To get every recipe perfect the first time around, try these tips from Andrea Chesman and Fran Raboff’s 250 Treasured Country Desserts.

•    If you have them, use nonstick pans except for angel food and sponge cakes. With those cakes you want the batter to cling to the sides of the pan and rise as high as possible.

•    Milk, yogurt, and sour cream combine best at room temperature.

•    Pieces of fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips are less likely to sink in a batter if they are tossed with flour.

•    If a recipe calls for cake flour and you have only all-purpose flour, don’t despair. Substitute 1 cup of all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for every cup of cake flour.

•    To allow enough room for the cake to rise, do not fill baking pans more than two-thirds to three-quarters full.

•    Don’t open the oven door during the first 15 minutes of baking or your cake may not rise properly.

•    Oven temperatures can vary. Start testing a cake for doneness 5 to 15 minutes before the recipe says it should be done.

•    To prevent a wire rack from leaving an imprint on the cake surface, cover the rack with a double thickness of paper towel. Place the covered rack over the top of the cake, then invert the cake and rack. Remove the pan.

•    Cool the cake out of the pan for at least 1 hour before decorating. Then brush loose crumbs off the cake.

•    Apply a thin layer of frosting to the cake, then refrigerate until it is set before applying the final, heavier layer of frosting. This will seal in the crumbs, ensuring a clean final appearance.

Believe it or not, January 27th is the official Chocolate Cake Day.  Nestled between National Peanut Brittle Day and National Kazoo Day, it provides – at the very least – a reason to whip up a celebratory confection. Yesterday we shared a few tips from Andrea Chesman & Fran Raboff’s 250 Treasured Country Desserts. Armed with your new-found knowledge, try your hand at making their Chocolate Zucchini Cake.

Frosted Chocolate-Zucchini Layer Cake
This is a rich, dark chocolate cake. The zucchini is barely noticeable, except to give the cake an unusually moist texture.  Serves 10-12

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup canola oil
2 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter; at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream
3 cups grated zucchini or summer squash

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour two 9-inch round nonstick cake pans. If you are using uncoated aluminum bakeware, grease the cake pans and line with parchment paper.
2. Combine the chocolate and oil in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until completely smooth and glossy. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and set aside.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
4. Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the melted chocolate mixture and the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk and beat until just combined. Fold in the zucchini. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
5. Bake for 40 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of one of the cake layers comes out clean.
6. Cool on wire racks for about 10 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely.
7. Fill between the layers and frost with the frosting of your choice.

Unless you have a favorite frosting you’d like to use, here’s a suggested option:

Chocolate Frosting
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons butter
3 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
Pinch of salt
7 tablespoons milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Melt the chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Stir until completely smooth and glossy. Remove the top of the double boiler from the heat and let cool slightly.
2. Blend in the confectioners’ sugar and salt, alternating with the milk and vanilla. Mix until the frosting is smooth and has a good consistency for spreading.

If you’ve turned out leaden, less-than-tasty or attractive baked goods in the past, you may want to review a few tips from Andrea Chesman and Fran Raboff’s 250 Treasured Country Desserts.

The cake is dense and heavy:
•    The eggs were too small. Always use large eggs when baking.
•    Insufficient air was whisked into the egg and sugar mixture.
•    The butter, sugar and eggs were not beaten together long enough.
•    The flour was not folded in gently or was beaten at too high a speed.
•    Too much flour was used.
•    The oven temperature was too low.

The cake rose unevenly in the oven:
•    The flour was not blended evenly in the batter.
•    The temperature inside the oven was uneven, or the oven temperature was too high.

The top of the cake sank:
•    The oven temperature was too hot.
•    The cake was not baked long enough.
•    The oven door was opened too soon.

The top of the cake peaked or cracked:
•    The oven temperature was too hot, causing the outside of the cake to bake and form a crust too quickly.
•    The cake wasn’t baked on the center rack of the oven.

Gingersnaps most likely have their origin with the Pennsylvania Dutch, and their name probably comes from the word snappen, which means “easy.” The cookies are rolled in sugar before baking, giving them a lovely, crinkly top.

For more baking tips, check out yesterday’s post, How to bake just like your grandmother did. Or even better.

Makes about 40 cookies.

1 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark molasses
1 tablespoon warm brewed coffee
6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

1. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.
2. Combine the molasses and coffee into a small bowl.
3. Cream together the butter, the 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and the brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a large bowl. Add the molasses mixture and the flour mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in the crystallized ginger. Gather together the dough in a ball, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 1 hour, until firm.
4. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease two baking sheets.
5. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll the balls in 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Press down each cookie with the bottom of a glass dipped in the remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar until the cookies are nice and thin.
6. Bake, one sheet at a time, for about 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven before their edges start to brown; they will be soft in the center but will harden when cool. Watch the cookies carefully and do not allow them to scorch.
7. Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.

If you’re looking to jump-start your baking skills, you might as well begin with cookies. For starters, there usually aren’t any super-complicated pieces of equipment, ingredients, or Le Cordon Bleu-type knowledge required. And secondly, most cookie doughs are forgiving, meaning even those of us who are challenged in the kitchen can turn out a tasty cookie. Andrea Chesman and Fran Raboff’s 250 Treasured Country Desserts is a collection of tried-and-true recipes that have been passed down through the generations—and all of which have stood the test of time.  As a bonus, this cookbook offers tips and techniques to guide you along and boost your baking know-how.

Here are a few guidelines to follow when making cookies:

• Don’t use imitation ingredients: Go for the real vanilla extract, high-quality chocolate, and butter (not margarine).

• Butter should always be used at room temperature: Lumps of cold, hard butter in the dough will cause flat cookies.

• Chocolate should be melted over low heat to avoid scorching: A double boiler or metal mixing bowl over simmering water should do the trick.

• Toast nuts before adding them to the batter, to maximize flavor: Nuts should be toasted whole and then chopped. To toast, preheat the oven to 300˚F. Spread out the nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 7 to 10 minutes.
• Raisins that are hard and shriveled going into cookie dough will be hard and shriveled in the baked cookie: To reconstitute, pour boiling water over them and let them sit for 10 minutes. Then drain off water and use as directed. For additional flavor, soak raisins in wine, brandy or fruit juice.

Check back tomorrow for a recipe from 250 Treasured Country Desserts.