Hints, Tips and Tools (4 Viewers)

Depending on the flavour profile you require, you can toast/fry walnuts in two ways. To toast walnuts, warm a frying pan over medium heat and then place a level layer of walnuts covering the base of the pan. Allow the heat from the pan to penetrate the nuts and stir frequently until they go brown and smell like a nutty, toasty aroma. This should take about 5 minutes, depending on how many walnuts are in your pan. For a deeper, more infused, spicier walnut flavour, put walnuts, sugar, and spices (such as allspice, cinnamon, and ginger) in a pan and toast/fry with a touch of butter. This will bring out the flavour and the oils for a much richer, intense, spiced flavour. Once the nuts have baked, remove them from the heat, pour them...

Over the years, I have accumulated quite a collection of cake, cupcake, and loaf tins in an array of shapes, sizes, and colours. So, it's worth mentioning that the colour/hue of your tins can have a predominant effect on your overall bake. Understanding how these tins interact with the batter during the baking process is essential for achieving the desired results, as the colour of your tin can significantly impact your final bake. If you think about it, it's much like you on a sunny day! By that, I mean the way the sun absorbs and emits rays to your clothes. With light clothes you'll feel pretty cool and at one with the weather. However, if you wear dark-coloured clothes, they usually absorb the heat from the sun and distribute it...

Focaccia is an oven-baked Italian bread that you can make into a sweet or savoury dish depending on what you put in it. So if it's something you're looking at baking, then here are some hints and tips to make sure you get the very best out of your bake. Hints and Tips when making Focaccia Focaccia is quite a wet dough and needs a lot of water to ensure it doesn't end up with a cake-like consistency. You may wish to make it in a stand mixer. It should be proved twice. The first prove will allow the dough to double in size. Try and place it in a square tin as this will help shape it (unless you'd like to make it round). The second prove is when you place it in an oiled square/rectangular tin, being careful not to knock out too much...

Hot water pastry is used in hand-made pie crusts and is durable enough to hold some heavy fillings such as meats and root vegetables. It is a great, savoury choice and can be made in a relatively short amount of time. If you are looking to make the pastry for your pies, here are a few tips for you to focus on. Use lard, butter or a mixture of the two when making hot water pastry. Lard will give the pastry the fat, but the butter will give the pastry the flavour. To make a hot crust 'dough', the lard and butter are melted in a pan of water and brought to the boil. This is then poured directly into the flour mixture. You would then bind them together using a wooden spoon; this allows some of the heat to escape and lets the dough cool...

The Sachertorte was first created by the ingenious 16-year-old apprentice chef Franz Sacher for the Austrian Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich in 1832. This culinary masterpiece is a luxurious, rich chocolate cake filled with lashings of apricot jam and covered in a velvety chocolate glaze. It is slightly denser than that of a normal chocolate cake but is loved by millions across the world. If you are looking to recreate this beautiful classic or want to make changes to the recipe, here are a few tips to help you out. The cake should be slightly denser than a normal cake. You can use alternatives to wheat flour in the recipe. This can be chestnuts, ground almonds, pecans, etc. However, this can make the cake quite heavy. To...

Here are some tips on how to make a vertical layer cake. Overall Results A vertical cake needs height, colour and plenty of flavour. For best results, line the pan and use a light, springy sponge recipe, such as a Swiss roll for the cake layers. Buttercream or cream cheese is a great filling as it holds its shape. Tips on how to make and assemble the cake. The cakes are thin and bake very quickly in the oven, so keep an eye on them. Once baked, immediately take the sponge from the oven and turn it out onto an icing sugar/confectioners' sugar-dusted parchment sheet or tea towel. Carefully remove the backing paper and then roll it up in the tea towel/parchment paper to form a circular shape. Allow to cool. This helps create the...

If you've ever thought about freezing pastry dough, here are a few tips you might like to keep in mind. Pastry Dough You can freeze both raw dough and blind-baked pastry dough. Raw pastry dough (wrapped in a disc shape when frozen) can be thawed in the fridge and then baked. This will be a much fresher pastry when baked but will only have a short shelf life in the freezer. If you have raw pastry tart shells straight from the freezer, these can be blind-baked straight away. They may need a little longer baking time, though. Always bake chilled pastry that has been in the fridge. This relaxes the dough, chills the fats and aids in creating a lighter pastry when baked. Blind-baked pastry dough will last longer in the freezer. However...

If you are making Cinnamon Rolls and want to extend their shelf life, here are a few things you can do to keep them fresher for longer. Store them in an air-tight container once cooled. Ensure each bun is wrapped in plastic/saran wrap, and then place them in an air-tight zip-lock bag. You can keep them in the fridge for a few days but ensure they are well-wrapped and sealed so that the refrigerator doesn't dry them out. If you are making a large amount, you may well be advised to store them tightly wrapped in the freezer. If you are keeping them in a baking pan/tray, double-wrap them in plastic/saran wrap and then add an additional layer of tin foil. The reason being saran wrap/plastic wrap is breathable, so even if you wrap a...

Three milk cake, or Tres Leches as it is also known, is a beautifully moist cake covered in three types of milk. The cake originally inspired by Mexico is both bold and delicious. In order to make the cake so delicious, three types of milk are traditionally used to soak the sponge. These are evaporated milk, condensed milk, and whole milk. However, sometimes in alternative recipes, cream may be substituted for whole milk instead. To ensure you get the best out of your Tres Leches, here are a few tips for you. Put all the milks together to make a milky syrup mixture. Prick holes in the cake and pour the milk mix in stages whilst the cake is still warm. Soak the cake in stages, allowing the cake to moisten up. Distribute the milk...

If you want that little bit extra adding to the top of your choux buns, then why not add some Craquelin dough? Not only will it give you a crackling effect, but it will also give it some texture and crunch too. Done correctly, it helps the choux expand more evenly, giving you a more rounded prettier-looking choux bun. To make craquelin, you will need equal amounts of: Softened Unsalted Butter Light Brown Sugar Plain Flour Please note that the amount you require will depend on what you are making it for. Hints and tips on how to make it: Cream the butter and the sugar together with a hand whisk. Add the flour and mix in. If flavouring, add freeze-dried strawberry powder, raspberry powder, cocoa powder, matcha powder or any kind...

If you are looking at making some Garibaldi Biscuits, then be sure to check out these hints and tips before you bake. To ensure the best out of your Garibaldi Biscuits, try some of the following:- Roll the dough thin. Chop fruit into small chunks, soak in juice and then heat and soften on the hob. Drain the fruit in a sieve, and then pour onto a plate lined with kitchen towel. This removes any extra moisture and lets the fruit cool. If you don't, the biscuits will be soft and soggy when baked and more of a pudding consistency rather than a biscuit. Chill the dough. Split the dough in two, and roll it out into rectangles. Place a dough layer, then a thin fruit layer, then another dough layer and sandwich together. Cut the finished...

If you've ever had any trouble making Macarons, here is a quick list of hints and tips that may help you with your issues. Macarons Tips Read the recipe and weigh out all your ingredients as instructed. Sift all your dry ingredients. Ensure your mixing bowl is free from grease. Whisk your egg whites using a hand whisk or stand mixer, you will not be able to incorporate the amount of air manually. If the temperature is too warm, it will be hard to get the right consistency. Temperature is vital, so if it's too warm, they may look cracked and sloppy. If living in a warm climate or working in a warm bakery, pipe the macarons at the end of the day when the ovens are off and when the temp will be at its coolest, then bake them first...