Do you love baking? Maybe you are someone who is just starting and want to be better in making cakes, cookies, and other baked goodies, then this is for you.
Baking is indeed a passion and not everyone has the patience and the skills to create wonderful baked goodies that will be loved by many. From choosing the ingredients to creating fantastic frostings to decorating your pastries – baking requires patience and so much more.
If you have already tried and have failed say, a couple of times, don’t give up just yet. Everything takes time – even baking. Get ready with your pen and paper and write down these 50 baking tips that are easy to remember and will give you the perfect cookies, cakes and so much more!
1) Stock up on Evaporated Milk
2) In case you run out of butter
Measure an appropriate amount of shortening and canola oil.
You can then use this for your recipe. Don’t expect it to have the rich flavor though. You can also try substituting mashed avocado for the butter if it’s available.
3) Don’t be afraid to play with add-ins
Though, that doesn’t mean that you can’t experiment and play around with add-ins.
If you want to aim for a chewy texture, then substitute oats for up to a third of the flour that you are using. You can also try adding in dried fruits or even candy sprinkles. Be generous, try it out!
4) Go and invest with silicone baking mats
Not only will it save your precious pans, it will also save you a lot of time when cleaning plus, they actually help cookies to bake much more evenly. It’s definitely something worth buying.
5) This is when its time to take your cookies out
This is the time that you should take them out because if you wait a little bit more, they will become too hard and may even break your teeth.
6) Room temperature ingredients
Baking requires patience especially if you are using rock-hard cold butter. If you don’t want this, plan ahead of time and prepare your ingredients so you can be sure that when you’re baking, they are all ready to be mixed together.
7) Making buttermilk
Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or rice vinegar to level off the measuring cup.
Then just allow the milk to sit for 10 minutes and curdle and that’s it! Very easy and ready to use.
8) Substitute for cake flour
Measure 1 cup of flour then remove 2 tablespoons of the flour and place back in the bag. Replace the top the measuring cup with 2 tablespoons corn starch. That’s it. Make sure to sift well.
9) Cutting bars like a pro
To do this, use a parchment paper so you can line the pan. Make sure you have extra parchment paper extending over the sides so you can use them as handles.
Gently lift the baked slab out of the pan and from there, cut it into squares on a cutting board. Slice away any hard or tapered edges and you’ll see just how pretty they look.
10) Cake release spray
Just a quick spray and it will already give you an effortless way to release your baked goodies.
Easy to use and is also very handy so you won’t have any problems removing cake from the pan.
11) Coat before mixing
Why?
This is because it will prevent all these add-in bits from sinking to the bottom of your batter and will also ensure that you have an even distribution of flavor.
12) Go for high quality bake-ware
Aside from the poor quality, they won’t even last long and you even might end up with poorly baked goods.
Some can’t conduct and distribute heat evenly, some coatings may not even last long. Never settle for cheap tools that can compromise your baking.
13) The importance of correct butter consistency
Settling for what “looks good” isn’t okay. From the correct temperature of the butter to the brand can dramatically affect the texture and taste of your baked goods.
Even how you incorporate it to your mix will have great impact so, make sure you take good care of how you prepare and use your butter.
14) The proper way to sift
Once done correctly, you will be able to get flour that is lighter and easier to mix. This is perfect for those ultra-light cakes or biscuits, especially when you are incorporating cocoa powder into other dry ingredients.
15) Tip for cutting desserts
Use a hot knife.
Just run it under hot water and wipe it dry)
Hot desserts:
Use a chilled knife.
Just place your knife in the freezer for just a few minutes.
Bonus Tip: For clean slices, make sure to wipe your knife with a wet paper towel between each slice.
16) Lining is better than greasing
This is because it allows you to transfer your baked cookies, breads and cakes without even tearing or falling apart.
Cut parchment paper or buy pre-cut sheets to fit your loaf pans and cake pans. Better to allow a few centimeters excess so you can use them as handles.
17) Ice cream scoop to portion muffins
They will even come out in perfect proportions every time.
18) Go for vanilla bean paste
Who wouldn’t appreciate such effort?
19) Be generous with butter and flour, please!
This is to avoid your batter or dough from stick and to possibly ruin your cake. So be generous when applying grease!
Consider every nook and cranny that could stick, and make sure you are doing a thorough application. This also goes if you are flouring a pan.
20) Understand the recipe before starting
Reading ahead and familiarizing yourself with the recipe, especially if it’s a new one that you want to try will help a lot.
Saves you time, saves you from wasting valuable ingredients and gives you more confidence.
21) Glossy finish
22) Practice pipping
There is no need to go overboard especially if it’s your first time. Practice on a piece of wax paper first. Do this even before you bake so you feel much more confident.
23) Only the freshest ingredients
Using expired ingredients or near the expiration date baking powder, baking soda, yeast, even chocolates will have an effect in your products or baked goods.
For high-quality results and delicious baking goods, go for the freshest ingredients only!
24) Invest on a trusty digital scale
25) Throw the old stuff away
Don’t feel bad about wasting money on those forgotten ingredients. Throw them away and don’t use them. They are tagged as expired for a reason.
26) Prepare your ingredients before starting
Read through the ingredients, sift flour if needed, let the butter soften, prepare all your bowls, spatulas, and we mean all the things you need.
This way you won’t get stressed out when you suddenly realize you need a sifter and you don’t know where it is.
27) Leavening reminders
28) Go for recipes measured in grams or pounds instead of cups
29) Let your cakes cool first
Make sure that you let your cake cool down first before trying to put icing on it.
They’ll break if you take them out the tin too soon plus, the frosting will just melt right off.
30) Your mood matters
Chances are, the finished product will not come out good. Make sure that you are happy, in a good state of health and mood so you can enjoy the moment.
31) Give it time to rise – be patient
Acclaimed British baker and author Paul Hollywood says this is a mistake!
We want to achieve a slow, natural rise to get that best bread flavor. Speeding it up is not the right way to go.
32) Invest on high-quality mixer
Though, what’s preferred is to actually go for quality other than the design. This will ensure even mixing, stiff meringues, and that perfect whipped cream. It can even last for years!
33) Remove big air bubbles
34) The toothpick taste
Just poke your cake with a toothpick and if there are still pieces that stick to the toothpick, that means it’s not ready yet!
Bonus tip!
Better to set your timer for less than what the recipe calls for. This way we avoid over baking the cake.
35) Rotate pans while baking
Rotating cookie sheets halfway through baking will make sure you have even baking.
You’ll end up with evenly cooked cookies that everyone will love!
36) A drop of liquified coconut oil
Just be careful not to add too much.
37) Beaters and bowl in the fridge
The reason for this is if they are cold, your cream will whip faster!
38) Don’t open your oven door
This isn’t a good practice because cool air can get in; this will greatly interrupt your baked goods from cooking properly.
If you need to test your cakes, then just use the toothpick trick. Remove your cake from the oven, immediately close it and test if it’s done, if not okay, then put it back in as quickly as you can.
39) For accurate temperature
To ensure that you still have and know the right temperature, invest in an oven-safe thermometer.
This way, you can attach it to an oven rack and you can adjust your oven temperature if needed.
40) Keep your leftover cookies extra soft
Why?
The cookies will absorb all of the bread’s moisture and that’s it. Your bread will be rock solid after a few days and your cookies? Well, they will be soft for days!
41) Secret of meringues
The reason for this is because the oils from your fingers can actually flatten the meringue.
Just use an egg separator and make sure the yolk doesn’t break.
42) Don’t make your dough your stress ball
Don’t do this, please.
This can cause tough baked goods. Nobody wants that. So make sure to handle your dough gently and use only a light dusting of flour on the rolling pin or counter.
43) What to do with holes in dough?
However, those large gaps, they can be patched with trimmings cut from the overhanging dough.
However, if you have a pizza dough, that’s a different story because it’s almost impossible to patch them when torn so be careful.
44) Be familiar with your baking equivalents
For example:
2 cups = 1 pint
2 pints = 1 quart
4 quarts = 1 gallon
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup
5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon = 1/3 cup
And so on…
45) Keeping brown sugar soft
To avoid this from happening, just use marshmallows!
Place 2-3 marshmallows in a bag of brown sugar and it will keep it from hardening.
Just make sure to replace the marshmallows when they are hard.
46) Love egg wash
It’s actually a mixture of 1 large egg and 1 tablespoon water – that’s it.
It is used to seal crusts together (like in turnovers) and to add color and shine on the crust of baked goods. Also makes your baked goods look good.
47) How to fix your frosting
If your frosting is however, too thick to spread, just slowly stir in a spoonful of milk.
Be careful, use small amounts until you reach the right consistency.
48) Don’t under-beat or over-beat your batter.
Most recipes are tested using an electric mixer, this produces the highest volume.
Make sure to read the recipe and be sure to know which method to use, either electric or hand mixing.
Note: One minute of medium beating time with a high-quality mixer usually equals about 150-180 strokes by hand.
49) Do a test batch first
Separate them in small batches, and try to bake a small batch.
This way you will see if it still needs adjustments or is good to go.
This is a great way to save time and avoid huge mistakes.
50) Never over fill
Leaving enough room for the batter to expand and rise.
You wouldn’t want to end up with a burnt cake batter stuck to the bottom of your oven.
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