You know ours is an Itinerant Cooking School in Tuscany: you can learn while being at your holiday home in Tuscany (just call us and we come), but is equally true that I can pass down many “secrets” while you’re at your own home…faraway. This is the magic of the web!

In this post you’ll find everything you need to know before preparing cakes and desserts successfully, as my granny taught me.

If you completely lack the skills in cooking it could be a little difficult to learn without making something together.

If you’re coming on holiday in Tuscany you can call us: Cuoche in Vacanza (Cooks on Holiday) and take a cooking class wherever you’ll be, thanks to our cooking school in Tuscany.

Anyway, if you’re just a bit skilled, you can read the following tips and learning how preparing something in the best way. Learning by doing it’s the best way. That’s why I think it’s not necessary your phisical presence beside me, and this is the first reason who brought me to start the blog section: my Granny’s tips.

In fact here I try to pass down all my granny’s secrets in the kitchen. Together with what I learned to the Professional Chef Academy in Florence, this is my largest heritage and I’m so happy to share it with all my friends, students and customers abroad.

My Granny’s tips is what you’re looking for to live better your own kitchen, with family and friends.

Time is short, but the success of your dishes in front of your guests is very important for you; is this your case?

Well, read the following tips, this section could be really helpful, even if you’re not coming to our cooking school in Tuscany.

I already wrote in blog posts some granny’s tips about Frying and about Italian Pizza, now this post is about something that usually takes a lot of time …often without success; here are for you: Tips about Cakes and Desserts.

And now let’s start with some granny’s advices about fundamental ingredients for cakes and desserts:

CREAMS:

EGG WHITES (HOW TO WHIP UP PERFECT):

1. Use a glass or porcelain container (NO plastic)
2. Use a warm/hot container
3. If you have to mix 2 different texture compounds (like egg whites in a cake for example), always pour the lighter weight in the heavier. You’ll avoid in this way that it goes flat.

HEAVY CREAM (HOW TO WHIP UP PERFECT):

1. Use instead a very cold container. Maybe stored in the fridge for a while before pouring the heavy cream. You can put in the fridge the whips as well.
2. Hold a medium-low and constant speed. Too high speed turns your heavy cream in butter

CUSTARD, ENGLISH CREAM, COFFEE CREAM:

1. When you’re preparing a cream that changes texture as it cools, to know when you have to stop cooking: deep a spoon in the cream and then pass a finger on the back of the spoon. If remains a definite sign, the cream is ready
2. Never use electric whips to prepare custard or English cream, just a wooden spoon. If you work them too speedy you risk to loose your cream
3. Would you like preparing a Coffee cream, but you’re afraid to obtain a too liquid cream? Well, combine the boiling milk (that you’ve to use for the cream) with a handful of coffee beans, coarsely crushed (not minced). Let it rest for 1 hour at least, than sieve it and use the milk for the cream.
4. If you’d like obtaining a velvet texture for your cream (even if it has not lumps): sieve it when is cooked.
5. If you need to wait that a custard cools. To avoid the formation of a film on the surface (it’d change the cream texture once mixed), pour the hot cream in a low and wide box and cover it with a cling film.

RELATED AND “CREAMY” LINKS TO THIS POST.

Would you like to know some Tuscan and creamy Desserts that we usually make at our Cooking School in Tuscany?

Click on the Colored written to see their pictures and recipes

 ZUPPA INGLESE (CUSTARD is an important ingredient of this typical Tuscan dessert)

The PERFECT CUSTARD and Zuppa Inglese (Tuscan Trifle) recipe

NO EGGS BAVARESE, YOGURT, VANILLA AND WILDBERRIES SAUCE

TUSCAN ZUCCOTTO WITH COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE CREAM

THE REAL TIRAMISU

Well my friends, this is the first part of my granny’s advices about cakes and desserts, see you soon for the second part about other tips for pastry and cakes.

Do you like this section? Did you already know or try some of my granny’s tips? Please leave a comment and tell me what are you thinking about.

If you’re coming in central Italy on Holiday, don’t forget our Itinerant Cooking School in Tuscany and contact us: we’ll prepare together the tasteful dishes!

Have a nice week-end!

Salva

Salva