Dessert Cooking Terms:

A la Mode:  Served with topping of Ice Cream
Bake:  To cook to dry heat in an oven.
Batter:  A mixture of liquid, flour, eggs, etc. before cooking such as cake batter. A coating of food to be fried.
Beat:  To whip with a spoon in order to combine food or incorporate air.
Blend:  To mix ingredients until thoroughly combined.
Condensed Milk:  Canned milk which is concentrated and sweetened.
Confectioner's Sugar:  Sugar that has been ground to the consistency of powder.

About Cake Pans:

With all of the baking we do around the holidays, it is good to start with the equipment we use. Cake pans may be aluminum, heavy tin, or glass. (Glass usually requires cooking at lower temperatures. Follow manufacturers recommendations) Use the pan size recommended in the recipe. Check the pan size by measuring across the top of the pan.

Always use bright shiny pans. Discolored pans cause uneven browning. Avoid warped pans, they will bake your cake uneven. Good Luck with your holiday baking!

Just as water boils at lower temperatures at a higher altitude, all other liquids also boil at lower temperatures. Boiling causes the loss of moisture through evaporation. The lower the boiling point, the sooner the evaporation begins. At high altitudes, when sugar mixtures are cooked at temperatures suggested at sea level, the loss of water causes the mixture to become concentrated. The results may be sugary or hard.

To adjust sugar recipes for altitude, reduce the finish temperature. If using a candy thermometer, test the first temperature at which water boils. While there will be minor changes from day to day, the range is slight. At 5000 feet water boils at 202 degrees F. Ten degrees lower then at sea level. Adjust your recipe by the difference of the waters boiling point.