Baking quiz

Take this 15-question test to see if you're a whiz — or a disaster — in the kitchen

By Valerie Phillips
Deseret Morning News

With the cooking and baking season coming up, it's nice to know how to turn out homemade cakes, cookies, muffins and pies without resorting to a mix. Baking is part art, part chemistry. So the more you know, the better the end result.

Once you understand the basics, you can even stray a bit from your tried-and-true recipes without ruining them. So let's see what you know — you may be a better baker than you think.

1. What is the purpose of baking powder in a recipe?
   1. Aids in browning
   2. Helps the dough or batter to rise
   3. Thickens sauces
2. What does corn starch do in a recipe?
   1. Adds sweetness
   2. Thickens sauces
   3. Adds flavor
3. Why do recipes call for unsalted butter?
   1. To control the amount of salt in the recipe
   2. Unsalted butter is usually fresher
   3. Unsalted butter has fewer calories
   4. A and B
4. Define a "cobbler":
   1. Fruit filling topped with a biscuit dough
   2. A crunchy topping is crumbled over a fruit filling
   3. A slice of cake covered with fruit
5. If the recipe calls for cake flour and you don't have it, what's a reasonable substitute?
   1. For every cup of all-purpose flour, add 2 tablespoons of cake crumbs
   2. For every cup of all-purpose flour, omit 2 tablespoons of flour, add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, and sift twice
   3. For every cup of whole-wheat flour, add 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
6. What if you don't have "self-rising" flour?
   1. For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix to combine
   2. For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 2 teaspoons of yeast. Mix to combine.
   3. There's no viable substitution
7. Besides adding sweetness, what else does granulated sugar do in baked goods?
   1. It helps tenderize the dough or batter
   2. When creamed with butter or shortening, it contributes to the volume of a cake
   3. It aids in browning during baking
   4. All of the above
8. What is cream of tartar?
   1. Same as half-and-half cream
   2. A Russian dessert using whipped cream and gelatin
   3. An acid used as a leavening agent
9. If a cookie recipe calls for butter, and you decide to melt the butter first, what will happen to the cookies?
   1. They will rise higher
   2. They will take longer to bake
   3. They will be flat, dark and greasy
   4. A and B.
10. What can you do if you're making frosting and run out of powdered sugar?
    1. Blend 1 cup regular sugar with 1 tablespoon cornstarch in the blender 2 to 3 minutes.
    2. Borrow some from your most generous neighbor.
    3. Serve it without frosting.
    4. Make a glaze by adding about 2/3 cup of whipping cream to 1 pound of melted milk chocolate (or for a deeper flavor, bittersweet chocolate). low the mixture to cool and set up a little before using it on the cake.
    5. All of the above.
11. True or False: You can safely store zucchini or banana-nut bread in wide-rimmed canning jar, just as you do canned fruit or jams. All you have to do is put on a lid as soon as it comes out of the oven.
12. The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of vanilla. If you cut the recipe in half, how much vanilla should you put in?
    1. 1 teaspoon
    2. 1 1/2 tablespoons
    3. 1 1/2 teaspoons
13. Which one of these desserts usually is better refrigerated several hours or overnight before serving?
    1. Grand Marnier Souffle
    2. Cheesecake
    3. Crepes suzette
14. How can you tell if yeast is too old to leaven bread or rolls?
    1. Toss it if it's one month within the expiration date
    2. Mix the yeast with a little warm water and a pinch of sugar, and allow to sit for about 5 minutes to see if it starts foaming
    3. Mix the dry yeast with a little flour. If it blends easily into the flour, it's still good to use.
15. If using a nationally published cookbook, what can you do to adjust the cake recipes to Utah's altitude?
    1. Add a little more "toughening" ingredients, such as egg or flour, to give the batter more structure
    2. Reduce the amount of sugar slightly
    3. Reduce the baking powder by 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon
    4. Increase the baking temperature by 25 degrees to set the crust faster, so it doesn't rise too quickly and then fall
    5. All of the above.

ANSWERS

1. B. Baking powder is a leavening agent that helps batters and doughs rise.
2. B. Cornstarch thickens sauces and dessert fillings.
3. D. If you use salted butter in a recipe that calls for unsalted butter and salt, decrease the amount of salt slightly.
4. A. A cobbler has a dough topping; a crisp has a crunchy topping crumbled over the top. Similar fruit/dough combos also go by the names of betty, buckle, pandowdy, crumble, grunt and slump (and I'm NOT kidding!).
5. B. Cake flour has a softer, silkier texture than all-purpose flour, but this is a reasonable substitute in a pinch.
6. A. Self-rising flour has the leavening agent already added.
7. D. All of the above.
8. C. Cream of tartar is an acid powder that, when moisture is added, makes bubbles of carbon dioxide gas that causes the batter to rise. Besides its role in baking powders, a pinch of cream of tartar also stabilizes beaten egg whites and keeps homemade candy from going grainy.
9. C. Some margarine-type "spreads" will also play havoc with your baked goods because of the high water content. Choose products that say "Real Margarine" or look on the label for 100 percent oil.
10. E. All of the above are viable options, depending on what ingredients are in your kitchen (and who your neighbors are). The "powdered" sugar made in your blender will be slightly grainy but will work in a pinch.
11. False: You will have a vacuum seal. But this anaerobic (no oxygen) environment, with the food's low acidity and available moisture, is just right for growing C. Botulinum that can cause botulism poisoning, according to Dr. Charlotte Brennand, USU Extension food safety/preservation specialist. Don't home-can bread, and if someone gives you a home-canned quick bread product, don't eat it.
12. C. Three teaspoons equal a tablespoon.
13. B. Cheesecake improves with refrigeration. A souffle will fall flat if it sits very long, and crepes suzette are flamed, so both should be served immediately.
14. B. If the yeast starts foaming and bubbling by then, it's still "active" and can be used.
15. E. Most cookbooks are written for sea level — the elevation of Los Angeles and New York City. The Wasatch Front is 4,200 to 4,600 feet above sea level. With our lower atmospheric pressure, the carbon dioxide molecules expand and rise more, so the cake might flow out of the pan. If there's not enough structure in the batter to hold all these air bubbles, the volume collapses and the cake falls. (Also, homemade candy finishes cooking at a lower temperature, and home-canned foods need more processing time.)

12 to 15 answers right: You're one smart cookie.
8 to 11 answers right: You're a rookie cookie, with room for improvement.
Below 7 answers right: That's how (and why) your cookie crumbles.

Sources: "Debbi Fields' Great American Desserts," by Debbi Fields; "The Dessert Bible," by Christopher Kimball; "Cooking A to Z" by the California Culinary Academy; and www.Recipesource.com.

E-MAIL: vphillips@desnews.com