Baking Tips and Tricks

What's that thing called when you have tons and tons of work to do but you simply keep finding ways to distract yourself and get around it? When you have hundreds of pages to read, but Pinterest and the idea of making perfect sugar cookies just begins to consume you and take over what was designated as work time?? Ahhh yes... procrastination!


Luckily for you, that means beautiful pictures and great tutorials on how to make the most perfect cookies and cakes one can imagine....

Unluckily for me, that means no going out tonight and a date with my textbooks...but that means I get to stay in and have study break baking sessions right??? Yes, I believe so!

I did not make the hilarious cupcakes above but perhaps me and cookie monster could give it a shot...

In the past few years or so, I've learned a few tricks of the trade that have had a huge impact on the sweets I've baked up and how I work in the kitchen. Had I known these tid-bits of advice earlier I probably could have saved myself from a few disastrous events in the kitchen -- but we practice so we learn. Here's a collection of some helpful tips that I felt necessary to write down for myself and for anyone who may need a few pointers here and there.

1. Presentation is key: we can spend hours in the kitchen working on the perfect vanilla cupcake with pastel pink frosting but unless we present is correctly, it won't get the credit it's due. Wehn we give present for example, we love to wrap them in pretty wrapping paper and curled ribbons and such because it makes the gift that much more precious and exciting to receive. It's important to view what you bake as a present so that it too looks more appealing and presentable.

- photography skills circa 2010 -

My skills before -- I know, so creative right?! Compare those with the cookie monster cupcakes pictured above and you can see how just taking a few minutes to put it on a tray or get the right close-up is very important. Kudos to the lady who made those cupcakes by the way!

2. Use a crumb coat: ever wondered how some bakers get their cakes to look so perfectly smooth? I'm not talking about when they use fondant (that's a whole different story...), but when they use frosting and there seems to be no clump or speck of cake crumb in the mix? A crumb coat people! When frosting a 3-layer cake I use about a cup of the butter-cream frosting to lightly frost the cake. It doesn't need to be a thick layer -it should be almost transparent, but just think enough that it captures all those crumbs and doesn't allow them to blend into the thicker second, and final frosting coat.

3. Things you need to invest in! While all the supplies can be pricey (paying $7 for a cup of sugar tends to get on my nerves...), it's important to invest in the right goods like high quality baking pans such as  these by Fat Daddio's that are a breeze to clean and never get those weird and impossible oil stains.

Also, cake strips like these  when placed around the cake they help keep it even at the top and avoid that pesky dome shape. This is especially important when you want to make double, triple, or any layer cake that needs to be perfectly flat and smooth.

I should also note that an electric hand mixer such as this one from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (get the pink!) is totally and completely different from a hand as a mixer. I bought the electric hand mixer about a year ago in hopes that it would be more efficient in smoothing out my cake batters (it did a great job taking out any clumps). I later realized that when making frosting in which the butter neeeds to be perfectly whipped and blended with the sugar, this is a job that only an electric hand mixer can achieve! Get one mixer and you'll save your sore arm and your failed frosting a lot of trouble!  

Parchment rounds are also great for releasing cakes from pans with a no-mess job. After buttering and flouring my cake pans I've learned to place one at the bottom of the cake pan, pour my mix, and let it bake. The cake comes out perfectly and I simply peel the parchment round off, leaving a smooth, moist cake ready to cool then frost.

4. Timing matters! I used to think that there was no real difference between baking a cake for 30 minutes or 37 minutes...turns out there's a huge difference. If a cake is done at 30 minutes, those extra 7 minutes can make the edged slightly burned, the inside not as moist or dense, and completely change the taste of your cake. I didn't realize this until last week when I used a recipe for the second time but actually paid attention to the baking time recommended and the difference was huge! I mean catastrophic huge. This is especially true with cookies because to acheive that perfect moist inside and subtle crispness on the outside you should never go more that the recommended time.

5. Follow the recipe exactly: While there may not seem like a huge difference between buttermilk and regular milk when its 7 AM and you reaaaalllly dont feel like going out to the market in your pajamas, there actually is a huge difference. Take that extra time and go buy a new box of baking powder if you've had yours for a decade or so like I did, and when making red velvet cupcakes always use buttermilk (the buttermilk reacts with and against the vinegar to deliver that unique taste we all adore and are obsessed with. So always.stick.to.the.RULES!

6. Take good photographs: you don't need a fancy camera, a fancy phone will do just fine! I've been sutdying (books) and photos of other cakes and cupcakes from brilliant bloggers and wondered how they made their foods look so pretty. Always in the natural light, always with superb shading, and in the more exquisite setting. Then when I was studying Joy the Baker's blog and she told readers that she used an iPhone, i sought out ways to edit my pictures (blurring the edges, changing the lighting) to make the pictures look brighter and cleaner. This ties in with the presentation point I made first, but I just wanted to note that you don't need a photographer or fancy camera to get great pictures -- just some great apps! Camera plus and Snapseed are my favorites.

I hope these tips help you achieve great baking and blogging results. They have definitely helped me and taught me a lot about what works in the kitchen and what should be "trashed". Good luck with your baking adventures!