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rec ipes
Baking Powder
Biscuits

Buttermilk Biscuits

Cornmeal Drop
Biscuits

Cream Cheese and

Chive Biscuits

Spicy Cheese Biscuits

Blueberry Muffins

Cranberry-Zucchini
Muffins

Plum Coffee-Cake
Muffins

Date-Bran Muffins

Popovers Pumpkin Bread

Currant Scones Fig-Walnut Bread
Oat and Dried Cornbread
Apricot Scones
Irish Soda Bread
Chocolate Scones
Cherry-Streusel
Fennel and Golden- Coffee Cake
Raisin Scones
Classic Crumb Cake
Banana-Nut Bread
Pear-Spice
Bundt Cake

Classic Pound Cake

Glazed Lemon
Pound Cakes

Brown Sugar
Pound Cakes

Marble Cake with

White-Chocolate Glaze
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si mple baked g ood s I N T R O D U C T I O N

You don’t need to wait for a special occasion to

make biscuits, muffins, scones, and
quick breads. These and other simple baked
goods are meant for any Sunday breakfast
or afternoon cup of tea— or for whenever you’re in
the mood to nibble on familiar favorites.

he recipes in this chapter are simple and straightforward, calling

for just a handful of ingredients to be combined in a few short steps. They are well suited
to spur-of-the-moment urges to roll up your sleeves, tie on an apron, and create. In fact,
it’s likely that your pantry and refrigerator already hold the required components. Lots
of the recipes call for little more than flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, eggs, butter,
and milk or cream. You may already know the roles of these cornerstone ingredients—
such as the way cold butter blends into flour to produce flaky biscuits, and how lightly
beaten milk, eggs, and flour help give popovers their essential loft. You will find that
such interactions recur throughout all baking: It is method, not magic, that turns out
sublime Cornbread and sugar-crisped Chocolate Scones— and that enables you, with a
little practice, to approach recipes for any baked good with confidence.
Look to the following recipes for direction not only on basic techniques, but also on
the value of fresh ingredients and original combinations. The flavor of a just-baked
Brown Sugar Pound Cake or Cranberry-Zucchini Muffin is unlike anything found in
the grocery store. Even the local bakery doesn’t compare: A coffee cake taken from a
white cardboard box simply cannot compete with one straight from the oven. Just
watch as your family congregates in the kitchen, clamoring for samples.

24
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1 pitted, and halved
2 the bowl as needed. Add the egg yolks, and beat until well combined. Beat in vanilla
APR I C OT- C H E R RY U P S I D E -
DOWN CAKE HOW-TO
1. An offset spatula is used
to evenly spread the creamed
butter and sugar over the
bottom of the pan. 2. Apricot
halves are arranged, cut
sides down, atop the butter
mixture, then halved cherries
are tucked into the gaps.
180 BAKING H AN DBOOK
u p si de-d own c a k e s
A P R I C O T - C H E R R Y U P S I D E - D OW N C A K E
MAKES ONE 8-INCH CAKE In traditional upside-down cake recipes, the fruit is first caramel-
ized in a skillet. In our simplified version, the butter and sugar are creamed and spread
into the cake pan; then the fruit is layered over the mixture and topped with cake batter.
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons
butter, room temperature, fine yellow cornmeal
plus more for pan 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 /4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
5 to 6 medium fresh apricots 1/4 cup almond paste (not
(about 1 pound), halved marzipan), crumbled
and pitted
3 large eggs, separated
12 ounces fresh sweet cherries 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
(such as Bing), stemmed,
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter an 8 -by-3-inch round cake pan, and line bottom
with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attach-
ment, beat 2 tablespoons butter with ¼ cup sugar on medium speed until light and
fluffy, about 2 minutes. Spread evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Arrange apricot
halves, cut sides down, in pan. Fit cherries into any gaps between apricots. Pack down
the fruit slightly with your hands; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt; set
aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat remain-
ing 6 tablespoons butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Add almond paste and ¾ cup
sugar, and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of
and almond extracts. Add the flour mixture in two parts, alternating with the milk
and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined, and set aside.
In the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg
whites on medium speed until foamy. Gradually sprinkle in the remaining ¼ cup
sugar, and beat until soft peaks form. Fold a third of egg-white mixture into the batter
with a spatula. Gently fold in remaining egg whites.
Spread batter over fruit, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pan halfway
through, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour
10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool slightly, about 15 minutes. Run a knife
or small offset spatula around the edges to loosen, and invert cake onto a serving
plate to cool completely. Cake can be kept at room temperature, loosely covered with
foil, for up to 3 days.
Stew_0307236722_2p_08_r1.d.qxd 8/30/05 8:25 AM Page 181
Excerpted from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook by Martha
Stewart. Copyright © 2005 by Martha Stewart. Excerpted by
permission of Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House, Inc. All
rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or
reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.