Over the years I have found a lot of techniques that work really well and some that don’t work so well. I wanted to share those with you to help you along in your baking journeys. And maybe not make some of the mistakes I have made. Keep in mind that what works great for me may not work for you and what doesn’t work so great for me may work great for you. Everyone is different. I know there are some things that I have come across that so many people say ” You have to do this. It’s essential” and I haven’t noticed any difference in doing it or not. These are just the things that I have found success in doing. So without further ado, here are my 5 best baking tips and techniques.
1. Soften Any Ingredients That Are Hard When Cold.
I have heard time and time again that it is very important when you are baking to bring all ingredients to room temperature and that they mix in better that way. I have tried it both ways and I haven’t really noticed much of a differance. However, it is very important in my opinion to leave anything that is hard when its cold like butter or cream cheese out to come to room temperature. This will take 1-2 hours. This way it is easier to blend those ingredients and get them smooth and free of lumps.
2. Take Your Time and Scrape Down the Sides and the Bottom of the Bowl
One of the most important techniques/rules that I have found in baking is to scrape down the bottom and the sides of the mixing bowl to make sure that everything is incorperated and mixed well before adding the next ingredient. Trust me, there is nothing more upsetting than getting to the end of your recipe, you are just about to put the batter in the pan, you are doing that one last scrape down of the bowl and you scrape up a big chunk of cream cheese stuck in the bottem of the bowl. You really don’t want to beat the batter much at this point because if you beat a cheesecake batter too much with the eggs in it the texture can get kind of gluey and gummy. What you can do at this point is remove and discard those chunks. If they are small chunks and you are making a baked cheesecake you can just leave them in the batter and they will melt. The final produt however may not be as smooth.
3. Seporating Eggs
There are many times in my recipes like the Swiss meringue buttercream and the lemon custard or in recipes in general where you will have to seporating eggs. This means that you seporate the yolk from the white of the egg. There are many methods for doing this. Some that work well and some that don’t in my opinion. The one that I really don’t like is the method where people break the shell of the egg in half and jiggle the yolk of the egg in between the 2 halves of the shell, letting the white fall to the container or bowl that you are over.
Now, what is wrong with this? Well, when you break the shell, the edges are very jagged and sharp, Not sharp to the point where they could cut you but if you have ever cooked a fried egg, you know that egg yolks are super fragile. So, If you are jiggling the yolk back and forth in the shell and the shell at all knicks the fragile egg yolk, it will break and fall into your egg whites, create a big, unsalvageable mess and you will have to start all over.
What I like to do is gently crack the egg into a container. Then, gentally pick up the yolk and let the white fall between my fingers. Then I can place the egg yolk in another container. For most recipes, it won’t matter if the yolk breaks after it is placed into another container. Just read your recipe instructions carefully and proceed from there.
4. Water Bath and Baking
A water bath is a method/technique used in baking where you place the pan of whatever you are baking in a larger pan full of water in order for it to bake more gently and evenly. When I started making cheesecakes and using water baths I was told that the water bath absolutely needed to be filled with boiling water before you start baking the cheesecake. I have tried this both ways and I don’t notice much of a difference at all. And for me with having mobility and balance issues, handling very hot water can be a danger. So, I choose to use just regular tap water and the outcome is the same. As for baking, make sure you check the cheesecake for doneness a little before it should be done. You are looking for the edges to be set but the middle to have a little bit of a jiggle.
5. Have Fun, Relax and Don’t Be Afraid of Failure
I think that baking is scary for a lot of people because people make it look so precise and lead you to believe that every little measurement, temperature and time has to be perfect or the whole thing will be a disaster. They really scare people away from it in my opinion. And some of that is true but no all of it. Cheesecake in particular is a lot like this, It looks so difficult and looks like it has so many difficult steps and it has to be done just so. I hope through this post, I have shown you that a lot of the information that is out there is a little too strict. There are just a few things you need to know and then the rest is your preference. So relax and don’t be afraid of baking.
This is something I am still working on. I love baking and I have a blast doing it but I am a bit of a perfectionist and I am a little afraid of failure. But I am starting to see that failure is how you learn and that it is actually kind of fun trying to figure out how to turn something that you think is a failure into something fabulous. Amazing recipes are found through failure. For a great example of this, read my Easter Egg Hunt Cheesecake blog.
So there you go! My 5 best baking tips. I hope you enjoyed reading these and I encourage you to try them and see what you think. Am I crazy or would you agree? Are there any tips that I forgot or anthing you would like to know? Let me know in the comments. Until next time, Happy Baking!
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some very interesting and great tips
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing the tips
you’re welcome!