The difference between a well puffed choux pastry and one that falls flat on its face is often due to how quickly you add the eggs to your butter and flour mixture and the quantity of egg actually added. The puff at the bottom of this picture was made with choux pastry that was too wet. The eggs were added too quickly, and as a result too much was incorporated. When baked, it ended up spreading and being like a ‘biscuit’ on the tray. The other choux puff was made with choux pastry that had the eggs added very gradually. As a result the correct amount was added and the final choux puff rose beautifully and held its shape. Choux pastry can be tricky but once you’ve mastered it you’ll wonder what all the fuss was about!

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A small selection of cutters are always good to have on hand to cut out cookies / biscuits, scones and pastry shapes. Choose those with a sharp edge to make cutting easy without dragging through your dough. Stainless steel ones will last longer than plastic ones and won’t rust over time. Make sure you give them a good clean after every use in hot soapy water or in the dishwasher and dry them thoroughly before storing – metal ones can be dried in oven on a low setting.

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The word ‘natural’ is the key when buying vanilla. Avoid ‘imitation’ essence or extracts, which aren’t made from real vanilla and don’t have the quality or intensity of flavour that the natural ones do. A quick look at the ingredient list will soon tell you if it is the real deal.

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Candied citrus zest or rind makes the perfect finishing touch to any cake. Firstly, use a vegetable peeler to remove the rind in wide strips from your citrus fruit (1 lemon/orange or 2 limes is usually a good amount for a cake). Then use a small sharp knife to remove any white pith from the rind and then cut the rind into thin strips. Put equal quantities of sugar and water (1 cup of each works well) in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the citrus rind strips, bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes or until the rind is translucent. Use a fork to transfer the rind from the syrup to a plate/wire rack, separating the strands, to drain.

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When making small individual tarts it is best to roll your pastry into a log (rather than a disc) before chilling and resting. When you come to rolling out the pastry, cut the log into slices and then roll out each portion into a round before pressing into the tins. This no-fuss method means there is no need to re-roll scraps (which often causes the pastry to shrink when baking), ultimately giving you more even tart shell sides. 

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Simple super to create, chocolate curls make an effective decoration for your cakes, cupcakes and tarts.

A wide block of good-quality milk chocolate works best when making chocolate curls (milk chocolate is less brittle than dark chocolate and is more suited to making curls).

1 Wrap the block in baking paper or foil to protect it from the warmth of your hands while you hold it so it doesn’t melt.

2 Run a vegetable peeler firmly along the length of the block to form curls - the softer the chocolate, the wider the blade and the firmer you press, the larger the curls will be.

3 Have a plate or a piece of baking paper below to catch the curls. Keep in a cool spot or, if it is warm, in the fridge until needed.

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Creamed butter and sugar mixtures can vary enormously between recipes and depend greatly on not only how long you beat them for and the type of sugar you use, but also the proportion of butter to sugar within the mixture. As an example, both these two mixtures contain just butter and caster sugar and have been creamed for the same amount of time at the same speed. But the one on the left has twice as much butter to sugar (by weight) and is paler in colour and lighter in consistency. While the one on the right is the opposite – it has twice as much sugar to butter creating a denser consistency and a grainier texture.
So when you are next creaming, remember that the look and consistency of your mixture will directly reflect the proportions of butter and sugar used. read less

Glass, ceramic and stainless steel are always my preference in the kitchen (they don’t hold grease or ordors like plastic ones do). But when it comes to using them as the top of a bain marie (or double boiler) over a saucepan of simmering water, for melting chocolate or whisking a sabayon, make sure it is heatproof if you are using glass. Some lesser-quality glass bowls can’t withstand the heat of the steam after a period of time and will eventually crack… which won’t do much for your smooth, silky mixture!

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Sifting flour or other ingredients such as cocoa or cornflour will be so much quicker and easier if you use a balloon whisk to 'stir' it through the sieve.

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If you don't have buttermilk on hand when a recipe asks for it simply make your own version by adding 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice to a cup of full-cream milk. Perfect to use in scones, banana bread and muffins!

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When choosing sprinkles to decorate cupcakes, biscuits and party cakes keep in mind that many of them contain wheat-based ingredients such as glucose syrup. If you need to use gluten-free sprinkles take a quick look at the ingredient list on the packet before buying to make sure you are choosing the right ones. 

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More a BakeGiftTip than a BakeTip…There’s no better gift than one baked by you and inexpensive jars from the supermarket or two dollar shop make great airtight containers for your biscuits, biscotti and shortbread. An effective but simple way to decorate them is with a small doily attached with twine and a gift tag. This is the perfect gift for Christmas – thoughtful and delicious!

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When decorating your biscuits or other baked goodies with icing don’t think you need a special piping bag – a resealable or ‘zip lock’ bag will do the trick. Simply spoon your icing in, seal and then cut a very small hole (you can always make it bigger) in one corner to create the ‘nozzle’. Twist the bag at the sealed end to contain the icing and then pipe away! Simple, convenient and no washing up! read less

Baking powder is the simple difference between self-raising flour and plain flour. If you only have plain flour, you can make it into self-raising flour by adding 2 teaspoons baking powder to every cup (150g) of plain flour, and then sifting this mixture a few times to distribute the baking powder through the flour evenly. read less

A lot of cake recipes ask for ‘softened’ or ‘room temperature’ butter. This is so the butter is soft enough that it can be easily and evenly combined with other ingredients and/or beaten to incorporate air. ‘Softened’ butter should be soft enough that it can be spread on bread without tearing it! You will need to take your butter from the fridge at least an hour or so before you need to use it to reach this consistency; I often leave mine out overnight, depending on the weather. Cutting the butter into small cubes or coarsely grating it will help it soften more quickly and evenly. Don’t be tempted to soften butter in the microwave, you are likely to end up with partially melted butter that is unsuitable to use. read less

Nuts, due to their super high (good) oil content, tend to go rancid quickly when exposed to both heat and light. So if you aren’t going to use your nuts within a month of buying its not ideal to keep them in your pantry. It is best to store them in their original sealed packaging or in an airtight container or bag in the fridge (for up to 6 months) or freezer (for up to a year) where they will be protected from both heat and light and the staling process will be slowed considerably. Nuts stored this way can be used straight from the fridge or freezer. read less

I often get asked ‘how full do I need to fill my tin’ when making muffins or cupcakes? It really does depend on the recipe and the type of mixture (how much it will rise etc) and I usually recommend that you just divide the mixture evenly among the holes and (if it is a good recipe) that will give you perfectly sized muffins or cupcakes without the mixture overflowing. But, for those still wanting a ‘quantity’, as a loose guide, you will usually find that filling the holes of the pan about 2/3-3/4 full is usually a good amount.
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