r/AskBaking

My birthday is coming up and I wanted to make a cake (or some type of pastry) for it, however I get really sick when I have food that is too sweet. I don't necessarily want a savory cake, some sweet is okay but stuff like a full chocolate or vanilla cake would be to sugary. Do yall know what kind of cake or combo would be good?

I'm making caramel stuffed dates for my postpartum friend, I'm facing few issues.

I made regular caramel sauce first, but all the dates I stuffed turn to mess 2 minute in room temp, so messy to eat and sticky I can't work with it.

Next I made caramels, I let it cool down to room temp and it was good! it spreads rather than drizzles and holds it shape so no messy melted caramel, but when they cool in the fridge they turn to rocks that will chip my teeth...

How do I go about this? do I cook the caramel to make a sauce but simmer it for longer? add less cream? or cook it to make "caramels" but add more cream?

I recently made a recipe (not from a website or anything just made from my own thoughts) and used this stuff

2.75 Cup Pureed Great Northern Beans
1 Cup Flour
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Cup Greek Yogurt
1/2 Cup Sugar Substitute (Literal sucralose sweetener packets I don’t have actual substitute near me)
1/2 Tsp Salt
8 Tbsp Cocoa Powder Bloomed (Hersheys)
2 Tbsp Peanut Butter
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract

Now the structure and color and whatnot was all fine, but the chocolate and peanut butter flavor were weak so I wanna scale those two up to make it stronger. I know cocoa powder can be bitter in larger amounts so I just wanna confirm here that that won’t be a problem (or if it is the current problem?)
(I’m thinking of scaling up to 12 Tbsp Cocoa Powder and 4 Tbsp Peanut Butter)
Alternatives and/or personal experiences to weigh in would be appreciated (besides adding espresso powder that stuff is nasty imo)

Hi I'm new to baking and I was searching for a mango cake recipe on yt. Previously I made a Matilda cake and it turned out great. But with mango cakes every recipe is chiffon. I tried twice but my cake is rising and then getting hollow in the middle. So I was thinking of making another cake but avoid the chiffon cakes completely. But I cannot find a simple mango recipe like vanilla or chocolate cakes with decors and frostings. So are chiffon cakes the go to for flavoured cakes?? Also can I make mango cake by adding mango essence and puree instead of vanilla essence in a vanilla cake recipe?

Hi bakers, I am new to working with pizza dough (and doughs in general) and am trying to do it for the first time. I don’t have an electric mixer (and cannot get one any time soon) so must knead by hand.

I knew the dough would start out a bit sticky and I thought that kneading would help as the gluten developed. I kneaded vigorously for 20 minutes but the entire time, every time I touched the dough I would get doughy film on my hands that turned crusty within 10-20 seconds. If I didn’t wash it off it would go back into the dough in tiny crusty little bits. I tried both needing with completely dry hands and with slightly damp hands, and neither fixed the problem. I added a tiny bit more flour after kneading for 15 minutes and this still didn’t help.

After kneading for the 20 minutes and still not passing the windowpane test I just gave up and am letting it proof and will see how it turns out.

Am I doing something wrong that’s causing the doughy film on my hands and what’s the best way to prevent it? Why after that long kneading would it still have been happening?

ETA I posted the recipe in a comment

Hi, I am a young baker and i am curious from other bakers what your favorite bakeware company or set is and why also if you would recommend your set to someone starting off?

I have been eyeing the Caraway bakeware set but am getting heavy mix reactions.

Thank you!

Hi. I need to bake a cake for my sister's birthday on the 21st. I want to bake the cakes tomorrow (19th) and assemble it on the 20th. The thing is that I have to assemble it at my aunt's house, because that is where the birthday is happennig. So here comes my question: can i just wrap the cake layers, leave it in the fridge and then take them to my aunt's house o do i have to freeze the cakes?

I'm just a little confused because this would only my the 2nd time making a cake at all. And I cant bake and assemble the cake on the same day because I don't really have the time. I also can't just bring the cake to my aunt's house on the day of the celebration because I use public transportation (I don't have a car) and I imagine is easier to transport just the cake layers than a whole cake with frosting and all.

So... help. Lastly english is not my first language :)

Hey all,

I’m interested in making my own Vanilla Essence.

Struggling to find actual shops selling Vanilla Beans online, it’s all like Amazon, Etsy, or eBay.

Australian bakers - where do you buy your Vanilla Beans??

Thanks

Let’s say you’re going to make yeast donuts with a chocolate or vanilla glaze, should you use all purpose or bread flour?

I’m finding recipes that use one or the other with seemingly no rhyme or reason and I want to know which is best and why.

Hi all,

I’m making a no-bake cheesecake for my mum’s birthday, and I’ve been wanting to add a simple vanilla glaze to the top for some extra effect and to make it easier to add some flowers and other decorations to it. The local cheesecake shop often have a simple glaze on their French vanilla cheesecakes, which is where I got the idea from.😅

The glaze I first tried years ago never set enough to be able to just sit on the top of the cake, and dripped all through my cake pan and through my fridge, so I thought about adding gelatin to it to firm it up.

From what I’ve read, gelatin once bloomed turns into a rubbery mass, and is usually added into a hot/ melting mixture to combine it. Since I’m wanting to add it to a no-bake cheesecake which needs to be chilled, what would be the best way to combine the gelatin with the glaze without melting the cheesecake on application?

For reference, the simple glaze takes powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract.

Any help is much appreciated!

I’m experimenting with a **soft oatmeal cookie recipe** and want to focus specifically on the flour.
For those who have tested different **white wheat flours** in oatmeal cookies, how does **bread flour vs. all-purpose flour** affect the final softness and chewiness?
I’m especially interested in actual baking experience rather than substitutions with whole-wheat or gluten-free flour.