1. Avoid using cold eggs. Sure, you know to bring the butter to room temperature, but it’s just as important for eggs otherwise the mixture won’t emulsify properly. If you’re short on time, microwave cut up butter on low in 5 second intervals, checking in between, and place eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Measure the flour properly. Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, then sweep off the excess with a knife. Don’t scoop it directly from the bag with a measuring cup. The flour will become compacted, and you’ll get more than you need for the recipe.
3. Use a pastry brush to butter the pans. You’ll get better coverage than with a piece of butter in paper plus, it makes buttering parchment a breeze. Simply swipe the brush over a tablespoon of very soft butter, then onto the pan or paper.
4. Position the pans as close to center of the oven as possible. They shouldn’t touch each other or the oven walls. If your oven isn’t wide enough to put pans side by side, place them on different racks and slightly offset, to allow for air circulation.
5. Rotate the pan during baking. This will ensure even baking. But wait until the cake is set about two thirds of the way through the baking time to prevent collapse. If you’re using more than one rack, this is also the time to swap the pans.
6. Cool cakes upside down. This will flatten out the tops, creating easy to stack disks for layer cakes. If the top of a cake is still too rounded, slice it off with a serrated knife.
7. Grease pans using a piece of paper towel, rub a small amount of shortening, butter or margarine evenly over the bottom and on sides of pans, if directed. A small amount of pan spray may be used and spread over the pan, also using the paper towel technique.
8. In a pinch, you can make your own brown sugar. Cream with a spoon or mix with a fork 1 cup granulated sugar and 1-2 Tablespoons molasses until the sugar can be packed in a cup and measured like brown sugar.
9. Do not use spreads to replace butter, margarine or shortening one for one in a recipe. Spreads contain less fat and more water, so they will not perform like butter or margarine.
10. Use salt. The half teaspoon of salt added to two dozen cookies won’t set you over your daily allotment, but leaving it out will drastically change the taste of the cookie. Salt isn’t necessarily in a recipe to make it taste salty it’s usually there to keep the baked good from tasting flat, one-note, or overly sweet.
2. Measure the flour properly. Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, then sweep off the excess with a knife. Don’t scoop it directly from the bag with a measuring cup. The flour will become compacted, and you’ll get more than you need for the recipe.
3. Use a pastry brush to butter the pans. You’ll get better coverage than with a piece of butter in paper plus, it makes buttering parchment a breeze. Simply swipe the brush over a tablespoon of very soft butter, then onto the pan or paper.
4. Position the pans as close to center of the oven as possible. They shouldn’t touch each other or the oven walls. If your oven isn’t wide enough to put pans side by side, place them on different racks and slightly offset, to allow for air circulation.
5. Rotate the pan during baking. This will ensure even baking. But wait until the cake is set about two thirds of the way through the baking time to prevent collapse. If you’re using more than one rack, this is also the time to swap the pans.
6. Cool cakes upside down. This will flatten out the tops, creating easy to stack disks for layer cakes. If the top of a cake is still too rounded, slice it off with a serrated knife.
7. Grease pans using a piece of paper towel, rub a small amount of shortening, butter or margarine evenly over the bottom and on sides of pans, if directed. A small amount of pan spray may be used and spread over the pan, also using the paper towel technique.
8. In a pinch, you can make your own brown sugar. Cream with a spoon or mix with a fork 1 cup granulated sugar and 1-2 Tablespoons molasses until the sugar can be packed in a cup and measured like brown sugar.
9. Do not use spreads to replace butter, margarine or shortening one for one in a recipe. Spreads contain less fat and more water, so they will not perform like butter or margarine.
10. Use salt. The half teaspoon of salt added to two dozen cookies won’t set you over your daily allotment, but leaving it out will drastically change the taste of the cookie. Salt isn’t necessarily in a recipe to make it taste salty it’s usually there to keep the baked good from tasting flat, one-note, or overly sweet.