Friday, February 28, 2014

Measuring 101

Measuring in cooking is semi-important. Measuring in baking is super duper important. You must use measurements when baking at all times. Using the correct measurements can be the difference between getting a dense cake and a light, fluffy one. Here are some tips that I use when I bake:

1. Whenever baking or using measurements you want to do it by weight. I highly suggest you buy a little scale that you can use in the kitchen at all times. This is really the number one way you are going to get an accurate measurement.

2. If you don't have or want a scale, make sure you use the cups correctly. The small glass cups are volume cups that are supposed to be used for liquids only. The regular measuring cups you see attached together with the teaspoons and tablespoons are the ones you want to use for the dried ingredients.

3. LEVEL OFF. I can't stress this enough. Don't think because it says one cup of flour, you can just put the 1 cup measuring cup into the flour and then dump it into the bowl. No! You must level it off. Using a baking spatula is the best way to do that. Just take the baking spatula and scrape the excess flour or whatever dried ingredient off the top until it's leveled. If you don't it's not going to be accurate and therefore you won't get the results you want, if you don't level it off every time.

4. For liquids, I always go off eye level. That way it ensures I'm completely accurate with the liquids. Just squat down to eye level and make sure the liquid meets the line you want it to meet.

This may seem like a lot for just measuring, but really this isn't asking much. This will ensure that you get the perfect results every time. It's a basic lesson, but an important one.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Delicious Lemon-Berry Shortcake




This shortcake is so delicious and refreshing. It's moist, spongy and the flavor is oh so good. This is a very easy recipe to make and it's so great to eat on a hot summer day....or anytime really. So let's get started.

Equipment Needed:

1 8" cake pan

Baking spatula

Whisk

Bowl

Big measuring cup

Measuring cups and measuring spoons

Sifter

 

Ingredients:

Cake:

 1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 room temperature egg

2/3 cup buttermilk at room temperature

1/4 butter, melted

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sliced fresh strawberries

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Amazing Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies






FLOURLESS AMAZING PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
Okay guys, this is my go-to peanut butter cookies recipe. It is so easy and quick to make and oh so delicious. The added plus is it's flourless. Trust me once you try this recipe it will be your go-to recipe as well. Let's get started!

Things you will need:

Mixer or Stand Mixer

Cookie Sheet

Measuring cups

Baking Spatula

1 egg at room temperature

1 cup of creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

Salt

Opt: Vanilla Extract


Thursday, February 20, 2014

Welcome to my blog!

Hello world!

My name is Fatima. I love to cook and bake. It's one of my passions. Another one of my passions is writing. I figured why not combine my two passions to share awesome recipes and tips. The blog will provide advice, recipes, reviews and much more. It's going to be a lot of fun! The goal of the blog is to share the very best tested recipes for a variety of foods and sweets. I'm Lebanese, so you can bet there will be plenty of Lebanese recipes on the blog as well. I will do my best to blog as much as possible and to keep it updated as much as possible. The goal is to post a couple new recipes weekly. We'll so how much I'll really be able to do, but trust me I will try my best to keep my word. Anyways, hope you enjoy the blog and of course enjoy the food!