Are you a beginner baker who doesn’t know where to start? If the answer is yes, this baking tips blog post is for you. Here I will share with you my top 10 tips for beginner bakers to help set you up for success and to make baking easy and fun.
10 Tips for Beginner Bakers
Many people feel intimidated by baking. I know so many people who feel confident cooking in their kitchens, but are nervous about baking. I get it. Baking can be tricky. It’s a little bit art and a little bit science. Measurements matter. Details matter. Temperatures matter.
If you’ve managed to drum up the courage to start baking, congratulations and welcome! One of my goals with Cake Me Home Tonight is to help beginner bakers build their baking confidence and to help seasoned home bakers to elevate their baking game. So if you are a newbie, or someone who needs to brush up on the basics, this post is for you.
Here I will share with you my top 10 tips for beginner bakers. These tips will give you a great foundation and jumping off point to start your baking adventure. These tips are applicable to all types of baking – cookies, cakes, cupcakes, cheesecakes, brownies, etc. By learning these tips and putting them into practice, you will be a baking wizard in no time.
Be sure to check out my other baking tips blog posts to learn more specific tips and tricks on how to improve your baking skills specific to what you are baking.
- 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cupcakes
- 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cookies
- 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cakes
- 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Brownies
- 10 Tips for Baking Perfect Cheesecakes
- 10 Tips for Making Perfect Buttercream
1. Read the entire recipe before you start baking
Before baking, it’s always a good idea to read the entire recipe. This way, you can ensure that you have all of the ingredients and that the ingredients are prepared appropriately. Reviewing the recipe gives you an overview of what to expect, the supplies and tools you may need, and to fully understand the process.
If you using a recipe from a baking blog, you can also often find information about the recipe in the blog post. Trust me, I’m a “jump to the recipe” kind of girl, but often times, there is valuable information in the blog post. On cakemehometonight.com, I have a “Recipe Tips” section on each post that gives the reader tips and tricks to make the recipe.
2. Prep the ingredients before you start
To set yourself up for recipe success, I highly recommend prepping and measuring out all of the ingredients before you start baking. Measure the flour, soften the butter, bring the eggs to room temperature and measure out the milk. This way, everything is measured and ready to go when you need it.
This makes the process of baking more easy, clean, stress-free and efficient. Okay, so it might create some extra dishes, but I promise you, it is worth the dish soap.
3. Pay attention to ingredient temperature
When you are reading over the recipe, pay close attention to the temperature of the ingredients. Ingredient temperature is a key part of baking the best cakes, cookies, cupcakes and more.
Generally when baking, chilled ingredients must be brought to room temperature before making the recipe. Having room temperature eggs, milk, sour cream and butter ensures that the ingredients combine well and create the appropriate emulsions and reactions to make the recipe a success.
Alternatively, some ingredients should be well chilled before using, such as heavy cream when making whipped cream, or some cookie dough before baking the cookies.
Not following ingredient temperatures will absolutely affect the taste and texture of a recipe, so this tip is a good one to learn and always practice. Be sure to take your chilled ingredients out of the refrigerator well before you start baking.
4. Learn how to measure ingredients correctly
Measuring ingredients properly is vital to successful baking. Unlike cooking, in baking, you have to be more precise with your measuring as there is a lot of chemistry happening.
I can’t go through every ingredient and how to measure in this blog post, but here are some general rules for measuring ingredients.
- Measure dry ingredients (all-purpose flour, sugar, oats, chocolate chips, cake flour, cocoa powder) in regular measuring cups.
- Measure liquid ingredients (milk, vegetable oil, water) in liquid measuring cups.
- Fluff the flour before scooping and level the measuring cup.
- Firmly pack brown sugar into the measuring cup.
- Level the measuring spoon with baking powder or baking soda.
- Vanilla extract is like garlic, measure with your heart. (I’m kind of kidding, but also kind of not).
Many bakers prefer to weigh ingredients using a kitchen scale. Although this tends to be a more precise way of measuring ingredients, I have always developed and written my recipes using cups and spoons, because that is what I’ve always done and most home bakers tend to prefer cups and spoons.
5. Understand that substitutions will change a recipe
As much as possible, try to stick to the ingredients identified in the recipe. Substituting ingredients can and will impact the outcome of the recipe. Although there are some substitutions that work equally as well, generally, it’s a good idea to stick to the recipe as written.
Often times in recipes, the author will offer substitutions for certain ingredients that they have tested to ensure that the substitution produces the same results as the original ingredient. For example, in my red velvet cupcakes, buttermilk substitute (milk + lemon juice or white vinegar) works equally as well as buttermilk.
If you take substitutions into your own hands, just beware that the recipe may not turn out as the author intended.
6. Do not over-mix or under-mix
Properly mixing the ingredients is another great way to set yourself up for baking success. It is always important to pay attention to the recipe’s instructions for how much or how little to mix batters and doughs.
There are a few common mistakes I see with mixing. Many bakers will under-mix or under-cream their butter and sugar. Butter and sugar should be whipped for several minutes until it is light and fluffy to create the perfect texture in your cakes, cookies and cupcakes. Similarly, under whipping eggs and sugar in brownies can lead to flat, greasy brownies with a dull top.
However, over-mixing can also be a problem. After you’ve added flour to the recipe, most of the time, you want to mix until the dry ingredients are just combined with the wet ingredients. Over-mixing once the flour is added leads to the development of gluten. Too much gluten in a cake, cupcake or cookie can lead to a tough and chewy texture.
So while you are reading over the recipe, be sure to check for instructions pertaining to mixing.
7. Learn how to check for doneness
Out of all the tips I’m sharing, this is probably the most difficult one to tackle. Learning when your baked goods are perfectly baked is an art and takes practice.
Generally the recipe’s author will give you an approximate time it will take to bake the recipe, but this can vary for many reasons.
Here are some general rules I typically go by to check and see when my desserts are baked to perfection:
- Cakes – The cake is done baking when you gently touch the top and the cake springs back.
- Cupcakes – Similar to the cake, cupcakes are done baking when they bounce back when gently touched.
- Cookies – Cookies are typically ready when the edges are baked, slightly golden, and the center appears a bit underdone. Keep the cookies on the pan for a few minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
- Brownies – Brownies are ready when the edges are set and an inserted tooth pick in the center comes out with moist crumbs.
8. Invest in some basic essential baking supplies
Having the right tools for the job is a great way to set yourself up for success. There are a million different baking tools and supplies out there and I promise you, you don’t need to purchase every one.
The tools and supplies you want to invest in will depend on the type of baking you are interested in. Do you want to learn how to bake and decorate cakes or are cupcakes more your thing? Are you ready to become a master cookie baker or a pro at making cheesecake?
Check out this blog post dedicated toward the Best Baking Supplies for Beginner Bakers for a general overview of some of my favorite baking tools and supplies to get you started. And if you are interested in cake or cupcake baking, I have two separate blog posts that go over my favorite cake baking and decorating supplies and my favorite cupcake baking and decorating supplies.
9. Focus on mastering the basics
You have to walk before you run. Mastering some of the basic baking recipes is a great way to practice and develop your skills. These staple recipes will help you understand the baking process and help you build up your baking confidence.
Some great recipes to master include:
- Chocolate chip cookies
- Vanilla cupcakes
- Brownies
- Chocolate cake
- Vanilla cheesecake
- Chocolate cupcakes
- White cake
These are great recipes to start with that will help you learn the process and techniques involved in baking. And, if you are interested in eventually developing your own recipes, this is a great jumping off point.
10. Practice is the key to baking success
Just as anything in life, practice is the key to baking. The best part is though, most of the time, mistakes still taste pretty good!
If your cookies aren’t perfectly round or there are air bubbles in your buttercream, that’s okay. Maybe the cake layers are a bit uneven or the cheesecake cracked. Just remember…it’s dessert. We eat it and it’s gone.
The more you practice, the more progress you will make. Even if you don’t feel your creation is Instagrammable, I want to see what you are doing! As you bake and practice, be sure to post your desserts on Instagram and tag @cakemehometonight so I can see how amazing you are doing.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture of the first cake I baked and decorated because I’m that old, but here is a cake I made 14 years ago, and here is one that I recently made.
I hope you found this 10 tips for beginner bakers post to be informative and helpful to get you started on your baking journey. I forget to mention tip #11 – always listen to 80s music in the kitchen, it helps with the baking process.
Did you make this recipe or want to see more? Make sure to leave your review below and tag me on Instagram @CakeMeHomeTonight so I can see your creations!