Pams Prep Kitchen: Baking Tips & Tricks
Baking doesn’t always have to be a headache. When it comes to intricate measuring, ingredients, heat and timing, the secrets to success can lie in the smallest of tricks. Upskill in the kitchen and put your mind at ease with some fun tips, tricks and hacks for baking.
Follow along to find out some of our Pams Prep Kitchen favourites for executing a seamless bake!
Dust Fruit with Flour
When baking with fresh or frozen fruit, it’s not uncommon for them to sink to the bottom of your cakes or muffins, making for a lackluster first few bites! To combat this mishap, dust your fruit in a small amount of plain flour before adding to batters. The flour will absorb some of the liquid from the fruit and keep your baked goods from going soggy, all while ensuring they are evenly distributed. This hack can also be used with dried fruit, fresh fruit and even tinned fruit!
Use Kitchen Scales
In order to keep a consistent and high-quality bake with accurate results, kitchen scales are your best friend. Baking is a much more technical way of cooking, as every gram and millimeter counts for perfect rising, proofing and crisping. Using a scale will improve not only the quality of your baking, but also the quality of your baking experience (and the cleaning up afterward, minimising multiple measuring cups).
Cut Cake Layers with Floss
We know how difficult it can be to slice a perfect half through a cake – sometimes the knife just goes askew! This tip using dental floss totally changes the game when it comes to a seamless cake divider.
Take your long piece of (unscented) dental floss and wrap it equally around the cake where you would want your cut to be. Hold it tight with both hands and pull in opposite directions so it cuts through the middle of the cake and leaves you with two perfectly even layers. For more accurate results, use toothpicks as a guide so you know where to rest the floss.
Remove Egg Shell Easily
Cracking eggs smoothly and confidently is always a gamble. We’ve all done it – pesky pieces of random shell so easily slip loose into the bowl accidentally. Stop wasting time trying to retrieve them with your fingers and try these two helpful hints!
Eggshell attracts eggshell. Use a piece of your leftover eggshell half to carefully scoop out the remnants and remove it from the bowl. Or, a wet fingertip also does the job! Just pop your finger in water and press onto the loose eggshell – it should stick!
Bring Butter to Room Temperature Quickly
Lots of recipes require room-temperature butter, especially for creaming together with sugar for cakes, cookies and muffins. However, it’s easy to forget it in the fridge, or over-do it in the microwave and be left with a melted mess! For perfectly softened butter, place desired amount onto a plate. Warm a glass (or small bowl) by filling it with hot water and let it sit for a minute or so. Empty the glass of water, and dry it well with a t-towel. Finally, place the warm glass over the butter until ready to use. The heat from the glass will gently soften the butter, creating the perfect texture for baking.
Whether you’re just starting out as a baker and need a few tricks up your sleeve, or you’re looking to further excel in a hobby, having some easy baking hacks at your disposal is always a win. Great creative and see how these hacks work within your favourite recipes!
