters simply wipe the top clear glass with a clean with a damp soapy towel followed by a towel soaked in clean water. If it looks streaky, use a vinegar and water solution – like you would to clean windows! To store you do want to make sure that the painted side does not get nicked.

Watch me make these on our video segment at Better.tv.

You Can Learn How to Make a Simple Homemade Wedding Cake

I have written two books on wedding cakes geared towards the avid home baker and while this short video isn’t a complete tutorial on how to make a simple homemade wedding cake, it is a great start. My very first book was The Wedding Cake Book and while I updated some recipes and approaches in my second wedding cake book, Wedding Cakes You Can Make, I still use both for visual inspiration. If you are seriously considering making your own or a friends wedding cake, or even any large celebration cake, these books could be just the resources you need. For now, enjoy this video, and please email me with any questions you might have dede@bakepedia.com.

Julienne Like a Pro

A julienne peeler is a nifty kitchen tool that works well on a variety of fruits and vegetables, quickly cutting them into thin, elegant strips. It’s easy to use and many versions have a removable clear safety cover that flips out of the way while you peel, but locks back into place as a protective cover during storage. (I am partial to my OXO Good Grips Julienne Peeler).

This type of peeler is especially good on oranges, lemons and grapefruit. Starting at the top of the citrus, gently press the sharp stainless blade just under the skin, then continue running it down to the opposite end, forming julienne strips. Repeat until all the peel has been removed, avoiding the bitter white pith by not pressing too deeply.

To candy the julienne peel, place it in a saucepan of water and boil for 5 minutes. Drain, add water and boil again for 5 minutes (these steps remove the bitter flavor). Drain, then return peel to saucepan. Add equal parts of water and sugar (enough to cover peel by 1/2-inch) and bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat and simmer until peel is tender and translucent, 10 to 15 minutes.

Sprinkle a small baking sheet with a layer of sugar. Using tongs, remove the peel from the sugar syrup, shaking off excess. Place julienne peel on the sugar-lined sheet, sprinkle generously with more sugar, then toss to coat completely. Separate strips and let stand overnight on sugared sheet to dry. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 month. For a full recipe check out our Candied Orange Peel.

Use the candied peel as a garnish for cakes, cupcakes, tarts, brownies, mousse, puddings and soufflés. Or, chop them into small pieces and sprinkle over vanilla ice cream. The candied peel can also be dipped halfway in melted bittersweet, milk or white chocolate and placed on a foil-lined sheet to chill, then enjoyed as an after-dinner treat.

Note that the julienne peeler also works well on vegetables such as cucumber, carrots, and zucchini. The thin strips can be used in a variety of salads, sandwiches, and pastas, or as a filling for summer rolls.

Images: Sarah Tenaglia

Tinting Sprinkles by Hand

Hand Tinted Sprinkles

At one time it was that sprinkles came in chocolate and rainbow. Then cake decorating supply companies got savvy and started making red and green mix for the winter holidays, pastels for Easter and the like. But did you know that you can try tinting sprinkles at home? Starting with white sprinkles, you can custom tint using powdered food colors and they will have a lovely DIY quality that purchased sprinkles do not. Try these with the Old-Fashioned Cupcakes.

Making Tinted and Custom Sprinkles

For the images I used white sprinkles from Wilton that have a pearlized sheen. They provide an elegant quality to the finished product.

Below Excerpted from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbookby Cheryl Day & Griffith Day (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2012. 

Sprinkles add a touch of fun and color to the tops of cupcakes and cakes. We hand-tint our sprinkles in the same shades of pink, blue, green, and yellow that we frost the cupcakes, using the simple technique my mother taught me. To tint sprinkles, pour white sprinkles into a Mason jar and add a pinch (it doesn’t take much) of powdered food coloring. Screw on the lid and shake, shake, shake until the sprinkles take on the desired shade, adding more powder if necessary. Store the jar of sprinkles in a cool place and use as desired. To decorate a kitchen shelf, fill multiple jars with sprinkles of different colors.

Images: Dédé Wilson

Working with Homemade Pretzels

The following information about using either lye or baking soda as a dip for homemade pretzels is from Pretzel Making at Homeby Andrea Slonecker. Baking soda can work, but many chefs prefer the deep, rich, classic pretzel color that lye produces, but working with it does take attention to detail and it is not something to take lightly. As a third alternative, check out this article by Harold McGee on how to work with baking soda to make it more powerful than it already is for this application, which is also presented below. If you like the science behind baking, you must acquaint yourself with Harold!

Excerpted from Pretzel Making at Homeby Andrea Slonecker, Chronicle Books. Text copyright 2013. 

Dipping Pretzels in an Alkaline Solution

Dipping pretzels in a solution of a small amount of food-grade lye dissolved in water gives them that unique pretzel flavor. Unfortunately, food-grade lye is unavailable in most retail stores, making it difficult to source and use for home cooks. That’s why most recipes for homemade pretzels substitute baking soda (which is much less alkaline), but the pretzel flavor and the quality of the crust are substandard with this method. In 2010 the esteemed food scientist Harold McGee wrote a story for the New York Times in which he explained that the chemical properties of baking soda can be altered, causing it to behave in a similar way to lye, if it is baked in an oven at a low temperature for an hour or so. I have found this to be true. Still, there is no replicating that genuine pretzel-y quality that a lye dip imparts, so in this book both options are offered. I prefer the lye method and always have lye on hand, but I also thoroughly enjoy pretzels made with a baked baking soda substitute. See following for instructions.

Fresh homemade pretzels

Lye Pretzel Method

Before you begin working with lye, there are a few precautions to take, since it is a hazardous chemical when it’s not handled properly. Always wear rubber household gloves that cover your forearms, as it will irritate your skin. Be extremely careful not to let lye water splash on you, and avoid touching the dipped pretzels with bare hands until after they are baked. Also, consider wearing protective eyewear. Make the solution in a well-ventilated room, have the stove’s hood vent on high power, and avoid hovering directly over the pot if there is any residual steam. Protective eyewear will also shield your eyes from steam that may irritate them when you open the oven door while the pretzels are baking. Or you can simply open the door and let the steam escape before leaning in, which is what I do. While all this sounds a little dangerous for a home kitchen, I’ve found that with these simple precautions, dipping pretzels in a lye solution is a safe and worthwhile endeavor that makes a huge difference in the authenticity of your pretzels. To get a crust with a deeply browned, lacquered appearance, the lye must be hot when the pretzels are dipped. You can prepare a cool lye bath by dissolving the lye in lukewarm water straight from the tap, without heating it, but the pretzels will emerge from the oven with a lighter caramel hue. To make the lye solution for soft pretzels: Select a large stainless-steel pot at least a fingers length greater in diameter than the width of the pretzels and tall enough so that the water comes up no more than 2 in/5 cm from the rim.  Fill the pot with 6 cups/1.4 L of water. Wearing rubber gloves, add the lye, 1 tbsp at a time. With the hood vent on, warm the lye solution over high heat just until you see wisps of steam, and then remove the pot from the heat and cool the water until the steam subsides, about 5 minutes.

Baked Baking Soda Pretzel Method

An alternative to working with lye is to dip pretzels in a simmering baked baking soda solution, which will give you a result that is close to the dark, burnished crust that lye imparts. If you prefer to avoid working with lye, or just don’t have time to source it, use this method. To make the baked baking soda solution: First, you must bake the baking soda. This step should be done while the pretzels are undergoing their first rise, if not earlier. Preheat the oven to 250°F/120°C/ gas .. For one batch of pretzels, spread out . cup/ 70 g of baking soda on an aluminum pie pan or a small rimmed baking sheet covered with aluminum foil. Bake the baking soda for 1 hour. The baking soda will lose weight as it bakes but maintains about the same volume, so you should end up with about ¼ cup/60 g of baked baking soda. Allow it to cool completely, and then keep it in an airtight container at room temperature until you are ready to make pretzels. (If you see more than one batch of pretzels in your future, consider baking a whole box of baking soda in one shot, since it keeps indefinitely. Sift baked baking soda before using, as it cakes after prolonged storage.) Select a large stainless-steel pot and fill it with 8 cups/2 L of water. Be sure to choose a pot that is at least a finger’s length wider than the diameter of the pretzels and tall enough so that the water comes up no more than 2 in/5 cm from the rim. (Avoid other metal surfaces, such as aluminum and copper, and nonstick surfaces, which may react with the baked baking soda.) Pour in the . cup/60 g of baked baking soda, and bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat. Once the baking soda dissolves, reduce the heat to medium to maintain a gentle simmer. Before baking, brush the tops of the pretzels lightly with an egg wash of 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp of water . This will give them a glossy finish.

Other yummy pretzel recipes on Bakepedia: Chocolate Stout Pudding Pie with Jameson Whipped Cream and Pretzel Crust  & Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cupcakes

Image: istockphoto

Look at that image above. If you are anything like me, you are thinking “why the heck didn’t I think of that”?  Seriously, when was the last time you saw a really new way to create decorative pie crusts? In fact, I don’t think I have ever really think about “pie decorating”, but now I do. Read on. Your mind is about to be expanded. Libbie Summers new book Sweet & Vicious, Baking with Attitude is aptly named. I can’t wait to try the salty, smoky bourbon-laced oatmeal cookies and the Fig & Pig Pies (prosciutto and fresh figs). The techniques below can work with most any pie crust as long as it is well-chilled. Summers’ version, called The Cold Truth Pie Dough, features shortening and butter along with vanilla sugar and a bit of cayenne. Attitude indeed. If you come up with some wild pie crust decorating ideas of your own, let us know. I am officially obsessed. 

Excerpted with permission. Sweet and Vicious: Baking with Attitude by Libbie Summers. Rizzoli 2014 copyright. Photos by Chia Chong.

1. Cork Screw Crimping

For a 9-inch pie, roll out your top pie dough to an 11-inch round, 1⁄8-inch thick. Drape the dough over the pie plate and turn the overhang under to create a thicker rim around the pie. Use an open corkscrew to decoratively crimp the edges (then open a bottle of wine to enjoy while your pie is baking).

2. Measuring Spoon Crimping

For a 9-inch pie, roll out your top pie dough to an 11-inch round, 1⁄8-inch thick. Drape the dough over the pie plate and turn the overhang under to create a thicker rim around the pie. Turn a ½-teaspoon measure upside down to decoratively crimp the rim. Let the circles intersect for an arty look.

3. Strand of Pearls Crimping (see top image)

For a 9-inch pie, roll out your top pie dough to an 11-inch round, 1⁄8-inch thick. Drape the dough over the pie plate and turn the overhang under to create a thicker rim around the pie. Using a strand of oversized pearls, push them into the rim of the pie and pull away to reveal the magic.

4. Tong Crimping

For a 9-inch pie plate, roll out your pie dough to a 12-inch circle that is 1⁄8-inch thick. Drape the dough over the pie plate and turn the overhang under to create a thicker rim around the pie. Use the tip of a pair of tongs to pinch a decorative pattern around the edge

5. Covering in Cutouts

Using the pie dough recipe for a double-crust pie, roll out the first disc to a 12-inch round, 1⁄8-inch thick. Drape it into a 9-inch pie plate and allow the overhang to extend over the edge. Pile in the pie filling and dot the top with butter. Fold the overhanging dough up onto the filling. Roll out the second disc to 1⁄8-inch thick and cut out whatever shape you choose—I’ve used a maple leaf cutter here (no Canadian chauvinism from me). From the edge of the pie, work around and inward, overlapping the cutouts to form the top crust and using a simple egg wash as a glue (1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or water). Keep adding cutouts until the entire pie is covered in dough. Be sure to leave a few small open areas, or a hole in the top, to let the steam escape.

6. Kilroy Was Here Crimping

For a 9-inch pie, roll out your pie dough to an 11-inch round, 1⁄8-inch thick. Drape the dough into the pie plate and trim away any overhang. Crimp the edge of the pie in a traditional way, pinching with the thumb and forefinger of one hand on the outside of the dough and pushing the forefinger of your other hand into the pinched area. Roll the dough scraps into balls and pinch the front to shape a nose. Use a simple egg wash (1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water) to glue the heads into the “divots” of the crimping. Kids love this one. It bakes up creepy cool, and you can teach them about graffiti art from the 1940s, when Kilroy originated. I like to think of it as an educational crimp.

If you don’t know about the Wilton 1M tip, then read up because this is my favorite star tip of all time! It helps to make the gorgeous buttercream swirl that you see in the above image, which looks like a soft-serve ice cream cone, but made of frosting! A thing of beauty – and incredibly easy when you use this tip. The tip does all the work. Watch the video to see the technique in action, but here are the details:

• Fill your fluted, paper-lined cupcake pans about two-thirds to three-quarters of the way with batter, depending on chosen effect.

• Have your cupcakes baked and cooled.

• Have your Italian meringue buttercream or other frosting soft and ready to use.

• Have your pastry bag fitted with the Wilton 1M tip.

• Fill pastry bag about halfway with frosting.

• Hold the cupcake in one hand or have on work surface in front of you. Practice will tell you which works better for you.

• Using steady, medium pressure, start in the center of the cupcake and pipe a tight spiral, forming the center of the swirl.

• Keep piping in an outward spiral until you come almost to the edge of the cupcake, then start piping in an inward spiral going over the frosting you already piped, creating a second layer.

• As you come back towards the center, make sure you are also drawing the frosting up towards the center, creating a peak (watch in the video).

• The initial outward spiral creates a base, then the second pass of frosting creates the height.

_{Image: Dédé Wilson}

The last thing I want to hear someone say is, “that’s too pretty to eat!” I want to know you can’t wait to eat my creations! That said, these could be an exception. The Wilton 2D tip is simply amazing and practically makes the rose for you. It is a must-have tip and certainly necessary for this effect. I have included several images so that you can see how each rose is unique yet beautiful. And since I use Italian meringue buttercream, these will be as tasty as they are pretty. Prepare the cupcakes of your choice. In the video tutorial I have used Yellow Cupcakes. Make sure that you fill the fluted papers no more than two-thirds of the way. You want the baked cupcakes to be somewhat shallow to provide the right platform for the frosting. (See our Tip on Which is the Perfect Cupcake?) Of course, you could make these a solid color if you like, in which case you would just fill your piping bag fitted with the Wilton 2D tip with the color buttercream of your choice. For the two-tone effect and rose formation, follow these tips:

• Take your colored buttercream and fill the pastry bag about one-third of the way.

• Twist the open end shut and smoosh the buttercream around in the bag so that it is adhering to all of the insides of the bag.

• Place bag in a tall glass or vase and open the top. Use a spoon to create an open center channel – like an open tunnel. Make sure that the colored buttercream is still all the way around the center tunnel, touching the inside of the bag. The center hole should go all the way to the bottom of the bag, right to the tip.

• Okay, this is the tricky part: place white buttercream in the center tunnel, pressing it all the way down, right to the tip.

• Seal the bag up tight. If you are using a clear pastry bag, you will only see the colored frosting.

• Press a bit of the frosting out onto a plate until both the colored and the white portions are coming out together.

• Now you are ready to make your rose. Hold the cupcake in one hand.

• Using steady, medium pressure, start in the center of the cupcake and pipe a tight spiral, forming the center of the rose.

• Keep piping in an outwards spiral. Lessen pressure as you come to the end, trailing off. Use your finger to press in the “end” if necessary.

• Each rose will be unique and beautiful! Trust me. This works – if you are using the Wilton 2D tip!

_{Images: Dédé Wilson}

You can try to pipe roses directly on cake, which is possible, but it’s a bit tricky. If you have never piped roses before, begin by using a piping nail, which looks like a very large thumbtack and allows you to pipe the rose on the flat, top surface. Either way, you follow the same directions; if you are piping on the cake, instead of twirling a piping nail around, you will find it much easier if your cake is on a decorating turntable and you will have to work your pastry bag at more angles to form the rose properly. I like to pipe roses with Italian Meringue Buttercream Frosting. Put your rose piping skills into action with our Buttercream Roses Sheet Cake.

_{Adapted from The Birthday Cake Book: 75 Recipes for Candle-Worthy Creations (Harvard Common Press, 2008) by Dédé Wilson. Photos by Melissa Punch.}

1. Use a dab of frosting to affix a small square of parchment to a #7 icing nail. Pipe a small ½-inch tall cone onto the paper using a #12 tip.

2. Using a #104 tip, hold the pastry bag so that the narrow end of the tip is facing up and just touching the cone. Begin to apply pressure on the pastry bag with one hand and twirl the nail slowly with the other at the same time; you are piping the first inner petal and it should completely encapsulate the top of the cone.

3. Make the next petal by turning the nail and piping an arched petal that goes about halfway around the inner petal. The following petal is the same and there will now be two petals encapsulating the first inner petal. You now have a small rosebud, which, if you like, can be left as is.

4. Subsequent petals will be larger. The next layer consists of 3 petals spaced evenly around the rosebud. You can add more petals, if desired, for a larger rose. When the rose is finished, remove parchment square and refrigerate until rose is firm, at least 1 hour, at which point it is easy to transfer them to the cake using a small offset spatula.