6 baking tips you need to know!

With the heat of summer fading and the cooler days of autumn quickly approaching, food lovers and culinary creatives everywhere will be getting out their baking gear to craft some delicious treats. Whether you’re a life-long baker or you’re putting on an apron for the first time to follow along with the Great British Bake Off, there are always new tricks to learn and techniques to master. Here at Emporium, we love helping our customers get in the kitchen and create delicious food for the whole family. From colourful cakes to elegant pastries, we love seeing the creations that our followers share with us so we’ve put together a few tips and secrets that will have you baking like a pro this season. Baking Tips: Sift everything Many recipes will ask you to sift your flour in order to reduce lumps and make your cakes lighter. This is a great technique that all bakers use but if you really want to take your baking to the next level, try sifting all of your dry ingredients together. This will create a better consistency and mix all the ingredients properly. Key crimping Although taste is the most important thing when it comes to cooking, we all love to put time and effort into turning our baked goodies into masterpieces. Something as simple as an old key can make your pies look like they were made by a professional chef. Use the hooped end of the key to crimp the edges of your pastry and add a nice pattern to your pie. Scoop your batter Instead of messing around with spoons and getting your fingers sticky, try using an ice cream scoop to dollop out your biscuit batter. This will make sure that your cookies and cakes are all the same size when they come out of the oven. Know the temperature Cooking is a personal thing and it’s always good to feel passionate and experiment in the kitchen but there is some science behind baking great food. Whether you’re trying to craft the perfect souffle or create the ultimate strudel, keeping an eye on the temperature is an important step that many people overlook. Investing in a good oven thermometer will make sure your baked treats are cooked to perfection. Keep your icing frosty Cake decorating has become hugely popular recently, with thousands of videos showcasing incredible skills and creativity. If you’re planning to try your hand at creating a complex cake, here’s a top tip. Use a thin base coat of frosting on your cake, then chill it in the fridge before decorating it properly. This will give you a firm surface to work your frosting magic on. Freeze your cream Whether you’ve invested in an electronic whisk or you prefer doing it the old fashion way, keeping your cream cold will make it much easier to whip. To get the best results for your fresh cream pastries, pop your cream ion the freezer for ten minutes beforehand and thank us later.