Your Pastry Needs More Jam, Actually
Baking can be almost meditative, minutes (or hours) spent in the kitchen mixing and measuring put you into a state of purposeful calm or serve as a bond when you work with others. Baking can also be a downright tiring chore – it’s hard to maintain interest when you’re making the same family shortbread you’ve eaten 100 times, the lemon bars your partner always wants for dessert, or the coconut layer cake your family has. . expect for every Easter egg hunt.
Sometimes circumstances keep you in the same rotation; sometimes we just run out of new ideas. One of the easiest ways to add a fresh twist to your reliable, woefully predictable recipes is to rely on a baker’s best friend: jam. Get ready to rummage through these jars in the fridge door because the jam will provide the fruity refreshment you need.
Glaze and Glaze Modernization
Frosting is more flexible than we think, especially buttercream. The high ratio of oil or sugar gives them incredible stability, and what can we do about stability? Take it to the limit of flavor by adding unstable components such as aromatic extracts, juices or, in our case, jams. Adding two heaping tablespoons of jam can turn vanilla buttercream into raspberry, strawberry, or blueberry buttercream. Adding jam to the chocolate icing turns your cake into a centerpiece that will have your friends saying wine-tasting terms like “medium body, cocoa flavor with a raspberry aftertaste.” And with your favorite farmhouse strawberry and rhubarb jam, you can make a frosting you can’t find anywhere else but in your kitchen.
Glazes, frostings, and drizzles should strike a balance between runny and crumbly, but they shouldn’t be watery. Adding jam to any of these will certainly add interest among fruit pieces and tiny seeds. Embrace these textural ingredients but avoid large jelly-like chunks by heating the jam in a small saucepan with a little water until it’s runny. Then fold the loosened jam into the finished icing, adjusting the consistency with powdered sugar – if the icing gets too runny and runny, add a couple of tablespoons to thicken it up. Take it slow – add too much powdered sugar at once and you risk falling into purgatory, swinging back and forth between too thick and too thin. Be careful when setting up. If the glaze becomes too thick, add a few drops of water and stir.
Striped tartlets and cakes
Fruit jams are overcooked and concentrated fruit, so a couple of scoops can do the trick. Stripping is a method in which a thin layer of jam is spread on one side of the dessert with other ingredients; when you cut the dessert, you will see a thin strip running along the inside of each piece. If you are making a pie, after the pie crust is blind baked and chilled, spread a thin layer of raspberry jam right on the bottom before adding the main filling. This small step makes the frangipane cake more fruity or adds a nice sourness to an overly rich ganache. For layer cakes (and even rolls), spread a layer of jam directly on the cake before adding the frosting you would normally pour over layers. You can control the strength of the jam in the cake by adding it in one layer, all layers, or any combination of your choice. Keep in mind that you will be putting something on top of this jam strip – pie filling, lemon curd, icing, five more layers of cake – and the jam is slippery, so it’s extremely important that this layer is very thin (like a strip, don’t rugby lane). Otherwise, the layers of your cake may start to slide over you.
Convert your cookies
Cookies don’t need a protector. They are irresistible in nature – deliciously small, tame, usually studded with chips or nuts. Even “spoiled” cookies are delicious. This is not advice on how to improve cookies, but rather advice on how to rekindle your interest in a cookie recipe that you’re a little bored with: you can turn your cookies into vehicles that carry the extra flavor of jam.
Most lollipops are easy to shape into thumbprint cookies with about 1/2 cup more flour. Drip cookies are thick batters that you form by scooping with a spoon and tossing onto a baking sheet. They usually have a high butter to flour ratio. With the addition of a small amount of flour, the dough will not spread during baking. Scoop up the dough and roll it into balls one inch in diameter and place them on the baking sheet two inches apart. Make a small indentation (thumbprint) in the center and fill it with jam of your choice. Bake as usual or until the edges of the cookies are firm and the bottom is light brown.
Cookie sandwiches are another alternative to jam. I haven’t found a cookie recipe yet that can’t be made into a sandwich. From pasta to lace tuiles and chocolate chunks, all you need is two cookies and a thin layer of jam that acts as an edible glue between them. As with cakes, remember that jam is slippery at first, so spread it in a thin layer. For the same reason, jam sandwich cookies are best eaten after they have stood for at least four hours, or overnight. Excess moisture in the jam will soak into the cookies, making them firmer and more stable for travel. The overall texture will also improve. Keep in mind that a sandwich means you’ll need double the amount of cookies for each serving, so a giant sized cookie can get a bit frustrating. But if you’re not comfortable, then I’m all about it.
Add an unexpected twist
Jam is great for baking directly into desserts because it can draw heat away from the oven and stay independent of batter or dough. Any time you have a recipe that includes a “twist” (especially the cinnamon twist), you can use jam instead. And you can really go for it: In each of the tips above, I reiterated the importance of using a small amount of jam, but for these recipes, you can proudly wear your “I heart jam” t-shirt and use a thicker layer. .
For something like a coffee cake or bread cake, which usually has a cinnamon swirl in the middle, swap it out and add jam. Mix the jam first in a jar to make the consistency more spreadable, then add an equal amount of the fruit topping. If a recipe calls for one cup of cinnamon, use a 1:1 ratio and substitute one cup of jam. Put a layer of dough on top and bake as usual.
To make decadent and summery jam rolls, knead, knead and roll out the bread dough as usual. Reduce the desired jam flavor by mixing with a knife right in the jar to a spreadable consistency. Place spoonfuls of jam on the surface of the bread dough and use a spatula to spread it evenly. Roll as usual for cinnamon rolls. (In this case, if you use too much jam, the dough will tell you so by squeezing out the excess at the end when you roll it up.) Slice the rolls with a sharp serrated knife or dental floss so you don’t squeeze out the filling. Use parchment paper to line the bottom of a baking dish and brush the parchment with oil so the buns come off easily after baking. Before baking, place the baking dish on an extra baking sheet to create a buffer and avoid the jam from sticking to the bottom.
Help treats retain moisture
You did it. It is marvelous. You’ve been working for hours and finally made this gorgeous berry and fruit tart. But you’ve done it ahead of time, and you start to notice that after half a day, the fruit looks a little dull and wrinkled and the custard is dry. To prevent this, there’s a useful bakery trick, and it works with both open-grid fruit pies and a variety of pastries. As you may have guessed, bakeries fight moisture loss with jam. Jam (or sometimes jelly) creates an impervious layer around the fruit and filling so it doesn’t dry out as easily and retains a fresher texture and flavor. There is also the benefit of a little added sweetness.
To make this at home, choose a mild-flavored, light-colored jam or jelly—the idea is to make it subtle, not a competitor—so opt for apple or apricot (which is what most bakeries use). You’ll only be peeling off a thin layer of jam, so start with ½ cup of jam and put it in a small saucepan. Add two tablespoons of water and heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until the jam and water are combined, runny and bubbling around the edges. If there are pieces of fruit floating in the mixture, strain it now. While the jam is still fresh, use a pastry brush to quickly and gently spread it on the top surface of the pie, pie or brownies. The jam will immediately begin to set, so use quick single strokes or strokes. If you try to comb areas that you have already covered, they may stick together. If your pot of jam starts to set, simply return it to the heat for a couple of minutes, or if it has been strained into a bowl, you can microwave it for a few seconds and it will melt again. Jam.