Hi :) beginner

[Rebecca Elizabeth]

I am new to baking. I tried to make a coffee pecan pound cake, I used too much baking powder and overcooked it. I didn't wait enough for it to cool and it broke when I tried to take it out of the tin. My mom said it tasted good, though, but I thought the flavour was too strong.

Anyways. I am not giving up. I am planning on baking orange almond blueberry muffins on saturday. The recipee calls for flour, unsalted butter, blueberries, orange zest, orange juice, milk (I am going to use almond milk instead), 2 egg whites (not sure how to separate the whites from the yolk), sugar, ground almonds (I am going to crush them since I dont have a food processor. I do have an electronic mixer), baking powder, baking soda, and salt. I am excited about this bake. Any advice? Thanks

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum!

Where abouts in the world are you? Ground almonds should be something you can buy in most stores, it may be difficult getting the almonds to a fine meal if you don't have a food processor. If you're not able to buy them then maybe pass it through a sieve to get rid of any big lumps.

Re separating egg whites, an easy way to do it is to use a plastic bottle. Break the eggs into a bowl, being careful not to break the yolks, then use an empty plastic bottle to suck up the yolks. Like this:

Baking is more of a science than an art, and IMO it's important to stick closely to the recipe while you're learning. Most of the time things go wrong because people hurry through and miss things, so take your time and read the recipe carefully.

Most importantly let us know how you get on! Hope it goes well

 

[Rebecca Elizabeth]

Thanks. I have a question. If I only use whites, and not yolks, like the recipee says, will the muffins still stay together? The recipee says 3 large egg whites.

I am planning on doing the bake on Saturday.

 

[Rebecca Elizabeth]

Also I dont like regular milk. Thus the almond milk.

 

[Becky]

The egg whites contain the bulk of the egg's protein, the yolk is mainly fat I think. So yes, it's the egg whites that help maintain the structure when baked. Do you have a link to the recipe? It might be useful to see the quantities and method.

 

[Rebecca Elizabeth]

Thanks! The recipe is in a cook book. It says:

Grated zest of 1 orange (about 1 tbs)
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup milk
2 large egg whites
4 tbs unsalted butter
1/4 cup sliced ground almonds
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup blueberries

Oven 375 F, bake for 10-15 minutes

 

[Becky]

@Norcalbaker59 has given some very good advice on this topic here