It’s important to stand a cake or loaf in it’s tin for about 5 minutes after you take it from the oven. The cake will ‘settle’ in this time which will not only make it less likely to stick to the tin but it will also be less fragile and easier to remove without it breaking up.

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I often get asked about the difference between granulated sugar and caster sugar and which is best used for when baking… So here’s the low-down:

The main difference between granulated (also known as white table sugar) and caster sugar (also know as super-fine sugar in North America) is the size of the grain.

Granulated is larger and more coarse (I once read that granulated is about 0.5mm in diameter while caster is about 0.35mm in diameter, although I’m not really sure who would measure them!). Because of this caster sugar is generally the most versatile and preferred of the two when baking – its small granules mixes more easily and dissolve more readily when combined with other ingredients giving biscuits, cakes, pastries etc. a more even, less coarse texture. You may have noticed if you have made a cake with granulated sugar that it sometimes can have a ‘speckled’ appearance (on the crust and/or in the crumb) – this is the undissolved sugar in the batter as it is less likely to dissolve than caster sugar. Your cakes and biscuits will have a slightly finer texture when using caster sugar while if you use granulated sugar, your cakes will have a slightly coarser texture and your biscuits will be more crunchy.

Caster sugar is also best to use when making meringues and pavlova because of its ability to dissolve more quickly. Granulated sugar however is great when making toffee (it is less likely to crystalize), and in general cooking and in baking when your want a slightly coarser texture (for example, I often make a traditional Scottish shortbread that has a better, more suitable texture when made with granulated sugar).

My advice is to use whichever sugar is specified in the recipe and if you don’t have caster sugar in your cupboard you can always make it by processing granulated sugar in a food processor or blender using the pulse button until finely ground.

It’s also good to note that icing sugar is just a finer version of caster sugar, with the crystals being ground to a fine powder.

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Don't throw really ripe bananas in the bin if you aren't going to use them straight away - throw them in the freezer instead, skin and all, so they are ready to use when you next want to make a banana cake or banana bread. Remove the skin with a knife while still frozen, slice and then mash. If you are a little more organised you can of course mash them and pop into an airtight container before you freeze them.

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The amount of egg needed for a successful Choux pastry is determined by how much can be absorbed by the flour (which can vary slightly from batch to batch) and the ratio between the water, flour and eggs in a particular recipe, and it is important to get the balance right. If too much egg is added or if it is added too quickly, the Choux's ability to rise when baked will be affected. Similarly, if not enough egg is incorporated, it won’t puff, causing it to be dense inside. But how can you tell if you have added the right amount of egg? The clue is in the consistency of the final Choux pastry.

When adding the egg, incorporate three-quarters of the quantity specified in the recipe first (in a number of batches). Then add the remaining egg just a teaspoonful at a time, beating vigorously after each addition. When enough egg has been added the mixture will be glossy and thin enough that a large spoonful will fall heavily from the spoon in one lump (without shaking or tapping the spoon on the side of the saucepan), but thick enough that it doesn't slide off easily. If you get this consistency right, it will make all the difference to how light, airy and well risen your Choux will be for your éclairs, gougères, profiteroles, Paris-Brest and croquembouche!

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Bread and butter pudding is such a wonderfully comforting dessert, perfect for cooler weather. When making yours don't forget to let it stand before baking. This will allow the bread to soak up as much of the custard as possible giving your final dessert a luscious texture and ensuring that a separate layer of custard doesn't form below the bread. Depending on the bread you use, this can take from 30 minutes to a couple of hours – the longer the better!

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When making a flourless roulade (such as a chocolate one) it is a good idea to cover it with a damp tea towel straight as soon as it comes out of the oven. The tea towel will help stop the cake loosing valuable steam and therefor keeping it nice and moist. The benefit of this is that moist cake is less likely to crack when you roll it.

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I often get asked how long should you beat butter and sugar when creaming it. There is no actual time that you need to aim for as there are a few variables that can affect how long it will take, including how soft your butter is, the proportion of butter to sugar, and the type of sugar you are using.

The best thing to watch out for is for how the mixture transforms as it is beaten. The more you beat it the paler in colour and lighter in texture it will become, but it will get to a point that it won’t change any more and this is the stage that you will know you have creamed it ‘enough’. If you are unsure of what you are looking for it is a good idea to take a small sample of the mixture at intervals as you beat and it will soon become clear.

This image shows a creamed butter and sugar mixture at five stages (from bottom to top): the first one is just combined, with the following samples taken at intervals of beating every 1-2 minutes. The final two samples (at the top), with no difference between them, indicate that the mixture has been creamed enough.

So remember, when creaming, it isn’t a matter of time, just a matter of transformation.

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Do your scones rise unevenly? If so, it could well be because you are twisting the cutter when cutting them out… just push straight down in one clean action for evenly-risen (good-looking) scones! read less

Roasting vegetables tonight? Throw in some extras to ensure you have leftovers to make frittata tomorrow. It will make for a very quick and easy lunch – either at home or to take with you if you are on the go!

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When using eggs always break each one into a separate small bowl or ramekin before adding to a mixture so if there is a problem with a single egg, the whole mixture won't be ruined. It's also easier to remove any broken egg shell this way.

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When making pastry, such as a shortcrust, by hand make sure you only use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour.

Avoid using the whole of your hands as the palm is the warmest part and can melt the butter which, in turn, may cause your finished pastry to be heavy and tough. Rub the butter chunks briefly between your fingertips, breaking it into smaller, flake-like pieces while coating with the flour rather than rubbing them together.

Also remember to keep the palms of your hands facing upwards, to help with the action of breaking up the butter chunks, and lift the mixture high out of the bowl as this will aerate the mixture and help give it a light texture when baked.

This is a great technique to keep in mind when making scones and pastry.  

 

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We all know a little dusting of icing sugar can be the perfect finishing touch for our sweet baking… and when you colour it, well that’s just pure fun! To colour your icing sugar, put it in a resealable bag, add a drop of colouring gel, seal and then rub and shake with your hands until it is evenly coloured, adding more colouring if you want a stronger colour. The more colouring you add the wetter the icing sugar will become, forming lumps – but don’t worry these won’t matter once you sift the icing sugar over your baking. Coloured icing sugar is particularly good for decorating meringue-based treats like these macarons. read less

When sifting wholemeal flour don’t throw away the husks caught in the sieve. The sifting is to remove any lumps not this valuable bran fibre so make sure you return it to the flour before continuing with your recipe.

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Most stand mixers are now sold with a range of attachments made for specific mixing jobs, including a 'paddle' one. This is what you need to use to get the best results if a recipe asks you to beat, mix, cream or combine your ingredients 'using an electric mixer'. It's not meant for 'whisking' (when you are making meringue for example) or for 'kneading' bread doughs - use the whisk or dough hook attachments for these jobs.

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Ever wondered what would happen to the appearance of a cake if you reduce (or forget to add) the sugar? The white chocolate and almond cupcakes on the right have no added sugar (by mistake!) while those on the left have the normal amount of sugar.

Sugar is often only associated with sweetness (and calories) but it is also responsible for affecting many other characteristics of a cake, including how it looks. There are three ways in which a reduced amount of sugar can affect the appearance (all of which you can clearly see in this pic):

1. Sugar promotes both the Maillard reaction (the reaction between proteins and sugar) and caramelisation which are both responsible for browning. This is why the cupcakes with more sugar have a darker, thicker crust.
2. When sugar is heated during baking it dissolves and adds extra liquid to a mixture. This makes the batter thinner and more prone to spreading, which in turn, helps them to rise with a smoother surface. You’ll notice the cupcakes with less sugar haven’t spread as much and have retained a more definite shape.
3. Sugar helps cake rise to their full potential by raising the coagulation temperature of the eggs, giving the mixture more time to rise and expand before the cake structure sets. This explains why the cupcakes with more sugar have filled the paper cases and those with less haven’t.

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Cracks are a common problem when making meringue but they are easy to avoid when you know what is causing them. There are two main reasons why meringues crack when baked:

1. The first and most common reason (and what happened to the meringues in the front of this pic) is that the oven temperature is too high. The intense heat will cause the air bubbles in the mixture to expand efficiently, causing it to rise, spread and crack. The meringues behind them were from a second batch that were baked in an oven preheated to 10°C lower (yep, sometimes that’s all it takes!) and resulted in perfect, smooth-crusted meringues without cracks.
2. The second reason is that the mixture has been whisked on high speed with an electric mixer. The furious and quick incorporation of air into the egg whites will form an airy foam with lots of large air bubbles. When baked these large masses of air have a greater ability to expand than smaller air bubbles, causing the mixture to rise, spread and crack unevenly. If this is the case, the best solution is to whisk the egg whites and sugar mixture on medium or medium-high speed which will form a denser foam made up of lots of tiny, even bubbles that, when heated, will only expand slightly, if at all, minimizing any rising, spreading and cracking.

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Some like ‘em crisp, some like ‘em chewy. If you fall into the chewy camp with your meringues it is easy to make sure they have this hard-to-resist texture by taking them from the oven as soon as they have finished baking and cooling them at room temperature. For crisp meringues, turn off the oven, leave the door slightly ajar and leave them in the oven to cool.

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If you are anything like me I always have an unusually large quantity of eggshells left after my baking….and oh what to do with them especially if you don’t have a compost? They can be directly used on your garden...

First spread them on a tray and dry them out in the sun before crushing them into coarse pieces. Either sprinkle them over the surface of your garden to deter slugs and snails invading (they don’t like the sharp edges against their smooth tummies) or dig them into the topsoil to aerate the soil. The shells will also enrich your soil with calcium carbonate as an extra bonus which will lower the pH of your soil maing it more alkaline!

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