Joy the Baker

I cleared out my cooking cupboard and piled everything up on a table… I’m trying to make a point.  

I think it’s important you know that you don’t need cabinets full of fancy equipment to make glorious things happen in the kitchen.  

I think it’s important you know that I don’t have the most, biggest, nor the best equipment in my kitchen.  I do seem to have enough… and I’m scrappy enough to make things work.  

Let’s talk kitchen gear:  what you must have and what you might want to have on hand.  

Aaaand, go!

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You mentioned once that you were an English major in college. What did you want to be when you grew up? Did you ever do it? How did you move from English major to Baker Extraordinaire?

I was an English major in college. Ironically enough, reading makes me fall asleep. Crazy, right? Somehow I managed to work my way through five (yes, it took me a while) years of college. I worked two jobs through college, always with food, often in kitchens. For those years, I either had my head (fast asleep) in a book, or my hands elbow deep in dough. When I finished college, I found that I loved baking so much that I didn’t want to stop working with food. I somehow wanted to find a way to incorporate my love of story telling with my passion for food. So far that journey has lead me here- cooking, photographing and writing for you fine folks. I honestly can’t think of any place I’d rather be!

Have you thought of making healthy versions of some of your recipes, or proposing a corpus of kid-friendly, healthier recipes that use fruit sugars and fat subs for a more conscious approach of your culinary art?

I think butter is beautiful. I think sugar is dreamy. I think cream is over the moon. I bake with ingredients that put a smile on my face. I certainly wouldn’t consider the treats on my site as everyday meal-time staples, but for a special occasion… when you need to reach out to that inner sugar fiend… this is a good place to come.

If you’re looking for fruit sugars and fat substitutes, I just may not be the baker for you. It’s just not what I’m passionate about these days. While I do have a handful of healthful recipes like my Gnarly Muffins… these recipes just don’t bring a sparkle to my eye like cream, butter and chocolate do.

What kind of camera do you use? Did you take classes or is it just the camera that creates those gorgeous shots?

I use a Canon XSi with a 100mm macro lens. It’s a lovely, easy to use camera, made even more awesome with the fancypants lens. Can I tell you a secret? There was a time when the lens to my camera was worth more money than the car I was driving. True…. that’s really true.

I also have to tell you that I’ve actually never take a photography class. A dear friend handed me a SLR camera, gave me a 15 minute lesson all about aperture and depth of field I think he might have mentioned shutter speed once or twice… but that was it. He knew what I wanted to shoot and he showed me exactly how to do it.

The 100mm macro lens It’s totally worth it, isn’t it?

Yes. Yes it is.

Did you go to culinary school? Do you currently work at a bakery? Have you been working at a bakery for your entire professional life?

Here’s the deal: I’m a self taught baker. I didn’t go to culinary school. Why? It was just too darn expensive. As a result, I’m no master at cream puffs, my bread baking is sometimes a comic tragedy and fancy French desserts make me break out in a cold sweat. But that stuff just isn’t where my passion lies. I’m more interested in getting in the kitchen with my Dad to recreate his favorite pie, or filling my kitchen with girlfriends to play with cookie recipes. My approach is all about food, stories, laughs and love and I didn’t feel like I needed culinary school to teach me that.

What recipe ingredients are worth splurging on?

Whatever you love… it’s worth splurging on. I love food, so I think the good stuff is worth seeking out. Recently I’ve come to love raw, artisanal honeys. The people at Ames Farm seem to know what they’re doing with bees. They have lovely honey that I usually eat by the spoonful. I also love love love good chocolate. I like to buy Valrhona when it comes to my chocolate baking needs. Expensive, yes… but the quality is absolutely worth the extra dough.

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We need to talk. It’s important.

I can’t have you using that Ground Nutmeg you have in your pantry. I know it’s easy. I know it’s cheap. I just can’t in good conscience let this continue.

Let’s talk about nutmeg. I have The Internets so I know everything I need to know.

Nutmeg comes from a type of evergreen tree in southeast Asia and Australasia. Now, before I continue, am I the only one that didn’t know what Australasia was? Australasia includes Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Ginuea. True. Fun fact!

So two important culinary items come from this magical evergreen type tree:  nutmeg and mace.  Nutmeg is actually the seed of the tree.  It’s slightly smaller than an egg, solid and hard, but when grated, has an interesting lace like design.  Mace is the dried, reddish covering of the arillus seed. Huh?  Yea. Pay attention, we’re still learning.  Mace has a slightly more delicate flavor than nutmeg and when baked, imparts an almost saffron like orange glow.

The beauty of nutmeg is that it’s so versatile.  It’s an integral part of a spice cake like carrot cake, or my beloved Sugar and Spice Cinnamon Rolls, but also shines when sprinkled over sauteed spinach or mixed into cheese sauces.  The key to nutmeg is to always (always! always!) go for the fresh stuff.  It’s easy.  I promise.  It’s not a pain in the ass.  All you’ll need is a jar of the nutmeg seeds (they often come in a jar with between 6 and 8 ) and a microplane.  Microplanes are just about the handiest zester/grater ever!  

When a recipe calls for freshly grated nutmeg, you’re good to go.  If a recipe simply calls for 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, you might want to use a dash less.  Go for 3/4 teaspoon of the fresh stuff instead.  Fresh nutmeg is stronger, more aromatic and more forward that the pre-ground, dusty nutmeg.  

Pre-ground nutmeg is a poor excuse for such a beautiful spice.  Go fresh.  It’s the only way to go.  

I’m not a kitchen equipment junkie.  I more of a kitchen minimalist.  I really couldn’t do without just a few things:  stainless steel mixing bowls, my darling Kitchen Aid, a cast iron skillet, and good metal measuring cups, high temperature spatulas and my brilliant bench knife.  

Don’t have a bench knife?  Well you should!  A bench knife is a 3-inch by 6- inch smooth piece of metal topped with a molded plastic or wood gripping handle. Don’t be fooled by the name, the edge of this piece of metal isn’t sharp like a  cutting knife, but it can still work its way around the kitchen.  It’s great for dividing dough, slicing refrigerator cookies and leveling off measured ingredients like flour and baking soda.  Some bench knives have measurements in inches along the cutting edge.  How handy is that!?   It’s also great for cleaning off counters and tables that might have bits of dough or flour on them.  It’s a simple and efficient tool that can be used as many ways as you can think up!  It’s a real gem!

French culinary terms always seem snooty and unapproachable to me.  Mis-en-place is no different, but it’s the concept behind the term that’s important.  Translating into “everything in it’s place” the term has everyday baking signifigance.  Simply stated, in American English, “get all your stuff together before the flour starts flying.”  Soften the butter, get the eggs to room temperature, preheat the oven, measure the flour, leavening, salt, sugar and wet ingredients.  Also have a spatula, towel and greased and floured pan.  When all of that is ready, you know you’ve got all your ingredients in order. You’re not going to find yourself an egg short in the middle of making cake batter.   It’s a helpful trick.  Thank you fancy French culinary people!