Puff pastry, also known as mille feuilles (which translates to 'a thousand leaves'), is a classic French pastry belonging to the laminated (roll-and-fold) pastry family along with leavened puff pastry (also known as croissant dough), flaky pastry and rough puff pastry. The characteristic 'lamination' of alternate layers of butter and pastry dough (as you can see here in this raw pastry) is what gives puff pastry its many light, crisp layers when baked and it is the consistency of both these elements that will help determine how even these layers will form and how successful your pastry will be. The butter needs to be firm but pliable and a similar consistency to the dough. It shouldn’t look oily or be too soft and you should always be able to feel a little 'chill' in it while still being able to roll it out without too much pressure.

It does take practise to recognise, by feel, what the 'right' consistency is for your butter, but if you use the dough to compare it to, you will soon be well on your way to a successful pastry.

Bundt cakes, and those made in ring tins, are often prone to doming slightly, causing them to look a little like flying saucers, slightly elevated off the serving plate once you turn them out. To help prevent this, once you’ve put the batter into the tin and smoothed the surface with the back of a spoon, use the spoon to then make a shallow indent in the middle (kind of like a moat or ditch). This will mean there is slightly less batter in this area and will counter-balance the extra rising that the cake will naturally do here and will help the final cake have a flat bottom!

If you have ever prepared quinces for baking or poaching before you’ll understand how horribly difficult they are to peel, core and cut neatly due to their rock-hard nature. I spent years struggling with them until I discovered if you place them on a lined baking tray (still whole and washed) and roast them in an oven preheated to 180°C (160°C fan-forced) for about 20 minutes they soften enough to make peeling and cutting so much easier... and then you can get on with your recipe!

They will lose their gorgeous yellow hue and turn a mid-brown colour, but this won’t affect the inside flesh at all. So, before the short quince season comes to an end, make sure you give this hack a try!

Wondering which apples are the best to use for your Autumn and Winter pies?

My favourites for pies are Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Jonagold and Braeburn. What all these apples have in common is that they are firm, crisp and juicy and don’t collapse into a mush when baked, making them perfect for a pie filling.

Have you ever had fresh or dried fruit sink to the bottom of a cake or loaf? Don’t worry, it’s a common problem and generally happens when the cake batter isn’t heavy or thick enough to hold the weight of the fruit as it bakes.

The best way to avoid sinking fruit is to toss the fruit in a couple of tablespoons of the flour (just use some from the measured amount for the recipe) to coat it lightly. Once added to the cake mixture the flour coating will thicken the batter immediately surrounding the fruit and help suspend the fruit.

Keep in mind though, large pieces of fruit like whole raisins will be far too heavy even if coated with flour and you will need to cut these into smaller portions to have success. This will be the same with large chunks of chocolate and are also best cut into smaller pieces.

There are three main types of pastry: crumbly, flaky and laminated (or puff). ⁠The texture of each (which is indicated by their names) is mainly determined by two things – the consistency of the fat used and how it is incorporated into the pastry dough.

Flaky pastry, like the one pictured here, is made by incorporating small chunks of solid butter or fat through flour (either but 'rubbing in' using your fingertips or 'cutting through' using the cutting blade of a food processor) then binding the dough with moisture from other ingredients such as water and/or eggs. Shortcrust pastry is a great example of this type of pastry.

I always say that a good flaky pastry dough is ugly – the chunks of fat should remain identifiable, and the dough will be uneven in texture and have a streaky appearance. It shouldn't be smooth or even if you want a lovely flaky texture when it is baked.⁠ It's these pockets of fat that melt during baking, releasing steam and pushing apart the structure around them, creating the flakiness.⁠

It is important to use well chilled butter, so it not only remains in distinct pieces during mixing and rolling, but also doesn’t begin to melt during baking until the dough structure around the butter pieces has started to set so that crisp flaky texture can form.⁠

It is good to note that a high temperature is required during baking for the steam created by the melting butter to be effectively evaporated – if not, the pastry won't form a crust, and you will be left with a soggy pastry. ⁠

Generally liquids are best measured in a measuring jug. One exception to this is 'thick' liquids such as honey and golden syrup which are more accurately measured by weighing – it is also easier to measure this way!

Place your bowl or saucepan directly onto your scales, zero or tare the measurement and then pour the thick liquid directly the bowl or saucepan. Both 1 cup (250ml/9fl oz) honey and golden syrup equals 350g (12oz).

Swiss meringue buttercream can be highly temperamental, and it’s not uncommon for it to go 'off track'. But, it can ALWAYS be saved!

One of the common 'issues' when making Swiss meringue buttercream is that it’s prone to curdling (as in this pic). This happens if you add cold butter (or even butter that still holds a chill) to your room temperature meringue mixture. The more butter you add the more 'split' it will look with the butter forming small lumps throughout the mixture. It will also lose all its initial volume and become quite 'wet'.

To fix it, you want to slowly, and carefully, bring up the overall temperature of the buttercream. There are two easy ways to do this:

1. Place one or two tablespoons of the buttercream mixture into a separate microwave proof bowl and microwave on High for 1-3 seconds, depending on how cold the buttercream is, then stir. When it returns to a smooth consistency (don’t worry if it is quite thin) add it back into the curdled buttercream and continue to beat or whisk (depending on your recipe). If the mixture doesn’t come back together, and become silky smooth in texture, after a minute of whisking/beating then repeat this process again until it does. You can then continue to add any remaining butter.
2. Alternatively, place the bowl of buttercream in a sink of warm water so the water reaches about a quarter of the way up the side of the bowl. Stir frequently for 5-10 minutes to gently increase the temperature of the buttercream before beating/whisking. Again, if the buttercream doesn’t come back together after beating/whisking for a minute or so, repeat the warming process before trying again. If using this technique, make sure the water isn't too warm or the butter will start to melt which can cause your buttercream to then become 'soupy'… more on the solution for that problem another time!

There are endless ways to decorate pastry tops for pies and this one, for fruit mince pies, is dead-easy, effective and festive!

Simply press the end of a #11 (11mm) star piping tube into the pastry lids to imprint a star pattern before placing over the pies and baking.

Chilling the pastry lids for 20-30 minutes before stamping them will mean that the pattern will be more defined once baked.

Bundt cakes benefit greatly from tapping the tin on the bench top a few times before baking. This will settle the cake batter into the tin (especially when they have intricate designs), removing any large air pockets and/or gaps between the tin and the batter which can appear as small holes on the surface of the cake once baked.

This Bundt cake wasn’t tapped before baking and you can clearly see the holes the air pockets have left.

Jam swirls can make a very easy, effective, and of course yummy decoration that gives an almost 'painted' look for your cakes, cupcakes and pavlovas. First warm 1-2 tablespoons jam of your choice (here I have used raspberry for its vibrant colour and slight tartness to contrast with the sweetness of the white chocolate buttercream on this cake), pass it through a sieve to remove any seeds and then let it cool. Use the back of a tablespoon or teaspoon to give a swirl texture to your buttercream, ganache or cream. Use a clean teaspoon or tablespoon to dot the cooled jam (sparingly) into the hollows and then use the spoon again to gently spread the jam, following the swirls.

Less is more with this technique – always use less jam than you think you will need and don’t overdo the swirling as the more you ‘play’ with it the more likely the pattern will become less striking and somewhat messy.

There are a number of good reasons why you would preserve your sourdough starter by drying it, including if you can’t (or don’t) want to use and/or feed it for a long period of time; you’d like to put some aside for ‘insurance’ just in case your sourdough starter dies (oops!); or you simply want to send it to someone in the post.

Drying sourdough starter is super simple to do:

1. Start with a well-fed, active starter and use a palette knife to spread it in a thin layer over an oven tray that has been lined with baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Allow it to stand at room temperature (the warmer and less humid it is the quicker it will dry) until it is crisp and completely dried through.
3. Then break the starter into small pieces (you can also coarsely crush it), place in an airtight jar (or seal in plastic bags if you are going to send it in the post) and label.
4. It will store in a cool dry, dark place for up to 1 year.⁠

1. Add the same amount of water and unbleached plain flour by weight to the crushed starter (30g/1oz is a perfect amount to start with).
2. Stand for 12 hours in a warm place (about 23°C/73.5°F is good).
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 two more times.
4. On the fourth feed, first discard half the starter mixture and then add the water and flour and continue to repeat this discarding and feeding every 12 hours until it doubles in size in under 8 hours. Your reactivated starter will then be ready to use!⁠

Have you ever noticed a grey-like liquid forming on the top of your sourdough starter but didn't know what it was or if your starter is still OK to use?⁠

This liquid (which also often has a strong aroma) is an indication that an excess of alcohol has been produced as a by-product of the yeast fermentation in your starter. It often appears if the starter is ‘hungry’ because it has been left for long periods of time without feeding or if it just requires more frequent feeding (which is usually because it is fermenting at a faster rate due to being kept at higher temperatures than usual).⁠

If there is only a thin layer, you can either stir this liquid back into the sourdough starter or drain it away before feeding it again. If you stir it through, it will add a sharper, more intense flavour to your sourdough starter and, in turn, your sourdough bread. If there is a thick layer, it is best to discard it before feeding.⁠

Your starter will usually be fine to use again (if you haven't left it for too long and it has 'died') but it may need some extra attention and love to get it back on track over the next few days with feeding it as you normally would.⁠

Temperature has a big effect on how your cupcakes and cakes will rise during baking. When your oven temperature is too high for the type of batter you are using, your cupcakes or cake will peak/dome and crack during baking. But did you know that foil cupcake cases can have a similar effect?

Foil cases retain more heat than paper ones and this extra heat is then transferred to the batter causing it to peak and crack during baking. You can see here how the cupcake baked in the foil case (left) has risen more dramatically when compared to the cupcake baked in the paper case (right), which has risen evenly and without peaking.

The good news is that foil cases are still fine to use, but if you would prefer a more even, less ‘peaky’ rise, just drop your oven temperature by about 10°C and this will reduced the heat transferred by the foil cases.

When rolling biscuit dough into individual portions it is sometimes hard to get them all a similar size, especially if you have to team them up with a ‘partner’ when sandwiching them.

There are two easy ways to do this:

1. Measure the total quantity of dough by weight and divide by the number of biscuits the recipe makes. Then weight each portion before you roll it. It does take a little longer, but your biscuits will be guaranteed to be the same size.

2. Alternatively, use a teaspoon or tablespoon measure or a small ice cream scoop (depending on the size you are making) to scoop the mixture, level the surface with the back of a butter knife or your finger and then shape as required.

You will also find the more biscuits you shape, the better you will get at recognising how a particular sized portion feels in the palm of your hands as you roll them. Therefore, once you have made a certain amount you will be able to portion the remaining dough just by feel.