Random Baking Tips

 When I first started baking many years ago, I was a mess of a baker. Literally. I made a huge mess. Lucas would argue that I still am a mess (always getting flour and icing all over myself and the counter tops), but at least now my messes result in some delectable treats. Every cake I made during my rookie years would overflow in the oven and every cookie was burnt to a crisp. I was horrible at icing and even box mixes ended up in failure, let alone recipes from scratch. But, I've come a long way since then and after lots of practice and reading cook books and tips online as well as watching a ridiculous amount of baking shows, I've learned a lot about the science of baking. Not the scary kind of science. The fun, still room to be creative kind. Anyway, I thought I'd share a quick list of baking tips that I've learned throughout the years.

1. 
   

1. Always use unsalted butter unless otherwise stated in the recipe when baking. Every stick of butter differs in how much salt it contains. If you use unsalted butter, you can control the amount of salt you use in a recipe.
2. Unless otherwise noted, a recipe requiring eggs calls for large sized eggs.
3. Unless otherwise noted, all baking ingredients should be room temperature
4. Whenever I am baking a cake (especially bundt cakes), I always butter then flour the pan. This helps the cake to come out easily and also keeps the cake soft and not burnt on the outside.
5. When making a pie crust, don't work the dough too much with your hands. The warmth from your hands will melt the butter in the crust. It's important that the butter stay cold until it starts to bake. The crust will become nice and flaky as the butter melts during the baking process.
6. If a recipe calls for you to pre-bake the crust, use pie weights to keep the crust from shrinking down. You could also use dry beans.
7. When baking cookies, start to babysit them after the minimum baking time. Take them out right when they start to get golden around the edges.
8. When cookies and cupcakes are done baking, take them out immediately and let them cool on a wire cooling rack. If you leave them on the baking sheet/in the cupcake pan they will continue to bake.
9. When making individual cake layers or bundt cakes, leave them to cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before removing them.
10. When baking layered cakes, make sure the amount of batter is exactly equal in each layer. A kitchen scale can help to ensure equal amounts.
11. A little bit of lemon juice or a pinch of salt can really help to bring out flavors.
12. When using nuts in a recipe, toast them first to bring out the flavor more.
13. When cutting a cake, use a serrated knife and wash it with cold water then wipe off clean between each stroke. This will help you to get nice, neat slices.
14. When cutting a pie, cut two slices before pulling one out. For some reason it comes out easier this way.
15. When you are using lemons, roll them with your hand on the cutting board before cutting into it. This releases the juices. 
16. When alternating dry and wet ingredient additions to a batter, always start and end with the dry.
17. When adding eggs, introduce one at a time and mix well before adding the next one.
18. When creaming sugar and butter together, make sure they're thoroughly mixed together and fluffy before adding other ingredients.
19. When you frost a cake or cupcake, use an offset spatula. It's easier and gives a smoother result than a knife or regular spatula.
20. When making whipped cream, add a little honey to keep it from separating.
21. Use an ice cream scoop to pour cupcake batter into the individual cups in the pan. This has made a world of difference for me. It helps to evenly divide the batter and to get nice clean cups.
22. I don't always follow measurements exactly. With things that impact the taste of a dish (ie. chocolate, vanilla extract, honey, etc.), I will eyeball a tablespoon or teaspoon and sometimes add more if I think it would taste better with more of the ingredient. However, for dry ingredients I always follow the recipe to a T. The reason for this is that the amount of flour (and type of flour), baking soda, baking powder, or cornstarch you use greatly effects the outcome of your dish. If you don't follow the recipe, your dish may not rise, or it may rise too much or it may not thicken correctly. Also, it can impact the taste of the dish.