I guess I'm going to have to learn to bake

[Lilith Cherry]

Taz Zoee please may we have your brownie recipes? I love to bake and to cook and have used both gas and electricity with equal success; right now though I am reduced to using a large toaster oven so the temperature tends to fluctuate sometimes. ( China doesnt have ovens as general kitchen equipment - just a two ring gas burner

I am terrible at following recipes "precisely" and tend to experiment as I go along

Brownies are very American so I am not used to making them and would love some nice moist chewy recipes!

[jennielynn1970]

We had some weird burners in Sweden, they were solid and heated up electrically. I haven't seen them here. I'm thinking ceramic burners??


They also had a great recipe for brownies called Kola Kaka. It was thin, and chewy, and chocolatey. yummmmm. I still haven't been able to replicate it over here in the states.


Lilith Cherry... if you want some box mixes for brownies (some are just as good as home made), just ask, and I'll pick some up and get them out to you over there for you. I know I missed certain things when I was in Sweden... peanutbutter for one. They didn't do peanut butter!! I had it shipped to me, lol.

I still miss candy from Sweden. The salt licorice. That was the best stuff on earth. It was rock hard and salty as a lick for deer, lol, but damn it was good!!! I'll have to see if I can find any place that imports. There's a lot of things I can find at IKEA, but a lot of it's not "authentic".

[DJFyrewolf36]

I stink at baking and cooking in general...which is kind of sad concidering my dad is a decendant of a famous baker in Minnesota. I look forward to the holidays every year because of my dads excellent baking skills. I'll have to see if he will email me his "never fail" pie crust recipie. Its so easy that I have a hard time messing it up lol.

[Giselle]

Taz Zoee please may we have your brownie recipes? I love to bake and to cook and have used both gas and electricity with equal success; right now though I am reduced to using a large toaster oven so the temperature tends to fluctuate sometimes. ( China doesnt have ovens as general kitchen equipment - just a two ring gas burner

I am terrible at following recipes "precisely" and tend to experiment as I go along

Brownies are very American so I am not used to making them and would love some nice moist chewy recipes!

Lilith Cherry, I, too, am Chinese and was brought up in a very traditional Chinese household. Do you have experience with Chinese pastries? It's very hit or miss over at my house Currently, we're trying to perfect ginger milk. Like I said, it's hit or miss. I'm wondering if you personally have any tips or suggestions.


Back to baking, ummmm stupid question. Can somebody explain the difference between electric and gas oven? I'm not even sure which one we have. I'm pretty sure it's gas. Maybe that's why I can't bake

[jennielynn1970]

Back to baking, ummmm stupid question. Can somebody explain the difference between electric and gas oven? I'm not even sure which one we have. I'm pretty sure it's gas. Maybe that's why I can't bake

Not a stupid question, like I said, I'm not sure what the oven burners we had in Sweden were even made out of, lol.


Electric ranges usually have coils that heat up for the stove top, and in the oven they have the same type of material for the heating elements, but they are not in coils/circles.
Here's a hot burner:


This is the oven heating element:


Many stoves/ranges now come with glass cooktops, so the surface of the stove is smooth, and the coils are underneath the glass cook top.

Glass top range:



Gas stoves have open flame burners. They have these "grates" that go over top of the gas element, like a grill top you might have outside, and your pots on on top of that (not like on an electric element where your pot goes directly on it).

Gas range here also has a griddle built in on the top for making pancakes and stuff (very cool!)


The oven element for gas ranges actually has open flame as well. This is what the top element looks like in a gas oven:


Normally the bottom gas element is below the "floor" of the oven, and you have vents where the heat and flames can come out by the sides.
I think this is from the bottom... it is under the base/floor of the oven, but the flames heat up and come that heat comes through in the open areas on the floor of the oven:

[Karen]

Taz Zoee please may we have your brownie recipes? I love to bake and to cook and have used both gas and electricity with equal success; right now though I am reduced to using a large toaster oven so the temperature tends to fluctuate sometimes. ( China doesnt have ovens as general kitchen equipment - just a two ring gas burner

I am terrible at following recipes "precisely" and tend to experiment as I go along

Brownies are very American so I am not used to making them and would love some nice moist chewy recipes!

Here's a good recipe - from my old copy of the Fanny Farmer cookbook. The new one has a different brownie recipe which is not, in my opinion, nearly as good. I often throw chocolate chips or mini marshmallows into them, as I cannot have nuts, so go ahead and add whatever extra goodness you want! No fancy equipment needed, not even a mixer - a big spoon will do fine! They're yummy plain, anyway.

Brownies********

3 oz baking chocolate

6 tbs. butter

1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or whatever else you want to add!)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

******
350°

butter the inside of a 9 inch square pan (or equivalent)

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a big bowl.

Stir in sugar, eggs, salt, flour, nuts and vanilla

Combine well. Spread into the pan somewhat evenly - no need to be too picky or perfect.

bake for 40 minutes.

Let cool at least a few minutes before cutting.