Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Desserts and puddings: ingredients

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins General points to remember Check weighing scales for accuracy. Never guess quantities – weigh them carefully. Check that storage temperatures are correct. Follow the recipe exactly. Work in a tidy and organised way. Clean equipment after use. Plan your time carefully. Follow food safety regulations.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Key ingredients: flour The foundation of many desserts and puddings. Different types contain different percentages of the whole grain: White: Only the endosperm (72–85%) – white starch part of the grain. Wholemeal: Contains all of the whole grain. Wheatmeal: Contains 85–95% of the whole grain. Hovis/wheatmeal: Contains 85% of the whole grain. High ratio (patent): Contains 40% of the whole grain. Self-raising: White, with added baking powder. Semolina: Granulated hard flour, only the central part of the grain, available in white or wholemeal.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Key ingredients: fats Butter: Excellent flavour, does not have the water retention and creaminess of manufactured fats. Margarine: A blend of oils, hardened or hydrogenated (by adding hydrogen gas), up to 10% butterfat. Varieties include: cake margarine: has an additional emulsifying agent to help combine water and fat pastry margarine: hard, plastic, waxy fat used for layering puff pastry. Shortening: Made from oils, e.g. hydrogenated lard or rendered pork fat. Used for pastry.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Key ingredients: sugar Juice from sugar beet or sugar cane is crystallised in a complex process, then refined into different grades (e.g. soft brown, demerara, granulated, icing, caster). Loaf/cube sugar is made by pressing the damp crystals, drying them in blocks and then cutting them into squares. Syrup and treacle are produced during sugar production, before the products are crystallised. Fondant is a cooked mixture of sugar and glucose, bought ready-made and used to decorate cakes, petits fours, etc.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Key ingredients: raising agents Added to a cake or bread mixture to give lightness to the product. Based on the principle that gases (air, water vapour, carbon dioxide) expand when heated. These gases can be introduced before baking or produced by raising agents in the mixture. They expand during cooking and are trapped in the gluten of the wheat flour. On further cooking, the pressure from the trapped gases causes the product to rise and set.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Key ingredients: raising agents Chemical raising agents cause reactions between acidic and alkaline compounds, producing carbon dioxide. The alkaline is usually baking soda (sodium bicarbonate or sodium acid carbonate) – cheap, easily purified, non-toxic and tasteless. An alternative is potassium bicarbonate – suitable for low-sodium diets, absorbs moisture and reacts prematurely, giving a bitter flavour.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Problems with raising agents Using too much raising agent causes: over-risen product which then collapses coarse texture, poor colour and bitter flavour fruit sinking to the bottom. Not using enough raising agent causes: lack of volume, shrinkage insufficient lift close texture.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Raising agents for a light texture

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Key ingredients: eggs Important and versatile ingredient. Used because of their enriching, binding, emulsifying and coating properties. Add protein and fat to a dish, and improve the flavour. Hen’s eggs are graded as small, medium, large or very large.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Eggs as an essential ingredient

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Key ingredients: milk Widely used in desserts and puddings. Sold homogenised, which disperses the cream evenly through the milk. Available with different fat contents – Channel Island, full fat, semi-skimmed and skimmed. To bring any bacteria that could be present under control it is pasteurised – the milk is heated to 72 ° C for three seconds then rapidly cooled. Also UHT (ultra heat treated) – heated to 140 ° C or more for one to three seconds. Keep pasteurised milk (and UHT once it has been opened) in the refrigerator below 5 ° C.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Desserts using milk

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Key ingredients: cream Concentrated milk fat, skimmed off the top of the milk. Cream is pasteurised before sale. Available as UHT (ultra heat treated) in cartons. Also available frozen in 2–10 kg slabs. Different types contain different percentages of butterfat: half cream: 12% single cream: 18% whipping cream: 35% double (thick) cream: 48% clotted: 55%.

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Cream in puddings and desserts

Published by Hodder Education © 2010 D Foskett, J Campbell and P Paskins Points to remember Keep eggs refrigerated below 5 ° C. Store flour in a bin with a tight-fitting lid. Store sugar and other dry ingredients in closed containers. Fat and cream are easier to work with if they are at room temperature. Cream fat and sugar well before adding liquid. Fresh cream can be easily overwhipped and then becomes unusable.