Are you a novice baker, and you want to improve your skills? Becoming a self-taught cake maker and decorator takes a lot of time and perseverance, not to mention a lot of testing and sampling, too – it is par for the course, isn’t it!

 

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However, being able to use your skills to take your baking to that next level can help you work towards using yourself more and more and seeing exactly what you are capable of.

So what are the best tips for all bakers?

Follow the Recipe

Don’t run before you can walk, basically. It isn’t a case of reinventing the wheel. It is about making a good wheel that turns and does what you need it to do. So regardless of how good you think your skills are when you are baking, and you have a recipe for anything such as a funfetti cake, you need to follow it to the book to make sure you are doing what needs to be done for a successful bake each and every time.

Use The Freshest Ingredients

A baker is only as good as its ingredients (and equipment). However, if you want to make a truly delectable bake with people asking for more, you need to make sure you are using the best ingredients. Cheaper alternatives are great for run-of-the-mill, everyday creations, but if you want to invest a little more to improve your result and skills, you need only the best to make the best.

Calibrate Your Oven

Remember that point above? That stands for this one too. You cannot outback a bad oven. You need to be confident that your oven can do what you need it to do to produce outstanding cakes time and time again. Make sure it is properly calibrated to ensure you are cooking at the correct temperatures consistently.

Be Organised

Have absolutely everything you need to create your next masterpiece out of hand before you do anything else. If you are constantly rushing from place to place to locate utensils or ingredients, then chances are you will make a mistake, or something will go completely wrong. So before you mix a single ingredient, make sure you have everything you will need out and ready for when you get started.

Scrape The Mixing Bowl

And not just to lick the leftovers. Make sure that whether you are using a stand mixer or mixing by hand, you scrape all of the dry ingredients from the bowls’ edges of the bowls to ensure a full and correct mix. This will allow you to use the right quantities of everything to get the mix you desire. In some cases, especially in stand mixers, some ingredients can be left around the sides of the bowl, but make sure you go back and include them will give you a better mix.

Patience

Patience is a virtue, and this is an important quality for budding bakers. You need to be patient with the skills you have and the process. Try not to rush anything and take your time when baking. Because if you rush or start when you are short of time, this is when mistakes will happen. So allow yourself plenty of time and trust the process. Don’t try to skip any corners.