kaak – A Lebanese yeast pastry formed into a ring shape and topped with sesame seeds. After baking it is covered with a milk and sugar glaze.
kahlua – coffee flavored liqueur.
kaiser roll – a large round roll with a crisp crust and soft, chewy center.
Karo – A brand of corn syrup, sold in light and dark versions.
key lime – The fruit of the Key Lime Tree. Most Key Lime trees are grown in Mexico and Central America. A key lime is smaller than a Persian lime, with a thin, smooth, yellow-green peel and a pale yellow-green flesh. Key limes are well known as the main ingredient in Key Lime Pie.
Key lime pie – A pie that originates from the 1850’s, made with key limes and sweetened condensed milk in a graham cracker crust. The pie has a sweet-tart flavor, smooth creamy texture, and is a pale yellow-green color, the same color as the key limes. Key Lime Pie is designated the official state pie of Florida. See recipe for Key Lime Pie.
King Cake – Also known as Three Kings Cake, Epiphany Cake or Twelfth Night Cake. A cake served on Epiphany, January 6th, the twelfth day after Christmas when the biblical three kings arrived. in The cake may be a butter or sponge cake, but is typically a yeast cake shaped in a round or ring shape. Traditionally a small token such as a coin, bean, or baby figure, is baked into the cake, and the person receiving the slice with the token is named king or queen of the day. The season for King Cake begins on January 6th and extends through Tuesday, also known as “Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. See recipe for King Cake.
kipferin – Also caked Viennese horn. A Viennese butter cookie in a crescent shape made at Christmastime. The cookie is made with ground almonds and rolled in confectioners’ sugar.
kirschwasser – Also called kirsch. Kirschwasser is a colorless fruit brandy distilled from morello cherries and the cherry pits. Kirschwasser originated in the Black Forest region of Germany and is used to flavor the famous Black Forest Cherry Torte. See recipe for Black Forest Cherry Torte.
Kitchen Timer - A kitchen timer is essential for baking, you don’t want to remember or guess how long a batch of cookies have been baking, or how much longer a cake has to bake. Digital timers are the easiest and most accurate to use, and you want a timer that is easy to hear if you are in another room. I like to use a digital timer that hangs around your neck so wherever you are in the house you won’t forget that batch of cookies baking in the oven. A multi-job timer is good when you need to time more than one item at a time, such as something baking in the oven, cooling on a rack, and chilling in the refrigerator all at once. An alternative to a kitchen timer is simply using the timer built in to your microwave or oven. Shop for kitchen timers.
kitchen Torch - A small kitchen torch, used with propane, makes creating a caramelized topping on crème brulee. It is also handy for browning meringues and glazing tarts. Shop for kitchen torches.
knead – To work soft dough with the heels of your hand, by folding, pressing, and stretching the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic.
kolache – A sweet pastry from Czechoslovakia made from sweet cream cheese dough or sweet yeast dough that is rolled into squares. The square is topped with a filling of poppy seed, cream cheese, nuts or fruit, and then folded over to cover the filling. The filled squares are baked and topped with a confectioners’ sugar icing.
koulourakia – A Greek butter cookie made at Easter time. The cookies are flavored with brandy, and twisted into a corkscrew shape. The top of the cookie is brushed with egg and sprinkled with sesame seeds before baking.
kourambledes – A Greek butter cookie made with finely ground walnuts and rose water and rolled in confectioners’ sugar.
krakelinge – A Danish cookie made in a figure-eight shape. The cookie is cinnamon flavored, and brushed with egg whites, sugar, and ground almonds.
kringle – A Danish pastry made with a sweet yeast dough, normally formed in a ring shape, filled with a fruit or nut filling, and topped with a sugar icing. See recipe for Kringle.
krokant – A European chewy nut brittle made with almonds or hazelnuts.
krumkake – A Norwegian Christmas cookie. The cookie is made on a specially designed iron carved with intricate designs. The cookie batter is normally flavored with cardamom and is baked on the iron, and then while still warm rolled into a cone shape. When cool the krumkake is filled with sweetened whipped cream.
krumkake iron - An appliance with two hinged metal plates that have an intricately etched design that close together. Krumkake batter is poured on the bottom plate, and then covered with the top plate. The krumkake iron is placed on a ring that sits over a stove burner to cook the cookie.
kuchen – A German dessert that can be made as a type of coffeecake or made with a sweetened yeast dough. The dessert is normally made with sugar and spices, or nuts, or cheese, or fruit. See recipe for Cherry Kuchen.
kugelhopf – A sweet yeast bread made with raisins or fruits and nuts. Kugelhopf is normally baked in a Kugelhopf pan that is tall and fluted. Kugelhopf is normally served as a coffee cake and is often made at Christmastime. See recipe for Kugelhopf.
kugelhopf Pan - Kugelhopf pans are for baking Kugelhopf, A European cake baked in a special Kugelhopf pan which is a deep, round, tube pan with ornate fluting, and a narrow center tube. The cake is a sweet yeast cake studded with raisins, nuts, and candied fruits, and has a round pyramid shape when the cake in unmolded. Shop for kugelhopf pans.
kulich – A Russian Easter cake, similar to pannetone. Kulich is a yeast cake formed in a tall cylindrical shape, and made with candied orange peel, raisins, and spices. After baking it is topped with candied orange peel, nuts, and confectioners’ sugar. See recipe for Kulich. |
