Baking Powder

My wife bakes the greatest-tasting cakes, but sometimes they fall. I know that you have explained this problem before, but for the life of me I cannot remember what the heck I did with your explanation. Forgive me ... sometimes I have trouble remembering where I hung my coat. Could you please tell me again why cakes are prone to fall? Sorry for such a long delay in answering your question. Don't feel bad about forgetting where you hung your coat, because I misplaced your letter! Now let's get down to that cake issue before we forget it. As much as I'd like to say that there is one simple answer, I'd be the one falling down if I told you that.

QUICK BREADS are long on satisfaction and short on work, my kind of recipe. These breds don't require any rising time and can be ready for the oven in about 10 minutes. For best results always pre-heat the oven. When baked, let the breads cool completely on wire rack.Banana Bread3/4 cup sugar1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened2 eggs1 cup (2 medium) mashed ripe bananas1/3 cup milk1 teaspoon vanilla2 cups all-purpose flour1/2 cup chopped nuts, if desired1 teaspoon baking soda1/2 teaspoon saltHeat oven to 350 degrees.

Rick Seyfried from Columbia was looking for a recipe he has lost for making a quick Christmas Stollen bread that he found on a package of Jell-O vanilla pudding mix some years ago. He said that he has written the "Jell-O company to search their archives for the recipe to no avail. " I searched the Kraft food website but could not locate a recipe for a stollen that used pudding. However, in my internet search I did find on http://www.tasteofhome.com an excellent quick and easy recipe for making a stollen.

Blackberries are the most luscious and perhaps the most overlooked of summer berries. These knobby berries, the size of your thumb and bursting with juice, are often too tart to eat out of hand. The usual alternative is to make a blackberry pie or cobbler. Delicious, but neither recipe captures the fresh, sprightly flavor of the berry. Being a blackberry devotee, I've been working on this dilemma. How could I preserve blackberries' taste while taming their tartness? My solution is to use blackberries as a sandwich filling.

One of my dreaded childhood chores was having to dust the living room furniture. The end tables were completely covered with English bone china teacups. I had no idea what bone china was -- the very name brought ghoulish visions to my mind. What I did know was that if I exhaled too forcefully, it would break. But I dusted the dishes every week. It was my job to make sure the tea cups, like the living room itself, were ready for the Sunday-afternoon tea ritual. This was an adult affair.

WYE MILLS -- In a yellow house in this tiny Eastern Shore town, six women gather around a long, rectangular table to make biscuits the old-fashioned way. Not old-fashioned as in the way your mother made biscuits. Old-fashioned as in 300 years ago, when yeast and other leavening agents were rare and baking powder hadn't been invented yet. To get the dough to rise, bakers beat air into it with the handle of a hammer or an ax. Now a machine does the work, but little else has changed in the way Maryland beaten biscuits are made.

COFFEECAKES ARE A warm and welcoming way to greet the cold days of winter. Making your own coffeecakes from scratch is fun and much cheaper than buying ready-made treats from the grocery store.Sour Cream Coffee CakeFilling/Topping:1/2 cup sugar1 tablespoon ground cinnamon1 cup chopped walnuts or pecansCake:2 cups all-purpose flour2 cups sugar1 tablespoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened2 cups sour cream2 large eggs2 teaspoons vanilla extractPreheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Readers have always written in requesting ideas for healthy snacks that their children will like.Lately, instead of requests, I've been receiving recipes. I like to make those that sound particularly good for my family. The muffin and doughnut recipes here received high marks in a recent round of home testing. My 16-year old son, Matthew, was so impressed with the low-fat poppy seed doughnuts ("These taste like real doughnuts, Mom") that he asked if I could concoct a chocolate version. We worked it out together.

Homemade waffles are wonderful for breakfast and even better as dessert, served a la mode with an assortment of fancy toppings. However you serve waffles, under-beat the batter to make them tender, and, to keep the waffles from sticking, give your waffle iron proper care. Always follow the manufacturer's directions for using and caring for your waffle maker. If the grid plates don't have a nonstick finish, you will need to season them as you would a cast-iron skillet. Once seasoned, the plates can be wiped with a basting brush or paper towel.

The crisp nights of fall have arrived, and that signals apple time. These pancakes make a comforting supper. Pass additional sour cream and applesauce as accompaniments. SAVORY APPLE-CHEDDAR PANCAKES Serves 4 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (or more, as needed) 1 medium Golden Delicious apple, peeled and finely chopped 2 teaspoons sugar 1 1/3 cups flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup skim milk 1/2 cup light sour cream 1 egg, lightly beaten 1/2 cup shredded light cheddar cheese 1/4 cup chopped scallions Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large, nonstick skillet set over medium high.