Top Baking Hacks Every Baker Should Know for Perfect Results
Use a Syringe to Precisely Decorate Cookies
Baking the cookie mix is one thing, but decorating the cookies afterward can be difficult. Naturally, some individuals prefer to embrace spontaneity and disregard the final outcome. However, if you prefer perfectly decorated cookies, you may want to examine your medicine cabinet. Next, get a clean needle.
If you put frosting or icing in the syringe, you can use it like a sewing bag to easily decorate your cookies. Trust us, it works!
Speed up Banana Ripening in the Oven
Everyone knows that banana bread tastes better when the bananas are really ripe, right? Many people don’t throw away their old bananas because they know this. Instead, they use it to make banana bread. However, if you really want to make banana bread, but your bananas aren’t quite ripe yet, you can bake them to make them riper faster. It should be fine after just a few minutes in the oven.
But don’t leave them in there for too long. They should be just ripe enough to mix into your banana bread cake mix, but not so ripe that they’re bad.
Grate Cold Butter to Bake Flakier Biscuits
You can bake biscuits without much trouble if you’ve done it before. Maybe you should look at the recipe again if your homemade cookies are always missing something. This is especially true if the recipe calls for butter that is at room temperature. There’s nothing wrong with butter that is at room temperature, but cold butter will work much better and make the biscuit mixture flakier. You’ll really see the change.
It’s also really simple to use this baking hack. To shred butter, put it in the fridge or freezer for a short time and then use a cheese grater.
Use simple syrup to fix a cake that is dry.
What’s worse than a cake that’s not moist? We didn’t think so. However, there is still a chance of getting a dry cake whether you use a store-bought cake mix or make it at home. You can’t really stop it from drying out, but there is a trick you can use to fix a dry cake.
You don’t need to throw away your dry cake. You just need to make or buy some simple sauce and put it on the cake. This will quickly bring it back to life.
Cover a cookie sheet with foil to reduce the size.
Cookie sheets aren’t just for baking cookie dough. You can use these sheets to bake anything, from pies to gingerbread guys. You don’t have to deal with the mess that happens when you use a cookie sheet that’s not quite the right size for what you’re making. Why not use a small piece of tin foil instead? That’s a baking hack after all!
If you fold up a piece of tin foil and use it as a fake divider, you can make the cookie sheet smaller without damaging it. That’s it; no more wet pies for you.
Add mayonnaise to a cake to make it more moist.
Not everyone likes dry cake, but have you ever thought about putting mayo in your cake? A lot of people swear by this hack, even though it sounds like a one-way ticket to abdominal pain. Some people say that adding mayo to the cake mix will result in a cake that is so moist that it’s unlike any other cake you’ve ever had. But how much do you need? Now the judge is done.
There are people who say you only need one tablespoon of this flavor, and there are others who say you need more. You should try different versions of your recipe until you find one that works for you.
Use an ice cube tray to prepare frozen cookie dough.
Do you ever want cookies but don’t feel like making cookie dough? There is a way to get around that. Getting frozen cookie dough ready ahead of time is very simple. All you have to do is take it out of the fridge and bake the cookies. You could also divide the cookies up ahead of time and put each one in its own ice cube tray. This would make your life even easier.
This hack is useful in two ways. On one hand, it’s very easy and saves time. However, frozen cookie dough consistently tastes better than unfrozen dough.
You can use a paper plate to catch splatter.
Let’s be honest: making baked goods can get messy. If you use an electric mixer, this is critical. The flour you add will cover you and your home. After this, it can be hard and take a long time to clean up, but there is a quick and cheap way to fix the problem.
Cut a hole in the middle of a paper plate. Then, use the plate to catch all the splatters before they get out of the bowl. It does work, believe us.
Use cookies that are too brown as pie crust.
Even though we’d like to say we’ve never made a mess while baking, it’s not true. Sometimes, even the best bakers miss something important, and those few minutes can mean the difference between cookies that are just right and cookies that are too brown. Don’t just throw them away if you overbake too much, though! You could use them for something else, such as making a pie.
Overbaked cookies make an easy pie crust. Just crush them up and put them in a pie dish. After that, you can put any pie filling on top of it.
You can cut dough with dish floss.
Most likely, you already know that cookie dough is one of the tastiest things in the world. Even though we’d be pleased to eat raw cookie dough all day, there’s no doubt that cooked cookie dough is even better. However, anyone who has tried to cut a perfectly round roll of cookie dough knows that it’s almost impossible to do so without squashing the dough.
If you don’t want to change the shape, toothpaste would also work. This baking trick does work, but only if you use plain floss. This is only effective if you want your cookies to taste like mint.
To make a cake, use warm ice cream and flour.
Have you ever forgotten about ice cream on the counter for too long? You’re not by yourself. After ice cream melts, you can freeze it again, but it tastes different. So why not use it to make a cake? One of the best ways to make a cake is to mix melted ice cream with flour, even though it sounds crazy. Plus, it tastes delicious already, so you shouldn’t need to add anything else.
After that, just put it in the oven and wait for it to cook. It will taste delicious and moist, and it’s a great way to use up melted ice cream.
Dress up the pie crust with a corkscrew.
What’s the difference between a pie you make yourself and one you buy? Well, store-bought pies always have attractive designs on the dough, which makes them look (almost) too tempting to eat and perfect for Instagram. What if we told you you could do the same thing at home? To use this baking trick, all you need is a corkscrew, which you probably already have somewhere.
To make your pie crust look better, all you have to do is press the corkscrew’s bottom into it. This should make it look like something you’d want to post on Instagram right away.
Add Vanilla Pudding to Cookie Dough Mix
If you love vanilla pudding, raise your hands. Also, if you love cookie dough, keep your hands up. Let’s assume that everyone is still enthusiastically waving their hands, seemingly unaffected by the deliciousness of both these sweet treats. Maybe you don’t know this, but you can mix these two things together to make the best sweet treat ever.
You can make your cookies stand out like never before by mixing vanilla pudding mix into your cookie dough. We love them when they’re tasty, moist, and really chewy.
Mix your colored frosting just right.
Isn’t filling an important part of any cake? There’s nothing wrong with plain white frosting, but if you want to decorate a cake in a certain way, this color might get in the way. Of course you can buy food coloring at the store, but why buy twenty different shades when you can just buy a few and make your own colored frosting?
columbuscookieacademy/Instagram
You will learn which colors to mix to get the right color for your cake using a color chart made just for filling. The best part? When you bake, you’ll also feel like a master.
You can use milk and vinegar in place of buttermilk.
More people are using buttermilk, but few have it on hand. We have the right answer for you. If your food recipe calls for buttermilk, mix milk and vinegar together instead. There is no way you will be able to tell the difference between it and the original.
There’s also the big plus: you probably already have these two things in your cupboard. You don’t have to stop baking to go to the store.
For fluffier baked goods, use eggs that are at room temperature.
Most baked goods need eggs, which we’re sure you already know. However, if you use the wrong kind of eggs, you might not realize that your baked goods are being let down. We’re not talking about lizard eggs, though that would be a rewarding baking project. Instead of leaving eggs out at room temperature, we recommend using chilled eggs. After all, eggs that are at room temperature are much better.
There’s nothing wrong with using cold eggs from the fridge, but yolks that are at room temperature have more air trapped inside them, which makes the cake mix much fluffier. Plus, who doesn’t love a cake that’s extra fluffy?
Sprinkle flaky sea salt on top of the cookie dough.
We used to believe that cookie dough was already very tasty. I mean, it’s outstanding by itself, right? But this is the time to add crunchy sea salt to your cookie dough before cooking if you want to take your cookie dough to the next level and enjoy both sweet and savory things. You’ll quickly understand why this is crucial when making chocolate chip cookies.
The salt actually makes the chocolate taste even better, and the salt’s salty flavor goes well with the chocolate. We promise that you’ll never go back to not salting after you start.
You can use Ziploc bags as piping bags.
You may have thought about getting piping bags if you want to decorate your cakes in a more complicated way. There’s nothing wrong with getting these from the store, but they can cost at least $10, which is money you may not want to spend. So why do it? You likely already have a good alternative in your cooking cabinet that you can use for free.
A Ziploc bag works just as well as a sewing bag. To pipe an object, simply fill it, trim the end, and embellish it.
Cooking brownies twice takes only half as long.
There are two types of people in the world: those who love gooey, crunchy brownies, and those who are terrible. It can be difficult to tell when to take brownies out of the oven, even if you want them to be as gooey as possible. Make sure to bake cookies twice, but for half the time. In a sense, you split the cooking time between two bakes.
You can keep your brownies moist and chewy by allowing them to cool down between baking sessions. You can be certain that not a single cookie will dry in the house.
Sugar-free butter is best for cakes.
Have you ever read a recipe that said to use salted butter or plain butter? You probably didn’t notice and used the butter you had in the kitchen. But it’s important to follow these steps if you want to make cakes. When making cake mix, you should almost always use plain butter instead of salted butter, because salted butter can change how the cake tastes overall.
For more specifics, the saltiness of the salted butter can change how your fillings and other materials taste. So there’s no reason to take a chance.
A wine bottle can be used as a rolling pin.
A rolling pin can be very useful, whether you need to roll out pie dough or make fondant icing flatter. However, if you’re on a budget and prefer not to purchase new items, you might be surprised to learn that you likely already have the perfect tool in your kitchen. Yes, you can use a wine bottle instead of a rolling pin! In the end, it’s pretty much the same shape.
This baking hack is most effective when the wine bottle is empty. Therefore, it is advisable to arrange a date night prior to becoming overly enthusiastic about baking. That’s an added bonus.
Before baking, put cookie dough in the freezer.
It’s likely that someone in your family says they make the best cookies. If you want to beat them, you might want to start freezing your cookie dough before you bake it. These little-known tips can help you make the best cookies you’ve ever seen. The cold temps in the freezer are the key. If it’s not cold, butter can melt and twist before baking.
This can alter the cookie’s shape and texture, so putting the cookie dough in the freezer for an hour before baking can save your life.
Before you bake, caramelize your apple pie filling.
On a cold winter day, there’s nothing better than warm apple pie and ice cream. When making an apple pie, you can’t go wrong. You just need to put apples inside the pastry dough and bake it. If you want to make your apple pie taste even better, you can caramelize the apple filling before putting it in the dough.
Simply place apples in a pan with water and sugar topping. This will make the apples even more sticky and tasty, as well as give the dish more depth.
Don’t let cooking oil stick to measuring cups.
A good set of measuring cups that help you with every recipe is likely something that you have if you bake often. However, because you use these measuring cups for a variety of purposes, such as sugar, milk, and flour, they frequently become dirty and clogged with leftover ingredients. You may have trouble washing it and changing your cooking style. So, you should try to keep them from sticking.
To do this, simply wipe the insides of your measuring cups clean with oil. This will keep things from sticking to the sides, and it will also save you time afterward!
Using parchment paper to prevent stickiness
Nothing is more frustrating than brownies sticking to a sheet pan, especially after all the effort you’ve put into their preparation. It can make brownies taste bad and leave burnt spots on their bottoms. There is an easy way to make sure that doesn’t happen, though. Just line the pan with parchment paper before baking the brownies.
The brownies won’t stick to the thick parchment paper, so they should be simple to remove and eat right away. Plus, everyone knows that cookies mean there’s no time to waste.
Use an eggshell as a sled.
It looks like a simple task to crack an egg into the bowl when the cake mix calls for one. Despite your best efforts, small pieces of egg may get into the mixture and into your teeth when you bite into the cake. It may seem odd, but the best way to stop this is to use half of an eggshell to scoop out the shells.
For better results than using a spoon or fingers and failing to remove it, use the eggshell.
You can bake with dried beans.
Many people choose to buy store-bought pie instead of making their own because it can be tricky to work with. We suggest using pie weights to make your own from scratch. There is no way to bake your pastry without these pie weights. They will make sure that the cake is even. But you don’t have to spend a lot of money on real pie weights.
Instead, you can make your own with dried beans that you may already have on hand! They do the same job and won’t cost you anything.
Before you use eggs, soak them in water.
There’s a difference between room temperature and chilled eggs when it comes to mixing them with other things. This is why it’s always best to use eggs that are at room temperature. You don’t have to change your baking plans if you forget, though. Putting the eggs in a bowl of warm water for five to ten minutes will speed up the process.
This way, the eggs will get warm enough, but be careful not to leave them in there for too long. After all, you don’t want to start cooking them.
Make cookies from the kitchen sink.
There are times when people with a sweet tooth truly crave something sweet. Those times can be quite distressing if you’re not prepared for them. That being said, the next time you want cookies but don’t know what to put in them, try making some kitchen sink cookies. These cookies are open to whatever you want.
To see how they work, you can look through your cabinets and use anything from candy to chips. Cookies are always a fantastic idea, so have fun!
To divide up the cookie dough, use an ice cream scoop.
Many families have fought over cookies. As soon as one person gets a bigger cookie than the other, war breaks out! To restore order in your home, there’s a simple way to make all cookies the same size. All you need is something you’ve probably already got on your cutting board.
With an ice cream scoop, you can put the right amount of cookie dough on a baking sheet. Plus, your hands won’t get sticky.
Flan stays soft when vinegar is added.
Frosting is an important part of cakes, but it can be very strange. Anyone who has attempted to frost a cake before knows this. It tastes great, but the texture isn’t always very good, and it can get tough and crusty very fast. Just add half a teaspoon of vinegar to your frosting to keep it as soft as possible.
It is important to avoid adding an excessive amount of this substance, as it will alter the flavor. However, a small amount will prevent the mixture from becoming hard and maintain its smooth texture.
Cover the sides with cake batter.
It’s likely you spread the cake mix evenly in the pan. However, this always makes a cake with air in the middle, right? To prevent this, avoid spreading your cake mix evenly. In this manner, the oven will distribute the cake batter more evenly on the sides.
It might seem odd to do this, but it really does work! Once baked, decorating the cake to your liking will be much easier.
Use Farm Fresh Eggs for Fresher Bakes
While all baked goods taste good, there is no question that some taste better than others. The ingredients are what make the difference. Professionals say that farm-fresh eggs are always better than eggs from the store if you want your cookies and cake mixes to taste as fresh and fluffy as possible. You don’t even know how long they’ve been there.
You will definitely be able to tell the difference between fresh eggs and fresh baked goods. They may cost more initially, but they’ll pay off.
Don’t bake your cookies quite long enough.
Who wants cookies that are really hard and crispy? Not us! If you want cookies that are just the right amount of gooey and crunchy but also crispy, that’s not easy to find. Underbaking the cookies a little is a good way to make sure you get the best cookies possible. You should never eat raw eggs, but when it comes to cookies, cooking them just a minute or two less can make a huge difference.
chocolatechippedbakery/Instagram
One excellent way to do this is to bake the cookies at full temperature for half of the time, then slightly lower the temperature for the other half.
Cover a cake pan with broken Graham crackers.
You probably bake the same things all day if you want to. There are possibly cakes, pies, brownies, and cookies in the oven at the same time. But it’s beneficial to get out of your comfort zone and try something new every once in a while. We love this next baking hack, especially since it takes crushed Graham crackers. Yes, this is a cake with a Graham cracker crust.
By putting crushed Graham crackers in the cake pan, you can give the cake a crunch and a layer of texture that your guests won’t have seen coming. They will undoubtedly ask for the recipe.
Add an overripe banana to the chocolate cake.
If you have bananas that are too ripe, most people think you should make banana bread. But what if you don’t like banana bread? Aside from putting your bananas away, there’s another way to use them. You only need cake mix, chocolate, and bananas. In fact, too-ripe bananas are great in chocolate cake because they add wetness and depth that you wouldn’t get without them.
Plus, the banana isn’t necessary, which is one of the best things about this. Since you don’t like the taste of bananas but still want to use your old ones, you can use just one.
Ditch Yeast and Let Dough Rise Naturally
If you’ve ever baked bread, you’ve probably bought yeast to help the dough rise faster. However, you didn’t use yeast for that purpose in the past. Why don’t you learn from their mistake? Though yeast isn’t essential, you can make bread without it. You can let the dough rise without this often expensive, store-bought ingredient.
Put your yeast-free dough in a bowl and cover it with a damp towel. This will help the dough grow. After that, put it somewhere warm for a few hours.
Get all of the ingredients ready before you start mixing.
When you’re mixing most of the cake mix together, not having one very important item is the worst thing that can happen. You must decide whether to give up baking forever or stop working and go to the store. Having all your ingredients ready before mixing could avoid all of this. Just set them all out on the counter.
This way, you can be sure that you have everything you need to finish your bake. Also, if you measure everything ahead of time, it will go much more quickly.
Don’t measure your flour; weigh it instead.
To measure the ingredients for a cake mix or pie dough in the U.S., most people use measuring cups. You might be surprised to learn that this practice is less common across the pond. People who like to bake in the UK, for example, use scales to make sure they use the right amount of ingredients. You could also use this method to ensure accuracy.
You can follow the recipe to the ounce if you weigh your flour instead of measuring it. This may lead to even better baked goods. Ultimately, there is always room for improvement.
Put coconut on top of your banana bread.
Isn’t it true that everyone loves banana bread? We love banana bread because it’s so simple to make. You can’t really add much to this sweet treat to make it even better; the few things that are in it are already great. But have you ever tried adding coconut bits to the top? You might want to try it if you haven’t already.
Adding coconut bits to the top can provide the crucial crunch that banana bread often lacks. Also, who wouldn’t want coconut on their banana bread to make it taste better?
