I try to keep my recipes simple since I assume most of us are baking for fun, not to open a patisserie. Here’s the most basic things you’d want to have before you get started.
Ingredients:
Flour. I use white all-purpose in all of my recipes, because that is what I (and I assume most other people) have already in their homes. You can obviously use whatever flour you have in your pantry, but be aware you might need to make some adjustments. Whole wheat flour, for example, may require additional liquid — and even then, the result might be a little dry.
Sugar. I use white granulated sugar, for the same reason. Feel free to substitute with brown sugar if that’s what you have.
Eggs. I try to use medium-sized eggs, since we’re dealing with such small batches here. It’s not the end of the world if you usually buy bigger eggs, though I might add maybe 1/2 teaspoon of flour if you’re using one of those extra-large, jumbo eggs.
Baking powder. I tried to find ways around this so we’d have one less thing to worry about, I really did. But some recipes I couldn’t make work without.
Vanilla extract. This is mostly optional. If you already have it at home, great. If not, again, not the end of the world.
Equipment:
Whisk. If you have the patience (and arm strength) to whip up egg whites until they’re stiff, all power to you. I cheat and use an electric whisk, which, if you plan on baking a lot, is well worth the investment. I don’t know how well a stand mixer (i.e. KitchenAid) would work given the small amount of batter we’re working with. If someone could let me know, that would be great.
Bowl. Something small. If you’re using too big of a bowl, the batter will just spread thinly on the bottom and you’d have a lot of trouble whisking it together.
Ramekin. All my recipes are designed for an 8-oz. ramekin.
Lastly, a baking pan. I recommend you put a pan under the ramekin while baking, both to catch any overflow and also for easier handling. It will make your life so much easier, I swear.
baking for one 