Knowledge Base > Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

Char Nolan - Ask Me Anything (Office Hours)

This event was on Tuesday, November 07, 2023 at 11:00 am Pacific, 2:00 pm Eastern

Join Chef Char Nolan in her virtual office as she welcomes all of your questions. This event was created for you and we encourage you to ask anything – from cooking techniques to cou… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

I use bananas and apple sauce in place of oils for dessert like muffins and cake- is there a rule of thumb for these purées to flour ratio?

— Anna Zingaro

Answer:

I look at texture a lot. Uh, sometimes you may have added your bananas and your apple sauce and maybe used a sweet potato or puree tofu or whatever, and then you put the flour in and it's still looking very loose. And so I will add a little bit more flour and kind of just go with the feel of the batter. But again, uh, let me say that, uh, chef Fran has a, an event, uh, on November the 14th, and I would suggest to sign up for that and direct your specific baking questions to Fran. And I think later in the queue, we have a question about, um, flax seed. I'm a big, big fan of using flax eggs. So here's your flaxseed. Um, I keep it in the refrigerator once I open it, and then I have a measuring spoon and a measuring cup. And how do I remember the ratio? Here's how I remember it. You're driving one car, but a stoplight has three lights. So it is, uh, excuse me, sorry about that. It is, um, three tablespoons of water. That's your light, and the flaxseed is your car. So it's one to three, and then you mix it up and then let it sit for about five minutes, and the texture will change greatly and it will become rather tenacious. And I use one mix per egg. So if a recipe called for two eggs, I would double this, um, scientific proportion of ingredients to make it equal to eggs. I find this, and this is just me, I find this to be the most successful of, um, all of the, uh, eggs that, uh, the faux eggs that I make and remember to keep it stored in your refrigerator. Um, and you know, Anna, I think it's okay if a recipe is hit or miss because remember that new recipes are learning experiences for us. So, uh, if any of you have any questions, you know, uh, you can always, um, email, um, student services, uh, at Rouxbe. Or you can even go on Instagram and send a message. And that question will be routed to the appropriate person. And if it's baking, we know that it will go to Fran because she is, um, the expert. Oh, and Anna Z just signed up for dessert, so that's great. You're gonna, you're gonna love the class. And it's really fun because, uh, we love to hear when students, uh, use the phrase, I get to eat my homework. Um, even though you do that in all the other classes, but you'll love working with Fran and you will learn a great deal. So that's exciting. Um, very exciting. I love it.

Links:

Char Nolan

Char Nolan

Chef Instructor

@char_nolan