Cake Boss Bakeware
It's early 2014, and while we are inside staying warm. It's time to cook, bake, clean up and clean out. We have been spending a lot of time in our kitchens. To us, especially this year, the winter frost says "time to crank up those ovens." Hot ovens mean comfort in the kitchen - steamy casseroles, warm breads, homemade pastries, cookies and cakes. In our homes, winter is definitely baking season.
So, let's take a look at a baking guru, Buddy, the Cake Boss. For those of you that are not regular TLC cable fans, you might not know about Carlo's Bakery (Hoboken, New Jersey) and it's owner, Buddy Valastro...but he is the role model for bakeries, bakery owners and budding bakers across America. His business expertise, his talents, and his stunning, creative cake designs have become a phenomena.
We never heard of Buddy, until a close family member (our granddaughter Shira) insisted we watch The Cake Boss; now we are regulars. Because of the wild success of the show, Cake Boss kitchen tools are now licensed by the Meyer Corporation and are available for the home baker. We tried some of these new baking accessories and pans, and found that they certainly add a professional touch to home baking.
Buddy Valastro was instrumental in overseeing the development of the Cake Boss Bakeware line, to ensure that the tools are up to his baking standards. And, as we know, using the right kitchen tool for each task, certainly offers a head start, especially in baking. The measurements, technique and accuracy of baking ingredients do make a difference. As many say, baking is a science. So, The Cake Boss inspired us to clean out several of our old baking tools, (confession some were dented and bent with handles broken) and replace them with more efficient ones from the Cake Boss line. By the way the entire line is manufactured by The Meyer Corporation a much respected icon in the housewares industry.
We present some of our Cake Boss baking accessory favorites:
9 x 13 Pan This is a non-stick pan. The red silicone grips make this pan easy to lift out of a hot oven. It is oven safe to 450. We used this pan to make our parve coconut cake as well as our chocolate chip brownies. This ovenware has a lifetime guarantee!
Finally – the right measurements!
For Mixing/Measuring we tried the 4 piece measuring cups and measuring spoons with the red silicone grips. This stainless steel measuring cup set includes four standard volumes -- 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup and 1/4 cup -- so there's always the right tool on hand in the right size. The spoon set 1 Tablespoon, 1 tsp., ½ tsp., ¼ tsp. are fastened on a single ring. We like the red label which makes them easy to find in a (confession here) cluttered drawers and cabinets.
And the must have. . .Retractable cookie scoop. Just a squeeze of the handle and our cookie dough pops right onto the baking sheet. This tool is also great for popping out meatballs, serving rice and mashed potatoes. OK – we now have 2 – one for meat and one parve.
CakeLifter
We never had one of these, but now we don't know why it took so long. This is a must have to remove and transfer pastries, delicate cakes and layers. We're keeping ours parve – so that we can use it everywhere. We even used it to divide and lift pieces of noodle pudding and potato kugel.
And perfect for parties - create your own special occasion cake for a crowd. We love, love, love this 3-piece square set of square pans. The professional look of the finished cake is amazing. The pans' nonstick and quilted surfaces promote even heat distribution Cakes are easy to remove, and cleanup is easy. These cake pans are oven safe to 450°F. Hand washing suggested.
We asked our granddaughter Shira, a baking enthusiast, to work or shall we say "play" with the decorating set and the flower kit. She absolutely loved it. What a great gift for a baking hobbyist.
Cake Boss line is available at http://www.cakebossbaking.com
And at Target, Wal-Mart and Michaels
For recipes inspired by The Cake Boss, see http://www.cakebossbaking.com/recipes/
Here's a recipe we love – adapted from Cakebossbaking.com:
Sour Cream Coffee Cake