30 Baking Hacks You Don’t Want to Miss
1. Dropped Eggshells
If excess eggshell accidentally got into your bowl, simply wet your finger and reach for it. The wet finger essentially acts as a magnet to the shell!
2. The (Pop) Perfect Cake
Boxed cake mix + soda pop = the perfect cake. From creamsicle to chocolate root beer float, here are all the cakes you can make with just a box of cake mix and a bottle of soda.
3. Use the Freezer!
No matter the batter, freeze cookie dough! Placing the dough into individual ice cube squares assembles quick portions for when cookies are desiring to be baked.
4. Quick Clean-Up
For simple clean-up, bake cookies on greased foil folded onto a baking sheet. Just beware… They will cook faster and the bottoms tend to be browner and crispier than without the foil.
5. Creating Symmetry
Bake cookies in a muffin tin (like this) to make them soft and uniform.
6. Crafty Cookie Bowls
Speaking of the muffin tin… Simply turn it over and cover the mounds with cookie dough. Bake as you normally would then pop off the cooked dough for cookie bowls. Allow to cool and harden, scoop up some ice cream, and decorate with favorite sundae toppings!
7. Keep Cookies Fresh
And to keep your cookies moist, store them with an apple wedge.
8. Use What You Have!
Whereas most cake recipes call for a metal pan, you can certainly use the sole glass pan you have stockpiled in your kitchen cabinet. Though glass pans tend hold their heat much more effectively than metal pans, scale back approximately 25°F less and check the cake a bit earlier. Also pay attention to greasing the pan well, as there is a greater tendency to stick in a glass pan.
9. Out of Food Coloring?
Use Jell-O! In a glass or metal bowl, mix a 3-ounce package of Jell-O, 2/3 cup white sugar, an egg white, and a teaspoon vanilla extract. While mixing on medium speed, slowly and gradually add a ½ cup of boiling water. Once all the water is added, mix on high for five minutes and voila, a colorful and tasty frosting to top any cake!
10. Make All-Natural Food Coloring from Scratch
But if concerned with artificial dyes and unwanted ingredients of most icing and Jell-O varieties, learn how to make all natural, homemade frosting here.
11. One-Ingredient Frosting
Marshmallows = one-ingredient frosting in under five minutes! Simply make the cupcakes as you normally would, but set the timer to go off five minutes before they are finished baking. Add a large marshmallow atop of each, bake for the last five minutes, and there you have it!
12. Homemade Whipped Cream
Whip up some homemade whipped cream by pouring heavy cream into a mason jar, about three-quarters of the way. Add a tablespoon of sugar, TIGHTEN THE LID, and shake vigorously for approximately three minutes.
13. Use Ziplocs to Decorate
Use a Ziploc bag for to decorate icing. Simply pour icing in baggie, cut a small hole in a corner, and decorate on!
14. Fill Your Frosting Bag Simply
Fill up your frosting bag much, much easier (and cleaner) by folding it over a cup and pouring in the frosting.
15. Speaking of Clean…
Keep your kitchen spick and span by using a paper plate as a mixer splashguard. When using your mixer, simply stick beaters through created holes and mix on without any worry of a mess.
16. Fancy Chocolate Curls
Create those perfect fancy chocolate curls (just like the professionals) by running a vegetable peeler alongside a bar of chocolate.
17. Simple Decorating Tips
Don’t miss these baking life hacks on YouTube that will make your cake decorating amazing!
18. Turn Baking Fails in Successes
Try these YouTube baking hacks to save your baking fails.
19. Brown Sugar Hardened?
Do not throw in the towel (or brown sugar) away just yet! A day or two before use, place a few apples slices alongside the brown sugar in an airtight container to soften the sugar or use these additional methods.
20. But Now That it Has Softened…
Store brown sugar with a slice of bread to keep it that way!
21. Or What if you are Out of Brown Sugar?
An easy way to make brown homemade brown sugar involves a mere two ingredients: granulated sugar and molasses!
22. For Those Sticky Situations
There is no denying measuring sticky ingredients can be a nuisance. But when using ingredients such as honey or molasses, spray the measuring cups or spoons with a nonstick spray to ensure all the yield makes it cleanly into the recipe.
23. Wine Not?
As if there was another reason to enjoy wine… Use the bottle for a rolling pin substitute!
24. Baking Happy Hour Continues…
With this foolproof pie dough recipe. Vodka contributes to the perfect flaky crust. Now that’s something to cheers to!
25. Save Unused Ingredients
Remember that recipe (like the Jell-O frosting) only calling for an egg whites or yolk? Rather than throwing out the other half, freeze it an ice cube tray. The Incredible Egg recommends adding 1/8 teaspoon salt or 1 ½ teaspoons sugar per ¼ cup egg yolks (approximately 4 yolks) to inhibit their gelatinization process. Eggs can also be frozen scrambled together and proportioned in the ice cube tray. Regardless of the component or mix frozen, be sure to thaw for at least 30 minutes prior to using.
26. Need a Ripened Banana?
Do not let the color green make your mood go blue with these six simple ways to ripen bananas.
27. Use Less Fat
Wanting to reduce the fat content of common baked products? Substitute butter with applesauce! Not only does it also add a natural sweetness, but offers moisture without adding calories from fat. And with these cookies and oat muffins, lessening or eliminating butter will be a simple, yet still flavorful recipe substitution! Find more healthy baking swaps here.
28. Get the Most out of Lemons
When life gives you lemons or a recipe calls for them, release the most citrus juice by rolling them firmly on the counter or slightly zapping it in the microwave, about 10 seconds, before squeezing.
29. The Perfect Cheesecake Slice
For seamless and perfect slices of cheesecake, cut the cake with dental floss like so.
30. And The Perfect Slice of Cake
Wonder how to get picture-perfect slices of a cake? Run your knife under hot water, dry off, then slice. Repeat the process with each slice cut.
