Let's start at the very beginning...

...a very good place to start!

Did you sing it?

Can't believe I'm quoting from 'The Sound of Music' but it's embedded in my brain when ever I say those words.

I'm no Julie Andrews but I do know a thing or two about baking.

So, we are going right back to the basics because I want to make things easier for you.

The more knowledge you have, the less mistakes and stress for you while baking, and hopefully more success and a better outcome.

Today we are going to look at preparation, along with all the little tips to have a better baking experience. We are also going to go through ingredients, tin preparation and ovens!

Something I'm sure you have all heard before is "make sure your ingredients are at room temp" - this might seem a waste of time but it certainly isn't, as it makes a huge difference to how your cakes bake.

Room temperature ingredients come together perfectly in your mixer. If anything is cold, they simply can't emulsify, which can end in a grainy texture and less rise.

And to prove this I will do a little experiment soon, to show you just how much difference it makes. But for now, you'll just have to take my word for it...and try it for yourself.

So, take out the butter the night before or soften a little in a very low microwave. Butter should be slightly soft but not sloppy or melted.

Take the eggs out of the fridge a couple of hours before baking or if you forgot, pop them in some hot tap water for a few minutes, and put your milk in the microwave for 10 seconds or so to bring to room temperature, ensure that it's not warm or hot.

The next thing I want to talk about is lining your tins.

I don't like to take any chances after all that work making my cake batter so I always line the base and sides of my tins/pans...my cakes slide out perfectly every time.

Grease the pans first with a little butter on a paper towel.

The reason I like to use butter is because whatever you grease your pans with, is going to soak straight into the outside of your cakes, so it needs to taste good!

When lining, I use baking paper either cut to size by running a Stanley knife around the outside of my tin, or a folding technique for if you only have scissors handy.

Check out the video below on how to do both.

The tracing technique is pretty simple, but I'll talk you through the folding technique.

Make sure you also watch the video above to make sense of these cryptic instructions.

1. Measure the baking paper by holding it across the top of the tin, tearing off the exact size of the diameter, or widest point across the top.

2. Now take one of the end corners and fold onto the side of the sheet, and trim off excess. This should leave you with a perfect square.

3. Next, take one of the folded corners (not the open one) and fold across so the two folded corners a touching.

4. Fold again into another triangle, always keeping the open ends together.

5. Last fold...take the point from the shortest sides, that has the open end leading to it, and fold it over to sit flat on the other side. You will now have uneven finished open ends.

6. Take your scissors and trim the excess ends off from the shortest folds and voila!

You should now be able to open up and have a circle shape that fits your tin base pretty perfectly.

My last couple of tips might seem basic but are also very necessary...

Make sure you are preheating your oven for at least 20mins before baking, you need to have that oven temperature correct before you can start.

And speaking of oven temperature, do yourself a favour and buy an oven thermometer. Most domestic oven thermostats are a little off, sometimes a lot.

An oven thermometer costs around $10 and if placed in the centre of your oven, will give you a much more accurate temperature reading.

To use and oven thermometer, pop it on the middle shelf in the centre of your oven.

Now turn on your oven to the desired setting and preheat for the standard time.

Once your oven is supposed to be at the set temperature, check what your thermometer is saying.

It may well be a bit too hot, or even lower than required, so go ahead and adjust the controls on your oven, up or down by how much the oven is out.

For example, if you have set your oven to 175 deg, and your thermometer is reading 190 deg, you now know that your oven is running 15 deg too hot.

Next time you can just set it to 15deg less than needed and it should be spot on.

And my last tip...always try to bake your cakes on a shelf placed in the centre of your oven.

Hope these were helpful and happy baking!

Oh...and comment below if you have any questions, always happy to help.

Chat soon

Angie