10 Baking Essentials

I've been baking for years now and in that time I have amassed a lot of stuff to aid me in the quest for the perfect cake. The house may be full of cook books and baking tins but to start off you need a few essentials and here is my top ten list.

Scales

If you're a fan of vintage items you may like the idea of having a set of traditional scales with weights or a simple dial one. I would recommend digital ones though as they will always be far more accurate. When recipes were written with just ounces in them weighing out items wasn't so much of a problem but now with many recipes written solely in grams a more accurate measure is needed. Keep the vintage for show on the side and the digital scales in the cupboard!

Measuring spoons

Not everything needs to be weighed out with scales and for adding ingredients such as vanilla and almond extracts and spices like cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg you'll need a set of measuring spoons. I use the OXO Good Grips Slimline Measuring Spoons as they are narrow enough to fit inside a spice jar and there are five spoons which go all the way down to ⅛ tsp. By the way 'a pinch' is defined as an ⅛ tsp so going so small is good!

Tins

I love baking tins in all their shapes and sizes but at first you don't need that many. Start by buying what you need for a certain recipe and go from there once you expand your repertoire. I would suggest starting out with a pair of matching sandwich tins, 1 large round tin, 1 square tin, a loaf tin and muffin/cupcake tin. You may be tempted to buy cheap at first but they may not last very long and start to warp and lose their shape.

Tin liners

Once you've bought your tins and start using them you will need to line them. Some people simply grease the inside of the tins but I prefer to line them. For loaf tins I use ready shaped paper liners which you just drop in. You can buy these for round tins too. For other tins I use a mixture of baking parchment which I cut to size and reusable non-stick liners.

Mixing bowl

I can't think of any cake recipe which doesn't necessitate the need for a mixing bowl. You may like the look of the big earthenware ones; if so go for it. I use plastic ones because I have found china bowls, full cupboards and a tiled kitchen floor doesn't mix...Whatever type of bowl you choose make sure it is big.

Electric whisk

One of the reasons for needing a big mixing bowl is not just for the amount of ingredients to be put into it but the need to be able to whisk or beat the ingredients together. The big stand mixers as used on Great British Bake Off may look good and may people swear by them but they are very expensive and take up a lot of room. Start off with buying an electric hand whisk. I've never had an stand mixer but my electric hand mixer has lasted 17 years.

Large metal spoon

You've probably got a drawer full of spoons so why a special large one? Any recipe which requires the flour to be folded in will need a metal spoon. A large spoon will help you get all the ingredients mixed in quickly whilst keeping all the air in. Also it will come in very handy when transferring the cake mix from bowl to tin.

Spatula

Choose what want for your spatula be it metal, plastic or silicone but get one that can multi-task for you. I use mine for scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl, transferring cakes from cooling rack to plate and for spreading buttercream.

Skewer

How do you know that a cake is cooked all the way through? In most instances you can test it with putting a skewer into the cake and seeing if it comes out clean. Mine is metal BBQ skewer which I decided would be better off used for baking purposes.

Wire cooling racks

So your cake is made and baked and ready to come out of the oven. Most cakes need to be cooled on a wire cooling rack in order to let the steam from the cooking process to be released otherwise the cake may end up soft or mushy. I have a set of three stacking racks which is useful for cooling muffins, cupcakes and biscuits.

What are your baking essentials or must have pieces of kitchen equipment?