As Easter approaches and people are drawn back into their kitchens the question of the week is leaning to sugar and its substitutions. First I think we should look at where sugar comes from and how our products are going to benefit from the type that we choose.

White and brown sugars are refined in the same way. Cane juice is filtered, crystallized and washed to remove the molasses (a by-product of the refining process). Brown sugar is merely white sugar that has had molasses added back into it to add colour, moisture and a distinct flavour. Light brown or golden sugar has 3.5% molasses added while dark brown has 6.5%. This added moisture needs to be taken into consideration when making different baked products as it will affect your moisture absorption within the recipe and can cause batters with a maximum saturation to split.

Turbinado sugar, otherwise known as raw, is refined in the same manner as white with the exception that some of the molasses has been allowed to cling to the crystals and it is then spun dried. Demerara is made in a similar fashion but the crystal size is larger. Both of these sugars can be substituted in a recipe. However, it should be noted that they will not give you the added moisture that brown sugar will to your baked product. So that favourite oatmeal cookie will come out crisper and less flavourful.

When it comes to substitutions for health concerns, all sugars are equal. Honey may have the most desirable processing system of clover fields and sprawling bee hives but in the end is a simple carbohydrate.
This brings us to the exchange of liquid sugars. Honey results in the sweetest concentration and can even measure higher on the scale than granulated sugar. The liquidity must be taken in to account when making a substitution. Therefore for 1 cup of sugar, you need to reduce the quantity of honey by 1/8th of a cup and decreased liquid in the recipe by 3 tbsp. Alternately, you’d also need to increase the amount of honey from 1 cup to 1 ¼ cups of sugar and increase the liquid by ¼ cup.

Corn syrup as it sounds is a derivative of corn instead of cane and when dealing with white or light corn syrup, the liquid is clear and flavoured with vanilla and salt. Regular or dark corn syrup has molasses and caramel flavour and colouring added to it. As with honey, the substitution ratios will be the same.

The last sugar to mention would be maple syrup. This can be substituted in a recipe but due to its lower degree of sweetness in comparison to sugar, you will need to increase the ratio to 1 ½ cup of maple syrup to every 1 cup of sugar and decrease the liquid in the recipe by the same volume. At this point, this pastry chef will caution you to look at the liquid you are removing from your recipe. Depending on what you’re making, 1 ½ cups of liquid is a lot to remove from a domestic size recipe … do the rest of the ingredients need a chemical reaction from this product? i.e. the volume builder or fat content from whip cream versus the weight of maple syrup.

Baking is a series of chemical reactions; substitute wisely. Happy Baking!

I may have put this out there before but if you have not watched the movie Food Inc. it is worth your while. Even though the Canadian laws surrounding the Ministry of Health are stricter than the US, this doesn’t mean that we are sheltered from over commercialized food production and the health risks that surround that.

I would not sit here and tell you that my industry is healthy either. Desserts and sweet baking are luxury items and should be consumed in moderation. As with anything, we have the power to fill our bodies with the most whole food products we can find and this includes baking.

I think it is also quite well know what my stand is on the absolution of chemicals when we are consuming organic foods. This is next to impossible; but … we should not discount the environmental and health risk contributions that organic food production has.

As we make decisions to purchase organically prepared or grown foods we are sending a strong message to food manufacturers that we want strict production conditions. We are demanding that livestock sees the light of day, that field over population does not spill large amounts of CO2 and methane gas into the air and waste materials to surrounding farms and water systems, slaughter houses don’t risk the spread e-coli throughout the plant in the course of a single day’s production and of course my all time favourite … that we respect what we are putting into our bodies and so should they! Hey, I’m no scientist but if cancer is cell mutation then is not genetically altered produce not the same thing? … Or at least promoting it? Do our bodies not produce enough hormones? … Must we consume them too?

Having issues with your royal icing? Let’s look at what you’re using and what it is going to be used for. There are definite difference between using fresh egg whites and meringue powder as well as there being an importance to how long you mix the icing.

Two fresh egg whites, ½ tsp of cream of Tartar and enough icing sugar until you reach the desired consistency is all you need for decorating cookies. It will dry perfectly in a short period of time, it is perfectly safe to use and is fast and easy to make. However, are making a gingerbread house or 3D flowers or figures? Then you need to make some changes.

I strongly recommend meringue powder for several reasons. It contains Gum tragacanth which is a strong drying agent used to make gum paste and modelling fondant. This will give your gingerbread house a quick, strong hold so you don’t have to hold your roof on for several minutes while the icing sets. Your flowers or thin projects like a lace butterfly or Eiffel Tower will also dry strong and quickly.

Meringue powder also has the ability to stay on the counter with a damp towel covering the surface for several days and weeks without spoiling or losing its texture and strength. When using fresh egg whites the water content in the egg will start breaking down the icing sugar and will soften it over night and eventually liquefy the product beyond usage. Since Fresh egg white is not pasteurized, it also needs to be refrigerated when not in use.

Mixing your icing can also cause you problems if it has not been mixed long enough. When looking at your icing it needs to be fluffy and white. This is showing you there is a large amount of air in the icing. The air helps dry your project faster, makes piping easier and gives you a full rounded effect that stays where you’ve put it. When your icing has a slightly translucent look it is showing you that the water is still absorbed into the icing sugar and it will be heavy and harder to pipe. Your projects will also have time to droop before they dry. This can certainly pose problems for the highly sought after rose!

The last thing is Cream of Tartar (a natural acid). This allows your egg white, whether in the form of fresh or meringue powder, to froth or foam up. This creates the air in the icing which allows for drying. Without it, your icing will be soft and slightly runny and will not set properly … thus creating a Christmas decorating nightmare for you.

If you have any other royal icing questions, please feel free to drop me line on the Facebook page discussion board!

Almond Paste is a soft paste made from fine ground almonds, sugar and glycerine. It is used in a variety of cakes and pastries and some European breads i.e. stollen. It can also be softened into a cream and used as a filling in Danishes, croissants and other confections.
Marzipan is a thick pliable dough like product made from almond paste, icing sugar, glucose and sometimes egg whites. You can colour and flavour it and it is primarily used in edible figurines and flowers. Back when fruit cake was extremely popular as a wedding cake this product was used to cover the fruit cake to prevent spice stains from bleeding through into the icing. The fats in the cake will carry the colour from the spices into the icing. It wouldn’t matter if it was a royal icing or rolled fondant … it will still bleed through. The nut base from the almond paste will block the bleed through.

It needs to be noted that when rolling out marzipan, you need to dust your surface with icing sugar rather than flour to prevent sticking. You also need to be cautious of over mixing the dough as the oils from the nuts will rise to the surface and make the dough sticky. You can correct this with a small amount of water and additional icing sugar.

Considering the high content of sugar in marzipan, it will dry out very quickly. You should keep it wrapped and store it in an air tight container. If it does dry out on you, you can remedy this with a little more water but keep in mind that it will also reduce the shelf life of the marzipan. Moisture breeds bacterial and sugar is a preservative but you have just diluted it and reduced its effectiveness.

Recipe 1:
250gm Almond Paste
250gm Icing Sugar
125 ml Glucose (or white corn syrup)

Recipe 2:
250 gm Almond Paste
300 gm icing Sugar
1 egg white

My personal preference is to use glucose for the simple reason that you don’t have to worry about self life other than the product drying out before you have a chance to you it. The egg white version however, will stay softer for a longer period of time. Therefore if you are giving these tasty products for Christmas giving you may want the product to stay soft for a smooth moist consumption. As always … the choice is yours!

Hello everyone … I just want to let you know that our new booking calendar for our classes is being updated with all the names for people that have already signed up. As a result of this update you will be receiving an e-mail confirming that you are registered in the class. Unfortunately it also contains an automatic message that informs you that payment needs to be received in order to maintain your spot. Please disregard this message as you have already paid and your space is secure.

We apologize for any confusion this may cause.

Lora Lonesberry and the Creating Occasions staff.

With baking season here the most common question I am being asked is "What did I do wrong with my Italian Buttercream?" More often than not, my response is "Nothing ... just wait" So here are the steps ...

Place 200 ml of egg whites in your mixing bowl to wait. Then, after you've carefully cleaned out your sauce pot, add 100 ml of cold water and 350 gm of white sugar and bring that to a boiling temperature of 115 degrees Celsius. At that point you will begin whipping your egg whites while the sugar continues to reach the 126 degrees that you need. All of your egg whites should be foamed by this point.

Very slowly add the boiled sugar to your whipping egg whites. Then add your vanilla or other flavouring as this will aid the cooling process. Once the mix has completely cooled add your 900 gm of unsalted butter. Now here's where you go wrong ... You need to whip this until it becomes light and fluffy and white. That could take up to 5 minutes or more depending on how cold your butter is. If it splits ... don't worry ... keep mixing ... it will come back together.

Never throw it out before you call me ... we can fix it!

As I field many questions on this topic I figured that a post may be a great idea for you to reference.

Our Messy Treat-er!

Halloween in Victoria is a wonderful time for giving but we need to remember who we are giving to and for what purpose. Bringing in homemade items to office parties and the homes of dear friends are always a welcomed sight. However, when we are dealing with schools and public Trick or Treating, all the rules change. The public school system has moved off of candy and what is now viewed as “junk food” entirely and with just cause. We need to become more aware of the growing numbers of children with food allergies and eating issues as these children need the support of the schools in order to feel a part of the group, instead of being centered out amongst a crowd of peers. As a result, when sending homemade goodies to the school we need to make sure that our home kitchen environment has been carefully washed down with soapy water and rinsed before making anything. This is to ensure that there will not be an issue with nut cross-contamination. Especially with peanuts. Who knows if little Johnny had a peanut butter sandwich before we got up?

Check with the school in your neighbourhood to see if they have adopted a strict “No Junk” policy. Many schools in my area will only accept ‘nutritional value’ items. The days of cupcakes and Rice Krispie squares are over. This leaves us with replacing peanut brittle and store bought chocolate bars with flavoured popcorn and caramel apples. We now need to be creative and implement some whole food items in our homemade gift giving.

That brings us to the all important “Trick or Treat-er”. Unless you know the family that you are giving your homemade goodies directly to, you can be guaranteed that your hard work will be thrown out during parent inspection that night. To place your name and phone number on the homemade product does not get your product past a parent. It merely leaves you open for a lawsuit, so producer beware.

The day is coming close so bundle up in your Hallowed glory … be safe and have fun!