To be creative in using ingredients and
have fun with it, you need to know one thing or two about the special
dessert's ingredients which is available. Have a little variation and enjoy the
process.
1. Rose Water - extracted from
rose petals by distillation method, it produces an elegant fragrance
when added into cakes. It is always found in Turkish cooking, and also
used for making sorbets and drinks.
2. Baileys - a famous Irish
liqueur. It is a milky brown alcohol made by mixing whiskey, coffee,
chocolate and cream.
3. Pure Vanilla Extract Powder -
extracted from vanilla pods, with a sweet candy flavor, it is always
used for making desserts. Even though synthesized vanilla oil is
cheaper, natural vanilla tastes the best. Vanilla extract is available
in powder or liquid form, and you can also replace it with fresh vanilla
pods.
4. Maple Syrup - made from the
sap of the maple tree, it has a unique woody aroma it is commonly
dribbled on pancakes or used to make cakes.
5. Amaretto - an Italian almond
liqueur. Amaretto literally means 'slightly bitter' in Italian, Amaretto
used to be served mainly as a dessert wine. Now it is equally popular as
a cake ingredient.
6. Cointreau - invented by
the French Cointreau family in the middle of the nineteenth century. It
is a colorless orange sweet liqueur suitable for making desserts because
of its refreshing orange taste.
7. Bran - dark brown outer coat
of cereals. It is rich in fibers and it gives a malt taste and grainy
chew when added into cakes; which used to be the taste of country style
muffins. It is available from health food shops and large supermarkets.
8. Whole Wheat Flour -
containing bran and malt, this is a kind of flour ground from whole
grains of wheat. It can increase nutritious and enrich the plain flour
when used for making muffin cakes. While called "Whole Wheat" in USA, it
is known as "Wholemeal" in UK.
9. Semolina - high-gluten flour
having larger grains and more protein than ordinary flour. It is usually
used for making spaghetti and vermicelli and it gives a unique taste to
cakes.
