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After making a recipe, if it needs improvement, can it be “fixed” so that it isn’t wasted? Is there a procedure for this?

Real Talk on Recipe Testing

Fran Costigan - Real Talk on Recipe Testing

Recorded

This event was on May 14, 2024

What steps are necessary to develop and deliver recipes that consistently yield successful and reproducible results for your audience, whether that is family, friends, followers, clients? Get a notebook and a scale and begin with a reliable recipe. Observe carefully and then you can develop your own showstoppers! Join Chef Fran Costigan, Rouxbe Director of Vegan Pastry for an informative event with many takeaways for success.

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Question

Janet Duffy

After making a recipe, if it needs improvement, can it be “fixed” so that it isn’t wasted? Is there a procedure for this?

Answer

Well, Janet, you know, um, if it needs improvement, but there's hope, in other words, the flavor's a little flat or it's a little too sweet, or it's not sweet enough, uh, the baking time needs to be adjusted. It was a little too dry, it was a little too moist, then the fix is to make it again. But cut the recipe in half or by a quarter and try it again. Changing paying attention to what part wasn't great and how you think you can fix it. If I'm fixing a flavor, a cream, for example, you can't do this with a cake batter or a cookie batter, but you can do it with lots of things. I will take a portion into a small bowl and add maybe some lemon jest, maybe some vanilla extract, maybe some spice, see how that works. And then you get an idea based on that small amount of how you would add it to the larger amount or not. And you know, again, you can, you can make crumbs from a cake that wasn't just right or if your cream was too runny, serve it as a sauce.

Fran Costigan

Director of Vegan Pastry

FranCostigan.com

Fran Costigan is internationally renowned as the authority on vegan desserts. Trained at the New York Restaurant School and Natural Gourmet Institute, Fran was a chef in both traditional and vegan pastry kitchens before moving into teaching over 20 years ago. A lifelong chocoholic and long time vegan, Fran’s latest book, Vegan Chocolate: Unapologetically Luscious and Decadent Dairy Free Desserts, (Running Press 2013) is for all who madly, deeply love chocolate desserts, whether or not dietary considerations are an issue. Her previous cookbook, More Great Good Dairy-Free Desserts Naturally (Book Publishing Company 2006) is the basis of the Costigan Vegan Baking Boot Camp Intensive®. For more information, www.francostigan.com.