If you love making desserts and baked goods, you won't want to miss what we are sharing today: the key to bakes that come out soft, fluffy and delicious. Put these tips into practice and your bakes are sure to taste great.
Whether you love baking or are a beginner, you have probably run into burnt bakes, cakes that don't rise, hard cakes, or bakes that are cooked only on the outside. Many bakers face these problems, and they come from imprecise temperature during baking. Controlling the oven temperature is one of the things that makes bakes turn out perfectly, because even a slight deviation can ruin your recipe. To help your bakes look attractive and appetising, here are our tips for baking soft, fluffy and delicious treats.
1. Preheat the Oven for About 15 to 20 Minutes
Or until it reaches the temperature you need. This first step is essential, because without preheating, the surface of your bake may not dry properly or the cake may not rise fully. Once the oven reaches the right temperature, put your bake in. Before using an oven for the first time, and after every use, run it on the top-and-bottom-heat programme at 200°C for 1 hour. The heat burns off grease and food residue stuck to the walls so it falls into the bottom tray; then take out the upper and lower trays and clean them.
2. Using Top and Bottom Heat
- Cookies, brownies and cupcakes are generally baked with top and bottom heat so they cook evenly throughout.
- Cakes should start with bottom heat only, which stops the centre from cracking. If the top looks too pale, switch to top and bottom heat, or top heat only, towards the end of baking.
- Bread arranged on a tray is baked with top and bottom heat, but bread in a tin uses bottom heat only. Avoid opening the oven often during baking, as it loses heat. Bake until the bread has a good structure, otherwise it may sink and not rise. A key secret for bread is evaporated milk, which gives bread great colour: mix 1 part evaporated milk with 1 part water and brush it over the bread after it comes out of the oven for a beautiful, glossy, appetising crust.
3. Choose the Right Baking Tin
Baking tins come in many sizes, materials and shapes, so choose one to suit the type of bake.
- Round tins suit large, pound-size bakes such as sponge and chiffon cakes. Fill them about 2/3 full to leave room for the cake to rise. If you fill only half the tin, the cake will be shorter but will bake faster.
- Loaf tins suit all kinds of bread. Always grease the tin all over so the bake doesn't stick. Fluted cases or muffin trays suit cupcakes and muffins; arrange them on a tray but not too close together, or they won't cook evenly.
4. Tap the Tray to Release Air Bubbles
For a perfect texture, once the batter is in the tray and before it goes into the oven, tap the tray or tin about 2 to 3 times to knock air bubbles out of the batter. This helps everything bake evenly. To check whether the bake is done, insert a skewer into the centre of the cake; if no wet batter clings to it, the bake is cooked.
5. Baking in a Water Bath
This means placing the tray or tin inside a larger tray filled with water to stop the bottom from burning. It is used for bakes where the bottom needs to keep its texture, such as sangkhaya (Thai custard) cake and custard cake. However, a water bath can make the top of the bake soggy, so it is not suitable for some bakes, such as butter cake, which may turn dull or crack in the middle.
Besides carefully selected, quality ingredients and the right method, baking temperature is very important for giving your bakes an appetising look and colour. Using evaporated milk in baking is a particular secret: the milk gives a rich texture, helps bakes turn out smooth, fine and fluffy with a milky aroma, gives them a more appetising colour and, importantly, helps save costs while still using quality ingredients, so your bakes come out fragrant, soft and delicious.
