canola oil instead of butter

Someone just asked me if they could replace butter with healthier substitution like canola oil. Well..yes and no..it depends on the role of the butter in the recipe and the cake mixing method. If the recipe requires aerated fat (as in the case of creaming method), then you have to stick to butter because however had you whisk, you'll never get aerated fat with canola oil and sugar!

However, it is still possible if you tweak the cake mixing method, which has to do with the sequence of adding ingredients. Canola oil can be used if you use the '1-stage' method instead of the creaming method. What's 1-stage?

Simply categorize ingredients into 2 main groups - powder and liquid, or sometimes also known as dry and wet. Powder or dry can be cake flour, sugar, cocoa powder etc. Liquid or wet can be egg, milk, puree, melted butter etc. 

1-stage refers to the adding of ingredients in one stage, ie. first have all the powder or dry ingredients in a mixing bowl, then pre-mix all liquid or wet ingredients together and at one go add into the powder or dry ingredients. Then as in any mixing method for any type of sponge, once flour comes into contact with moisture, simply mix well to get all ingredients to combine well but never over mix.

So there you have it...instead of butter in a creaming-method recipe, substitute with canola oil and adopt a 1-stage cake mixing method.

Happy baking!!

kappa-Bashi

If any of you are planning to go to Tokyo for holiday...there's a street called Kappa-Bashi (カッパ橋道具街) where you'll find tons of cooking/baking untencils. If you take the JR Yamanote line, you should get off at Ueno. Its about a 15min walk from the train station. 

And because there are so many exits, I suggest you ask for proper direction from the train station staff nicely 'Excuse me, where is Kappa-bashi?. And if he says 'Ehh'?, then you try the following:- Sumimasen, kikitaindesukedo, Kappa-bashi...douko desu ka?, you're actually saying:- Excuse me, could I ask where is Kappa-bashi? 

He would normally dish out a map to show you your current location and point out to you where you should be heading...which exit etc. better still, a free Kappa-bashi shop guide if you're lucky. You'll notice that the shops on kappa-bashi are colour-coded. You're after the light-purplish stretch of shops. Then you say 'Arigatou' and smile. 

And when you finally get there, you'll notice there are about 53 (light purplish) shops. If you don't have time, I suggest shops no. 8, 26, 30, 34 and 35. Otherwise, just drop in any shops which you find interesting!

Happy shopping!!

nan

about baking

Inspired by some lovely people whom I have got acquainted with recently, 'about baking' is intended to be a platform for sharing of anything and everything about baking. It could be about some new realization you've had after making genoise 3 times on the same day, or that 'airing' it first works better for you when it comes to macarons or even some pictures of your first cake. No right or wrong, no good or bad, just anything and everything anyone wants to share about baking.

After having run baking classes for more than 2 years now and compared to the times when things first started, there are definitely more people who are taking up baking classes. Some think its therapeutic and a great way to de-stress, others are first-time bakers and in the kitchen every weekend trying their hands at new recipes!

I enjoy baking and i enjoy meeting people..so the past 2 years have been fantastic for me! I meet interesting people, some really hate their job, others are there because they've been dragged along, and some are genuinely passionate about it.

The greatest enjoyment for me is seeing how one, who has never stepped into the kitchen before but after a few sessions of 'biting the bullet and doing it anyway', develop confidence, interest and appreciation in their own way, their own pace (you know who I'm talking about ;) ). 

For me, the class is successful only when they have on their own at home, tried and made something they and their family enjoy. So keep on sending those pix to me!! They make great encouragement and inspiration for me!