One day I asked my sister, who is the family Christmas cookie provider every year, what I was doing wrong. She replied with a chuckle, “Kath, you can bake, it’s easy. The difference between baking and cooking is to follow the recipe EXACTLY when baking. Once you master a baking recipe then put your own spin on it.”

Those words stuck in my head and in 2009, I overcame my baking phobia. I started out baking simple recipes followed by a whole lot of reading. In hindsight, those steps were totally out of sequence and resulted in quite a few “just okay” baked goods early on. Cakes, muffins, and sweet breads have been my primary baking focus since that time.

My Top Five Baking Tips for Novice Bakers:

1. Baking Ingredients – Baking is a science and, unlike cooking, requires following the directions specifically. Adding a little of this or a bit of that without understanding the roll of baking ingredients is grounds for baking failure. Culinate.com offers helpful insight and reliable information specific to the science of baking. AP flour and cake flour are not the same. Gain knowledge of flours, leavening agents, and fats before experimenting. Trust me on this fact.

2. Baking Pans – Baking cakes in dark colored pans and glass baking dishes produce darker sides and sometimes even a crusty edge. Shiny metal pans produce a better cake and bake more evenly. One remedy for dark and glass baking pans is to set the oven at a lower temperature. I had success with muffins at a lower temperate but not cakes. To resolve this, I purchased these inexpensive shiny cake pans.

3. Baking Mixes – Start with simple recipes that call for mixes. Using cake, cookie, and brownie mixes in now way constitutes cheating according to my baking friends. In fact, some of the most delicious and beautiful desserts I baked began with a mix.

4. Prepare to Bake – Read the recipe completely, including the ingredient list and the method before starting. Research all necessary substitutions and/or unfamiliar baking terms before you begin. Gather all of the necessary ingredients and baking tools prior to beginning.

5. Budget Baking – Butter is expensive and I, like many other women on a tight budget, substitute butter with margarine often. Many baking sites and cookbooks note butter, margarine, oils, and shortenings are interchangeable. Margarine seemed to substitute well for butter regarding texture. However, I found where taste is concerned the flavor of the margarine matters a lot. In order to obtain a buttery flavor the margarine used must taste buttery. Shortening was not one of my choice substitutions, and oils worked well for muffin recipes. Generally, I prefer to substitute margarine rather than oil in cake recipes that call for butter.

This list of baking tips is the basic knowledge that facilitated overcoming that baking phobia of mine. My hope is that you find these lessons useful as well. Admittedly, now that I’m feeling confident about baking cakes, muffins, and sweetbreads, I’m ready to conquer the pie and pastry arena. With a little luck, perhaps the future will meet the increased expense and inspiration required for my next baking journey.

What’s your baking experience; have a secret baking tip or a story to share?

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Kathleen

Hey, there I'm Kathleen. My friends call me Kathy; to my kids I'm Momia. Life has afforded me many hats: Mom, wife, sister, friend, business owner... and most recently a midlife blogger. From college to marriage and babies, in the midst of business and wealthy boomers, midlife retrospection validates this extraordinary journey called life.

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In June General Mills celebrated their 70^th Birthday and yours truly was interviewed by AP writer Carolyn Thompson. She said a Google search for General Mills returned A Midlife Woman. That is a true General Mills fan don’t you think? Flattered and flustered I didn’t even request a plug. Duh. If you are interested, this is the interview.

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Kathleen

Hey, there I'm Kathleen. My friends call me Kathy; to my kids I'm Momia. Life has afforded me many hats: Mom, wife, sister, friend, business owner... and most recently a midlife blogger. From college to marriage and babies, in the midst of business and wealthy boomers, midlife retrospection validates this extraordinary journey called life.

Website - Twitter - More Posts

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Right now you can visit Sharis berries promo code page to receive discounts on your favorite indulgence. promotional deals include percentage and dollar amounts off, along with free product offers, like a free cookie with an order. Other promo codes collection and/or product specific. Either way all of the promo codes and deals are clearly noted. This same sweet site offers those adorable brownie pops I wrote about last month. Hope Shari’s promo page will help to satisfy your sweet tooth!

**Hugs** Kathy

Kathleen

Hey, there I'm Kathleen. My friends call me Kathy; to my kids I'm Momia. Life has afforded me many hats: Mom, wife, sister, friend, business owner... and most recently a midlife blogger. From college to marriage and babies, in the midst of business and wealthy boomers, midlife retrospection validates this extraordinary journey called life.

Website - Twitter - More Posts

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