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Cooking & Baking Tips from the Country Women's Association
1. Biscuits: Do not over-cream butter & sugar mixture, just beat butter until smooth & add all sugar at once. Beat till just combined. This will make them nice & crisp..
2. When making a pie with raw fruit, roll each piece in cornflour. This will thicken the juice & prevent it boiling over.
3. To keep biscuits longer, place 2 sugar cubes in the biscuit jar.
4. Burnt the top of your fruit cake? Don’t discard it, you can use it, if you scrape the burnt part off & brush the top with beaten egg white. Dust with caster sugar & place back in the oven for 5 mins. All traces of burning gone!
5. When a recipe calls for Buttermilk, save rushing to the supermarket to purchase it….Simply add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice to 250mls low fat milk & stand for a few minutes until thickened slightly.
6. To add plumpness & brightness to your fruit when making a fruit cake, a few drops of glycerine in a little cold tea will benefit greatly. Use this to soak your fruit.
7. To add flavour & colour to a chocolate butter cake, add 1 Tablespoon dark Plum jam.
8. A spoonful of cream poured on top of milk puddings before you bake them will give a delicious creamy skin.
9. Whipped cream will go further if 1 Tablespoon sifted icing sugar & 1 stiffly beaten egg white are folded in.
10. To make lighter, finer butter cakes or cup cakes, always add flour in three stages alternating with the liquid. Start with flour & end with flour. This prevents the mixture curdling.
11. A nice change when bread crumbs are called for , is to use rolled oats, toasted lightly & crushed with a rolling pin.
12. If you run short of eggs when making a fruit cake, try mixing ½ teaspoon bicarb soda with 1 dessertspoon vinegar & add to the batter last. This will substitute for 2 eggs.
13. When making cakes with lemon peel in it, cut peel very thinly & boil in ½ cup water for 15 minutes. Then mix all together(water included). The cakes will have improved flavour.
14. Any cake or pastry will keep better if 1 to 2 Tablespoons sherry are added.
15. Muffins must not be beaten too long or they will be tough, have a coarse grain & be full of holes. If the oven is too hot they will crack & be out of shape. If it is too slow, they will peak & leave a hollow around the edge.
16. Causes of fruit sinking in fruit cakes. Too much liquid, such as milk, butter or eggs. Overbeating in hot weather. Uneven mixing of fruit. Fruit washed & not thoroughly dried. Tin placed too low in the oven.
17. When making an orange cake, use juice sparingly, as too much acid will cause the cake to collapse.
18. When your cooked Sultana or Fruit cake is taken from the oven, leave it in the tin & wrap it in a towel & leave overnight. It is much better to let them cool gradually, as it improves flavour & moisture content.
19. If making fruit or sultana cake, the mixture ( before putting into tin) should hold a wooden spoon upright. Spoon the mixture into the tin, making sure you push it into the corners. Smooth top with your wet hand, leaving a slight hollow in the centre.
20. When making sponges, always use fresh eggs which have been at room temperature.
2. When making a pie with raw fruit, roll each piece in cornflour. This will thicken the juice & prevent it boiling over.
3. To keep biscuits longer, place 2 sugar cubes in the biscuit jar.
4. Burnt the top of your fruit cake? Don’t discard it, you can use it, if you scrape the burnt part off & brush the top with beaten egg white. Dust with caster sugar & place back in the oven for 5 mins. All traces of burning gone!
5. When a recipe calls for Buttermilk, save rushing to the supermarket to purchase it….Simply add 1 Tablespoon lemon juice to 250mls low fat milk & stand for a few minutes until thickened slightly.
6. To add plumpness & brightness to your fruit when making a fruit cake, a few drops of glycerine in a little cold tea will benefit greatly. Use this to soak your fruit.
7. To add flavour & colour to a chocolate butter cake, add 1 Tablespoon dark Plum jam.
8. A spoonful of cream poured on top of milk puddings before you bake them will give a delicious creamy skin.
9. Whipped cream will go further if 1 Tablespoon sifted icing sugar & 1 stiffly beaten egg white are folded in.
10. To make lighter, finer butter cakes or cup cakes, always add flour in three stages alternating with the liquid. Start with flour & end with flour. This prevents the mixture curdling.
11. A nice change when bread crumbs are called for , is to use rolled oats, toasted lightly & crushed with a rolling pin.
12. If you run short of eggs when making a fruit cake, try mixing ½ teaspoon bicarb soda with 1 dessertspoon vinegar & add to the batter last. This will substitute for 2 eggs.
13. When making cakes with lemon peel in it, cut peel very thinly & boil in ½ cup water for 15 minutes. Then mix all together(water included). The cakes will have improved flavour.
14. Any cake or pastry will keep better if 1 to 2 Tablespoons sherry are added.
15. Muffins must not be beaten too long or they will be tough, have a coarse grain & be full of holes. If the oven is too hot they will crack & be out of shape. If it is too slow, they will peak & leave a hollow around the edge.
16. Causes of fruit sinking in fruit cakes. Too much liquid, such as milk, butter or eggs. Overbeating in hot weather. Uneven mixing of fruit. Fruit washed & not thoroughly dried. Tin placed too low in the oven.
17. When making an orange cake, use juice sparingly, as too much acid will cause the cake to collapse.
18. When your cooked Sultana or Fruit cake is taken from the oven, leave it in the tin & wrap it in a towel & leave overnight. It is much better to let them cool gradually, as it improves flavour & moisture content.
19. If making fruit or sultana cake, the mixture ( before putting into tin) should hold a wooden spoon upright. Spoon the mixture into the tin, making sure you push it into the corners. Smooth top with your wet hand, leaving a slight hollow in the centre.
20. When making sponges, always use fresh eggs which have been at room temperature.