When making cheesecakes or frostings using cream cheese it’s a good idea bring the cream cheese to room temperature before you start. If you use it straight from the fridge it will be far more difficult, and take a lot more beating or processing, for it to become lump-free, smooth and creamy. Also make sure you scrape the sides and base of the bowl often and add any liquid ingredients gradually to ensure it remains really smooth.

Small batch baking recipes often require less than one egg to be used. Here are some useful tips to help portion your eggs.

Eggs used in BakeClub recipes are 59-60g/2oz eggs (with shell) and are sold in a 700g/1lb 8oz carton.

• With the shell removed weight of the whole egg = 52g
• Approximately ⅔ of the weight of each egg is the white = 35g
• Approximately ⅓ of the weight of each egg is the yolk = 17g

When using recipes that specify less than 1 egg always whisk the whole egg together before measuring out the quantity required.

If a recipe calls for just egg yolk/s or egg white/s the remainder of the egg can be portioned and frozen in ice cube trays for use later on as required (whisk egg yolks with a good pinch of salt before freezing). Once frozen, transfer to a snap lock bag, label and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge. Use egg whites for meringue and Swiss meringue buttercream, and egg yolks in custard, curds or to add extra richness to your cookies and cakes.

If you don't have buttermilk on hand when a recipe asks for it (or only need a small amount which doesn’t warrants buying a whole carton), you can simply make your own version!

Add 3 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice to 1 cup (250ml/9fl oz) of full-cream milk and stir well. Let it sit for a couple of minutes before using - you’ll notice the milk will curdle and thicken. It’s perfect to use in in place of milk in any bakes like scones, banana bread and muffins to add a little flavour tang!

The only thing to be aware of is that this mixture will be thinner in consistency than commercially made buttermilk so when using more than 125ml (½ cup/4fl oz) use 1 tablespoon less of your homemade buttermilk for every 125ml (½ cup/4fl oz) in the recipe so that the consistency of the batter isn't affected.

If you want to save time when baking, it’s a great idea to use your digital scale’s ability to 'zero' the reading.

By pressing the 'tare' button after each ingredient you can measure as many as you need, one after another, into the same bowl.

It is a brilliant method to use for one-bowl mixes… And then there’s all that washing up it will save you!

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 very little pastry offcuts and no need to re-roll scraps (which often causes the pastry to shrink when baking), ultimately giving you more even tart shell cases.