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INGREDIENTS

Understanding the ingredients you’re working with will help you become a better baker. This section looks at some core ingredients.

SUGAR

SUGAR will work its way in some form into most of the sweet things you make. It does more than add sweetness: depending on the recipe, sugar can add moisture, tenderness, stability, act as a preservative, enhance other flavours and caramelise. Understanding more about how different sugars can affect what you’re baking will help you to choose them confidently and adapt a recipe to suit you. Here is a list of some of the sugars and their uses.

GRANULATED An all-purpose sugar, highly sweet and with a very simple flavour. It has larger crystals than caster sugar, and while it can be used in most recipes as a substitute if you’re really stuck, it’s not ideal unless specified. CASTER: A very finely ground sugar that dissolves faster than white granulated sugar, and creams more readily. It is especially useful for making meringues and for creaming butter and sugar to form the basis of sponge cakes. If you don’t have any caster sugar around, you can make your own by grinding granulated sugar for a couple of minutes in a food processor (just give it a couple of seconds to settle before opening the lid to avoid clouds of sugar dust). GOLDEN CASTER SUGAR: White sugar with added molasses: it can be substituted for caster sugar in any recipe and will give it a fuller, slightly caramel flavour. LIGHT/DARK BROWN SUGAR: Another caster sugar with added molasses, this adds colour as well as a deeper caramel flavour. It’s very moist and will increase the tenderness of a cake. Store sealed in a cool dry place to prevent it from drying out. MUSCOVADO: A type of unrefined natural sugar, available in light or dark brown, that has a strong flavour of natural molasses. Its colour and flavour come from sugarcane juice left in during the production process; as a result it is sticky, but can be used like any other brown sugar. The sugars above can be substituted for each other in most cases, and although this will affect the bake, it shouldn’t spoil what you are making. Experiment with substituting sugars to see how flavour and texture are affected – try making a meringue with golden caster sugar and you will see that it has a much deeper flavour, while a sponge made with dark brown sugar will have a denser and softer texture. ICING SUGAR/CONFECTIONERS’ SUGAR: Granulated sugar that has been ground to a fine powder, often with cornflour added to prevent clumping and crystallisation. It dissolves very rapidly and is good for making icing and buttercream, and for dusting finished cakes. UNREFINED SOFT BROWN SUGAR: These sugars have a distinctive caramel taste. Light and dark soft brown sugars have different flavour and moistness properties, so you can only replace one with the other in small quantities. MOLASSES: A by-product of sugar manufacturing, this dark syrup is less sweet than sugar and has its own strong flavour and more acidity. HONEY: In some cake recipes honey can be substituted for granulated or caster sugar and will produce a moist and dense cake, but you will need to reduce the amount, as it is much sweeter and browns faster. Try using approximately half the amount of honey to sugar, reducing the liquid in the recipe accordingly, and lower the oven temperature slightly too. LIQUID GLUCOSE: A syrupy sweetener. It inhibits crystallisation of sugars, so is useful for making sorbets, jams and hard candies. GOLDEN SYRUP: An inverted sugar syrup that is much sweeter than sugar, this also has a slightly caramel flavour. It can also be used to a lesser extent to help inhibit crystallisation of sugar. Perfect for making gingerbread and flapjacks.

FLOUR

FLOUR provides the foundation for most baked goods. It gives structure, texture and to some extent flavour.

CHOOSING FLOUR One of the key things to know about flour is that it contains proteins which when combined with liquid form gluten | see right |. The type of flour you choose and the method for each recipe will be largely affected by how much gluten you want to develop. Most of the recipes in this book use plain flour and a method that encourages minimal gluten development, for light, airy cakes and flaky pastries. I try to use organic flours where possible, as they are of better quality and give better results. Here’s a list of some types of flour and their uses. PLAIN WHITE FLOUR: This is the flour you will use for most of the recipes in this book; it’s a soft flour with a low protein content suited to making pastries and cakes. Plain flour is formed when the bran is removed from wholemeal flour | see below |. SELF-RAISING WHITE FLOUR: A pre-made combination of plain white flour and a chemical leavener (a raising agent such as baking powder). You can make a decent substitute for self-raising flour by adding 1 teaspoon of baking powder for every 120g of plain flour. Make sure you combine them evenly before adding them to a batter. WHOLEMEAL FLOUR: This includes the nutritious wheat germ and bran from the wholegrain wheat; the amount of wholegrain that is retained varies (all the way up to 100%), and the percentage will be stated on the packet. Wholemeal flour can be plain or self-raising. SPELT: We use spelt flour a lot at the bakery. An ancient precursor of modern wheat, it has a beautiful rich, slightly nutty flavour, and while it does contain gluten, it is often found to be gentle on people with a gluten intolerance. BREAD FLOUR: Often labelled as ‘strong’ flour, bread flour is ground from ‘hard’ wheat with a high content of gluten, which contributes elasticity to a dough. WHY SIFT FLOUR? The importance of sifting flour divides opinion among bakers – many swear they never do it and their bakes don’t suffer as a result. I personally sift flour at least once, partly because I like doing it but also because it aerates the flour and loosens up any clumps to ensure it absorbs liquid evenly. It is another step you can take towards perfecting a light, evenly risen cake. STORING FLOUR Flour is best used relatively ‘fresh’, so avoid stockpiling or baking with flour that has been knocking about in the back of your cupboard for ever. Buy flour in smaller batches and try to use it within three months. Store airtight in a cool place.

GLUTEN

GLUTEN is formed when two proteins found in flour come into contact with liquid and combine, like a two-part glue. Exposure to heat and friction will develop gluten to build a web-like network of elastic and expansible strands within your dough or batter. This network traps air pockets and forms the structure of your bake.

The more gluten is ‘developed’ (by mixing or kneading), the stronger and longer the strands get, giving your bake a chewy and tough texture – desirable in bread but not in pastry or cakes. The illustration above shows a dough with a well developed gluten structure. In many recipes, specific methods are put in place just to inhibit the development of gluten beyond the bare minimum necessary for building a supportive structure – for example, minimal handling and the use of cold equipment and ingredients, or coating flour in butter to limit the amount of liquid that reaches it.

BUTTER

DEPENDING on how it’s used and what you’re baking, butter plays many different roles, but in general it tenderises, adds flavour and helps keep your bakes fresh. Below are a few things to know about butter, and on page 153 you can learn how to make your own.

ROOM-TEMPERATURE BUTTER AND HOW TO ACHIEVE IT When a recipe calls for room temperature butter, it should be soft enough for you to easily depress the surface with your finger, but not melted. The best way to achieve this is to leave the butter out of the fridge for about an hour before you bake. If you’re caught out, you can cut cold butter into 2.5cm cubes and heat it either in a microwave (at 10-second intervals, keeping an eye on it until it reaches the right consistency), or in a heavy-bottomed pan over a low heat until no more than a third is melted and the rest is soft (you can turn the heat off and leave it once the pan is hot). You can also leave the butter, in a dish, in a warm place like an airing cupboard or on top of the oven, but don’t forget about it. WHY UNSALTED BUTTER? There are a number of reasons why unsalted butter is specified in most baking recipes, and it’s not just to do with flavour. The amount of salt and the water content vary greatly between salted butters, making it harder to be precise. Salt and liquid also play a role in the toughening of gluten, which is something you want to keep in control of while you bake | see page 19 for more on this |, and unsalted butter is likely to be fresher and purer, as it is not destined for the long shelf life that salted butter has.

EGGS

EGGS are the backbone of most baked goods – they contribute to their structure, provide steam for leavening and add moisture for gluten development. Egg yolks add tenderising fat and help to emulsify a batter, which gives things a smooth and creamy texture. Egg whites act as strengtheners, and help to trap air in a batter, which makes it rise and gives it an even crumb.

CHOOSING EGGS Always try to use free-range eggs – you shouldn’t have any trouble finding them, as caged eggs are now illegal in the UK. Eggs come in different sizes – I use UK medium eggs (approximately 50g – whites 35g, yolks 15g) for the recipes in this book unless otherwise specified. Most baking recipes will call for room temperature eggs, so make sure you leave them out of the fridge before using them – alternatively you can bring their temperature up by placing them in a bowl of tepid water. HOW TO SEPARATE EGGS Techniques differ, but I tap the top of the shell sharply with a heavy knife for a clean break, then tip the yolk between the two halves of the shell, draining out the white as I go. Eggs are easier to separate if they are cold, so if you’re having difficulties, separate them straight from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature before you use them. THINGS TO DO WITH LEFTOVER EGG WHITES OR YOLKS You can keep leftover whites or yolks for up to three days in the fridge if sealed. You can also freeze them airtight for up to three months. Remember to label the container with either the weight or the number of yolks or whites. USE LEFTOVER WHITES FOR: Meringues, macaroons. USE LEFTOVER YOLKS FOR: Custard, ice cream, egg wash, pastry.

AIR

ALTHOUGH not usually listed as an ingredient, air is essential to many recipes and a lot of the methods and ingredients used in baking are there specifically to trap and retain it. The air in your batter will affect the texture, size and appearance of the finished bake. Air bubbles trapped in egg whites will lift a cake, as will the air trapped in the creaming stage of baking. Leavenings such as bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and yeast release carbon dioxide in the oven, which assists the rise of a cake and can add a lightness to denser bakes like biscuits. Whichever way they’re incorporated, it’s gas expanding in those air bubbles when heated that causes the cake batter to rise.

EQUIPMENT

We all grow up with a few mottos that have been drilled into us from childhood, and mine was ‘A bad workman blames his tools.’ When it comes to baking, you don’t need a lot of fancy equipment. The right tools will help you do a good job, but if you’re resourceful you can get by with a few essentials. Which brings me to the first tool on the list – your hands. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty when you bake, as they’re often the best tool for the job – scooping and spreading batters, making and kneading doughs, smoothing, patting, testing for doneness, moulding and portioning.

CORE TOOLS

HEAVY-BOTTOMED PAN: For heating syrups, sauces and sugars, and for making a double boiler | otherwise known as a bain-marie – see page 196 |. SIEVE: Fine metal for sifting flour and coarser metal for passing custards, sauces and coulis – anything that requires a smooth, consistent texture. MIXING BOWLS: Metal is best, followed by glass and then plastic. Having extra bowls is a real luxury, as it saves washing and drying mid-bake, but you will get by with two good-sized bowls. At least one should hold 5 litres and both should hold a minimum of 3 litres. METAL BALLOON WHISK: Useful for whisking liquids and also for evenly mixing together any dry ingredients you are adding in one go. STAND MIXER: With a whisk and paddle attachment, a stand mixer will make your life much easier. I got by for a long time with just a hand-held electric whisk (which kept breaking), but my baking got a lot easier (and tidier) when I could finally afford a stand mixer. My Kenwood Chef served me incredibly well – I stayed up with that mixer many a long night making literally thousands of cakes, one small batch at a time. GOOD SCALES: A good set of scales that measures in grams, ounces and millilitres can be bought for around £15 and will suit your home baking needs perfectly. Look for one that measures up to 2.2kg in 1g increments and has a flat surface rather than a built-in bowl. SILICONE SPATULA: An indispensable item for any baker. Scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you make up your batters should be a habit you get into, especially if you are using a stand mixer. A spatula is also useful for folding and for reaching into the very edge of a pot that needs stirring. Silicone is heat-resistant up to 260˚C, so can be used to stir very hot liquids. MEASURING SPOONS: Useful for accurate measuring of 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, ½ teaspoon and ¼ teaspoon. If you’re caught short, it’s useful to know that 1 tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons. BAKING PAPER: Use silicone or parchment paper for baking, not greaseproof – it works much better. BAKING TRAYS: Useful not only for baking biscuits and meringues, but for chocolate and sugar work too. TART TINS AND CAKE TINS: A range of sizes might be useful, as using the wrong size of tin will affect your bake | see page 24 |. The material a tin is made from can also affect it – I recommend aluminium tins, which distribute heat well. OVEN: This is one piece of equipment you will probably have to make do with. Every oven I’ve ever used has had its own personality and nuances. In the bakery we have two ovens – ‘Wild Bill’, who is great for baking bread and roasting but will blow everything around and burn it if you’re not very careful, and ‘The Perv’, so named because this one has a little light you can push to peek inside. OVEN THERMOMETER: Ovens vary greatly, and I’ve never moved into a kitchen – home or professional – where the ovens are set to the right temperature. Before you bake anything, you should check your oven temperature with a thermometer. Do some experimenting and work out how the temperature of the oven relates to the temperature on the dial. Test the temperature of different shelves and parts of the oven to ascertain the heat distribution – often the top shelf will be hotter, so cakes on that shelf will bake quicker. I worked with a standard home oven for a long time and got to know exactly when to rotate a tray or switch cakes between shelves. You will get to know your oven better than anyone, and will likely need to adapt baking times accordingly.

NOTE: The oven temperatures in this book are for a fan-assisted (convection) home oven. If you are using a conventional home oven you should increase oven temperature by 20°C. Remember – every oven is different, so test the temperature with a thermometer or prepare for a few practice runs to get it right. Conventional ovens are also more likely to have ‘hot spots’ | see above |.

A NOTE ON TIN SIZES One of the last things people think to check when trying out a new recipe is whether they have the right tin, and it’s tempting just to tip the batter in and hope for the best. But this can really affect the outcome of your cake – if the tin is too full the cake might not be able to support its own weight as it rises and might collapse, or it could spill over the edges. If it’s too shallow it could burn. Make sure you check the specified tin size and use the correct one – it might be worth investing in a few new tins if you plan to do a lot of baking, or you can scale your recipe up or down to fit the tin you have.

OTHER USEFUL TOOLS

PLASTIC PASTRY SCRAPER: My favourite tool in the kitchen; frustrating, as these are not generally available to the home baker, but get hold of one and it will become your best friend. I use it for scraping down bowls, separating dough, scooping batter into tins and scraping down surfaces when I’ve finished and made a mess. You won’t find them in homeware shops, but you can get them very inexpensively online | see page 263 for stockists |. MEASURING JUG: A good set of scales will measure in millilitres, but it’s handy to have a jug of some kind around for adding liquids gradually. GRATER: For grating vegetables. You can also use a food processor, but it will often grate much finer than you need. ZESTER: For chocolate and fruits. FOOD PROCESSOR: Handy (but not essential) for making up doughs, chopping and grinding nuts and whizzing up liquids with solids. PALETTE KNIFE: For spreading chocolate and icing cakes. WOODEN SPOON: To stir anything you’re heating on the stove, though a silicone spatula will work just as well. WIRE COOLING RACK: The best way to cool cakes – it ensures air can get to the cake from all angles, so that it cools evenly and doesn’t go soggy at the bottom. PIPING BAG: A piping bag will make your desserts (and you) look professional. A re-usable bag and one or two tips are all you need to decorate the cakes in this book. | See page 26 for how to use a piping bag |. COPPER BOWL: Best for whipping egg whites. GOOD OVEN GLOVES: These should be heat-resistant and not so cumbersome that you lose your dexterity in getting cakes or tart bases out of the oven without damaging them. SUGAR THERMOMETER: When you’re working with boiled sugar, you will need to invest in one of these to help you control the temperature | see page 213 for more |. SILICONE ROLLING PIN: For pastry, doughs and fondant. ADDITIONAL HANDY TOOLS • Cocktail sticks – for testing when your cakes are done • Knives, forks, spoons and kitchen scissors • Pestle and mortar • Biscuit cutters • Oven timer • Baking beans for blind baking • Kitchen roll, clingfilm and tin foil

A NOTE ON CLINGING PROPERLY Storing things airtight is key to achieving their maximum shelf life – if you’re using clingfilm to wrap leftover icing, batters, coulis, custard or anything else liquid, press the clingfilm to the surface of the liquid, not just across the top of the bowl, to seal it airtight. If you’re wrapping anything dry, make sure you wrap it, not the bowl.

USING A PIPING BAG

PIPING bags are handy for icing, filling tarts and buns, and piping perfect cookies, chocolate and meringues. It takes a bit of getting the hang of, but with a little practice you’ll get it in no time. Here’s how you do it. Slip the nozzle into place, following the instructions that come with your bag. Hold the bag about 10cm above the nozzle and pull the rest of the bag down over your hand like a cuff. Use a spatula, wooden spoon or large metal serving spoon to scoop some of whatever it is you are piping into the nose of the bag. Bring the cuff back up and push the batter down towards the nozzle, working out any air pockets that might have got trapped. Twist the bag above the batter and hold it there with your right hand (or your left if you are left-handed). Squeeze from here and use the other hand to guide your piping.

TOP TIP: SPLITTING THE BAG This is one of the best baking tips I was ever given. If the bag is too full, heavy or stiff for you to be able to get a good flow with your piping, split the bag by twisting it halfway through the batter (taking care the rest doesn’t spill out of the top). You can then hold the top of the bag with your left hand (if right-handed) and pipe from the split with your right as normal. This will mean you don’t have to keep refilling the bag and you can handle piping even when you have weak wrists like mine. WHICH NOZZLE DO I USE?

 1M (1.5cm open star) – good for piping swirls, roses, meringues, cookies and icing cupcakes.

 Wilton 10 (medium round tip) – useful for piping edges and making meringue mushrooms | page 191 | and bones | page 185 |.

 Wilton 5 (smallish round tip) – useful for piping thin lines and dabs of frosting or chocolate.

 104 (ruffle tip) – makes a nice ruffle effect for decorating cakes.

AND FINALLY. . .

 Be prepared to do the dishes! WASHING UP will make up about a quarter of your baking time, so it’s worth a bit of planning to make sure you have the right tools clean when you need them. Be extra prepared with a sink of warm, soapy water.

 If you’re organised you’re less likely to make mistakes – prepare your utensils in advance, READ THROUGH A RECIPE FROM START TO FINISH before you begin, even if it’s something you’ve made before, and try to clean up as you go. The results will show in your baking.

 MAKE SPACE TO WORK. If you have a small kitchen, look for ways to make extra surface space – clear your dining table or pull in another table from somewhere.

 KEEP A STOCK OF THE BASICS, especially free-range eggs, unsalted butter, caster sugar, plain flour and baking powder. You’re more likely to experiment and learn if you can whip something up when the mood takes you.

 CHECK YOUR INGREDIENTS ARE AT THE RIGHT TEMPERATURE. Different recipes call for ingredients at different temperatures, and getting them wrong or right will greatly affect the outcome of your bake. Butter that’s too cold can be chopped into small cubes and gently heated in a pan or microwave. Cold eggs can be brought to room temperature by placing them in a dish of tepid (not boiling) water.

 PREHEAT YOUR OVEN to the right temperature for at least 20 minutes before you need to use it. Check all the shelves are in the right place and try to keep the door closed – open it only when putting your bakes in and resist opening the door during bake time, as the cold air of the room will lower the oven temperature.

 PREPARE ANY TINS you will be using before you start.

 LEARN TO TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. Get to know your oven and all its quirks inside out, so you learn when to rotate your baking trays or switch cake tins between shelves to ensure an even bake. When I started out making cakes for other people I was baking from home and I would bake hundreds of batches a day in my tiny oven; I never used a timer, but I always knew when a cake was ready by the smell that filled the room.