Basic baking equipment for a home kitchen - Part 2

Ok, I hope that you have fully recovered from the first "Baking Equipment Overload" and are ready to deal with the last few remaining items that I have found to be indispensable in a home kitchen. Obviously the list could be endless, but as your skill and savvy levels grow, you will get to know the items that suit you needs best. And it is quite exciting to research and source that perfect kitchen accessory, have fun.

Muffin Pan

I just have two standard non-stick muffin trays, 34cm (14inch) length and 26cm (10inch) width, with the muffin wells 7cm (3inch) diameter.

You will need at least one of these trays if you want to make you own mouth watering muffins. If you ever plan to visit or move to New Zealand, you won't be allowed into the Country unless you know how to make a muffin - it's an essential food there.

You can also use them to make a range of mini desserts. If you line each well with sweet pastry, once cooked you can fill the pastry cup with your preferred fillings and create delicious and delicate individual desserts. Or else make a number of mini cheesecakes as a dainty treat. Use your imagination, the list goes on.

Tart Pan - metal and glass

I would recommend having a pyrex or glass tart dish for any no-bake recipes such as polish cake. The cooled bake can be cut into serving sized pieces and served at the table whilst still in the dish, a win-win for washing up.

A metal tart dish is better for any cooked pastry desserts such as a large fruit tart or baked custard tart ( remind me to give you Chef Chahna's recipe for a custart tart, it is honestly the best custart tart you will ever eat ) The metal dish allows a hotter and more even cooking of the pastry initially, as well as the pie contents once they are added.

Cake Tins

There are two main types of cake tin, the Springform tin and the solid tin.

The most useful size for both is 23cm (9 inch), but as you grow in baking confidence, you may want to invest in smaller cake tins of each type so that you can create two or three layered cakes. We'll cross that bridge when we get to cake decorating in a later category.

The Springform cake tin has high sides (that can be released with a clasp) and a removeable base. I used my Sprinform pan for every cake /cheesecake /ice cream cake I ever made. However, now that I am upping my game under Chef Chahna's watchful eye, apparently I have been doing it all wrong. Ignorance is bliss, don't you agree. By the way remember, that unfortunately, this does not apply to the legal world. Luckily its still bliss in the baking world, unless you have a professional chef in the family.

So Springform cake tins are meant to be used for delicate cakes, mainly cheesecakes, tortes or ice cream cakes, or any creamy cake mixture.

Chahna says she will still grease and line both the sides and the base of a Springform tin due to the soft nature of the cake you are baking.

Once cooked and chilled, just by releasing the clasps and peeling off the greaseproof paper, the cake will retain a very smooth and professional finish.

For a regular standard cake, the solid cake tin is more suitable.

Chahna says that she greases and lines the base of the tin but doesn't line the sides, just greases them. That's one plus for these tins.

You can buy the solid cake tin in a standard round shape, but there are also square, loaf, or fancy shaped tins for special occasions. I would suggest starting with the basic round 23cm (9 inch) solid cake tin and then expand your range later on if you want to.

Smaller Useful Items

Here is a short list of smaller items that I have found to be extremely useful.

Palette Knife

 The palette knife has a blunt, rounded and flexible blade. It makes evenly smoothing icing, both on the top of a cake and in the centre, so easy. It can also be used to create textured patterns in the icing that amazingly look quite professional. Don't you just love it when you can take all the credit for something that a good kitchen tool has really done, (sorry palette knife, I hope you don't mind )

Finally, the palette knife is great for lifting the more delicate items from a baking tray without breaking them. This becomes more necessary later on when we start to learn about cake decorating and making our own chocolates.

Rolling Pin

Hopefully everyone knows what a rolling pin is. I just have a reasonably long, wooden rolling pin for rolling out pastry or smashing biscuits into crumbs inside a plastic bag, for cheesecake bases, Polish cake or any biscuit base.

There are fancy extendable rolling pins but you really don't need all of the paraphernalia, a basic 45-50cm (18-22inch) solid wood rolling pin will do all the jobs.

Remember to lightly dust both the clean bench and the rolling pin with flour, roll away from you and turn the dough a quarter turn, not the rolling pin, each time until you have achieved the desired size.

And always allow enough overhang once placed in the baking tin, to allow for shrinkage.

Spatula

I think my Mum was a spatula Queen. She hated food waste in any form, so she had a range of spatulas to scrape out every last morsel from a bowl.

I just have two, but they really are perfect for scraping mixture out of a bowl or scraping down the sides of a bowl while mixing ingredients to make sure everything is incorporated evenly.

Wooden Spoon

Wooden spoons are great for folding and mixing ingredients without overworking them. They also allow you to mix whilst avoiding any heat transfer to the ingredients (more likely to happen with a metal spoon) and they don't scratch pan surfaces.

I have two wooden spoons and use them mainly for any gentle combining or folding-in that a mixture requires. They are perfect for folding flour or egg whites into a mixture without losing air and for stirring hot liquids, such as custards, caramel or melted chocolate.

Hand Whisk

In my early family baking days I only had a hand whisk, so that was all I knew. I used it for beating egg whites or cream and even for mixing egg yolks and softened butter together. But despite the benefits of increased arm muscles and strong wrists, once I had invested in an electric hand whisk it was very hard to go back to the old ways.

However, I will add a caveat here. I have always believed in not relying totally on technology powered by electricity, because you never know what's coming just around the corner. My family and I went through the big Christchurch earthquakes and were without electricity, sewerage or water for some time. That really opened my eyes and I was so grateful for our woodburner with a stove top to cook on. Though I must say, baking a cake was the last thing on my mind at that time.

Baking Paper

I think you will all know what I'm talking about here. I just wanted to say that you definitely don't need all of those fancy expensive fitted baking paper packs. You just need a basic roll of baking paper, a pencil and a pair of scissors. Don't you love the simple life.

So roll out a decent amount of baking paper, cut it off with scissors, because the cutter teeth on the box never work, and place your cake tin or baking tray on top of the paper. Draw around the tin with a pencil and cut out the shape you drew. It actually has that whole satisfaction of a primary school craft session, or may even remind you of Blue Peter, if you are as old as I am.

To line the sides of a cake tin is a little less precise. I always estimate the height of the sides because overhang is fine. Then cut lengths of paper to fit. You will need to overlap these pieces, but if the sides of the cake tin are well greased, then you will be able to press down the baking paper overlap and it should all stick.

Hooray, that's it. Kitchen equipment post is written. It really is more of a referral post to dip in and out of as you need. I will only put one more post in this category and that is the big, scary Kitchen Stand mixer. I am a complete novice with this one, so I will follow Chahna's words of advice on how to use it ( but not her spelling or grammer, sorry darling xxx)