Below is a guide to the ingredients used in this book. Always buy the very best you can afford, and keep an eye on the use-by dates on dry ingredients such as flour and baking powder – they don’t keep indefinitely.
Baking powder is a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and an acid powder, usually cream of tartar, plus a starch filler such as cornflour or rice flour. It is used when you need extra raising agent in a plainer cake mixture (e.g. scones) and with self-raising flour for the all-in-one method. In some recipes, such as gingerbread and some American and Canadian cakes, bicarbonate of soda is used on its own.
I never make puff pastry and if I am in a hurry I might buy shortcrust or sweet pastry, too.
Butter is the best fat to use for baking when you can really taste the flavour. For shortbread it is a must. If using it for the all-in-one or creaming method, it should be at room temperature. I love to use unsalted butter for baking, although it is more expensive than salted. To get butter to room temperature when taking it straight from the fridge, microwave it for a few seconds, until soft but not oily.
Cocoa powder gives a true chocolate flavour in most cakes, but avoid the sweetened cocoa used for milk drinks. I like to ‘cook’ the cocoa powder in most recipes by mixing it to a paste with a little boiling water before adding it to the other ingredients. If a recipe calls for plain chocolate, I use Bournville and melt it slowly. Remember, chocolate can melt in a child’s pocket so only a little heat is needed! Milk chocolate is difficult to melt and does not give a good flavour in cakes. When using white chocolate, buy a good-quality Continental one and take care when melting – if it gets too hot it will become grainy. Pure chocolate chips in white and dark chocolate are easy to melt and good to use in recipes.
The dried fruits I use most in baking are sultanas, currants, raisins, apricots and cherries. I am not a fan of candied peel and angelica. Most fruit now comes ready washed. It can dry out in the packet, once opened, so rewrap it in another polythene bag. If you know that you will not be making fruit cakes for some time and have dried fruit in the cupboard, freeze it in the polythene bag and it will keep for a couple of years.
Large eggs are used for all the recipes in this book. For most recipes, and especially meringues, they should be at room temperature, as they then give a greater volume when beaten. If storing separated eggs in the fridge, keep the whites in a container covered with cling film and write in marker pen on the cling film the number of whites in the pot. They should keep for a week. Leftover yolks need to be kept in a small container. Spoon over a little cold water to prevent a skin forming on the yolks, then cover with cling film and write the number of yolks in the pot on the cling film. Use yolks for lemon curd or for caramel custard or crème brûlée.
Vanilla and almond extracts are stronger and far more authentic than essences. I avoid flavourings such as lemon or orange in bottles, preferring to use fresh lemons and oranges.
Most of the recipes for cakes in this book use self-raising flour. Plain flour is used mainly for pastry. In an emergency, you can use self-raising flour for everything. I rarely sift flour, although I do for fatless sponges made by the whisking method, as it combines with the eggs and sugar more easily. I also sift the flour to remove any lumps if there are other dry ingredients with it, such as cocoa powder or spices. Some supermarkets sell a soft cake flour but I have not suggested using it as it can be difficult to find and I have always had success with self-raising flour. Wholemeal flour gives a closer texture and nutty flavour. For cakes and scones, I find it best to use a self-raising wholemeal flour.
Margarine is very good for baking and the flavours have greatly improved over recent years. However, many of the baking margarines in tubs, such as Blueband and Stork SB, have disappeared from the supermarkets now, and you have to be sure you are buying a margarine and not a spread. It is easy to confuse the two, since they are packaged in a similar way. All the spreads contain a higher proportion of water and less fat than margarine and butter. The brand name is on top and the word ‘spread’ often appears on the bottom of the tub in small letters. When baking, you need fat in order to keep a cake moist, and if you use a spread that has had water added – some of them contain as much as 50 per cent – it will affect the keeping quality of the cake and the results will not be as good.
Keen bakers use whole, flaked and ground almonds, plus walnuts, pecans and more. I always keep nuts in the freezer in one big bag, each type in its own small bag. Whole nuts keep for years well wrapped and frozen and you know that they will taste fresh. They go rancid after a few months on the larder or kitchen shelf.
Some American and Canadian cake recipes – carrot cake, for example – use oil instead of butter or margarine. Only use vegetable, sunflower or nut oil, not olive oil, which is far too strong in flavour.
I use unrefined caster sugar, golden granulated, light and dark muscovado, and demerara sugar in the recipes in this book. White caster sugar is finer than granulated and therefore perfect for cakes. Some brown sugars have added colouring, so I prefer to use natural brown sugar, which is always stated on the label. When muscovado sugar becomes hard in the packet through long storage, microwave it for a few moments to separate the grains. Icing sugar is best for icing and dusting over cakes to give an attractive finish.
Golden syrup, black treacle, maple syrup and honey are also good to have on the larder shelf for cake making.
I keep my baking equipment to a minimum – below is a list of the items I use most frequently.
A set of Pyrex or Duralux bowls that fit one inside the other takes up less room in the cupboard. An extra, really large bowl is handy for making a celebration cake or a large amount of any mixture. Failing this, use a clean washing-up bowl or a large preserving pan.
Always choose good, solid cake tins. Use non-stick ones if you like, but I always grease cake and sandwich tins, then line the base with a disc of non-stick baking parchment for cakes such as Victoria sandwich, cherry and light fruit cakes. When making rich celebration cakes, I line the sides as well, so it doesn’t matter whether the tin is non-stick or not. Then you can easily remove the cake from the tin. I prefer to use non-stick muffin and bun tins because you do not need to line them before putting the mixture in.
I’ve always washed my tins rather than just wiping them after use. The important thing is to dry them well and store in a dry cupboard to prevent them going rusty.
See here for more about lining cake tins.
• loose-bottomed, deep, round 18 cm (7 in) cake tin
• loose-bottomed, deep, round 20 cm (8 in) cake tin
• loose-bottomed, deep, round 23 cm (9 in) cake tin
• two loose-bottomed 20 cm (8 in) sandwich tins, 4 cm (1½ in deep)
• loose-bottomed 23 cm (9 in) fluted flan tin
• 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin, 17 × 9 × 9 cm (6½ × 3½ × 3½ in) base measurement
• 30 × 23 × 4 cm (12 × 9 × 1½ in) traybake or roasting tin
• 33 × 23 cm (13 × 9 in) Swiss roll tin
• three baking trays
• deep 12-hole muffin tin
• two 12-hole mini-muffin tins
You might like to have the following tins for other recipes or for baking small quantities:
• two 450 g (1 lb) loaf tins instead of one 900 g (2 lb) tin – perhaps to make one cake to eat straight away and one to freeze
• two 18 cm (7 in) sandwich tins for a three-egg quantity instead of four
• two 12-hole bun tins for mince pies
• 20 cm (8 in) and 23 cm (9 in) springform tins to use for cheesecakes, Key Lime Pie and Banoffi Pie, if preferred
This is used to get every last bit of mixture out of the bowl. The white ones are best, but avoid putting them in the dishwasher as they eventually become sticky.
A food processor is handy for rubbing-in mixtures, making pastry, bread and batters and chopping nuts. It is not suitable for making meringues, as the bowl is enclosed and does not hold enough air to give the meringue volume.
Take care when using a food processor for making cakes. They are extremely fast and mix the ingredients in moments, so watch like a hawk and stop the machine the minute the mixture has combined, as overbeating means the cake will be too close-textured once baked.
Keen bakers would not be without one of these. They usually have a whisk for cake making and meringues, and a dough hook for kneading bread. They have the great advantage that while they are mixing you are free to do something else. The disadvantage is that they take up space on the worktop. I keep mine on a rise-and-fall shelf in a cupboard below the worktop, which I lift out to use the machine, then tuck away again afterwards.
One of the most frequently used pieces of equipment in my kitchen. Hand-held electric whisks are surprisingly reasonable in price and very quick and efficient to use. When beating egg whites for meringues, always choose a large bowl and move the whisk all over the base to incorporate as much air as possible.
Glass measuring jugs are best, as you can see at a glance the level marked on the side. Always stand the jug on a flat surface rather than holding it in the air at eye level.
A set of spoons from 2.5 ml (½ teaspoon) to 15 ml (1 tablespoon) is needed for measuring small amounts of liquids, flour and spices. When measuring dry ingredients, all spoonfuls should be level unless otherwise stated in the recipe.
Choose really thick, rigid, solid baking trays in the largest size that fits your oven. If you can, store them vertically in cupboards, as they take up less room that way.
Silicone non-stick baking parchment is excellent for lining cake tins and baking trays but you do have to throw it away after use. Baco Glide and Lift Off paper, which is thicker and longer lasting, are both very good to use as a liner; simply wash and use again and again. The sheets can be cut to fit the base of cake tins, Swiss roll tins and baking trays.
If you are in a hurry, it is perfectly all right to shape meringues in blobs with a spoon rather than piping them. However, you do need a piping bag for éclairs. Smaller bags are useful to pipe icing. The advantage of nylon piping bags is that they can be rinsed and then washed in the washing machine. I use a 1 cm (½ in) plain nozzle for piping meringues and éclairs and a rose nozzle for piping cream – both plastic and metal are good to use.
Ovens can vary considerably, whether they are gas, electric or fan assisted. Fan-assisted ovens cook more quickly, so you need to reduce the temperature by about 20°C (check with your oven handbook). The recipes for this book were tested in a conventional electric oven. I thoroughly recommend buying an oven thermometer if you are a keen baker, then you can be exact. Put the thermometer on the centre shelf of the oven when it is set at the temperature you require and adjust the setting accordingly.
Don’t open the door of the oven once the cake is baking. Wait until halfway through the cooking time, or look through the glass door, then gently open the door and check how it is doing. If the cake is getting a little darker than you would like but is not yet cooked through, cover it loosely with foil. Make a note on the recipe to cook it at a slightly lower temperature next time.
Baking in an Aga is easy once you’ve mastered the technique. Refer to the book that comes free with the Aga, or write to Aga Rayburn, PO Box 30, Ketley, Telford, Shropshire TF1 4DD (www.agarayburn.co.uk).
These should be bendy and flexible, one large and one small. Use for spreading icing and other mixtures. The large one is handy for lifting biscuits off baking trays once cooked.
A wooden rolling pin without handles is the most practical. If all else fails, you can use a glass milk bottle!
Instead of buying pastry brushes, buy a good untreated paintbrush, about 5 cm (2 in) wide. This is usually better and cheaper than a pastry brush.
These are used to cut out scones and biscuits. The best are made of metal and are fluted at one end, plain at the other (these are often sold in sets in tins). Before cutting out, always dunk the cutter in flour so the mixture won’t stick. If you don’t have any cutters, use an appropriate-sized glass (upside down) instead.
The most vital piece of equipment. You cannot make successful cakes without them. I prefer balance scales, i.e. with weights on one side and the scale pan on the other. These are accurate to 5 grams, providing you’ve levelled them up to start with. It is easy to update from Imperial simply by buying a set of metric weights.
Electronic scales can be temperamental just before the battery runs out. Spring-balanced scales are often not accurate with small amounts. You can always check your scales for accuracy by putting an unopened bag of sugar or coffee (or anything else with the weight written on the packet) on them.
Choose strong, stainless-steel sieves that are dishwasher-proof.
Long, thin metal skewers are useful for testing when a cake is done. Gently pierce the centre of the cake when you expect it to be cooked. If the skewer comes out clean with no mixture on it, the cake is ready.
It is a great help to set a kitchen timer when baking. Don’t rely on checking the clock every few minutes.
A balloon whisk with plenty of wires is useful for whisking eggs and small amounts of mixture but now I always prefer to use an electric whisk.
Once cakes and biscuits come out of the oven, they should be cooled on a wire rack. These can be round or rectangular. If you don’t have one, you could use the rack from the grill pan or roasting tray.
I rarely use a bowl-shaped wooden spoon. I much prefer the flat spatula-shaped ones – so easy to scrape off the mixture. I have flat-ended ones to get to the corners of pans and round-ended ones for beating mixture in bowls.
Cut a strip of non-stick baking parchment to fit twice around the sides of the tin. Fold the bottom edge of the strip up by about 2.5 cm (1 in), creasing it firmly, then open out the fold and cut slanting lines into this narrow strip at intervals. Put a circle of non-stick baking parchment into the base of the tin, lightly grease the outer edge and then fit the prepared strip of parchment with the snipped edge in the base of the tin to line the sides. Place a second circle of non-stick baking parchment in the tin to cover the cut part of the paper see also here.
Place the tin on top of the baking parchment and cut a rectangle approximately 5 cm (2 in) bigger than the tin all round. Grease the tin and then press the paper inside. To square off, make a snip in each corner of the paper down to the corner of the tin, then secure the corners together with a paper clip.
Cut a piece of baking parchment to fit up the wide sides and over the base of the tin. Grease the tin and press the paper into place. You do not need to line the ends of the tin – simply loosen the cake with a palette knife before removing.
For all the traybake recipes in this book you can line the tin with either baking parchment or aluminium foil; the foil provides a handy way of storing the cake after baking. To line with foil, turn the tin over and mould a large piece of foil over the base. Then simply flip the tin over again and place the moulded foil inside – grease before using. To line with nonstick baking parchment, cut a rectangle of baking parchment to fit the tin. Grease the tin and then line with the paper. To square off, make a snip in each corner of the paper down to the corner of the tin, then secure the corners together with a paper clip.
Cakes can be stored in an airtight tin or plastic container. If they have a filling or icing of fresh cream, they should be kept in the fridge. It is essential to store biscuits in an airtight container to prevent them becoming soggy. They are often improved by refreshing in a moderate oven for 5–10 minutes, then cooled and enjoyed.
Most cakes freeze well. It is often useful to freeze them wrapped and un-iced, then thaw and ice them later. This way they take up less room in the freezer. If a cake is decorated, place it on a cardboard plate, freeze for about 10 hours, until solid, then carefully wrap it and return to the freezer, placing it where it won’t get knocked. Alternatively, transfer it to a polythene cake box for protection, then put it back in the freezer.
Scones freeze brilliantly but, like biscuits, are greatly improved once thawed by refreshing in a moderate oven for 5–10 minutes. Cool and serve lukewarm.
• Use large eggs for all the recipes in this book.
• Weigh the ingredients out carefully and accurately in either metric or Imperial, but don’t mix the two.
• Pre-heat the oven before use. The pre-heating time will vary – check with the manufacturer’s instruction book, if you still have it. As a general rule, conventional electric ovens take about 30 minutes, gas and fan ovens about 10 minutes.
• Mix the cake following the recipe instructions and place in the correct-sized tin.
• Bake on the shelf in the centre of the oven. If your oven cooks more quickly at the sides and back, carefully turn the tin or tray round towards the end of the cooking time, once the cake has set.
• Cakes should look cooked and an even colour, according to type.
• Sponges should shrink from the side of the tin and spring back when lightly touched with the fingertips.
• Fruit cakes and large cakes should be tested by inserting a fine skewer, which should come out clean.
• Biscuits should be evenly baked and lightly coloured underneath.
• Cake cracks on top
The oven was too hot or the cake placed on too high a shelf in the oven. The cake forms a crust too quickly, then the mixture continues to rise and the crust cracks.
• Fruit sinks to the bottom of the cake
The mixture was too runny to support the fruit, or the fruit was wet or, in the case of cherries, sticky and coated in a heavy syrup. Always cut cherries in half or into quarters, then wash in a sieve and dry thoroughly on kitchen paper.
• Cake sinks
The cake was taken out of the oven before it was done, so it sinks as it cools. Too much baking powder was used so it rose in the oven at the beginning, then collapsed at the end of the cooking time. The oven door was opened before the cake was set.
• Cake does not rise properly
The mixture was overbeaten so the air was beaten out. Not enough raising agent or no raising agent was added. The oven was too cool. Whisked sponges were insufficiently whisked or over-mixed when adding the flour.
• Spots on the surface of the cake
granulated sugar was used instead of caster, or demerara used instead of light muscovado (both granulated and demerara are coarse sugars).
• Cake is dry
The fat was not measured correctly. The cake was in the oven too long. Insufficiently wrapped once cooked and cooled.
Conversions are approximate and have been rounded up or down. Follow one set of measurements only – do not mix metric and Imperial.
