Being a self taught home-baker, I know it can be fairly daunting to start baking on your own. If it’s of any consolation to you, I started with no help and a hyper-active toddler in my arms. Predictably, my first few attempts were total disasters. But since then, I have managed to learn a thing or two, and have managed to churn out a handful of decent bakes. (Between you and me, I still have my fair share of disasters.) I am sharing a few tips which I have gathered along the way. Please take these tips as a guide for the techniques that are used.

1. Figure out what you want to bake – I have a dozen recipes swimming in my head every time I want to bake. But zero in on that one recipe you want to try. This will help you gather ingredients in case you need to buy things like eggs, cream, fruit, whole milk etc. Having a recipe in mind and the ingredients for it at home is half the preparation done.

2. Printouts – Take a printout of the recipe(s) you want to try. If halving a recipe, halve the ingredients as well and then print it. Make note of any conversions, including oven temperature. A baking chart is of great help here.

3. Stick to the recipe like super-glue – Do not try to make substitutions and changes to the recipe or procedure. If you want to bake an eggless cake better to follow a recipe for eggless cake rather than trying to use a substitute for eggs in another recipe. It may or may not work.

4. Room temperature is a key – All ingredients at room temperature unless specified otherwise. Use good quality fresh ingredients for best results. Equally important as room-temperature ingredients are same temperature ingredients: “Add hot things to hot things, and cold things to cold things”.

5. Sift dry ingredients – I like to always sift dry ingredients like flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices like cinnamon, cloves etc. Sifting aerates the mixture and also helps even distribution of salt and leaveners.

6. Choose a proper pan size – When checking the size, measure from inside edge to inside edge. A cake made in a pan that is too large can be flat and overbaked, while one made in a pan that is too small may overflow during baking or take longer to bake.

7. Leavening – Baking powder, baking soda, and yeast lose their lifting power over time. I buy new baking soda and baking powder every 6 months, and toss the old container, just to be on the safe side.

8. Parchment paper is your BFF – Parchment paper helps batter and dough bake evenly. It also makes it possible to get brownies and cakes clean out of the pan, and stops cookies from spreading out on baking sheets. Always line baking sheets, cake pans, and baking dishes with parchment

9. Preheat like your life depends on it – It’s so tempting to throw a pan of brownies into the oven before your oven reaches the specified temperature… BUT DON’T DO IT! Baking is chemistry, remember? The temperature will highly effect the outcome.

10. Fixing frosting – Loose frosting can be fixed by adding extra powdered sugar. If your frosting is too thick to spread, slowly stir in a spoonful of milk, one at a time, until it reaches the right consistency.

11. Cool before frosting – Patience is a virtue in life and baking. Never frost a cake, cupcakes, or cookies until they have fully cooled… unless you like frosting that slides off to the side.

— Ruchita Srivastava —

She is an Engineer cum MBA professionally, a mom to a beautiful daughter and a self taught baker who enjoys baking for her family and friends. Expressions Baking is her space where you will find her tips, recipes and tutorials.

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