Eggs
When you use room temperature eggs in baking, you allow the eggs to disperse evenly into the batter. Because eggs are known to trap air, this creates a lighter and fluffier texture in your baked goods. Need proof? Whip up a batch of these apple bundt cakes or a chocolate cherry almond cake to see just how delicious room temperature eggs can be in your end result.Gluten Free Apple Bundt Cakes
These Gluten Free Apple Bundt Cakes are wonderfully spicy, sticky and sweet. They incorporate our Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and Hazelnut Meal alongside spices like nutmeg and cinnamon for the perfect autumn treat. As you’ll see, these beautiful bundt cakes call for room temperature eggs (along with room temperature butter and Greek yogurt). Once these moist and fluffy cakes come out of the oven, they’re topped with a glaze made from powdered sugar, butter, apple juice and cardamom. Pair them with a pumpkin spice latte or a mug of warm hot chocolate.
Chocolate Cherry Almond Cake
This flavorful Chocolate Cherry Almond Cake is easy to make and utilizes a Swedish almond cake recipe, chocolate butter frosting and a delicious cherry pie filling. The cake is made with whole almonds, baking powder, Organic Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour, almond extract, granulated sugar, egg yolks and egg whites (both room temperature). With a topping made from softened butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, almond extract, milk and cherry pie filling, you’ll find this cake is a decadent dessert for even the fanciest of gatherings. You can use this recipe for one large cake or 2 smaller cakes. You can even coat the frosting with crushed almonds!
Butter
You might have experienced breaking into a baking frenzy, only to realize your butter was very cold (and very hard to stir). It’s important to be patient with butter when baking because unlike other fats, it holds air. Because of this, it’s able to combine with sugar during the mixing process, which leads to pockets of air (and a fluffier baked good). If you’re looking for proof, here are some wonderful recipes that integrate softened or room temperature butter for fantastic end results.Rhubarb Almond Cake
This nutty Rhubarb Almond Cake incorporates ingredients like Almond Flour, Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour poppy seeds, lemon zest, fresh rhubarb and sliced almonds. The unsalted room temperature butter helps to make the mixture smooth and though the recipe calls for rhubarb, you can feel free to substitute any other berries or stone fruits. Once the cake is baked, serve it the day of, when it’s freshest (and pair it with a mug of tea).
5 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
These delicious 5 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies call for just unsalted butter (softened), brown sugar, eggs, Organic Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour and chocolate chips. With soft butter, rest assured that these cookies will be smooth, uniform in shape, and wonderfully tasty as soon as you take them off the cookie sheet. They’re super simple to throw together and pair well with a tall glass of cold milk. If you’d like, for a more elegant dessert option, you can also serve them on a plate with a scoop of ice cream and drizzle of chocolate sauce.
Blueberry Honey Cream Sandwiches
These incredible Blueberry Honey Cream Sandwiches incorporate a couple different room temperature ingredients, like butter and cream cheese. The softened butter in the cookies gently mixes with ingredients like brown sugar, Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, Classic Granola, white chocolate chips, toasted hazelnuts and dried blueberries for a truly spectacular dessert. In addition, the honey cream with its sweet taste of blueberry blossom honey and zesty lemon juice is entirely reminiscent of the perfect spring or summer dessert.
Cream Cheese
Like butter, cream cheese will work better in your baked goods if it comes to room temperature before use. Leaving it on your counter for a couple hours before baking will work wonders. If you happen to find yourself on a time crunch, try dicing your cream cheese into smaller pieces so if will soften faster. In the end, your patience will pay off and you’ll be left with a smoother and tastier baked good.Pumpkin Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
This Pumpkin Cream Cheese Coffee Cake is made with Whole Wheat Pastry Flour and a mix of spices (like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg). That, in combination with brown sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract and softened butter makes for an ideal base for your fall-inspired baking. The cream cheese filling mixes softened cream cheese (because cold cream cheese would not have nearly the same effect) with sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Once you bake it, top it all with a divine pecan streusel, and you have a baking tradition fit for fall seasons and years to come.
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
What’s more seasonal than a big batch of Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars? These delightful treats are a mix of Organic Unbleached White All-Purpose Flour, Organic Quick Cooking Rolled Oats, salt, lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, softened cream cheese, cranberries, softened butter and sugar. Once you’ve baked your bars, allow them to cool then transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for about an hour before slicing into them. When you do, use a clean warm knife (to make portioning easy). Serve with piping hot espresso!
Whole Wheat Monkey Bread
Monkey bread is always a favorite (and this recipe for Whole Wheat Monkey Bread is no exception). The dough is made with warm milk, sugar, active dry yeast, butter (melted and cooled), eggs, Whole Wheat Pastry Flour, salt and ground cinnamon, with a syrup made from butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract. For the icing on top of an already fantastic treat, use cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk. Decorate your bread with your icing and serve by cutting slices or pulling off individual pieces of bread. A glass of cold orange juice or a warm cup of coffee alongside your monkey bread is a true treat, too!
With baking, life might be a lot easier if we could just combine our ingredients all at once just as they are .But because baking requires consistency and precision, it’s best to play it safe when it comes to following recipes and using room temperature ingredients when called for. Incorporating cold ingredients to your dry ingredients can throw off the end product and lead to deflated cakes and oddly shaped cupcakes.
That’s why we’re excited to share our recipes and tips with you, to help you get that perfectly uniform baked good you’ve been dreaming of.
Have any recipes to share that use room temperature eggs, butter, or cream cheese as primary ingredients? Let us know what you love about them in the comments below.
Better yet, share an entirely brand new recipe with us utilizing Bob’s Red Mill products! We always love to see our most creative bakers of the community come up with baked goods.
From all of us at Bob’s Red Mill, happy baking! We hope your room temperature ingredients make all the difference (and lead to the most beautiful of baked goods for your gatherings, holidays and every-days). 