8 Baking Hacks To Improve Your Kitchen Skills
According to a study by the University of Otago in New Zealand, baking brings joy to our lives, makes us happy, and has an overall positive effect on our mental health. The best part of baking, of course, is the snacking in between and the extremely satisfying feeling once you see the fruit of your labors, but unfortunately things don't always go according to plan. In such cases, it's best to know these 8 helpful kitchen tips & tricks to help save the day.
1. DIY Splash Guard
You'll Need:
- paper plate
Here's How:
Depending on what you're mixing, sometimes there's a very real chance that the ingredients will wind up on your clothes or in your face. To prevent splash-back, cut two small holes in a paper plate and slip the plate over the attachments on the hand mixer.
2. Save Burnt Cookies
You'll Need:
- grater
Here's How:
Maybe you forgot all about your cookies and left them in the oven far too long. If the bottoms are burnt, simply rub the burnt portion of the cookie off with a grater. This will take care of the burnt section, while leaving the rest of the cookie nice and edible.
3. Soften Hard Sugar
You'll Need:
- bowl
- damp cloth
Here's How:
If your sugar is full of hard clumps, just put it in a bowl, put a damp cloth over it, and microwave for 30 seconds. The wet heat will instantly soften the clumps and return your sugar to normal.
4. Soften Hard Butter
You'll Need:
- hot water
- drinking glass
Here's How:
If you don't have time for your cold butter to reach room temperature on its own, you'll love this fast & easy trick. Just fill a glass with hot water, let it sit for a few minutes, dump the water out, place the glass over the butter, and give it about 1 minute. The heat from the glass will soften the butter in no time.
5. Homemade Cooking Spray
You'll Need:
- spray bottle
- cooking oil
Here's How:
Every baker knows that if you want your cake to come out intact, you have to grease the pan. But that's easier said than done when you forgot to buy cooking spray or are out of butter. If you're in a pinch, you can easily make your own cooking spray by mixing cooking oil and water together in a spray bottle. Then all you have to do is shake the bottle and spray the pan before pouring in the batter.
6. Easily Fancify a Cake
You'll Need:
- fork
- spoon
Here's How:
So you made a huge effort whipping up a beautiful cake, but yet it still somehow looks blah? All you need is a fork or spoon to make fancy-looking patterns like the ones shown in the video. Easy, breezy, beautiful.
7. Pick a Broken Eggshell out of the Bowl
You'll Need:
- bowl of water
Here's How:
Few things are more annoying than trying to fish a broken eggshell piece out of your mix. No matter how careful you are when cracking the eggs, it's bound to happen at some time or other. But here's an easy fix: Simply dip your finger into a bowl of water and then you'll have no problem pulling out the shell.
8. Cut a Cake Like a Pro
You'll Need:
- glass of hot water
Here's How:
We've all been there: You go to cut everyone a slice of your gorgeous cake, and then the knife is full of cake when you pull it out. If you want to cut a cake without half of it sticking to the knife, place the knife in a glass of hot water for 1 minute prior to cutting. This will ensure a smooth slice and a happy chef.
With these cooking hacks under your belt, nothing will stand in your way of becoming a master baker, so roll up your sleeves, slip on your apron, and off you go!