Everyone has baking secrets. Some are good, like a special ingredients they use in a family recipe. Some are less good, like mistakes that get covered up with buttercream. Either way, you never know all that goes into a cake, unless you are the one that baked it.
Everyone has skeletons in their cupboard…so here are mine:
1. I don’t always sift my flour
I know, with cakes it is generally suggested that you always sift your flour. But sometimes I am too lazy to do it. Sifting is actually my least favorite part of baking. The only thing I sift with regularity is confectioners sugar for marshmallow fondant, because the consequences of bad fondant are too horrible to even contemplate.
2. I’m not always prepared in the kitchen
I usually shop before a baking project, but about 90% of the time I usually forget something or run out of an ingredient because I didn’t calculate correctly. Many a time I have gone on an emergency baking run to the store. Luckily I have a pretty good store a block away from me. They get a lot of my business.
3. Even after years of baking, I am still scared taking cakes out of the pan
I found the perfect non-stick product (Wilton cake release), I gently release the cake from the pan using a flat spatula, and I carefully place a plate on top of the pan and flip. Yet, in the few seconds before I hear the cake hit the plate and I know my cake is safe, my heart skips a bet. EVERY TIME.
4. I almost always lose some of my dry ingredients as I pour them into my mixing bowl.
I’m a messy baker. My kitchen always looks like a war zone when I’m done. The only thing that saves me is that I clean after each batch. But what really gets me is that I take the time to carefully measure out my ingredients, and then they end up on my kitchen counter as I pour them into my mixer. It doesn’t ever affect the recipe, but it still bugs me. Someday I’ll get it right.
5. I’m not actually a huge sweets person.
You would think with all the baking I do that I would be a huge fan of desserts. Sure, I like cake and cookies, and I’ll never turn down a cupcake. But my true love is salty and savory snacks: breads, pretzels, chips, fries. At a restaurant, I am much more likely to order an appetizer than a dessert. In fact, after a day in the kitchen baking all day, I want nothing to do with sweets. Just tasting a spoonful of frosting, or a slither of cake that is leftover from leveling it is enough for me.
Now you know a little more about what goes on in my kitchen. What are your baking confessions?
