A few tips for successful baking.

If you bake a lot then you probably know this, I wish I had known when I first started, it would have saved me a lot of time and trouble (and some disappointing results too). This goes for most cakes and cookies but ofcourse you should always follow a recipe if its any different and precise. These tips are more like ‘between the lines’ tips.

1. Blend all ingredients at the same temperature. That means no cold eggs with hot butter. Most of the time baking is an instant decision so the eggs are still in the fridge when its time to blend them in. I place them in luke-warm water (not hot! did that once and the whites turned ‘white’).

2. Mix fat and sweetener well, doesn’t matter if its butter, coconut oil or vegetable oil (I never use margerine anymore) and sugar, brown sugar, splenda or other sweetener. They should really melt together before adding eggs.

3. Adding the eggs one by one and stir well to fill the blend with air, but not too much because you dont want the air to go out

4. If you have a yeast dough, adding oil can make it softer but the oil should never be blended with the yeast, rather when you have a wet mix of water, yeast and wheat you can add the oil. And #1 rule for a yeast dough is t-i-m-e ..