What ingredients do you want to experiment with?

[BlessedBackyard]

I just bought mesquite powder and lucuma powder out of curiosity. I have no idea what to do with them, but there will be baking experiments on the horizon. Tell me I'm not the only one who collects supplies. If budget weren't a factor, what ingredient(s) would you like to try?

 

[ChesterV]

As a sort of retired baker, I like breads and cakes. I like trying out different things that might work with bread or cake. For an example, a bit of finely chopped jalapeno goes with dark chocolate, like some people put chili powder in chocolate. I like to find different things that work with "usual" cakes and breads.

I have a friend who loves my strawberry bread, so I make that for her once in a while. I have found that a bit of crushed, dried basil goes with French Vanilla cake very well, and a bit of crushed, dried dill goes with lemon cake. Well, to my liking anyway.

So I have always been an experimenter when it comes to cake, breads, cookies, etc.... as I don't like my sweets all sugary sweet, so besides adding less sugar, I try to find out what can be added to make it not so sugary sweet.

As for breads, it's the opposite. Some standard bread recipes can be a bit dry, bitter, or just BLAH, so I try to find something that can add a bit of moisture or "pizzazz" to it, without taking away from the bread aspect.

 

[BlessedBackyard]

I've heard of chili powder in chocolate, but I've never thought to just finely chop jalapeños instead. We usually have more fresh hot peppers than we know what to do with in the summer.

When you say "a bit of crushed, dried" herbs, would that be like an 1/8 of a tsp or more than that (and what size cake)? I'd love to use more of my herbs in baking. I grew cinnamon basil and lime basil last year but wasn't really sure what to do with either one. They just smelled good.

 

[Becky]

I got a new recipe book for Christmas which has a recipe for pesto cake - it's a savoury cake! Can't wait to give it a try Might be a good way for you to use basil?

 

[BlessedBackyard]

I've never heard of savory cake (I imagine it's similar to savory quick bread?), but it's something I would try! What cookbook is this?

 

[Becky]

The book is called Perfect Host by Felicity Cloake. Not tried the recipe myself, but I'm intrigued! The texture is meant to be cake-like rather than a bread. I suppose it's good for people who don't have a sweet tooth!

 

[Autumn Fyre]

I've always wanted to make chocolate with tomatoes in it (perhaps sun-dried). There's a lot of debate over whether tomatoes are a fruit or a veggie, so I'm sure they're sweet enough for chocolate. I'd also like to try making nutella-filled cookies. I tried some once at this bake shop during a cross-country trip, and they were delicious!

As for the mesquite seasoning, it tastes great in just about any grilled meat. My favorite recipe is oatmeal hamburgers falvoured with mesquite (made by my older sister).

 

[BlessedBackyard]

Nutella-filled cookies sound yummy, and chocolate with tomatoes certainly would be an experiment. But people pair so much with chocolate nowadays, why not? The sweet tang of sun-dried might actually work...would love to hear an update if you do it!

The mesquite has such a strong/distinctive odor, I was hesitant to use it. I tried it in chocolate chip cookies, and was pleasantly surprised. It's a nice complement to the chocolate. I think a grilling seasoning mix will be next on my list.

 

[Autumn Fyre]

The mesquite has such a strong/distinctive odor, I was hesitant to use it. I tried it in chocolate chip cookies, and was pleasantly surprised. It's a nice complement to the chocolate. I think a grilling seasoning mix will be next on my list.

I've never heard of putting it in cookies before! Perhaps I'll try that sometime.