If you want to ensure that your baked treats taste as good as possible, it’s important to use good quality chocolate and cocoa, such as products from the NESTLÉ BAKERS’ CHOICE range.
There’s nothing worse than dry sponge, right? Improve moistness by using olive oil or butter instead of margarine and not overbaking your cake. Also, make sure you use level measurements of dry ingredients, as even a touch of extra flour will add too much gluten and result in a crumbly texture.
Serve your chocolate pudding or cake with other ingredients that complement it. We love dark chocolate with matcha or salt, milk chocolate with caramel or coffee, and white chocolate with raspberries or nuts.
Wrap biscuits in foil or plastic wrap before placing in a tin or jar for storage. If a cake has been cut and frosted, you don’t need to wrap it in plastic as the frosting should help keep it fresh for longer. If you’ve already cut your cake, cover the exposed sponge with more frosting and keep it at room temperature.
If a baking recipe instructs you to sift flour, cocoa and/or baking powder together, remember that the higher you hold your sieve or sifter, the more air you’ll get into the mixture and the lighter your cake will be.
Serve any chocolate chipped baked goods while they’re still warm from the oven. Melty chocolate surprises hidden inside will undoubtedly cause involuntary food frenzies among those eating your treats.
Using a water bath is the optimum way to melt chocolate, so that you can see and control the whole process and prevent the choc from burning. If you microwave it, always use a dry plastic bowl as glass retains the heat and may cause your chocolate to heat too fast or too high and therefore split or become grainy.
Make sure you thoroughly cream your butter and sugar at the start, but don’t overmix it once you add the flour and other ingredients. Simply fold in flour gently with a spatula or on a low beater setting to avoid ending up with a tough cake.
Make your baked treats look delicious with drippings of melted chocolate or icing (or both!). Make a piper from a plastic bag if you want the drizzles to be neat, or just a teaspoon if you want them rustic.
If you introduce any water to chocolate before you melt it or bake with it, you risk it seizing and going granular. Always ensure your work surface and equipment is clean and dry before you get started.
There’s no such thing as too chocolatey – it only ups the indulgence factor! We love to layer up dark, milk and white chocolate whether we’re making brownies or biscuits, slices or shortbread.(Brought to you by NESTLÉ BAKERS’ CHOICE).
