How to become good at baking

[AfterTheRainComesSun]

I want to start baking more as DD seems to like it and I think it's a lovely indoor activity to do together. I have fond memories of helping my mum bake in the kitchen and still remember the magic of it all: the vanilla smell, her vintage hand written recipe notebook, sieving flour etc...
How can I become good at it though? I am really hopeless, always seem to do something wrong whenever I try! And how can I make it magical for DD too?

Please also share tips on best baking equipment, what brands should I look into? I only have very basic stuff and could do with a few new items, especially mixing bowls, cake tins and things like spatulas etc.

Thank you!

I'm not a star baker by any means but my tips for making it fun for a child are: let them eat cake batter, let them put in food colouring and let them make coloured icing. This also means using reasonably fresh eggs. Obviously you are not supposed to eat raw cake batter, but it's delicious and definitely DD's favourite aspect of baking. Also, cupcakes are very hard to get wrong.

Don't eat raw cake batter.

Raw eggs and uncooked flour. Nooo.

Here's an easy recipe for delicious cupcakes:

4 ounces each of self raising flour, caster sugar and butter and 2 eggs.

If you have the time to, take the butter out of the fridge an hour before you're going to bake to soften it.

Cream the butter and sugar with hand held beaters. This will take a few minutes. The mixture should turn very pale and fluffy.

Add the sieved flour, but don't mix.

Beat the eggs in a separate bowl until bubbly then add to the mix and gently stir and turn just until everything is mixed. Don't beat or over mix.

Spoon into 10 or 11 bun cases - not muffin cases, which are bigger.

Bake at 170 degrees in the top shelf of a fan oven for 15-20 minutes.

You'll know when ready as will be starting to turn golden and they'll look set and springy , with the possible exception of the very middle which might still look slightly wet but will finish cooking for 1 or 2 minutes after out of the oven.

Don't open the oven before 15 minutes.

Top with runny or butter icing.

Or add raisins to the mix.

I use Nigella recipes a lot, too. Reliable and easy.

It is now safe to say raw eggs @mibbelucieachwell.
Do you never eat the scraping of the cake mix bowl?

I use the all in one method for sponge cakes. It is a lot quicker and always works.

I have Short and Sweet and agree everything works and it makes you look like some kind of baking genius.

If you want to make bread, Dan Lepard's method is very simple and low effort.

I use bbcgoodfood a lot for baking. Check the reviews. Mary Berry's book and the hummingbird bakery books are good.
You may have to adjust times and temp for your oven. You'll get it after a couple of attempts. I know for my oven, I reduce the temp slightly and reduce the time as things seem to get cooked very quickly.

To make it a nice experience for Dd -
Use nice bowls
Use an actual book
Get aprons
Have a tidy kitchen
Have some music on

Tk maxx has good kitchen stuff.

Thanks all for all the great tips! You are making me want to bake a cake right now!! :)

Love the suggestion of getting a little apron for DD, I never used one in my life, might be fun to get matching ones

Get electronic scales and carefully measure all ingredients, follow the recipe instructions closely. Use tested recipes eg delia smith or bbc good food

Have you got a gas or electric oven? Gas is better for baking as it keeps moisture, electric makes things much drier. Always use the middle or slightly above middle rack. If cakes burn on the top and are raw inside you’ve got the heat blasting too high or the rack is too high. It’s better to leave a cake in for even double the time but lower setting, it will cook but will need more patience. In addition to baking times, I also ignore gas mark instructions - instead, I’ve checked the oven brand’s instructions to know what gas mark is for how, say, 175C, and just follow the temp instructions of a recipe. This is because in one gas oven mark 5 is different temp to another gas oven’s mark 5. Cake is done when it a) doesn’t wobble in the middle if you shake the oven; b) withdraws from the edges of the tin; c) most importantly, does not leave wet batter in a toothpick you prick in the middle of the cake but comes out clean.

Delia Smith's recipes always work for me. Clear, simple, comprehensive instructions. Results taste great.

Soupdragon (regular MN poster) is famous for her flapjack recipe, which is extremely simple and very, very good.

Here it is.

SoupDragon’s condensed milk flapjacks

[Absolutely wonderful. Much better than ordinary flapjacks.]

250g porridge oats (the cheap type, not large ones)
150g Butter
2 generous tablespoons (75g) Golden Syrup
half a tin condensed milk

You'll also need an oven, a saucepan, some baking parchment and a large
baking tin or a couple of small ones.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.
Line the baking tin with baking parchment, this doesn't have to be neat.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat.
Add the syrup and condensed milk. Keep heating and stirring until all is melted and mixed. Don't rush by turning the heat up.
Let the mixture boil for a couple of minutes, stirring to prevent it sticking to the pan.
Gradually add the oats, folding them in. All the oats should be coated, and the mixture quite dense, but still sticky. Don't add so many oats that the mixture becomes dry.
Pour the mixture into the tins and spread about so that it lines the tin to a depth of 2-3cm. Fill as many tins as necessary! Don't squash the mixture in, just spread it evenly.
Bake in the oven for 15mins. If using top and middle shelves swap half way through so they cook evenly.
You should take them out when they just start to go brown round the edges, don't leave longer than this. If they're still squidgy in the middle that's fine, they set on cooking.

Therein lies your problem! Baking is a chemistry and you can’t confidently sub ingredients or freestyle until you understand the impact of each ingredient. I love baking with my daughter and it’s such a fulfilling thing to do - even though 90% of it is me saying “DD, don’t lick that / you can’t eat that yet” lol

Don't open the oven before 15 minutes.

Ah yes I forgot this but it's very important that whatever you are baking you don't open the oven until it's been in for the minimum baking time!

For example if a recipe says to bake for 20-25 minutes, don't open the door at all for the first 20 mins as it will flatten the cake. After this has passed you can then check the cake and return to the oven for longer if needed