Angel Food Cake: This is a cake made without shortening, only flour and sugar. The leavening agent is beaten egg white. It's therefore wonderfully light and airy - the perfect food for angels!
Buttercream: This is a mixture of sugar, eggs and butter that is whipped until light and fluffy and used to fill and frost cakes.
Caramel: Used for topping, glazing, candy filling, to make praline paste and to decorate all kinds of desserts. It is made by heating sugar to approximately 320-350 degrees F, and varies in color from beige to dark brown.
Cookie Varieties: One way of classifying cookies is according to the method used to form them. Rolled cookies are shaped by using cookie cutters (or a knife etc) to cut rolled dough; drop cookies are made by dropping the cookie batter unto the cookie sheet, using a spoon; pressed (or piped) cookies are made by pushing the dough through a cookie press or a pastry bag. Finally, bar cookies are made by baking the dough in a pan and cutting it into squares or bars after it is done.
Custard Sauce (Crme Anglaise): Also known as pouring custard, this smooth, rich sauce is served warm or cold with all kinds of cakes, puddings and fruit desserts. To make custard sauce, beat sugar and egg yolk together, and then cook slowly with milk and sugar until thick.
Dacquoise: Comprising of buttercream layered between baked nut meringues, this is a classic French cake.
Docking: This is the process of piercing pastry dough with a fork to allow the steam to escape. This prevents the dough from becoming misshapen because of internal bubbling.
Flaky Pastry: The conventional dough used in America to make pies, also called 'puff pastry'. To make flaky pastry, you need to rub little bit of soft butter (or other shortening) into flour using your fingers and moisten gradually with water. The finer the shortening is, the less flaky the dough will be.
Gateau: This is the French word for cake.
Glaze: As the name implies, this is used as a shiny coating for all kinds of desserts. The ingredients used to make glazing differ according to the type and flavor of the dessert it will be used on (cake, tart, pastry...).
Ladyfingers: Small sponge cakes, typically 3 1/2" long, lady fingers are mostly used for making Charlottes.
Lemon Curd: A rich, tart spreading cream, lemon curd is basically a cooked mixture of lemon juice with egg yolks, butter and sugar.
Meringue: To make meringue, beat egg whites and sugar until stiff and bake like cookies. Meringue frosting is uncooked.
Pastry Dough: Dough made of shortening flour and used in the U.S. for pies.
Petits Fours Secs: These are small, delicate desserts, often made with layers of praline paste or fruit preserves.
Petit Fours Frais: Miniature cakes with buttercream or pastry cream fillings.
Petits Fours Glacs: These are small cakes with icing and delicate decorations, often with layers of ganache, buttercream or preserves.
Royal Icing: Refers to a traditional English cake or cookie icing made of egg whites and confectioner's sugar. The mixture becomes hard after it dries and is very often used to decorate desserts with delicate designs or to and personalize cakes by writing names, messages etc. Royal icing is typically used to decorate wedding cakes.
Tarts: Shallow, with straight sides, tarts are usually baked in flan forms or in pans with removable bottom and typically have only a bottom crust.
Torte: is a Central European word that means 'cake'.
Buttercream: This is a mixture of sugar, eggs and butter that is whipped until light and fluffy and used to fill and frost cakes.
Caramel: Used for topping, glazing, candy filling, to make praline paste and to decorate all kinds of desserts. It is made by heating sugar to approximately 320-350 degrees F, and varies in color from beige to dark brown.
Cookie Varieties: One way of classifying cookies is according to the method used to form them. Rolled cookies are shaped by using cookie cutters (or a knife etc) to cut rolled dough; drop cookies are made by dropping the cookie batter unto the cookie sheet, using a spoon; pressed (or piped) cookies are made by pushing the dough through a cookie press or a pastry bag. Finally, bar cookies are made by baking the dough in a pan and cutting it into squares or bars after it is done.
Custard Sauce (Crme Anglaise): Also known as pouring custard, this smooth, rich sauce is served warm or cold with all kinds of cakes, puddings and fruit desserts. To make custard sauce, beat sugar and egg yolk together, and then cook slowly with milk and sugar until thick.
Dacquoise: Comprising of buttercream layered between baked nut meringues, this is a classic French cake.
Docking: This is the process of piercing pastry dough with a fork to allow the steam to escape. This prevents the dough from becoming misshapen because of internal bubbling.
Flaky Pastry: The conventional dough used in America to make pies, also called 'puff pastry'. To make flaky pastry, you need to rub little bit of soft butter (or other shortening) into flour using your fingers and moisten gradually with water. The finer the shortening is, the less flaky the dough will be.
Gateau: This is the French word for cake.
Glaze: As the name implies, this is used as a shiny coating for all kinds of desserts. The ingredients used to make glazing differ according to the type and flavor of the dessert it will be used on (cake, tart, pastry...).
Ladyfingers: Small sponge cakes, typically 3 1/2" long, lady fingers are mostly used for making Charlottes.
Lemon Curd: A rich, tart spreading cream, lemon curd is basically a cooked mixture of lemon juice with egg yolks, butter and sugar.
Meringue: To make meringue, beat egg whites and sugar until stiff and bake like cookies. Meringue frosting is uncooked.
Pastry Dough: Dough made of shortening flour and used in the U.S. for pies.
Petits Fours Secs: These are small, delicate desserts, often made with layers of praline paste or fruit preserves.
Petit Fours Frais: Miniature cakes with buttercream or pastry cream fillings.
Petits Fours Glacs: These are small cakes with icing and delicate decorations, often with layers of ganache, buttercream or preserves.
Royal Icing: Refers to a traditional English cake or cookie icing made of egg whites and confectioner's sugar. The mixture becomes hard after it dries and is very often used to decorate desserts with delicate designs or to and personalize cakes by writing names, messages etc. Royal icing is typically used to decorate wedding cakes.
Tarts: Shallow, with straight sides, tarts are usually baked in flan forms or in pans with removable bottom and typically have only a bottom crust.
Torte: is a Central European word that means 'cake'.
About the Author:
Experienced contributing author Anya adores giving you her useful inspiring helpful hints on home baking. Not to mention her crucial hidden secret will be her place for looking for edible cake toppers and edible Christmas cake decorations.
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