Buzz
Who hasn’t caught an episode of The Great British Bake Off and thought, 'That looks easy!' only to find yourself hours later, sitting on your kitchen floor with a failed bundt cake in hand, while the smoke detector goes off?
Alright, maybe it’s not as dramatic as that, but every new baker faces some kind of mishap along the way. Here are the top seven mistakes you might make, so you can steer clear of them.
Jumping into something too complex
I know you’re dreaming of crafting beautiful tarts and Canelés de Bordeaux, but let’s start with the basics. Try something simpler, like Gâteau au yaourt. Don’t be fooled by the fancy French name—this is a cake French kids learn to bake in kindergarten. With just six ingredients, it’s easy to make and you don’t even need to measure them. It’s the perfect beginner cake, providing a sense of accomplishment and far tastier than a complicated disaster you might otherwise attempt.
Skipping over the recipe before diving in
We've all made the rookie mistake of diving into a recipe without reading it thoroughly first, but it’s even worse when baking because it's often trickier to salvage a baked good than other types of food. Be sure to read the full recipe so you understand how long the entire process will take (for instance, cheesecakes require hours to chill) and check whether you have all the ingredients or if a trip to the store is necessary. It's also a good idea to arrange your ingredients in an easily accessible spot and mentally rehearse the recipe before you start baking.
Not fully preheating your oven
Putting a pan of batter into a cold oven has ruined more than one birthday celebration, so always ensure your oven is heated to the right temperature before baking. If you have a high-tech oven with a built-in thermometer, make use of it. If not, consider getting an in-oven thermometer—they're only about five bucks and worth every penny for the peace of mind. Also, try to resist the temptation to open your oven door frequently to check on your cupcakes. Each time you do, you affect the oven’s temperature.
Not using ingredients at room temperature
I’m not one to fuss over every little detail when cooking or mixing cocktails—after all, I’m just making a burger or having a drink, it doesn’t need to be perfect—but I’m particular about having my ingredients at the right temperature when baking. This isn’t about perfection like getting the rye-to-vermouth ratio just right in your Manhattan; it really matters. When you mix cold milk or eggs with softened or melted butter, it immediately causes the fat to seize into hard chunks. The smooth, fluffy batter you started with can suddenly turn curdled, and you might end up with butter pockets that melt out during baking.
Not combining dry ingredients before wet
Ever looked at a recipe and wondered, “Why do I need to do this in this particular order? It’s all getting mixed together anyway, right?” I have, and then I made the mistake of skipping the step of mixing the dry ingredients first. Don’t be like me.
Mixing the dry ingredients ensures that the rising agents, sugar, and other flavors are evenly distributed throughout the flour. Mixing the wet ingredients separately before adding them to the dry helps prevent over-mixing, which could lead to a dense, doughy texture. To keep things light and fluffy, combine dry with dry, wet with wet, and then mix the two together.
Frosting a cake that’s still warm
Attempting to cover a warm cake with frosting or icing is a beginner's blunder. I get it, you want to dive in and enjoy it as soon as possible, but the heat from the cake will just melt your frosting. Sure, that’s sometimes the desired effect, but if not, take a breath and wait. It’s not a race, after all.
Making too many substitutions in a recipe
While it’s easy to toss just about anything into a curry or stir fry, baking demands a bit more precision when it comes to substitutions. For example, you can swap baking soda for baking powder, but remember, the ratio is 1/2 to 2, and they’re not quite interchangeable. Chickpea juice can work as an egg substitute (great for vegans), but if you start swapping multiple ingredients in one cake, pie, or tart, you may end up with a less-than-desirable outcome.
