The Best Hacks For People Who Love Baking

Over the last year or so I've discovered some tips and hacks to help with baking and I wanted to share them with you! As I'm sure you know by now, I love to bake and I like it to be as simple as possible so some of these tips have really helped me and made sure I get the best end result. 

Keeping Cake Moist 

This is my top baking tip and it is a strange one, but if you want to keep your cakes soft and moist then leave a slice of bread on each one while they are cooling. The bread hardens over time but the cake stays so moist. This also works if a cake has been left for a few hours and has started to go stale. Leave it with a slice of bread for a while and it steals the moisture, meaning it's the bread that goes stale instead. It's such a weird concept but works!

How To Check If Cakes Are Done 

Most of the time you can tell just by looking at a cake if it's done or not, if it's not got much colour on the top then it needs longer in the oven. You can also check by inserting a skewer or cocktail stick into it, if it comes out clean then the cakes done but if it has some of the mixture on it then the middle isn't cooked. You can also check by gently pressing down on the middle of the cake, if it feels spongy then it's done!

Cooling Cakes and Buns 

Now when I bake buns or muffins I always put them on a wire rack to cool, I didn't have one up until about a year ago and things used to take so long to cool meaning I had to wait longer to decorate them. Now I use my cooling rack all the time and it make things so much quicker. When it comes to cooling cakes, I put them on the rack upside down, this flattens the tops of them meaning if you want to layer them up it's much easier. 

Silicone Moulds 

Months ago I bought a silicone baking set from Groupon, it included a few cake tins and muffin tins and they have been great to use rather than normal baking tins. It's so much easier to release the cakes from them and they're is no worry that the mixture will stick to them. I hate having to mess about with baking paper with normal cake tins so these have been great. Silicone moulds aren't too expensive either so are worth getting!

Use Exact Ingredients

 This probably seems like quite an obvious one but sometimes I experiment with ingredients and it doesn't always go well. With my Salted Caramel Brownies, last time I used caster sugar instead of golden caster sugar, and even though they still tasted good, the texture was definitely different and not as good as the previous ones, it meant the caramel on top baked differently too so it just wasn't right. The same goes for my Chocolate Cake, if I use normal sugar rather than caster sugar, it just changes the texture completely. I always try to make sure I stick to the exact ingredients to get the best bake. 

Melt Chocolate Properly 

I always melt chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of boiling water. I can't imagine doing it any other way now it just melts so quickly, we don't have a microwave so I can't do it that way but in the past I've burnt chocolate like that. Also, I've tried just putting chocolate into a saucepan and melting it over the heat and it's just gone into one big clump. I always know it will go right if I melt over boiling water.

Have you tried any of these baking hacks before?

Some of my recipes - Millionaire's Shortbread // Peanut Butter Cookies // Chocolate Chip Flapjack

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5 Films To Watch On A Bad Day...

You know those days where you just need a good laugh? or sometimes even a good cry? Well I have them a lot and on those days I like to get cosy with a good film and a load of chocolate. I have picked a few of my faves that really help me on a down day just in case you are needing something new to watch or something to have a good sob to!

1. How To Be Single 

I could watch this film over and over and not get bored, it's a female led comedy and is laugh out loud funny. It's about 4 single women in New York, all at different stages in their life and it's a film not necessarily about finding somebody new but about finding themselves and all the hilarious things that happen on the way. If you like Rebel Wilson, you have to watch this, she's her usual funny self and it was great to see a more fun character from Dakota Johnson as I had only seen her in Fifty Shades. This would be a great one to watch on a Friday night with a glass of wine and chocolates after a tough week.

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2. Paddington 

This is one of my favourite films, it makes me cry every time but is so funny. It's about a bear from Peru who is on the hunt for a family in London after an earthquake destroys his family home, he settles with a family but a taxidermist wants him for herself to go in her museum. It sounds silly but it is a great film and I don't care if its aimed more at younger people, it is the best and is perfect to watch if you're not in a great mood. If you have kids it would also be a great one to watch with them on a rainy weekend.

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3. About Time 

This film is actually a bit sad and it does make me cry but sometimes when your having a bad day you just need to have a good cry and let it all out. This film for me is just an all time favourite. The relationship between Tim and Mary is so beautiful and everything you could want, but I love that the film is also about Tim's relationship with his dad and the scenes between them make me so emotional. There are so many funny parts in the film too and the wedding scene is one of my favourites, it really is a lovely film and one that just makes you smile.

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4. This is 40

 I feel like this film is a glimpse into the future for me and George. We are such a stereotypical couple and I feel like this film just highlights all the annoying things that people do when your in a relationship! Leslie Mann makes this film, she is so good in every film she does, it's supposed to be the sort of sequel to Knocked Up but in my opinion is so much better!

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5. Bridesmaids 

I don't think their are many comedies better than Bridesmaids. It just doesn't get old and is always just as funny as the first time. This is the film me and George saw on our first date and if you've seen it you know the first scene, and it was a little bit awkward to watch on a first date but it's so funny to look back on it and watch it together now. My favourite character in it is Megan played by Melissa McCarthy, her lines make me laugh every single time. It's a perfect film to watch when you need cheering up.

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Have you seen any of these? What's your favourite film to watch on a bad day?

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How I Self Care & Why It's Important...

We all do some form of self care each day, just getting up and getting dressed, eating and washing but I don't think enough people take enough time to just do what they want to do and properly look after themselves. Having a self care day can mean different things, it could be not doing any of the little, annoying jobs, it could be spending the day watching Netflix, or it could be spending the day shopping with a friend. It doesn't matter what it is but is's so important you have this time.

I think nowadays a lot of people struggle to just stop for a while and have some time out for themselves. You might think it looks selfish or you might think you don't deserve to treat yourself but everyone needs a break sometimes and we don't all have to strive to be perfect in everything we do, we don't all have to have it together. I love having a day to myself to just do what I want and really take care of myself, but I always feel guilty for it, and I won't be the only one. Sometimes I'll feel bad for not doing little jobs like hoovering the living room, or doing another lot of washing and it's so silly. Everyone needs time out to recharge and little jobs like that can wait, it isn't the end of the world. 

Different things work for different people but for me it's a combination of various things which really help me recharge and set me up for the next day. 

Reading is something I definitely don't do enough so if I am feeling particularly down or in need of some time out, there is nothing better for me than reading. I love that you can just lose yourself in a book, your mind is completely focused on the characters and the story and there is no space for your own worries. The last book that really got me was Me Before You, I just lost myself in it and found myself reading it for hours at a time. 

Resting is so important even if you don't particularly feel like you've done much to warrant it, just take 10 minutes to lay down and do nothing and just switch off, stay off social media and rest. I find this is something that helps me with my anxiety, I literally lie on the bed and do nothing and it helps me calm down and collect my thoughts and try to see things in a more positive light. Sleep helps with so many things so if you want a nap, have one! 

I love cooking and creating new things so if I am taking a day for myself, I'll try and make something I haven't made before or i'll make something that is a favourite of mine. There is nothing wrong with treating yourself and there isn't anything much better than a cup of tea and cake. 

Music helps me through a lot. I listen to music everyday, it helps me when I'm blogging and really motivates me but it also really relaxes me on days where I just want to sit and do nothing. There are loads of calming playlists on Spotify that are great for self care days or you could create a playlist of some old favourites to sing along too. 

I don't do it enough but I love exploring new places and going on walks. Last summer we found a park near our flat and had a full afternoon out exploring and it was so lovely, and it's somewhere i'll definitely go again for a long walk when I want some time out, fresh air really helps clear my mind. 

Those are 5 things I like to do on a self care day which could be quite similar to things you like to do or could be completely different. Everyone has different things which help them but I hope it's inspired you a little bit to take some time out every so often as everyone deserves it.

Similar Posts - 5 Things I Like About Myself // Turning A Bad Day Into A Good Day

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Salt and Pepper Chicken Fakeaway Recipe...

We are big fans of a Chinese takeaway but as I have said before, it's expensive and to be honest I think home made is always better. I am always on the lookout for new recipes to try and for a while I had been seeing recipes for salt and pepper chicken and people doing a 'Chinese Fakeaway'. Salt and Pepper chicken is something we have when we get a Chinese and I had no idea what my own would taste like but I gave it a go and you know what it was great!

Ingredients:

250g chicken, cut into chunks

1 egg, beaten

1 tbsp soy sauce

Around 5 or 6 tbsp of smash, enough to cover a small plate, you may need to add more at some point depending how big the chicken chunks are

2 handfuls of frozen peppers or 1 pepper sliced

2 handfuls of frozen red onion or 1 sliced

1 tsp chilli powder

Method:

1. Pre - heat oven to 200 degrees and spray a baking tray with fry light

2. Cut your chicken into chunks and then in a bowl beat one egg then add 1 tbsp of soy sauce

3. On a small plate, add the smash 

4. Add the chicken to the egg mix then cover in smash, place on baking tray. Repeat until all chicken chunks are coated

5. Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes

6. While the chicken is cooking, soften onions and peppers in a small pan with frylight. When soft, add 1 tsp of chilli powder

7. If you want to serve yours with Egg Fried Rice like we did, prepare your rice as normal then scramble eggs in a seperate pan, when both are cooked, mix together in a pan and add a glug of soy sauce. You can also add peas but we didn't have any. You could also use noodles if you don't want rice with it

8. To serve, add your egg fried rice to a bowl then top with onions and peppers. You can now top with your cooked chicken!

That's it! This works out so much cheaper than a takeaway and it tastes delicious. It's a perfect meal for a Friday night when you just want something tasty that doesn't require too much effort!

Other Recipes - Ginger Beef Stir Fry // Meatball Pasta Bake // Fanta Chicken 

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