MIL coming - help - i want to be a baking goddess!!

[sievehead]

Whats the score with fan ovens? Why do they always burn my cakes/biscuits/pies.

How much do you lower the temperature by from what the cookbook says and also how much time do you knock off?

i've just baked a pastry case blind, knocked off 40 degrees and 5 minutes and the edges still burnt! Aarghhhhh

Fan ovens are a pain aren't they! I just whinged about this on another thread. Why didn't fan oven makers give us the option of turning the dratted thing off?

I think usually the recommendation is subtract 20 degrees.

But I also find that you often need to cover whatever it is you're baking with foil or greaseproof paper to stop it burning. Cakes are a particular problem.

For blind-baking pastry I usually put greaseproof over the whole thing and fill it with some rice grains to weigh it down. Must get some baking beans for Xmas!