Baking Tips 3.0

I am always getting so many messages and comments from you guys, asking about various doubts that you have about baking certain things. This is why I am always trying to share my baking tips and tricks with you to help you sail through the process of making  desserts. 

Whether you are a beginner or if you are simply trying to find answers to some of your baking mishaps, you have landed at the right place. This article will take you through some of my top baking tips.

You will also find two articles about  – Baking Tips For Beginners and Baking Tips 2.0 on my website already but I think it’s been long enough since I shared a new list of must know baking tips so here we go! 

Treat your eggs right

On my youtube channel I have another video Baking Tips for Beginners where I showed you a trick to check whether your eggs are fresh or not. This time let’s take a deeper dive and see how to work with them. 

First very important thing is that when recipes mention and even when they don’t mention, make sure to add your eggs one at a time, this ensure two things:

1. It makes sure that the eggs are well incorporated into the batter.
2. Adding them one by one makes sure that we are incorporating enough air into the batter. This will always give you a fluffier baked good at the end.

Another thing to keep in mind about eggs is that eggs have two parts – the yolk and the whites. Egg yolks are the yellow part at the centre of an egg and contain most of the nutrients and minerals. Egg whites are the transparent liquid in the egg shell and these are a low calorie food which contains most of the protein. 

One thing that I know a lot of people are afraid of making or are unable to get right is meringue. Now when it comes to meringue which is basically just egg whites and sugar, there are certain things to keep in mind. This includes: 

• Always use a clean, dry bowl and also a clean-dry hand whisk or electric whisk. Any water, grease or any other particle will hinder the protein in the egg whites to whip.
• Always add your sugar in batches while meringue. Meringue is all about adding air and structure to your egg whites. If you dump in all the sugar at once, it will simply deflate all the egg whites and your meringue will never whip up to soft or stiff peaks. 
• If you are following a recipe that only requires egg yolks, do not throw away the whites. Store them in your refrigerator for upto 2 weeks and whip them up whenever you need them during this time. 

Scrape that bowl

Since while baking we use ingredients that are in two different states- dry and wet, it is very important to continuously scrape your bowl. This is to ensure that there is no large accumulation of any ingredient at the bottom or sides of your bowl and you will have a consistent batter. A rubber spatula is really helpful here as it’s bendy and super flexible so it can move with the curvature of your bowl!! 

 Get to know your oven 

All ovens function differently and this is why we need to keep a close eye on the  time and temperature for every recipe. Your oven’s heating could differ on the basis of its size, brand, and model. Different heating means different treatment of desserts. 

Time and temperature mentioned in any recipe is always meant to be taken as a reference and not as a definite instruction. Always check your desserts 5-10 minutes before the suggested time and judge accordingly. If you have any more questions about baking and using an oven, then you need to check out my video on How To Bake in an OTG Oven that is there on my Youtube channel. 

Don’t substitute blindly

Baking is not as simple as replacing one ingredient with another. Each ingredient plays a very important role and just cannot be substituted without having any effects in the final dessert. For example, imagine replacing eggs in a flourless eggless chocolate cake with a chia egg. Now eggs in this cake will make it light, fluffy, and airy but replacing eggs with chia eggs which makes things dense will completely ruin the recipe. Instead, for this case, try to find recipes that already don’t use egg. 

Follow the recipe order 

If you are a recipe rebel, hold on! Recipes are written after a lot of trials. There is a reason why they are in a strict order and need to be followed like so. If the order is not followed your dessert is likely to not turn out that great. Like adding flour into the butter and sugar before adding eggs. Or dumping all ingredients together at once. This wont allow the ingredients to perform what they designed to do in that recipe. So be a rule abider, for desserts sake! 

Measuring wet ingredients 

The perfect equipment to measure liquid ingredients is a clear measuring cup with a spout. The spout makes sure you don’t make a mess while transferring your wet ingredients. To make sure that you are measuring your liquid ingredients the right way, always keep the measuring cup on the table, since liquids flow and holding the cup in our hand will not ensure correct levelling. 

Know your measuring equivalents

This is a super helpful trick to know how to convert your cups into tablespoons and vice-e-versa. This is very useful when you are trying to make smaller batches and need smaller measuring. I use this especially when all my measuring spoons are in the wash and I only have a teaspoon or half a teaspoon available to me. So 3 teaspoon=1 tablespoon , which means I can do major measurements with just one measuring spoon.

Sprinkle that salt 

I know that salt is not a mainstream dessert ingredient, but trust me when I say this, adding the teeniest bit of salt in your sweet recipes will bring out the sweetness even more. Also, balancing flavours is key while making anything where sweet or salty, so don’t shy away from it. I love sprinkling sea salt on my double chocolate cookies and even adding to my batters.

Invest in a silicone mat

The main purpose of using a reusable silicone mat is to provide an even and nonstick base to bake anything and everything. It makes sure that the conduction of heat is as even as possible and gives you the best baked goods. Works best specially while making brittles and working with caramel, toffee or chocolates. It might seem expensive to buy at first, but then it will literally last you the longest time. Not only for baking, but it can also be used for rolling out doughs without the sticky mess. It can also be used to make chocolate decorations. 

Portioning and filling your moulds 

I love using an ice cream scoop to make sure that all my cookies, muffins, and cupcakes are the same size. One more thing you need to take care of is to always fill your moulds to 3/4th. Overfilling the pan will lead to wasted efforts because in the end you will end up with a messy and shabby dessert.  Instead, use an extra batter for extra small batches and secret stashes, haha! 

These were some of my top baking tips to help you in the kitchen! I hope these help you out and make your kitchen work much easier and smoother. I am always sharing short videos on my Instagram @shivesh17  so make sure to check my page out. Happy baking!