{Kitchen Tips} #1

Working in a cafe definitely has its advantages. Especially when you work with someone who has 30 years of baking experience. Even more so when that someone enjoys teaching you their secrets.

So without further ado, here are a few tips and tricks I have picked up along the way.

• Did your milk or cream or yoghurt happen to go off, sitting in the fridge forgotten? Don't throw it out! Use it in scones or baking, the lactic acid makes things rise more and the taste disappears.

• Run out of muffin cases? For rustic, cafe-style cases, simply tear off a 15cm strip of baking paper, cut it in half to make 2 squares, then cut from each corner into not-quite-the-middle. Then, with spray oil, grease the base of each muffin hole slightly and place the paper case into it's new home. the edges should fold around themselves nicely. If they fold into the middle and get annoying, just stick them back with either some muffin batter or more spray oil. You can also fill these quite full with mixture, as the case will hold them up more. Bigger muffins ain't a bad thing.

•  Making a trifle? or something you need a sponge cake for? The recipe is super easy to remember - 200g of each of: butter, eggs, sugar and flour. (the average egg is 50g so you will need 4)
  *soften the butter, beat well with the eggs and sugar. Beat more, then gently fold in the flour. Pour batter into 2x lined sponge tins (they are round and shallow) and bake for around 20-25min at 180 degrees.
  You can make a Victoria Sponge Cake with these two sponges, just sandwich together with jam and real or mock cream. YUM!

Stay tuned for more tips!