by Joanne Fluke
Hannah’s 1st Note: You can also use this mixture in any recipe that calls for sour milk.
Lisa’s Note: Florence has a cultured buttermilk powder in the baking aisle down at the Red Owl. It’s specifically for cooking and baking and it’s made by Saco. I bought a can, and I’m going to try it one of these days.
Substitute for Cake Flour
For one cup of cake flour:
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup minus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour.
Measure out 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch and put them in a 1-cup measure. Fill the measure with all-purpose flour.
You can stir this in a small bowl by hand or put it through a sifter. Do this for every cup of cake flour called for in the recipe.
If the recipe calls for a half-cup of cake flour, use 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch in the bottom of a half-cup measure. Fill the measure with all-purpose flour and you’ll have one-half cup of cake flour.
Substitute for Chopped Nuts in Cookies
If someone in your family is allergic to nuts, or if you thought you bought them at the store and you didn’t, you can use another ingredient that will provide crunch and texture in your cookies. Try substituting an equal amount of:
Crushed corn flakes
Pretzels broken into small pieces
Crushed Cheerios
Crushed Chex cereal
M&Ms or another small chocolate candy with a sugar shell
Crushed toffee
Finely chopped coconut
Dry oatmeal
Dried chopped fruit including raisins and cranberries
Substitute for Eggs
1 and ½ Tablespoons water
1 and ½ Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon baking powder
Mix this up for each egg that is called for in a baking recipe.
Hannah’s Note: This substitute is fine for cookies, but it doesn’t work that well with cakes, especially the type of cake that is light and fluffy.
Substitute for Store-Bought Powdered (Confectioner’s) Sugar
1 cup white, granulated sugar for each cup of powdered
sugar you need
2 Tablespoons cornstarch for each cup of powdered sugar
you need
Hannah’s 1st Note: You’ll need a blender to make this. A mixer won’t do.
Combine the white sugar and cornstarch in a blender.
Turn on the blender and blend until the resulting mixture is of powdery consistency.
Pour the mixture out of the blender and store it in an airtight container on the counter (I use a Tupperware-type plastic container) .
Hannah’s 2nd Note: Someday I’d really like to know why I have more bowls than covers for my plastic storage containers. I think it’s another mystery like the one that happens almost every washday in my laundry room. Seven pairs of socks go into the washer, and 13 socks come out of the dryer!
Let the mixture sit on your counter for 15 to 30 minutes and then it’s ready to use.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: Don’t fill your blender too much when you’re making powdered sugar. It needs space to blend.
Lisa’s Note: Sometimes, down at The Cookie Jar, I add some colored decorating sugar to the blender so that I end up with pretty pastel powdered sugar that I use to make frostings.
Substitute for Store-Bought Self-Rising Flour
Hannah’s 1st Note: I occasionally come across a recipe that calls for self-rising flour. Florence doesn’t stock it at the Lake Eden Red Owl, but I found out how to make my own.
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
Sift together into a bowl for every cup of flour that’s called for in the recipe. Work with whole cups only, and then measure out what you need. (If your recipe calls for 1 and ½ cups of self-rising flour, you’ll make 2 cups but use only 1 and ½ cups of the mixture.)
Hannah’s 2nd Note: You can store your substitute for store-bought self-rising flour in a covered container for up to 3 months.
“Why don’t you ever use unsalted butter?” Alice Vogel asked Hannah. “I’ve seen a lot of recipes that say you should use it.”
Hannah gave a little shrug. “Nothing I bake really needs it. Take a good look at some of those recipes with unsalted or sweet butter. They usually list salt as one of the other ingredients. It seemed silly to me to use unsalted butter when you’re just going to add salt to the recipe anyway.”
Edna looked up. “How about eggs? You don’t specify the size.”
“They’re not exactly standard, especially if you’re living in a farm community. Two medium-sized eggs are supposed to equal half of a cup. But who’s going to crack them into a cup and measure? If you’re worried about it, you can just assume that my recipes call for eggs the size of the large eggs you can buy at a grocery store.”
“How about flour?” Carrie asked her. “Is it always all-purpose flour?”
“Yes. If a recipe needs cake flour I write it out on the list of ingredients. And I don’t use recipes that call for wheat flour, or rye flour, or soy flour. They’re just too specialized. Some of the special flours may work in my recipes, but you’d have to try them yourself to see.”
“This section on substitutions is really helpful,” Bertie said, paging through it again. “The last time I bought cake flour for a recipe, the rest of the box sat on my shelf forever. And then it got little bugs in it and I had to throw it away.”
“You should have put the box in a freezer bag, and frozen it,” Florence told her. “If you do that, you won’t get flour weevils.”
Hannah nodded and left it at that. What Florence said was accurate enough for their purposes. The eggs were still there in the box of cake flour. There was no way to avoid that. But they wouldn’t hatch if the flour was frozen.
“One question,” Edna announced, giving Hannah a smile. “You just gave us all those substitutes. Is there anything that doesn’t have a substitute?”
“Just one thing. It’s something that’s in a class all by itself, and you either love it, or you hate it. As far as I know, there is no known substitute for rhubarb!”
Bertie laughed. “And that’s the truth! What would we do without rhubarb? Everybody I know has at least a hundred recipes for rhubarb cakes, and pies. . .”
“...and sauces, and cookies,” Lisa continued the list when Bertie hesitated.
“And Jell-O,” Andrea added. “I’ve got a really good recipe for rhubarb Jell-O. Bill even likes it and he hates rhubarb.”
“You’ve got a rhubarb cake in here, but no cookies,” Bertie pointed out to Hannah. “I think you should work on that. After all, rhubarb is practically Minnesota’s state fruit... or vegetable... or whatever it is.”
“It’s like a weed,” Florence said with such distain, everyone knew she was one of the people who hated it. “Once it grows in your back yard, you can’t get rid of it. I tried.”
Alice laughed. “I’ve got six cherry rhubarb plants in my back yard, and I wish I had more.”
“You can have mine if you come over and dig them up,” Florence offered, and then she turned to Hannah. “Where’s the Minnesota Peach Cobbler? And the Lemon Cream Torte? Those are my absolute favorites!”
“Here,” Hannah told her, flipping to another section in Florence’s binder. “Some of my recipes didn’t really fit anywhere, so I put them under Other Sweet Treats. If there’s something you can’t find, it’s probably there.”
Other Sweet Treats
APRICOT BREAD PUDDING
DO NOT preheat oven — the bread pudding must settle for 30 minutes before baking.
8 slices of white bread (either homemade or “store bought”)
1 cup butter (2 sticks, 8 ounces, ½ pound)
cup white (granulated) sugar
½ cup chopped dried apricots (not too fine, you want some
chunks)
3 beaten eggs (just whip them up in a glass with a fork)
2 and ¼ c
ups top milk66 (you can use light cream or half
and half)
Heavy cream, sweetened whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream for a topping
Generously butter a 2-quart casserole. (You can also spray the inside of the casserole dish with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.) Remove the crusts from the bread and cut each slice into 4 triangles. (Just make an “X” with your knife.) Melt the butter in a large bowl and put in the bread triangles, tossing them lightly with a spoon until they’re coated with butter.
Arrange approximately a third of the triangles in the bottom of the casserole. Sprinkle on a third of the sugar and half of the chopped apricots.
Put down half of the remaining bread triangles, sprinkle on half of the remaining sugar, and add ALL of the remaining apricots.
Cover with the rest of the bread triangles. Scrape the bowl to get out any butter that remains in the bottom of the bowl and put that on top. Sprinkle with the last of the sugar and set aside.
Place the beaten eggs in the butter bowl and whisk in the light cream. Pour this over the top of the casserole and let it stand at room temperature for thirty minutes. (This gives the bread time to absorb the egg-and-cream mixture.)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
When the oven has come up to temperature, bake the bread pudding uncovered, for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the pudding is set and the top is golden brown.
Let the Apricot Bread Pudding cool slightly (10 to 15 minutes or so) and then spoon it out into dessert dishes. Top it with heavy cream, sweetened whipped cream, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
You can make this with any dried fruit, including currants or raisins. Andrea likes apricots, Mother prefers dates, and Michelle thought it was “yummy” with dried pears. We didn’t try it with prunes. Carrie Rhodes is the only person I know who likes prunes. (And I’m not going to comment about that!)
Yield: Serves 6 unless you invite the Swensens to dinner.
FRUIT POCKET FRENCH TOAST
DO NOT preheat the oven — this dish must “rest” before baking.
½ cup butter (1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound)
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup maple syrup
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 loaf (at least 12 slices) of sliced bread (white, egg, raisin,
whatever)
½ cup butter, softened (1 stick, 4 ounces, ¼ pound)
2 cups canned or fresh fruit (any kind except melon or grapes)
8 eggs
¾ cup white (granulated) sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups heavy cream (whipping cream)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup butter (1 stick, ¼ pound)
Powdered (confectioner’s) sugar to sprinkle on top before serving
Leave one stick of butter out on the counter to soften it, or unwrap it and heat it for a few seconds in the microwave.
If you’re using canned fruit, open the can and dump the fruit in a strainer now.
Heat a second stick of butter, the brown sugar, and the maple syrup in a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 2 and ½ minutes (I used a quart measuring cup,) or in a pan on the stovetop, stirring constantly, until the butter is melted. Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or another non-stick spray, and pour the syrup mixture in the bottom. Sprinkle with the chopped pecans, if you decided to use them.
Lay out twelve slices of bread. You’re going to make fruit sandwiches.
Spread some softened butter on one slice of bread. Top it with well-drained fruit cut in very thin slices (berries or pineapple can be crushed).
Spread more softened butter on a second slice of bread and use it to cover the fruit. Cut this fruit sandwich in half and place it in the pan on top of the syrup mixture. Make 5 more sandwiches, cut them in half, and then place them in the pan. You can crowd them a bit, but do not overlap the bread.
Press the sandwiches down with the back of a flat metal spatula. Squish that bread!
Beat the eggs with the sugar and the cinnamon. Add the cream and the vanilla, mixing thoroughly. Pour this mixture over the bread in the pan.
Cover the pan with plastic wrap or foil, and let it stand out on the counter for a minimum of twenty minutes. (If you’re having a fancy breakfast, you can also make this the night before and keep it in the refrigerator until it’s time to bake it.)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
Take off the plastic wrap that covers your pan. Melt the third stick of butter and drizzle it over the top of the fruit sandwiches.
When your oven has come up to temperature, bake the Fruit Pocket French Toast at 350 degrees F., uncovered, for approximately 45 minutes, or until the top has browned. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for at least five minutes.
To serve: Sprinkle the top of the pan with powdered sugar before you carry it to the table. This will make it much prettier. Dish out the Fruit Pocket French Toast with a metal spatula, and offer more syrup and butter for those who want it. A half sandwich is one serving.
Yield: 12 half-sandwich servings.
Hannah’s Note: If you want to make this and you’re really in a pickle because you don’t have any fruit, try spreading the bread with a thick layer of fruit jam or marmalade. I haven’t tried this, but I’ll bet you a batch of my best cookies that it’ll work!
HAWAIIAN FLAN
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the center position.
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
½ cup water
6 eggs
1 can (14-ounces) sweetened, condensed milk (don’t use
evaporated — it won’t work)
¼ cup white sugar
teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 cups pineapple juice
1 small can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, well drained Sweetened whipped cream for a topping (optional)
Find an 8-inch by 8-inch square pan (either metal or glass,) or any other oven pan that will hold 6 cups of liquid. Do not grease, butter or spray it with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Simply have it ready, next to the stovetop.
Combine one cup of white sugar with the half cup of water in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, stirring at first and then swishing it around until the mixture turns golden brown. (This gets as hot as candy syrup, so wear oven mitts.)
Carefully pour the syrup into the pan you’ve chosen and tip it to coat the bottom and the sides. This is your caramel sauce. (Be very careful. This is extremely hot.) Run water in the saucepan you used and set it in the sink. Then set the baking pan aside while you make the custard.
WARNING: Be very careful! This is extremely hot. When the caramel begins to cool, you may hear cracking noises. Don’t panic. It’s the caramel cracking, not your pan. I know this because I threw away a perfectly good glass pan because I thought it had cracked. I looked at it later, and only the caramel had cracked, not the glass!
Beat the eggs until they’re light yellow and thick. (This will take a while if you don’t have an electric mixer.) Add the sweetened condensed milk, the sugar, the salt, and the pineapple juice, and beat thoroughly.
Get out a strainer and strain this mixture into your baking pan.
Find a larger baking pan that will contain your custard pan with at least an inch to spare on all four sides. Place the custard pan inside the larger pan. Slip both pans into the oven and then pour hot tap water into the large pan, enough to immerse your custard pan halfway up the sides.
Bake one hour, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the custard pan from the water and let it cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes. (This custard can be served either warm, or cold.)
To serve, turn the custard out in a flat bowl or a plate with a deep lip. (This is so the caramel sauce won’t overflow.) Place slices of custard in a dessert dish and sprinkle some of the crushed pineapple over the top. Then spoon on some of the caram
el sauce and top with sweetened, whipped cream if you wish.
Delores prefers this custard chilled. Andrea says it’s best at room temperature, and I like it warm.
LEMON CREAM TORTE
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F., rack in the middle position (NOT A MISPRINT – two hundred and fifty degrees F.)
Hannah’s 1st Note: Try to choose a day when the humidity is low to bake this. Meringues don’t crisp up as well if the air is too humid.
MERINGUE:
4 egg whites (reserve the yolks in a bowl for the filling)
1 cup white (granulated) sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper. (You can use brown parcel-wrapping paper, but parchment works best.) Draw two 8-inch diameter circles on your paper, using a round 8-inch cake pan as a guide. DO NOT cut them out of the sheet of parchment paper.
Spray the inside of the circles you’ve drawn with Pam, or another non-stick cooking spray, and then sprinkle it lightly with flour. The circles you’ve drawn are a guide. You will be filling them with meringue.
Beat the egg whites on HIGH speed until they are stiff enough to hold a soft peak. Add cup of the sugar gradually, sprinkling it in and continuing to beat as you sprinkle. Pour in the vanilla extract and sprinkle in the rest of the sugar ( cup). Mix it in very gently (on LOW speed), or fold in with an angel food cake whisk or a very clean (not a speck of grease!) rubber spatula until the meringue is smooth.
