Authors in Bloom Blog Hop!

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Welcome to the 4th annual Authors in Bloom blog hop!
This unique blog hop is where authors share their gardening tips or favorite recipes. To celebrate the launch of my latest project, the SHADES OF DESIRE bundle, (and because I have such a weakness for sweets) I'm featuring 10 great baking tips from professional bakers, food bloggers and recipe developers to help you make very yummy desserts!

Ten titillating tales from USA Today, bestselling and award-winning authors. Step into the world of some of the freshest voices in romance. From spicy secrets to sweet second chances. Come find your perfect shade of desire.

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10 Secret Baking Tips
1. “The most important choice a baker can make is to use unsalted butter. Even better, use European-style unsalted butter.”— Christina Tosi, Pastry chef at Momofuku, from Baking Tips From Momofuku Milk Bar’s Christina Tosi

2. “I do not go cheap with ingredients I use for baking. The better the ingredients, the better the end result. It might be more expensive, but the end result is so worth it.”— Andrea Harris Merrigan, baker and blogger, from 10 Basic Baking Tips

3. “If you don’t bake frequently, make sure to throw out old baking powder, yeast and spices. They all lose efficacy over time.”— Agnes Chin, pastry chef at Palena Restaurant, as told to the Washington Post in Baking Tips from D.C. Pastry Chefs

4. “All-purpose flour isn’t really made for every purpose. For the best results when baking a cake, you need to use cake flour. With a lower content of gluten-producing proteins than in all-purpose flour … cake flour yields baked goods with a fine, soft texture.”— Ben Mims, recipe developer and food writer, from 4 Cake Tips

5. “Eggs vary greatly in size and also in proportion of yolk to white. Either use weight or volume especially when a recipe calls for all yolks. A recipe requiring 4 yolks may need as many as 7 if the yolks are very small.”— Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible, from Rose’s Tips for Cake Baking

6. “I sift the flour and baking powder together two or three times when making a cake (never for pastry or bread making). Though this isn’t essential, it will give your cakes a very light, even texture and stop those pea-sized air pockets forming in the crumb.”— Dan Lepard for Delicious Magazine, from Dan Lepard’s Top Baking Tips

7. “For light and fluffy baked goods, it’s important not to over stir. First, make sure your dry ingredients are completely mixed together before you get them wet. Next, instead of stirring vigorously like a cartoon chef, gently scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl and mix with a folding motion, constantly incorporating a new section of batter.”— Christine Frazier, food blogger, from Best Baking Tips

8. “Spend time creaming your butter and sugar together... If you cream the butter and sugar correctly (about 10 minutes), you’ll get evenly baked, fluffy cookies.”— Megan Willett, lifestyle reporter, from Best Cookie Baking Tips

9. “Let the batter sit for a few minutes before pouring it into the pan. This allows the flour and other dry ingredients to fully combine with the moist ingredients. It really does make a difference in the way the cake bakes and the texture of the crumb.”— Gina de Palma for O Magazine, from Bake a Perfect Cake: 5 Tips From the Experts

10. “Make sure your oven racks are in the center of the oven. If you are baking more than one sheet of cookies in the oven at once, rotate positions halfway through baking.”— Sommer Collier, recipe developer and food writer, from Cookie Baking Tips

What is your secret baking tip or which baking tip have you tried?
Leave a comment and enter in a chance to win a $10 gift card to either Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, or All Romance eBooks.
Also, be sure to enter the Grand Prize giveaway!

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And don't forget to visit other Authors in Bloom for more amazing prizes!

Comments

joye said…
My one baking secret is to put your pie crust in the fridge overnight before rolling out. After removing from fridge, let sit about 10 minutes.
jwisley8(at)me(dot)com
JeanMP said…
I use a pastry wheel to cut rolled cookie dough in squares or diamonds, much less rolling.
skpetal at hotmail dot com
Casey said…
Your baking secrets only highlight, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what a culinary menace I am in the kitchen. My poor husband.
casey 4 4 6 at hot mail dot com
smiles said…
I don't really bake much, so my secret tip is to either go buy stuff or have relatives send me homemade sweets! I have a terrible attention span and have burnt myself multiple times. Only a matter of time before I accidentally forget to remove food from the oven and burn everything. (email's in blogger profile)
Rhi said…
I've tried most of those baking types. Sadly, I don't have a lot of patience for the creaming of the butter and sugar together... I should. My cookies would be much better if I did!

Thanks for the giveaway.

Rbarckhaus (at) gmail (dot) com
Emily Smith said…
I always set the oven temp 5 degrees below what the recipe calls for.
greentopiaries said…
The tip that has made the most difference in baking (I'm a cookie fiend) has got to be using a Silpat. Something so simple that helps so very much! Thanks for the chance!
greentopiaries at gmail.com
I'm a horrible baker. I always keep my eyes on things so they don't burn.
Thanks for the giveaway! =)
JJs2468@aol.com
cchant said…
I'm not the best cook, but it's usually edible when I'm done. :-) My baking tip is: when you have to spray non-stick coating on a cake pan, put the pan on the open door of your dishwasher to catch the excess spray.
Unknown said…
My tip is to not be afraid to make substitutions. A lot of a times the difference between a good recipe and a great recipe is just a little change

fencingromein at hotmail dot com
books4me said…
I like to bake on occasion but I don't really have an great ideas, like many of the people on your list. I do find that eggs at room temperature seem to mix and bake better, though.

Barrie

books4me67 at ymail dot com
Heather B said…
With 3 kids, I tend to do a lot of cookie baking. I've got to agree with tip 8. I definitely notice a difference in my cookies if I do not cream things well enough.
faramena at gmail dot com
smiles said…
Ahh man, you can't reply to your comments on here. My email should be shown in the post, but I wasn't sure about it. Fill in the blanks (in order) for my addy - ___@___.___.___ smiles, alumni, cmu, edu
Judy said…
I agree mainly with rule # 6 and #8. Thanks for all the other tips. I will make a mental note on a couple of them that I really did not know.

Judy
magnolias_1(at)msn(dot)com
bn100 said…
follow the instructions

bn100candg at hotmail dot com
Savannah said…
I wish I had a great tip, but sadly I do not!
I have learned in the past though to wait for a cake to cool before trying to icing it!
According to my hubby that isn't a tip though, just common sense lol
savannahm1987 @ gmail .com
Unknown said…
2 tips I live by:
Never overbake the brownies and....if you're baking for something special, just spring for the vanilla beans...you'll be glad you did!

Fae said…
tip 8 takes extra time, but it is worth it! :)
Unknown said…
I don't bake. I have no secrets, other than let someone else do it for you! eendrizzi79 at gmail dot com
Shadow said…
I love to bake! My tip, once youve made a recipe, tweak it the next time to make it your own! I love playing around. lol Thank you for sharing!
shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com
JanD said…
I've used the folding motion when mixing ingredients.
bituin76 at hotmail dot com