Baking is hard. It needs serious skill to handle all that measuring and chemistry, and if think you can wing it then you’re bound to screw it up. It’s also weirdly easy to confuse salt and sugar, so there’s that.
Here are 5 tips that’ll help you bake a passable dessert which is a victory in our book:
Keep Ingredients At Room Temperature
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The Daily Meal claims that, unless the recipe demands cold or warm ingredients, you should make sure to take them out of the fridge at least an hour before you start cooking, especially when it comes to butter and eggs. It’ll be much easier to handle room temperature butter than one that’s cold and hard.
Use A Scale
As we said before, baking is very hard and the measurements are very important. Every time you make something new it’s like conducting an experiment. If you’re using measuring spoons be sure to use a knife to remove the excess flour or butter and get the most precise amount you can get.
Don’t Use Vanilla Extract
It’s always better to make your own, and it’s not as hard as it sounds. Start by buying vanilla beans, scraping them and letting them air dry. Then, put them in a clean jar with bourbon. That’s it. These beans can be used and replenished, adding more pods to the jar the moment you take one out.
Be Organized
As we said, salt and sugar are eerily similar. Try to have all your ingredients in plain sight, so that you don’t forget anything, and keep your recipe in hand. If you’re particularly forgetful you can also try labeling your items. There’s no shame here.
Have Patience
Allow your baked cakes, muffins and cookies to cool properly (cooling time should be equal to the cooking time) and never open the oven door unless they’re ready. The more consistent you are, the better your dessert will be. We know it’s hard to resist but it’s possible.
