Girls Meet The Cakes

Top Tips for the Home Baker
These tips from John Barricelli will help you with all the baking basics.

Proper measuring equipment
Measure liquids in a clear measuring cup, which allows you to read measurements at eye level. Measure dry and semi-solid ingredients in graduated dry measuring cups -- they allow you to level ingredients with a straightedge.

Measuring flour
Sift flour and other dry ingredients only when called for specifically in the recipe. Use the dip and sweep method to ensure you've measured the proper amount.

Unsalted butter
Always use unsalted butter; this will allow you to control the amount of salt in the recipe.

Eggs
To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, soak them in warm water for 15 minutes.

Rolling out pastry and dough
Use only a small amount of bench flour when rolling out dough; too much flour will cause the pastry or dough to become dry and stiff.

Testing for doneness
To test for doneness, use a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake -- it should come out clean. The cake should spring back when lightly touched, and should be just pulling away from the sides of the pan.

Proper cooling
Cakes should be cooled for 15 minutes in the pan before unmolding and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Preparing a cake pan or muffin tin
When prepping a cake pan or muffin tin, a pastry brush can help with the hard-to-reach spots. Brushing the surface between cups will prevent muffin tops from sticking to the pan. Use softened butter rather than melted butter.

Creaming butter and sugar
Creaming butter and sugar is necessary to achieve full volume; be sure to take the time indicated in the recipe.

Soft cookies
If you prefer soft cookies, slightly underbake them. In most instances, simply substituting brown sugar for some or all of the granulated sugar in the recipe will produce softer cookies because it contains more moisture.

Crisp cookies
If you prefer crisp cookies, try using egg whites in place of some of the whole eggs called for in the recipe. You can restore the crisp texture of a cookie that may have softened by heating at 300 degrees for about 10 minutes.