Baking & Pastry Tools

Five Ways to Quickly Soften Butter

1. Grate the butter into the mixing bowl on the large holes of a box grater. More »

2. Cut the butter into ½” pieces and spread them on a plate placed near the oven as it preheats for about 20 minutes.

3. Knead the cubed butter in the mixing bowl with your hands until the butter is malleable.

4. Place sticks of butter into a resealable plastic bag, and beat with a rolling pin until softened.

5. Put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low speed until the butter softens, then increase the speed to high and cream as usual. Don’t try to cream cold butter with a hand mixer. It is a good way to burn out the motor.

Caution: Over-Chilled Dough is Hard to Roll

Don’t chill pie dough until it is rock hard. It may seem convenient to make the dough a day or so ahead of using, but it becomes so firm that it is difficult to roll out. Instead, refrigerate most doughs for an hour or two, just long enough for the gluten to relax and the dough to get a chill without changing its malleable texture. If the dough is chilled until hard, let it sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes to warm slightly before rolling.

Pointers for Cooling Cakes

Let fresh-from-the-oven cakes cool in their pans on wire cooling racks, which allow air to circulate under the pans for more efficient cooling. In most cases, do not unmold a cake until it has cooled for at least 30 minutes, or it may break apart. The exceptions are Bundt cakes, which should be unmolded after they have cooled for 10 minutes, and chiffon and angel food cakes, which must cool completely before they are removed from their pans.

How to Divide Batter Equally for Even Cake Layers

If you are making layer cakes, you’ll want to divide the batter evenly between the pans so the layers are the same thickness when baked. If you have a kitchen scale, you can weigh the pans with the batter to make sure they are equal. Or use a large ice cream scoop to portion the same amount of batter into each pan.

A Simpler Way to Prevent Burned Pie Crusts

Sometimes the edges of a pie crust need to be protected from overbrowning. Instead of shielding them by wrapping a foil collar around the rim of the dish, try this: Tear off a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pie. Cut a large X in the center of the foil. Remove the pie from the oven. Place the foil over the pie, and then peel back the cut edges of the foil to expose the center of the pie and cover the edges of the crust. Crimp the foil underneath the pie dish to secure it, then return the pie to the oven.

Cookies: Even Baking and Easy Cleanup

For even baking and easy cleanup, bake your cookies on heavy-duty, rimmed aluminum baking sheets (half sheet pans) lined with parchment paper. To help the paper adhere, butter the baking sheet first. You can also line baking sheets with silicone baking mats instead of parchment.

Beautiful Brownies Every Time

For easy removal of brownies from a baking pan, line the bottom and two sides of the pan (short sides if baking in a rectangular pan) with a “sling” of aluminum foil or parchment paper, letting the excess foil hang over the sides as handles. When completely cooled, lift up on the handles to remove the brownie slab in one piece, then cut as desired.

Quick, Easy Substitutes for Buttermilk

Stir 1 teaspoon cider, distilled white vinegar, or lemon juice or 1¼ teaspoons cream of tartar into 1 cup low-fat milk. Let the mixture stand for a few minutes at room temperature to curdle and thicken before using.

Eliminate Flour Marks on Chocolate Cake

When preparing a pan for baking a chocolate cake, sift together equal parts cocoa powder and flour for dusting the greased pan. Flour used alone can leave a whitish residue on dark cakes.

Baking Soda and Baking Powder: Check for Freshness

To check the freshness of baking soda, stir ½ teaspoon baking soda into 2 tablespoons vinegar. If the mixture bubbles and fizzes, the baking soda is still good. For baking powder, stir ½ teaspoon baking powder into ¼ cup hot tap water. If it fizzes, it’s fine.

Sorry, No Skipping the Sifting

Flour packages are often labeled “presifted,” but that doesn’t mean that you can skip sifting the flour if a recipe calls for it. Even if the flour was sifted at the factory, it will settle during shipping. Sifting aerates the flour, making it easier to incorporate it into a batter. It also combines dry ingredients much better than just whisking them together. (This is especially true if the recipe includes baking soda, which can form pellets during storage that can only be broken up by sifting.)

Elevate Cake for Easier Frosting

A cake is easier to frost if it is elevated above the work surface. If you don’t have a cake decorating stand, turn a wide bowl upside down, and place the cake on its platter on the bowl. Be sure that the bowl is wide so the platter will be stable.

No More Half-Baked Muffins

If your recipe doesn’t yield enough batter to fill all the cups in your muffin pan, don’t leave the empty cups or your muffins can bake unevenly. Half fill the empty cups with water and then bake your muffins.

Scooping Muffins without the Mess

Use an ice-cream scoop to transfer muffin batter to the pan—it is much easier and less messy than a spoon

Ovens Need Regular Checkups, Too

Few ovens are spot-on accurate. Always double-check the temperature with an oven thermometer. Place the thermometer in the center of the oven, not near one of the sides or the top or bottom where the temperature can be thrown off by the metal wall. Allow at least 20 minutes for the oven to preheat fully before checking the temperature.

A Simple Trick for Flattening Parchment Paper

Parchment paper is often sold in rolls, so when you want to use it, it remains in a curl. When you buy a roll, take a few minutes to cut it into lengths to fit your baking sheets. Put the stack of cut sheets between two baking sheets, then store them together to “iron” the parchment flat. If you have to use curly paper, butter the pan first to help the paper adhere.

Quick and Easy Pastry Bag Substitute

In a pinch, use a 1-quart resealable plastic bag as a substitute for a pastry bag. Snip off one corner of the bag to accommodate a pastry tip. Reinforce the area around the snipped opening with a few strips of transparent tape.