Cookery tips for best results

•Before starting any recipe carefully read it through from beginning to end.

•Ensure you have all ingredients and utensils before you start.

•Refrigerated ingredients such as butter, cream cheese and eggs should be at room temperature for best results (unless otherwise specified). Set these out ahead of time. If you forget to remove butter from the fridge, use the coarse side of a grater to grate the butter. This will assist the mixer and soften the butter faster.

•Always adjust the oven shelf to the desired position and then preheat oven to baking temperature recommended in the recipe. Get to know your oven. Most ovens have “hotspots” and it may be necessary to turn food or swap shelves during cooking. However, be aware that every time you open the oven, the temperature drops. Only open the oven if necessary and be sure to close the door quickly.

•Break eggs into a small bowl before adding to mixture. This eliminates the chance of contaminating mixture with shells or rotten eggs.

•All recipes have been carefully developed and tested, but should you find it necessary to alter the ingredients or tin, you must allow for a variation in cooking time. Always test for doneness in baked goods before removing from oven or other cooking appliance.

•During mixing, ingredients may splash to the sides of the bowl. Pause the mixer and use a rubber or plastic spatula to scrape the bowl. NEVER USE A KNIFE, METAL SPOON OR FORK, as these can damage the beater and bowl. A light scraping after the addition of each ingredient assists in achieving efficient mixing.

Tips for cakes, biscuits and slices

•When cooked, a cake should shrink slightly from the pan.

•When testing most cakes (not sponges, fruitcakes or cheesecakes), gently touch the surface; it should feel firm. At this stage, remove the cake from the oven and close the oven door to retain the heat. Insert a thin skewer into the deepest part of the cake. No uncooked mixture should adhere to it.

•Testing cake doneness should be done quickly. If the cake needs to be returned to the oven, the oven door should be open for a minimal amount of time. Rapid temperature change may cause an undercooked cake to sink in the middle.

•For most types of biscuits, you can test if they are cooked by gently pushing the biscuit on the tray with your finger. If it moves without breaking, the biscuit is cooked.

•Do not over beat any mixture. Be careful that you only mix/blend mixtures for the specified time. When folding, do so until just combined. Over beating or mixing can cause toughness, close texture, excessive shrinkage or effect rising.

•Curdling can sometimes occur when adding eggs to a mixture. If this happens, continue with the recipe as it will come back together when the dry ingredients are added.

•If cakes begin to overbrown, cover the top loosely with foil to protect it from the top element of the oven.

•To obtain the greatest volume when beating egg whites, be sure the bowl and beater are completely clean and dry before use. The smallest amount of grease or water can prevent the whites from aerating.