13 Undeniably Delicious Life Hacks for Pastry Chefs and Bakers

Bring your kitchen skills from ho-hum to oh-yum with these undeniably delicious life hacks for pastry chefs and bakers. These tried and true tricks aren’t found in any textbook, but they help get the job done without any fuss. As they say in the biz, bake it ‘til you make it!

 

1. Remove Egg Shell Easily

You’re cracking eggs into a bowl, and you accidentally drop in a little piece of shell. No prob. Wet your finger and place it directly next to the shell. The shell gravitates toward it like magic.

2. Up Your Cake Mix Game

Replace the water in your boxed cake mix with something delicious to add flavor to the cake. Try coconut milk or juice for a tropical spin or just dump a can of sliced peaches or cherries. You can also replace the vegetable oil typically suggested with equal parts butter for added richness.

3. Frosting Without a Tip

Wanna make Christmas cookies, but not equipped with the proper frosting tips? Every parent has a small medicine syringe (the kind that comes with the children’s liquid aspirin) that is easy to fill and works just as well. From gingerbread cookies to beautifully decorated tiered cakes, the syringe is your go-to tool in a pinch. For a larger tip, you can also use a plastic bag with a small hole cut from one corner to squeeze the frosting out.

4. Preserve Cookies’ Moistness

Keep cookies extra moist and ready to eat by storing them in a Tupperware container with an apple slice in it. You can also place an apple slice in your brown sugar for a few hours and it will soften. The moisture from the apple gently humidifies the air within your container.

5. Fully Utilize Your Muffin Tins . . . Make Cookie Bowls

Muffin tins are wonderful, but shouldn’t be limited to muffins, or to just one side of the pan. Flip the muffin tin over to make perfect cookie bowls. This works especially well with mini bundt pans. Sugar cookies are your best bet, since their uniformity and rigidity hold up well as a cookie bowl. Roll your dough thin, but not paper thin, then drape over the back of the pan so that they come about 1/3 of the way down the side of the tin.

6. Snack Sized Cookies

Freeze cookie dough in ice cube containers so there is always a 1-portion piece ready to pop into the oven for a quick snack. Once the dough is frozen, shake it into Ziploc bags and label, then store in the freezer. When ready to eat, preheat your oven to 350°, then cook frozen bites for 15 minutes. For extra deliciousness, sprinkle a scant pinch of coarse sea salt on top before baking. It will make the butter and sugar taste that much richer.

7. Sprinkles from Scratch

Make your own sprinkles by using sugar, food coloring, and a rolling pin. Not only can you create a myriad of colors, your sprinkles won’t have that cardboard flavor.

8. Shake It Up a Bit

Get the kids involved by making a shake-shake train. Not only can they exude their extra energy by hand-churning ice cream, they can also take turns shaking heavy whipping cream in a mason jar to make whipped cream.

9. Gluten-Free Flour Substitution

Put a gluten-free twist on baking by substituting flour for finely ground oats. Simply place the oats in the food processor and voila! You can also cut the fat in baking by subbing in applesauce for oil in a 1:1 ratio.

10. Freshen Up Your Stiff Icing

Like a good baker, you made your cake a day ahead of time, but after sitting in the fridge for hours, it’s looking dull and brittle around the edges. Solution? Freshen up with your blow dryer. A few seconds of constantly moving warm air will soften the frosting and return it to its glossy finish.

11. Get Rid of Air Bubbles in Your Cake Mix

The perfect layered cake isn’t just a symphony of ingredients. Drop your cake pan of batter on the counter a few times to knock any pesky air bubbles up, up, and away. Then bake!

12. Easy-Peasy Frosting

Create fun, out-of-this-world frosting with powdered JELL-O. Or you can skip the frosting altogether with a bit of powdered sugar and granny’s old lace. Simply place the lace over the dark muffin tops and sprinkle with powdered sugar. The result? Exquisitely beautiful designs.

13. Discover the Magic of Parchment

Ditch the scrubbing brush and line your cookie pan with buttered parchment paper. Leave an inch or so extra parchment paper hanging over the sides to easily lift brownies when they're done baking.

 

Master Baking & Pastry at the Culinary Institute of Virginia!

ECPI University imparts the tricks of the trade and so much more with their top-notch culinary programs. Check out the Baking & Pastry Arts Diploma program at ECPI University’s College of Culinary Arts, Culinary Institute of Virginia, to find out how you can master the art and science of baking and pastry. From flawless execution to trusted techniques to recipe mastery, ECPI University could open a world of talent within the burgeoning pastry chef. It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!

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