Best Cooking Tips

  Butter cream icing To make a rich icing suitable for almost any cake, beat together one part (by weight) butter to two parts icing sugar. Flavour with vanilla essence, orange or lemon juice and zest, instant coffee powder or cocoa dissolved in a little boiling water, or brandy or liqueur. Glace icing For a quick sponge cake topping, mix icing sugar with just enough Read more [...]

  Keep the kitchen warm Most cakes do better if they are prepared at a temperature of 20°C (68°F) or more. If your equipment and ingredients have been stored in a cool place, take them out about two hours before you are ready to begin, so that they have time to warm up. Using butter Unsalted butter will give your cake a better flavour. Stop your mixing bowl Read more [...]

  DO choose a cool day for pastry-making. Or open windows to keep the kitchen cool. DO keep all equipment and ingredients as cool as possible. DO use only the tips of your fingers when rubbing in or handling pastry; they’re the coolest part of your hand. DO handle pastry as lightly as possible, and roll it out in one direction only. Be careful not to stretch the Read more [...]

Baking ‘blind’ Bake pastry bases separately before filling them, to prevent sogginess or under-cooking. Line a dish with pastry, then place a piece of foil or crumpled greaseproof paper gently on top of the pastry. The paper or foil should be large enough to cover all the pastry. Sprinkle a layer of beans or rice on top to weigh down the paper, or use ceramic baking ‘beans’ Read more [...]