Baking Tips

Always measure your ingredients carefully. For cakes and muffins, measure dry ingredients and sift to get best results. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Turn on the oven before mixing the ingredients to ensure that oven temperature is right when you’re ready to bake. If a recipe gives an approximate baking time, then you should check it at the minimum time given to avoid over baking.

To make cake lighter in texture, add 1 to 2 tablespoons meringue powder to cake mix or add 1 teaspoon lemon juice to the sugar and butter mixture before adding the other ingredients. Then, cream only butter for a few minutes to incorporate air before adding sugar. Separate the eggs the before adding them to the cake mixture. Whip the yolks until creamy before adding to them the butter and sugar mixture. Whip the egg white until frothy before folding into the cake mixture. To prevent fruits and nuts sinking to the bottom of cakes and muffins, dust fruits and nuts with flour before adding to a mixture. Use level spoonfuls for drop cookies to make cookies uniform in size and thickness.

Do not grease cookie sheets unless the recipe says to do so. If there is not enough dough left to fill a cookie sheet, one can use an inverted pie dish or cake pan. Leave 2 inches in between cookies on baking sheets to allow for spreading. Place cookies on the middle shelf in the oven and bake one sheet at a time for best results. Allow at least 2 inches space around the cookie sheet to allow for heat circulation. Remove the cookies from oven while still soft and they will continue to cook on the pan. Spread biscuits on a rack to cool.