We recently received this great question from Diana Odenbrett. What is the equivalent of switching a cake recipe from regular flour to cake flour? Test Kitchen to the rescue!

To substitute all-purpose flour for cake flour, reduce the amount of flour called for by 2 Tbsp. per cup.  In a pinch and out of cake flour.  Whisk together 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus 2 Tbsp. cornstarch to equal 1 cup cake flour.

Cake flour is soft wheat flour with low protein content.  What does this mean to a novice baker?  It’s more forgiving than all-purpose flour. If you make a mistake and over mix the batter, the cake’s texture won’t be tough after baking. Less gluten is developed, and for cakes this is a critical factor – it means a soft, tender crumb. Cake flour is bleached, which explains its very bright, white appearance.

At Last you can have a quality beer in a can! Earlier this summer my husband Lee and I got turned on to a brewery from Lyons, Colorado called Oskar Blues. They make a family of very fine craft brews all available in aluminum cans. My favorite is Gordon, sold in 4-packs, it has a killer punch coming in at 8.7% alcohol by volume (this ain't no Bud Lite kids.) It reminds me of a mix of my two favorite styles: a super hoppy IPA and a Trappist Belgium ale like Chimay. It has a nice balance of malt and hops, and a subtle fruity sweetness. A match made in heaven that happens to be easily recyclable in my neighborhood where sadly glass is not.

Baking with whole wheat can be a little tricky especially if you're trying to substitute whole wheat flour for ALL of the all-purpose flour in a recipe.  Check out our test kitchen tips for baking with whole wheat. 

Q: I'm substituting whole wheat flour for white flour in an attempt to cut down on white flour in baked goods.  My recipe for oatmeal cookies is coming out dry!!!  Any suggestions for adding something to a standard oatmeal cookie dough recipe that might help with this problem?  Any tips for cutting down on the "wheaty" taste?

We’ve found that a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour works best in most baking recipes.  If you substitute whole wheat for all of the AP flour, you will need to tweak the fat and liquid ingredients to achieve the desired texture in whatever you are baking.  May we also recommend whole wheat pastry flour instead of stone-ground whole wheat flour.  Flours differ in the amount of protein and gluten-forming proteins which alters the way liquids are absorbed.  For this reason, we like to start with a combination of whole wheat and AP flour in order to minimize the amount of tweaks or changes we need to make to the recipe.  This will also minimize any “wheaty” flavors as well.

Photo Courtesy of FLIKR http://www.flickr.com/photos/santos/2117347362/

Q. I have had a recipe for Pound Cake that is from February 2000 issue.  I have been intimidated to try it, but bit the bullet a couple of weeks ago.  It was a hit!!  All I took home was crumbs and my cake carrier.  Thanks, Southern Living for giving me confidence to make a Southern tradition.

 
Also, I have a real problem!!  My mother used Red Band flour until she quit cooking, and I the same.  I have since learned that it has been discontinued.  What flour do ya'll use in the test kitchens at Southern Living?  I tried KIng Arthur flour on my chocolate cake receipe several years ago.  If I had dropped it on the floor, it would have gone all the way to China and beyond.  With Red Band flour, the cake was light  and springy; with King Arthur, it was flat and hard as a brick.  Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Cecil A.

A.White Lily flour is the hands-down winner from our staff.

One thing is for sure, if I didn't work in our test kitchen, I would definitely own a food truck or as i call'em a grease truck. Every time I get out of town I always look for a new one to try. It's a food adventure with the added bonus of being inexpensive (no fancy tablecloths here) and a great way to get the feel of a new city.

 I recently discovered a menu item at Moe's Original Barbecue   in Birmingham that I have to share with you. They're called Barbecue Nachos. I was so intrigued, I took a snapshot for your viewing pleasure.

Instead of tortilla chips, they use crunchy kettle chips as the base and generously top them with smoked pulled pork, melted cheese, and two sauces. I told my coworkers about it--they loved the idea so much that it inspired our own version of barbecue nachos, coming to a Southern Living issue near you.

Every recipe deserves the chance to succeed. And the success of a recipe depends largely on the quality of the ingredients used. Therefore I thought I would create a list of some of the test kitchen's favorite items and the reasons we love them, to help you become the great southern chefs you aspire to be.  In these economic times it's tempting to always choose generic products, but sometimes it's worth it to spend a little extra.

The watermelon cooler on the July cover screams SUMMER and we knew you guys would love it. It's fast, easy and the best part to me, it uses the rind of the watermelon that generally ends up in the trash can. It's just the thing for that backyard BBQ or kids party this season. But let me tell you, finding that perfect watermelon to grace the cover wasn't easy.

I got the assignment and thought "no problemo." I picked up five good size melons (thinking i was very prepared and would have three left over for sure.)