Baking

IF YOU’RE BAKING AT HOME AND WONDERING HOW YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR SKILLS, THERE ARE A FEW KEY QUALITIES THAT CAN HELP YOU TO PROGRESS AS A BAKER.   1) Organisation Baking is a juggling act. This means organising everything from your ingredients to forward-thinking your way through the stages of the recipe.   Lots of thinking ahead is required when you’re a baker and you need to be considering what needs to be done in advance so that everything is ready when needed. It also means incorporating steps that aren’t necessarily in the recipe, such as cleaning down your kitchen as you go.   Weigh out your ingredients before you start, check that everything is ready to use (e.g. chopped chocolate, butter and eggs at room temperature) and that you have all the necessary equipment prepared.   It might help to write a quick timeline if your recipe is particularly complicated,

FUDGY, CHOCOLATEY AND WITH A SHINY CRISP TOP; NO ONE CAN RESIST A TRAY OF BROWNIES FRESH FROM THE OVEN. FOLLOW OUR GUIDE TO HELP YOU BAKE YOUR BEST-EVER BROWNIES. Ten tips for unbeatable brownies: Use an oven thermometer to calibrate your oven. Baking at the correct temperature is essential so that you know you’re not over-cooking your brownies in the centre. Bake them in the centre of the oven for even heat. Melting the chocolate with the butter over a bain marie does double-duty. The hot water prevents the chocolate from seizing up and going grainy and melting the butter before combining into the mixture ensures you don’t incorporate air through beating, so your brownie stays fudgy rather than turning cakey. If you prefer them cakey, add more air by beating.

LET'S TALK TINS! BAKING TINS COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES, SO IN ORDER FOR YOUR BAKES TO TURN OUT PERFECTLY, PREPARATION AND CORRECT SIZING IS KEY. The golden rule for filling tins: To prevent cakes and cupcake cases from overflowing and making a mess of your oven, only fill your tins two-thirds full and this will leave plenty of room for the cake to rise. How to line a circular tin: Place the tin on top of the rolled out baking paper, bottom-side

ANY AMERICAN WILL TELL YOU THAT COOKIE-MAKING IS AN ART IN ITSELF. WE ASKED OUR BAKERS WHAT THEY THINK MAKES THE PERFECT COOKIE AND HOW YOU CAN BAKE A WINNING BATCH EVERY TIME. If you’ve ever wondered why some cookies end up different, even when baking a recipe you’ve tried before, that’s because cookies are a great example of why baking is a science. It’s a matter of variables. Change any of the ingredients or method and you may end up with a cookie that’s flatter, rounder, plumper, crisper, chewier or browner than the last batch. Classic American cookies tend to be much bigger, chewier and softer than their biscuity British counterparts, but it’s all down to preference. Most people know what they like when it comes to cookies, whether that’s a chewy centre or a golden brown top, and it’s useful to know what steps you can take when baking to get the desired cookie result!

WE GIVE OUR LIST OF THE 10 MUST-HAVE KITCHEN TOOLS EVERY HOME BAKER SHOULD HAVE TO HAND TO HELP TURN OUT THOSE SHOW-STOPPING BAKES. 1. Stand mixer Where would we be without our trusty mixers? A stand mixer is an important investment for any baker and will cut down the time required on any mixing or whisking task. We recommend you choose the best stand mixer within your budget, these things last for years and years so it helps to get a quality machine that you can rely on recipe after recipe. Use for mixing cake batter, creaming together frostings and whipping up egg whites for meringues. The removable bowl and beaters can be easily cleaned with warm soapy water but require counter space to be stored. Virtually no effort is required when you have a stand mixer doing the work for you.

SINCE WE INTRODUCED CINNAMON BUNS TO OUR BAKERIES WE’VE BEEN GETTING TO GRIPS WITH THE ART OF DOUGH MAKING. WHETHER YOU ARE MAKING SWEET ROLLS LIKE THESE OR A PLAIN DOUGH FOR OTHER BREADY TREATS, WE UNCOVER THE PROCESS BEHIND DOUGH. A favourite quick breakfast treat in America, cinnamon buns are made from sweet dough that rises with the help of yeast. Master the stages of making a basic yeast dough and you’ll be armed with a recipe that can be made into a variety of buns, rolls, breads and doughnuts. Sweet dough relies on a higher fat content than other savoury dough and this gives it that fluffy, soft texture when you pull the baked roll apart. This is why we add butter into this particular recipe, as basic savoury dough doesn’t have butter in it (occasionally it may call for a little

AMERICAN PANCAKES ARE A JOY, IF NOT A RIGHT, WHEN IT COMES TO A LAZY BREAKFAST, BRUNCH OR AFTERNOON TREAT. There’s something about pancakes that just makes us flip out! Served in a piping hot stack surrounded by fresh fruits and berries and drizzled in maple syrup. What could be more irresistible than freshly made pancakes from the griddle? As an American bakery, we have a lot of time for this mainstay of the American breakfast and we thought we’d share a few top tips to get your pancakes fluffy and golden every time. How does an American pancake differ from a flat pancake? Baking powder is the special raising agent that transforms flat pancake batter into well-risen American pancakes. The mixture also tends to be much less runny, so that the batter doesn't spread across the hot pan. Lots of pancake recipes include buttermilk, which helps with the reaction of the baking powder by producing carbon dioxide bubbles

IT HAS ALL GONE A BIT HEART-SHAPED AT THE HUMMINGBIRD BAKERY. IF YOU’RE LOOKING TO SWEETEN UP YOUR SPECIAL SOMEONE WITH A JUST-FOR-YOU BAKE, TRY OUT SOME OF THESE BAKING IDEAS – WITH A ROMANTIC TWIST!   Filled Cupcakes Make your Valentine go all gooey with cupcakes that have a hidden centre. Filled cupcake sponges are a doddle to make and for the more adventurous baker they can allow the imagination to run wild with endless flavour combinations. To fill a cupcake, you need to allow the sponge to cool before taking a sharp, small-ended knife to remove a small section of the sponge. With your chosen filling at the ready, fill the cupcake with a piping bag before replacing the small sponge lid. You can use a paring knife, an apple corer or a specialist cupcake coring tool - whichever works best for you. Don’t throw this extra piece of sponge away - you can trim it down and use it as a lid once the filling

SERVE UP SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN TREATS WITH IDEAS ON HOW TO DECORATE CUPCAKES WITH CREEPY HALLOWEEN DESIGNS! Fright night is drawing in and guys and ghouls will be gathering for tricks and treats! Spook your Halloween guests this season with these gruesome cupcake decorating ideas. Witch will you choose?     Black Cats Sprinkle chocolate cupcakes with chocolate vermicelli sprinkles. Add yellow jelly sweets for eyes and a pink jelly sweet for a nose. Pipe on details for the eyes and whiskers with chocolate icing. Liquorice laces can also be snipped with scissors to make cat’s whiskers.     Crescent Moons Roll out white or yellow sugar fondant icing and use a moon-shaped cutter to make your crescent moon shapes. Let shapes dry on baking parchment for 24 hours. Ice cupcakes with dark blue frosting and smooth over with a palette

WE RAISE A FEW IMPORTANT QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR DEAR OLD RAISING AGENTS AND WHAT THEIR UNIQUE PROPERTIES BRING TO YOUR BAKES. What do raising agents do? Raising agents are powders that are added to baking mixtures which react chemically to release carbon dioxide. The bubbles of carbon dioxide add air to the mixture, which is then baked and the air bubbles become locked into the protein structure of the sponge creating the fluffy crumb we know and love. Can I swap one raising agent for another? The short answer is no. For the longer answer, read our explanations of how the individual raising agents work below.   Raising agents react in completely different ways, so it’s advisable to choose a recipe for the raising agent you have available or