1. High Quality Measuring Tools – Precisely made dry and liquid measuring cups into a bowl.

are some of the best investments you will ever make that will positively affect your baking.
We recommend dry measuring cups and spoons from Cuisipro or King Arthur Flour, as well as
both Anchor Hocking and classic Pyrex liquid measuring cups. You should note that in 2011,
Pyrex came out with some “read-from-above” liquid measuring cups, but in an independent
test, they were not as accurate as their older models. It appears that they are again producing
their classic styles. Go with those.

4. Oven Thermometer – Without an independent oven thermometer, you do not really

know what temperature your oven is heating to. Poorly calibrated ovens are pretty common
and can wreak havoc with your baked goods. CDN makes several reliable ones; their MOT1
Multi-Mount Oven Thermometer is very highly recommended. It can hang from or be perched
on a rack and also has a magne

2. Commercial Half-Sheet Pans – Heavy-duty aluminum pans, typically 18 x 13

inches, used for cookie sheets, large-batch brownies and sponge cakes; for protecting the
oven from dripping pies; as a tray to catch ingredients you are sprinkling on cakes or cookies;
for carrying ingredients from here to there, etc. There are so many uses! We buy ours at a
commercial kitchen supply store but you can find them online and at better kitchen and
houseware stores. When we call for a baking sheet in Bakepedia recipes, this is the item we 5. Shot-glass Measuring Cup – This looks like a shot glass, but it has measurements
are referring to. printed on the outside ranging from 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons, with milliliters
measurements as well. It is very practical when measuring small amounts of liquid. Crate &
Barrel carries a gre

3. Parchment Paper – Cut parchment paper to fit cake pans, make parchment cones
and, of course, to line cookie sheet pans (half-sheet pans), making for easy clean up. It is also 6.
handy to sift dry ingredients onto it; you can then pick up the paper and pour ingredientsright
Rubber or Silicone Spatula – Okay, in the old days we called these rubber spatulas
(and many people still do) but nowadays most are made of silicone. Either way, these flexible
spatulas scrape the last bits out of bowls and bottles, they fold delicate ingredients together
and gently stir items in pots on top of the stove. The best baking tools are multi-purpose and
these are some of our favorite. We like having an array of sizes from extra small (gets into
small bottles), to standard size (great for everything) and extra large, too (perfect for folding
egg whites and handling large quantities of food).

7. Icing Spatulas (offset and straight) The “other” spatula for the baking kitchen.
They are inexpensive and it pays to have short, long, straight and offset versions if you do a
lot of baking. We use them to apply frosting on tiny cupcakes as well as giant wedding cakes
to smooth thick batter in pans for a leveled layer that allows the dessert to bake evenly, and
to loosen a cake’s sides from its pan for easier unmolding.
9. Silicone Pastry Brush – Silicone transformed the pastry brush. The old-fashioned
type with natural or nylon bristles not only shed but also held onto flavors and colors. If you
used one for BBQ sauce or a strong curry, forget using it for a delicate apricot glaze the next
day, even after thorough washing. Silicone brushes clean up perfectly in the dishwasher with
no residual trace of flavors or pigment and they don’t shed! They come in various sizes, but
for the pastry kitchen, look for ones with delicate “bristles” such as the one shown.

10. Bench Scraper – Ah, we love a simple baking tool that has multiple uses and simply
8. Whisks – Whisks come in several different shapes, and they all serve their own purpose, gets the job done! Bench scrapers scoop up ingredients to transfer to bowls, aid in cutting
brownies and bars and make for easy clean up. After you have dusted your work surface with
so we recommend having a variety at your disposal in the kitchen. A balloon whisk with a
flour to roll out pastry, the bench scraper gets every last bit of flour and dough up off of the
large, bulbous end is best for large amounts of ingredients. We like to use this shape to help
surface at the end.
start the folding process when making angel food cakes, for instance, or when folding large
amounts of whipped cream into mousses, then we finish off with a silicone spatula. Whisks
with a more narrow profile are great for using in pots and pans. Their slender shape makes
them a more agile choice when whisking lemon curd or pastry cream on top of the stove. We
use an assortment of metal whisks, as well as whisks with silicone-coated wire that scrapes
the sides of a bowl like a spatula.
 Muffins moistened, but do not beat. The batter will be lumpy. Pour the batter into paper lined muffin
pan cups.

Variations: Blueberry Muffins: Add 1 cup fresh blueberries. Raisin Muffins: Add 1 cup finely
chopped raisins. Date Muffins: Add 1 cup finely chopped dates. Cheese Muffins: Fold in 1 cup
grated sharp yellow cheese. Bacon Muffins: Fold 1/4 cup crisp cooked bacon, broken into bits.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden.

1. Baking tinsThere are many tins on the market these days of all shapes, sizes and
materials. At Good Food, we prefer heavy-duty, silver-coloured tins. Dark-coloured silicone
. Ingredients bakeware has a tendency to absorb heat and make the sides of the cake dark. It is essential to
use the correct tin size and shape stated in the recipe or else cooking times will need to be
2 cups all-purpose flour adjusted.

3 teaspoons baking powder

2. Cooling rack
1/2 teaspoon salt
The best cooling racks
3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg1 cup milk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions
10 mCook
This is an essential piece of equipment for helping air to circulate around your freshly-baked
25 m cake or biscuits, avoiding sogginess.

Ready In

35 m 3. Cutters
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the
center. In a small bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, beat egg with a fork. Stir in milk and oil. Pour
all at once into the well in the flour mixture. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork until
 5. Icing smoother

A selection of metal cutters allow you to create simple but effective cake decorations and fun
biscuit shapes.
A handy tool for cake decorating, the smoother helps to give you a professional finish,
4. Dredger/ Shaker smoothing down your marzipan or sugarpaste (ready-to-roll icing) after you've applied it to
the cake. You can buy this from specialist cake decorating shops.

6. Food mixer

Flour shakersA dredger is useful for lightly dusting surfaces with flour or icing sugar when
rolling out doughs or icing. However a tea strainer or sieve can perform the same function
perfectly well.The best flour shakers

Food mixersA food mixer is not essential for cake-making but it does save time and minimise
effort.The best food mixers

7. Greaseproof paperThis type of paper is ideal for wrapping food, particularly

greasy or fatty foods. It's often suggested as a suitable wrapping for fruit cake before placing
it in a tin. It can be used in the freezer as well as the microwave and oven. If you are using it
for lining a cake tin, you should also lightly grease the paper before spooning in the cake mix.
8. Food processor

People often under- or overestimate the size of a teaspoon or tablespoon. Measuring spoons
Food processorsUseful for so many functions both sweet and savoury, the food processor can ensure an accurate amount is used. If you like to use American recipes, it's also worth buying
also be used for many cake recipes and is good for rubbing fat into flour when making a set of measuring cups to avoid tricky conversions.The best measuring sets
pastry.The best food processors

9. Marzipan spacers

11. Measuring jug

If you like to decorate cakes with marzipan or sugarpaste then spacers will help you achieve
an even thickness. These can be bought from specialist suppliers.

Baking recipes often include oil, milk or other liquid ingredients and a measuring jug is
essential for getting the quantities right. As a measuring jug is needed for so many cooking
purposes, it's always useful to have one to hand.

10. Measuring spoons

12. Mixing bowls 14. Pastry brush

Pastry brushesA pastry brush can be used to glaze your pastry with egg wash or milk or for
brushing filo pastry with melted butter. It's also good for brushing off excess icing sugar when
It's useful to have at least two large mixing bowls as many recipes require more than one.
cake decorating.The best pastry brushes
Choose glass, metal or plastic according to preference but it's worth having heatproof ones so
that you can put them in the microwave or over simmering water when melting
chocolate.The best mixing bowls

13. Palette knife

15. SieveA fine sieve made from metal or plastic is ideal for sifting flour and icing sugar,
which is highly recommended when cake-making. It can be easier to use a small tea strainer
to dust surfaces and decorate desserts with icing sugar or cocoa.

16. Rolling pin

A palette knife is a long, thin implement with a rounded end. It has a wide range of uses,
including smoothing on icing or cake fillings, scraping bowls and cutting butter into flour.
Rolling pin As accuracy is key in baking, a good set of scales are necessary for measuring out ingredients.
Choose from digital or manual – we like digital as they can usually accurately measure right
down to a gram or two. The best digital weighing scales

You can buy one-piece rolling pins or the type with a fixed handle at either end, depending on
which you find easiest. For really smooth results make sure the pin is wide enough to fully
cover the width of dough or icing you are rolling out. If you do a lot of cake decorating with
sugarpaste/ready-to-roll icing it is handy to have both a wide pin made from smooth plastic
and a mini pin for intricate work.The best rolling pins

19. Zester
It's handy to have a zester, fine grater or microplane, as many baking recipes require citrus
zest. The latter two can also be used to grate nutmeg.

17. SkewerA metal skewer will help you determine whether your cake is cooked. If you insert
it into the cake and it comes out clean, your cake is ready.
20. Spatula

18. Scale
Avoid leaving cake mixture or melted chocolate in your bowl by using a bendy spatula which to whipping cream, whisking egg whites and gently folding in flour, you can also use it to
can easily skim around the sides.The best spatulas remove lumps from sauces. An electric whisk or a food mixer make short work of whisking
and creaming. The food mixer, with its different attachments, is more versatile but also much
more expensive.The best whisks

23. Baking parchment

21. Spoons

A wooden spoon is a great all-rounder in the kitchen. If you don't have a food mixer, use it for This is a non-stick paper ideal for lining cake tins. It is also known as silicone paper. Baking
beating your cake mixes. A large metal spoon is handy for folding in flour or whisked egg parchment is both greaseproof and moisture-proof. You can use it to line cake tins and baking
whites. trays. No additional greasing is necessary. It can be used in the oven and freezer.

22. Whisk

Whisks are designed to give volume and aerate foods and are therefore important for cake
making. A balloon whisk is a handheld tool with metal loops that form into a bulb shape at
the end of a long handle. It's always handy to have one of these in the kitchen as in addition