Found 140 Glossary entries. Displaying results 1-20.
BY: The Food Lover's Companion
Of this genre, the most popular is undoubtedly the traditional pineapple upside-down cake. Any fruit can be used, however, and this dessert is made by covering the bottom of a cake pan with butter and sugar topped with decoratively arranged fruit, then cake batter. During the baking process, the sugar, butter and fruit juices combine to create a CARAMELIZED glaze. Before serving, the cake is inverted onto a serving plate so the glazed fruit becomes the top of the cake.
This rich, sweet, cakelike bread is usually eaten for breakfast or brunch. Coffee cakes can be made with yeast, but those using baking soda or baking powder take less time and are also delicious. Coffee cakes often contain fruit, nuts and sometimes a cream-cheese filling. They can be frosted or not and are usually best served slightly warm.
Originating in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in England, this oval "cake" is made of a flaky pastry filled with mixed dried fruit.
This rich, light cake is made with flour, sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla. It's similar in texture to a moist SPONGE CAKE. It was developed in Genoa, Italy, adapted by the French and is now baked by gourmet cooks throughout Europe and the United States. Génoise is an extremely versatile cake and is used for many elegant presentations such as PETITS FOURS, cake rolls and BAKED ALASKA.
Thought to have been inspired by the cupola of Florence, Italy's, Duomo (the city's main cathedral), this dome-shaped dessert begins with a bowl lined with LIQUEUR-moistened cake (usually pound cake) slices. The bowl is then filled with a mixture of sweetened whipped cream, chopped or grated chocolate and various chopped nuts before being topped with additional cake slices. The zuccotto is refrigerated at least a day so the filling can set. It's inverted onto a plate before being served.
A round pan with deep sides and a hollow center tube used for baking cake, especially ANGEL FOOD or SPONGE CAKE. The tube promotes even baking for the center of the cake. See also BUNDT PAN.
Also called baba au rhum, this rich, light currant- or raisin-studded yeast cake is soaked in a rum or KIRSCH syrup. It's said to have been invented in the 1600s by Polish King Lesczyinski, who soaked his stale KUGELHOPF in rum and named the dessert after the storybook hero Ali Baba. The classic baba is baked in a tall, cylindrical mold but the cake can be made in a variety of shapes, including small individual rounds. When the cake is baked in a large ring mold it's known as a SAVARIN.
Named for the Lancashire, England, town of Eccles, this small domed confection has a filling of CURRANTS and other dried fruit mixed with sugar and butter and encased in a PUFF PASTRY shell.
A cookie can be any of various hand-held, flour-based sweet cakes-either crisp or soft. The word cookie comes from the Dutch koekje, meaning "little cake." The earliest cookie-style cakes are thought to date back to seventh-century Persia, one of the first countries to cultivate sugar. There are six basic cookie styles, any of which can range from tender-crisp to soft. A drop cookie is made by dropping spoonfuls of dough onto a baking sheet. Bar cookies are created when a batter or soft dou...
A traditional Italian dessert served at celebrations such as weddings. The word cassata means "in a case (or chest)." One version of this dessert has a rich filling of RICOTTA, candied fruit and grated chocolate encased by thin slices of liqueur-sprinkled sponge cake. The cake and cheese mixture may also be layered. The dessert is chilled, then decorated with whipped cream, ricotta cheese or chocolate frosting. Another version, cassata gelata, is made by lining a mold with layers of ice cr...
The famous Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte hails from Swabia in Germany's Black Forest region. This exquisite dessert is created by layering KIRSCH-scented chocolate cake, sour cherries and kirsch-laced whipped cream. A generous coating of whipped cream garnished with chocolate curls and cherries completes the cake.
A fruit- or cheese-filled yeast-raised cake, usually served for breakfast but also enjoyed as a dessert. It originated in Germany but is now enjoyed in many variations throughout much of Europe and the United States. The word kaffeekuchen is German for "coffee cake."
A translucent, gelatinous cake made from the starch of a yam-like tuber known as devil's tongue. Although konnyaku has no noticeable flavor, it readily absorbs the flavors of the simmered dishes to which it's added. There are two types-shiru konnyaku, a refined pearly-white version, and kuro konnyaku, an unrefined cake with dark specks in it. Konnyaku is available in the refrigerated section of Asian markets. See also SHIRATAKI.
This classic molded dessert begins with a mold lined with SPONGE CAKE, LADYFINGERS or buttered bread. The traditional charlotte container is pail-shaped, but almost any mold is acceptable. The lined mold is then filled with layers (or a mixture) of fruit and CUSTARD or whipped cream that has been fortified with gelatin. The dessert is chilled thoroughly and unmolded before serving. Charlotte russe, said to have been created for the Russian Czar Alexander, is a ladyfinger shell filled with ...
Fruit or flowers that have been boiled or dipped in SUGAR SYRUP, then sometimes into granulated sugar after being dried. Candied fruits (also called glacé fruits) are generally used in cakes, breads and other sweets. Candied flowers are generally reserved for decorating desserts; candied fruits can also be used in this manner. The most common fruits that are candied are cherries, pineapple and citrus rinds. ANGELICA and GINGER are also candied favorites. Among the crystallized flowers, viol...
This classic English dessert is made with layers of bread, cake or LADYFINGERS (which may be soaked with LIQUEUR), dried fruit and custard. The pudding is baked, unmolded and usually served with CRÈME ANGLAISE. Another version of cabinet pudding uses gelatin and whipped cream; rather than being baked, it's simply chilled until set.
Not a pie at all, this dessert consists of two layers of SPONGE CAKE with a thick custard filling, topped either by a dusting of confectioners' sugar or chocolate glaze.
Literally translated as "English soup," this Italian dish is, in fact, a refrigerated dessert similar to the British favorite, TRIFLE. It's made with rum-sprinkled slices of sponge cake layered with a rich custard or whipped cream (or both) and candied fruit or toasted almonds (or both).
One of Italy's great gifts to the rest of the world, zabaglione is an ethereal dessert made by whisking together egg yolks, wine (traditionally MARSALA) and sugar. This beating is done over simmering water so that the egg yolks cook as they thicken into a light, foamy custard. Traditional zabaglione must be made just before serving. (There is also a frozen version.) The warm froth can be served either as a dessert by itself or as a sauce over cake, fruit, ice cream or pastry. In France it'...
Edible, gossamer-thin sheets of pure silver or gold that for centuries have been popular decorations in India for special-occasion desserts, confections, nuts and rice dishes. Varak sheets, which are flavorless and odorless, can be found in Indian markets and cake decorating supply shops. The gold- and silver-leaf sheets usually come in packages of twenty-four, each section sandwiched between two sheets of paper. Varak sheets are so fragile that they dissolve easily with human touch and ca...
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