Basic Baking and Cake Decorating (2 Viewers)

After speaking with a few relatives and friends recently, I realised that I need to get back to basics in order to help you the next generation of bakers on your merry way. There are lots of things around the site to help you with your venture, but I thought I would do a mini guide if you are starting from scratch. I've found that if you have a few essentials in your cupboard, then you can pick the rest up along the way, however, if you've never so much as picked up a spatula, then please...

Baking hygiene and safety is imperative for both the baker and the consumer and should be considered at all times. If you're a young baker then always ensure you have an adult on hand to help you out as there are lots of potential hazards which can occur in the kitchen. Now I'm not telling you this to scare you off, no far from it, all I'm saying is that it's always good to have someone there just in case you need them. Great rules for adults and children to remember are, go slow, be...

If you've decided to take the plunge and have a go at making some baked goodies, then it's worth having a few essentials in before you start. Here is a list of some of the key ingredients you should have in your cupboard or fridge before baking: Butter/Margarine Caster Sugar/Granulated Sugar Eggs Flour & Baking Powder Milk/Water/Juice/Oil - Liquids Salt Butter This is the fat element of the bake and will give your goodies richness and oodles of flavour. Margarine can also be used as an...

What is a baking phrase? A baking phrase is a word or prompt that will subtly sit in your recipe, guide or tutorial. It is a small instruction that is placed to help you achieve the best bakes. Some will be familiar to you, some will be self-explanatory and some of them you may not be too sure of. So to avoid any confusion, I have put together a list of words and phrases that can be found throughout a whole host of recipes. Using the checklist below, you should now be able to read your...

Biscuits can go soggy when storing for some of the following reasons. If your biscuits contain fruits such as apricots or glacé cherries, they will also contain moisture, once sealed in a tin the moisture from the fruit seeps into the biscuit causing it to go soft. Ensure cookies and biscuits are cold when placing in a tin if you put your biscuits away too soon after baking they may still contain heat, thus converting to moisture and making another soggy biscuit. Never mix cake and...

As you are aware straws, come in an array of shapes and sizes whether it be straight ones, whirly ones, clear ones, stripey ones and now even the environmentally friendly paper ones to choose from. So you'll be pleased to know that as well as being an excellent drinking tool, they also come in handy for lots of different cake decorating techniques too. Here are five easy cake decorating techniques using straws: 1. By using different sizes of straws, you can make scale impressions for...

Knowing the difference between baking chocolate and regular chocolate. The difference is that baking chocolate is usually bitter in taste and does not have any additional sweeteners in it whereas regular/normal chocolate does.

Writing on Cakes Its not as hard as made out. There are rules of thumb ,which if you follow, will make it much easier. 1. First do it with a marker pen, a lack of good handwriting is irrelevant, my handwriting is terrible with a pen. Break the words into steps, theres no need to write the whole word in one go. Practice the most common word first ...HAPPY. Practice the H and only the H. Do 10 x H's before moving on, make sure you've got it down. Its the anchor that will encourage you to...