TIPS AND TRICKS
Let me show you some ways to improve your baking
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You can face a lot of problems when baking, so here are some of my top tips and solutions:
Baking Tricks:
Air bubbles
Air bubbles can be annoying things. The best and easiest way to get rid of them is to simply tap your baking tray gently on the surface. (This may have to be done more than once). Doing this can also help smoothen out your cake batter.
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Overmixed batter
Have you ever got to the point when your cake batter is very runny and slightly soup-like? Unfortunately, this probably means that you have overmixed your batter. Overmixing is when you have mixed your batter too much (the clue is in the name). I have never done this myself before as I always hand mix everything and I’m very careful to monitor my mixing. However, when I was once baking with my cousin (TIP-never bake with your cousins if they don’t bake much, they crack eggs on the floor, but that’s a whole other story), I let him mix the cake batter and when I next looked, it was very runny and looked like milk, although we didn’t even put any milk in the batter. There wasn’t much to do, so we just put it in the oven anyway. It turned out okay, but the texture wasn’t as nice. If this happens to you, the best advice I can offer is too simply prevent the problem from happening again. You can do this by mixing slowly by hand, and checking to see when all the ingredients are well incorporated. As soon as you can see this, STOP mixing right away! If you are using an electric mixer, make sure that you don’t put the speed to high and that you are still keeping an eye on your mixture.
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Not sure when your cake is done?
It’s important that you stick to the oven timings in your recipe but sometimes you have to make your own judgement, especially if you have altered the recipe slightly or doubled the batter. My ultimate way to check if a cake is done is to gently poke a cocktail stick in the middle of your cake. If it comes out clean, your cake is done. If not, I would give it a few more minutes. Some bakers like to use a knife to do this but in my opinion the knife leaves a big hole in your cake and isn’t as reliable. Another way to see if your cake is done is to check the colour. If it’s dark brown or almost black, it is definitely done, and maybe a bit overdone too! If it’s a mixture of light brown and dark brown then it should be done. If it’s a golden colour then it should be around perfect. If it’s too yellow then it might need some more time in the oven. Colour is a good way to check not only cakes, but other delights like flapjacks and cookies too.
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Uneven baking
This is something that I would say is less common but it still happens Sometimes when baking, one side can get more cooked than the other, especially with cakes. This is because the half furthest in the oven will cook quicker compared to the half nearest the oven door. I recommend that you turn your baking tin around halfway through its time in the oven so that each side will be done equally. This will prevent having overcooked and an undercooked sides. If you're baking something which the recipe tells you NOT to open the oven until it's done, then make sure to not do that.
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Baking Tips:
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Always read the recipe clearly
Don't forget to preheat the oven
Don't rush- that's when the mistakes happen
Clean up as you go along- it's much easier that way trust me
Use your eggs at room temperature when making a cake especially
VERY IMPORTANT - Allow cakes to cool before icing (The whole cake could be ruined if you don't do this)
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