HOTTEST HACKS AND TRICKS IN THE WORLD OF BAKING.

April 20, 2022

HOTTEST HACKS AND TRICKS IN THE WORLD OF BAKING.

Have you ever wanted to bake and suddenly found out you don't have…

Or you've been baking with your usual recipe but you feel something is wrong as your cakes doesn't come out quite well...

If yes, then this post is for you so stick around to the end as I'll be uncovering the hottest tricks and hacks in the baking world.

To start with, I'll be giving simple ways to Test if your baking powder, baking soda and yeast are still active.

•How to Test for Active Baking Powder

Before I begin this, I want us to know what baking powder basically does, which is act as a rising agent. So imagine using inactive baking powder to make a sponge cake, without even knowing. It would really suck because you'd end up with a flat cake and a million whys in your head.

So how can we be sure the baking powder we've had all this while, or the one we bought from someone and forgot to use is still active?

1.Note that Baking powder is activated by the combination of heat and moisture so you can test if it's still active by mixing 1teaspoon of baking powder with ⅓ cup of water. The mixture will produce lots of bubbles if active. If you do this with the baking powder you have at home and this doesn't happen, then your baking powder isn't active.

NB: Use warm or hot water, not cold water.

•How to test for active baking soda.

Baking soda produces bubbles when mixed with an acidic ingredient(like vinegar). Test if it's active by dripping few drops of vinegar/lemon juice into small amount (¼ tsp) of baking soda.

If active, this should bubble vigorously with a sizzling sound.

•How to test for active yeast.

Yeast, is also a rising agent and is used in making bread, doughnuts…

Using inactive yeast can lead to waste of most of your ingredients, waste of time and money. So always, always test if your yeast is active before using in your dough.

You can test simply by adding little amount of yeast to lukewarm water, it's that simple. Cover up for few minutes and it would foam up, if this doesn't happen, then your yeast is inactive.

So that's it for tests. Moving on, we'll be talking about the Common Problems with Baking and how to solve them.

•The first one is, Using cold ingredients. Always make sure your ingredients are at room temperature when you're about to bake, do not use cold ingredients to bake because this will affect the texture of whatever it is you're baking. Always make sure every ingredient used is at room temperature.

•Scooping your flour- This is another major problem which mainly gives hard texture in cakes and bread. It's preferable to use a digital scale to get accurate measurements because it is extremely important in baking. If not, then the regular kitchen scale is good as well. But when making use of measuring cups, never dip it into the flour bowl/bag/bucket directly. Instead use a spoon/spatula to gently add your flour till it's full, that's not all. Make sure you level this not scoop full. It needs to be level to give your desired results.

•Another major problem is Not following a recipe. Yes, you can freestyle and "use your discretion"😉but that's for pro bakers and it's not totally advisable.

As starters/newbies, or when trying a recipe for the first time, please follow it accurately to give the best results. Do not twist it yet, you can do that after you've tried it out and gotten what you want. Always follow the right recipes correctly.

•Using Old Baking Powder and Baking Soda. This cannot also be overemphasized! Always test your baking soda and baking powder, especially if you've had it for a while. Using inactive baking powder and baking soda won't give you good result.

•Baking in the wrong rack of the oven.

Different ovens, different styles. Try and know what works for the oven you use. Some ovens are hottest at the top, some at the middle, some at the bottom.

And different recipes call for different levels of heat! So don't put batter that needs medium heat in the hottest rack. Always take note.

We'll be stopping here in the Common mistakes made. There will definitely be an episode 2 so you watch out, watch this space and follow this awesome blog😉☺️.

That's not all though!

The last section today is GENERAL TIPS ON BAKING.

•Don't frost a warm cake.

It's surprising that some bakers still make the mistake of frosting warm cakes which doesn't help in the decoration and is generally wrong.

Always wait and make sure your cake layers are completely cold before stacking and frosting.

•Don't overbeat the Frosting.

There are a lot of Frostings when it comes to decoration and that is going to be part of the Episode 2 of this Baking series, so don't miss it.

Moving on though, you should never overbeat the Frosting you want to cover your cake with as this can make it runny and hard for you to decorate/work with.

•Don't forget to crumbcoat your cake before decoration.

🌚Before I drag anybody on this, I'll drag myself first😭😂. I promise, I'm getting better.

It is extremely important to crumbcoat your cake before decoration. We're not here for stress, I tell you and crumbcoating will prevent unnecessary stress when decorating. PS there'll be no crumbs in your Frosting.

Always crumbcoat first, leave to rest then come back to decorate, this really helps.

•Do not use icing sugar directly from the bag.

I was very guilty of this but I promise, I'm a changed human (Hallelujah somebody!)

This can also cause stress, and as we're here for the soft life 😉✨, always avoid unnecessary stress by sieving your icing sugar before using, no matter the frosting, no matter the rush you're rushing. Sieving doesn't take time and it would only make your work easier.

In the next episode, I'll be giving more hottttt tips, substitution for measuring cups/spoons, different types of frosting, how to make simple ingredients we need as bakers, like the sprinkles we shower money on👀 and many more… it's going to be loaded and it's coming up soon so always stay glued to this space. You can't regret it, definitely not.

This is the house of everything fun, everything lit whilst making life easier for you with hacks and tricks, motivation tips.. it's a lot my dears, so follow up🙏

I'm sure you learned something new, please let me know in the comments section, I look forward to seeing them🤗

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Till next time,