Tips and Tricks

If you've ever found yourself in a tizzy, because the knife you used to cut your beautifully swirled cinnamon rolls squished the swirl, this is the hack for you! Instead of using a knife, cut a long strand of unwaxed dental floss, (preferably unflavored) and nudge it underneath the log of dough. Make sure you have roughly the same amount of floss on either side of the log. Then, cross the two side of floss from either side to form an "X" if you're looking down the length of the roll. Finally, pull the two sides and the floss should "cut" the roll cleanly without destroying your well-earned swirl. No need to buy an expensive tool, just a little thinking outside-the-box!

So you need some fresh citrus fruit juice. Seems simple enough, but after 5 minutes of squeezing, you can barely get a tablespoon of juice. This hack may just solve the problem! Before you slice your fruit in half, roll the citrus fruit on the counter or between your hands, giving it a "massage." This movement breaks down some of the fibers within the fruit, making it easier to juice and more likely to yield a higher volume overall. No more painfully slow juicing here!

The spoon hack is useful for making everything from jams to custards to sauces and coulis (a thin, strained compote) and is essentially used to test consistency. After your concoction has cooked down and simmered for a bit on its own, test its readiness by dragging a wooden spoon or heat-proof spatula straight across the bottom of the pot. If the utensil leaves a trail that lasts for a few seconds, then your sauce is likely ready. If the liquid quickly fills in the trail left by the utensil or there is barely a trail at all, let the mixture cook for a couple more minutes. Of course, above all, take into consideration the requirements of the recipe and what the sauce will be used for (is it meant to be a thick, spreadable jam, or a silky, thin, pourable liquid?)

From making cake batters to bread dough, there are numerous ways to combine ingredients! You can mix, whisk, fold, and stir all sorts of mixtures. However, there can be issues with these techniques. Sometimes the old "circling-round" method fails to eliminate all those lumps, leaving you with an unevenly textured batter. You don't want to overmix though, so what do you do? You likely normally mix in a circular motion, either moving around the bowl in a clockwise or counter-clock wise direction. But, when the batter just isn't coming together, try whisking violently back and forth across the bowl. Using this back-and-forth motion allows you to use more wrist power and can help break up stubborn lumps. Problem solved! However, if you are really struggling, some recipes may be best suited for making in a blender or using an electric appliance.

Have you ever thought that you'd finally separated an egg perfectly, only to notice afterwards a tiny piece of egg shell floating in the egg white? Almost every baker has experienced this frustration and the struggle is very real! Nothing, not a spoon or even your fingers, can get the shell out, or so it seems. Sometimes the answer is a little obvious, but the answer is, the egg shell itself. Not the little broken piece, but one of the two halves of the cracked shell!  Carefully, dip the shell into the egg and capture the little piece of broken shell. Unlike with other utensils or your hands, the piece of egg shell shouldn't slip out of the shell as easily.

Let's be honest. Separating eggs can be very difficult. It takes practice to get better, but after a long day of work, when you don't have the time or the patience to be fishing bits of broken shell out of your eggs, this hack might do the trick. All you need is an empty plastic water or soda bottle (and an egg with an unbroken yolk). When I first tried this hack, I was quite skeptical. But trust the process because it works perfectly! First, crack the eggs into one bowl, like normal, with another on hand close by. Position the mouth of the uncapped bottle directly over the egg yolk and squeeze the bottle a bit to create some suction. Relax your hands and let the bottle re-inflate. At this point, the egg yolk should be sucked right up into the bottle. Pretty cool, right? To transfer the yolk to the second bowl, gently squeeze the bottle to force it out.

Any seasoned baker knows that transferring rolled out dough to a baking dish or marzipan to cover a cake is a precarious task. The pie dough could tear, stick to itself, or get placed unevenly over whatever you're trying to cover. But, don't fret! I have an easy solution to your troubles. Instead of using your hands to lift the pie dough up into the air and place it on the pie dish, use a rolling pin! Ensure the surface of the dough is lightly floured before trying this hack! We don't want the dough to stick to the rolling pin! Place your pie plate at the end of the dough that's closest to you. Start at the part of the dough farthest away from you, and roll it up over the rolling pin. Then, carefully hold the rolling pin just above one end of the pie plate and unroll the dough off the rolling pin. Straighten out any unruly edges, dock your dough, crimp the edges and you're done!

If you discover you've run out of confectioners' sugar, lucky for you, I have a solution for this dilemma! You can easily make your own confectioners' sugar with granulated sugar! Even if you aren't in a pinch, this hack can save you money and a trip to the store. In the bowl of a food processor, (or even a spice grinder or blender) place 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Make sure to seal the machine tightly. Blend until the sugar looks powdery (4-5 minutes). Scrape down the sides and blend until the sugar is only a little grainy. It may remain a tiny bit grainy, but ideally, you want it as smooth as possible. This mixture can be used immediately. Store extra in an airtight container. Note: Don't skip the cornstarch! This is actually what manufacturers do to give confectioners' sugar its distinct dry, powdery texture.

Have you ever left something in the refrigerator to chill, only to realize later that a skin has formed on top? This can happen to pastry creams, lemon curds, and even milk! Luckily, there is a simple solution. Instead of stretching plastic wrap across the top edges of the bowl, press the plastic wrap into the mixture so it makes direct contact. This way, after refrigeration there will be no skin! Make sure to cover your fillings correctly to prevent unpleasant skins from forming!

Bananas are a versatile, sweet fruit. They are delicious eaten plain, with peanut butter, or in a quick bread! Though eating bananas on their own may not be everyone's thing, banana bread is normally a universal hit. Say you've planned on making banana bread only to find that your ripe bananas have since gotten eaten or used for something else. So, what to do now? There are two main options: Either wait it out for a couple of days while your bananas sit in a brown paper bag ripening (this could take 2-3 days, but it is effective!) or, for those of you who are set on making your bread today, you can bake your bananas to artificially "ripen" them. For this method, preheat your oven to 300° F. Line a baking sheet with foil or a silpat mat and bake the bananas, peel still on, for 30 minutes. Flip halfway through. Let them cool and peel and use as you choose. This method should provide the texture and flavor of naturally ripened bananas!

If you are a seasoned baker, you know that room temperature butter is key to producing a quality baked good. If your butter is cold and hard, you may be tempted to microwave and soften it. However, microwaving may soften the butter excessively and melt it.  Usually melted butter is not the goal, so unless your recipe calls for it, here's an alternative: First, run hot water over a clean bowl for about a minute. Dry the bowl off and place it over the butter. Steam created from the hot bowl will slightly soften the butter, avoiding any unwanted melting.

Buttermilk is one of those ingredients recipes often call for, but you never have on hand. However, making your own buttermilk is actually very simple and easy! (Or you could just make your own Homemade Butter and use fresh buttermilk!) For one cup of buttermilk: In a measuring cup, squeeze 1 tbsp of lemon or lime juice. Add enough whole milk to bring it up to the 1 cup mark. Whisk to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes before using. It's that easy! You may wonder, "Why would I combine milk and acidic citrus juice? Doesn't that make it curdle?" Well, that's actually what you're trying to replicate here with your homemade version. You want the milk to be more acidic as the acidity will slightly curdle the milk, giving it a slightly thicker consistency and buttermilk-like tang.