Home baking should be fun, gratifying and delicious. If you're feeling the pressure and the 'heat' of the kitchen, simple mistakes will likely compound into an even bigger and not-so-pleasant baking experience. Take a breather, pour yourself a cuppa and read our tips and tricks for a no-fuss, enjoyable 'bake-at-home'.

Be prepared

Make a list of all the ingredients you need. If your recipe requires several steps, give yourself a timeline on when you will finish.

Take inspiration

Some of the most fabulous cakes are made through what inspires you, so look at what is around you, it can be nature, the sky, architecture, art, what you love doing, what your hobbies are etc. Use whatever leftover you have in your cupboard, this can be; sprinkles, chocolate, crushed meringues etc.

Use the best ingredients

Cannot stress this enough, the taste is in the pudding.

Be mindful of the temperature

As we mentioned in our basic baking 101, please remove chilled ingredients 30 minutes before using.

Cheat if you have to

If you are making a three-layer cake but prefer not to level your cakes (i.e., cut into the middle), pour the batter evenly into three cake tins and bake until the layers bounce back when gently pressed. You can invest in a cake leveller which will do the work of slicing your cake layers for you.
If you are struggling with baking, pre-made cake mixes are fine to use, start with what you are comfortable with.

Check your cakes

All temperatures used in our recipes are Fan forced, we do give gas mark temperatures. It is always handy to have a separate oven thermometer; this gives you the accurate temperature of how hot the oven is.

Practice practice practice

It's a no-brainer, but with any skill, practice makes perfect. The more you bake, the more you will learn from your mistakes, the more opportunities you have to learn. Every baker has had their fair share of kitchen disasters, but once you've picked yourself back up again and wiped away the mess, you are not likely to make the same mistake again.