Heaven Cakes!

The key to baking is you must always, ALWAYS, measure correctly. It’s not like stovetop cooking where you can add a little bit of this, a little bit of that. You have to measure exactly. The key to that is to use individual measuring cups instead of one big measuring bowl. Also, every oven cooks differently so use the light in the oven to check on your food instead of opening and closing the oven. It helps keep the heat in the oven where it belongs.
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^ that’s not a good recipe; please note that there is no temperature or baking time noted. Stay away from recipes like that.

Definitely measure all ingredients exactly. Baked goods do not tolerate improvisation like a soup or stew would.
Spend the $6 on an oven thermometer, the kind that hangs inside the oven. Inaccurate oven temps can ruin the best recipes.

She should start out easy on something like coffee cake. It’s all baked in one pan and uses ingredients found in most kitchens.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This tender cake is both filled and topped with a delicious cinnamon-y streusel.

Cake
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream or yogurt*

*Feel free to use low-fat (NOT nonfat) sour cream or yogurt; if using yogurt, try vanilla or another complementary flavor, if desired.

Topping
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream together the butter or margarine, sugar, and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream or yogurt, stirring after each addition.

Grease and flour a regular-sized (9 1/2-inch) tube pan or bundt-style pan, or a 9 x 9-inch pan. Spread half the batter in the pan, and sprinkle with half the topping mixture. Repeat with remaining batter and topping.

Bake the coffeecake in a preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Cool it for 10 to 15 minutes, then remove it from the pan. (If you’ve baked it in a 9 x 9-inch pan, just serve it right from the pan.) Place the cake right-side-up (topping up) on a plate to serve.

Yield: about 12 generous servings.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/RecipeDisplay?RID=R913

Tell her not to give up yet!
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Two loaves of bread – crisp of crust and tender of crumb. { Make sure to use measuring spoons
and cups for this recipe.}

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 c. water { 105*F }
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. Crisco
1 c. Warm milk ( 80*F)
5 to 6 c. enriched All purpose flour
(The amount of flour needed will vary due to the humidity )

[Soften yeast in 1/2 cup of the 105*F water , add 1/2 tea spoon sugar and 2 table spoons flour then stir until blended. let sit for at least 10 min.Do this the first thing sit in a warm draft free place by the time you have the other ingredients measured it should be foamy or bubbly ]Then measure measure sugar, salt and Crisco into mixing bowl, pour warm milk over them and stir, mashing Crisco against sides of bowl until broken into small lumps. Add remaining water and cool to lukewarm. Stir in 1 cup flour. Add yeast mixture
{should be bubbly or foamy at this time }add 2 more cups flour and beat with a wooden spoon until batter is smooth and elastic. Stir in 1 1/2 to 2 cups more flour, then, with floured fingers, work in enough additional flour to make a soft dough that does not stick to the fingers.
Turn dough onto lightly floured board and knead for 2 minutes, about 100 kneading strokes. Shape dough into a ball and put it in a bowl rubbed with oil. turn dough to cover all of dough with oil cover with a towel and let dough rise until double in bulk,in a warm draft free place about 1 to1 1/2 hours. Punch dough down and turn onto floured board. Cut dough in half and shape each half into a smooth ball. Let rest on work surface covered 10 minuts Shape each ball into a loaf and put into bread pan rubbed with Crisco, seam side down letting one side of loaf lay touching one side of pan Cover pans with a towel {I lightly brush the loafs with canola oil with a soft pastry brush. Instead of the towl. the towel may stick to bread } and let bread rise until the sides of the raised bread reach the top of the pans and the center is nicely rounded above it, about 1 hour.

To bake: Bake loaves at 400 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

When baked: Turn loaves from pans immediately onto a cooling rack to keep crust crisp, just let bread cool, for a more tinder crust brush with cooking oil, and let cool.
jenny—– I have given this recipe to several people and they all seem to like it. I hope you like it also.
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be very careful to keep the dough warm while rising. Both rises. I suggest that you turn your oven on and let it warm up slightly then turn it off but leave the light on. Place the dough in the oven covered with a damp towel
for the first rise. For the second rise that is after you place the loaves in the baking pan
It’s not good to cover because the cover could stick to loaves. Just try to keep the dough as close to 80*F as you can from the mixing to the time it’s ready to bake.
Whitch means you will have to set the paned bread on the counter while you pre heat the oven. Good luck and injoy your home made bread. You can make wholewheat bread with this recipe by using 1 part wholewheat flour and 2 parts white flour. Jim b
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retired baker