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Serves: 12, Calories: 398

Effort: High
Kit: By Hand
Lifespan: 3-5 days
Temp: Room
Cook's Fave: Yes

Serves: 5, Calories: 497, Time: 45 mins

Cuisine: Italian
Effort: Low
Quick: Less than 1 hour

Serves: 6, Calories: 623, Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Cuisine: British
Effort: Medium
Treat: More than 600 calories
Cook's Fave: Yes

Serves: 12, Calories: 410

Effort: High
Kit: By Hand
Lifespan: 3-5 days
Temp: Room

Serves: 6, Calories: 597, Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Cuisine: Mexican
Effort: Medium
Spice Level: Mild
Cook's Fave: Yes

Serves: 8-12

Effort: Low
Kit: Electric Whisk
Lifespan: 3 days
Temp: Fridge

Serves: 12-16, Calories: 529

Effort: High
Kit: By Hand
Lifespan: 3-5 days
Temp: Fridge
Cook's Fave: Yes

Serves: 5, Calories: 373, Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Cuisine: Miscellaneous
Effort: Low
Healthy: Less than 450 calories
Vegetarian: Yes

Quick Tips

  • Where cookies are concerned; Raising agent can have a drastic effect on the outcome: Baking Powder puffs, Baking Soda (bicarb) spreads. (Powder Puffs, Soda Spreads.)
  • When mixing cake batter; Add 2 tablespoons of flour with last egg to help reduce the chance of curdling.
  • A small amount of salt, vanilla or coffee powder will enhance chocolate flavour in baking. As does mixing cocoa with boiling water.
  • Butter is roughly 80% oil and 20% water, amongst other things. Butter can be substituted for oil in many bakes in a 4:3 ratio. E.g. 100g butter equates to 75g veg oil.
  • Dutch (alkali) processed cocoa gives a more dense texture in cakes than raw cocoa. Use raw cocoa in cakes for a better rise, and Dutch cocoa in buttercream, biscuits and brownies.
  • Cakes baked with oil stay soft when chilled. Cakes made with butter harden in the fridge - bring them up to room temperature again before cutting or eating.
  • Heat deactivates the enzymes in cream (pasteurises), so chocolate ganache can be kept at cool room temperature for upto 5 days, without turning sour.
  • Massage kale leaves in a little oil before cooking; It helps break down the fibres that give it that coarse texture, making it softer to eat.
  • To make cake flour; Mix 4 parts plain flour with 1 part cornflour. E.g. 100g plain to 25g cornflour. It gives cakes a finer, softer texture.
  • For homemade self-raising flour; Mix 100g plain flour with 1 tsp baking powder. Sift together and mix thoroughly for an even rise.
  • Adding sour cream to cakes extends shelf life by 2-3 days. The extra fat content helps keep cakes moist.
  • Dark tins hold heat and can potentially burn cakes. Try using lighter coloured tins or Pyrex, which buffers heat.
  • High-sided cake tins, or raised parchment linings, promote rise in bakes. Circulating air moves over the top and draws the cake upwards, similar to how a chimney works.
  • A lightly beaten egg white, brushed over the inside of a pastry base, creates a seal so that pie/tart juices do not seep through and leave a soggy bottom.
  • Psychology - The colour blue is an appetite suppressant so you feel less hungry when eating from a blue plate.
  • Eating from a smaller plate plays with visual proportions so that it looks like there’s more food than there really is; You eat a full plate but a smaller portion, and still feel full.
  • Sunlight deteriorates the taste of wine, so when buying, pick a bottle from the back of the shelf for a truer flavour.
  • If you have a smelly food container that no amount of suds with freshen, leave it open, facing the sun for a few days. The sunlight will bleach out the aroma.
  • Lactose is the sugar in milk. When you dilute cream as a substitute for milk, you also dilute the sugar, which weakens the flavour. Add some sugar to make the flavour more ‘milky’ again.
  • Need to add cream while cooking? Full fat creme fraîche has the lowest fat content at 31%, that can be cooked without curdling.
  • Velveting lean meat (coating in a mixture of cornflour and egg white) seals in the juices so that it stays soft and moist when it is seared.
  • Extend the life of fresh root veg for upto 3 weeks, by submerging in a container of water, and keeping in the fridge. Change the water every other day.
  • Plum tomatoes are a higher grade than chopped tomatoes but often the same price. Consider buying plum tomatoes and mashing them for a higher quality flavour.
  • Dry herbs infuse flavour at the start of and during cooking. Fresh herbs add a burst of flavour towards the end of cooking, and at the table.
  • Pat raw steaks dry as much as possible with kitchen towel, for a more intense sear. The pan must also be really hot. No more grey steak - just a lovely brown crust!
  • When making pastry, add a dash of Vodka along with water at the binding stage - the alcohol will evaporate in the heat of the oven for a flakier crust.
  • Soak dry fruit in tea instead of alcohol for moist fruit cakes that are just as tasty but family friendly.
  • Allow a pie to bubble through the vents in its lid for 10 mins to ensure the filling is thoroughly cooked.
  • Sugar is hygroscopic (attracts and holds on to water) so is classed as a wet ingredient when baking.
  • Add baking soda rather than sugar to tomato-based sauces if too acidic. It takes the bite out of the sharp flavour that tomatoes sometimes have.
  • If your dish tastes too bland, add a touch of vinegar, lemon juice or wine to pep up the flavour. Don’t always reach for salt; Tastebuds like a balance of salty, sweet and sour.
  • Bake pastry in Pyrex, or similar glass dishes, because it heats up more evenly than metal tins. Your pastry should brown more evenly in glass too.