Picture this: You are in the middle of baking a cake and you run out of a key ingredient, or you are mixing ingredients and end up with more on your counter than in the mixing bowl. Baking can be a headache, but it really doesn’t have to be.
To ease your baking-induced stress, you can turn to these backing hacks.
- Measure flour properly for a flawless cake
Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, then scrape the excess off with a knife. Scooping from a bag makes the flour compressed, giving you more flour than your recipe calls for.
- Test your eggs before baking
Place an egg in a bowl of water. If it sinks, it’s fresh; if it floats, it’s not. If it stands on one end, it’s best to use it soon.
- Remove eggshells with a finger
To get eggshells out of your mix, simply wet your finger, then place it near the broken bit. The shard will instantly gravitate to your finger.
- Ripen bananas for baking
What do you do if you are ready to make banana bread, but your bananas aren’t? Easy: Put the unripe bananas in a foil-lined pan and roast them in an oven until they’re dark brown.
- Test your baking soda before baking
Add a teaspoon of baking soda to 1/2 cup of hot water. If it doesn’t bubble, it’s time to throw it away.
- Substitute piping bags with cellophane bags
You may not always have piping bags on hand when it’s time to decorate your cake. Simply use a cellophane bag instead; make a small hole in it and attach it to your nuzzle.
- Give your frosted cake a glossy finish
Before serving, use a hair-dryer on medium heat on the cake until the frosting starts to melt. The melting frosting then solidifies leaving you with a beautifully glossed cake.
- Keep cakes moist with a slice of bread
It might sound ridiculous but placing a slice of bread on top of your cake or cupcakes will cause them to absorb moisture from the bread and keep fresh.
- Swap butter for avocado in cakes to make them healthier
Avocados are a great way to lower calories in baked goods when substituted for butter. When you bake, substitute half the amount of butter in your recipe for mashed avocado.
- Use a wine bottle as a rolling pin
Now, those old wine bottles can come in handy! If you don’t have access to a rolling pin, clean an empty wine bottle thoroughly and use it to roll your dough.
Now you have no excuse to not bake a storm this weekend. Check out some of our previous blog posts for great and simple recipes for various baked goodies.
Don’t go too far to get your ingredients and other baking essentials, visit Home Affairs Supermarket to get all you need.
