Baking Advice

HOME BAKERS OFTEN GET STUCK ON THIS GOOEY INGREDIENT, BUT BAKING WITH FLUFF IS A BLAST! JUST READ ON FOR HINTS AND TIPS… As a bakery dedicated to American-style goodies, we often use authentic ingredients that you'd be likely to find in an American supermarket. One such ingredient that The Hummingbird Bakers are often asked about is Marshmallow Fluff. Although Fluff is not all that familiar to most bakers, it is great for sandwiching Whoopie Pies, baking bars and topping cupcakes.   What is Marshmallow Fluff? Marshmallow Fluff is a brand of American marshmallow creme. It comes in a jar or a tub and there are several flavours of Fluff on the market. Imagine the gooey centre of a marshmallow made into a light, spreadable creme and you’re not far off. What can Marshmallow Fluff be used in? A jar of this stuff will add gooey, delicious marshmallow middles to your Whoopie Pies and is essential

ALL SORTS OF DELICIOUS INGREDIENTS MAKE THEIR WAY INTO AMERICAN BAKED GOODS. FROM PLUMP BLUEBERRIES TO TART BUTTERMILK, CRUNCHY PECANS TO SWEET PUMPKIN – THESE ARE THE AUTHENTIC INGREDIENTS THAT GIVE YOUR BAKES A TASTE OF THE US! Pies cooling on windowsills, stacks of gooey brownies, cookies that are chewy to the bite, light cupcakes with swirls of candy-coloured frostings – there’s a lot to love about American goodies. In both The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and our Cake Days book, we try wherever possible to use ingredients that combine to give an authentic taste of American baking. We regularly receive questions from our home bakers outside of America about some of these ingredients. Some wish to know more about the ingredient itself and how it is used, while others wonder if there are alternatives for harder to find items. We’ve compiled a list of some of the key ingredients that are often used in Stateside cupcakes, cakes, brownies,

CASTER, GRANULATED, WHITE, BROWN, DARK OR ICING - SUGAR MAKES LIFE THAT LITTLE BIT SWEETER! Sugar is a staple for any baker looking to rustle up some sweet goodies. Stirred into cake mixtures or dusted over the final baked creations, sugar gives cakes their sweet flavour and golden colour. How is sugar made? Sugar is made from sugarcane and sugar beets. White sugar is made by the process of refining raw sugar to filter out molasses and impurities. Brown sugar is less refined with higher levels of molasses and a higher water content. Why do we add sugar when baking? We all know that sugar makes cakes taste sweet and delicious, but aside from flavour it has several roles to play in terms of structure and texture. Sugar forms a main ingredient of many cake recipes so when added to the mixing bowl it will combine with the flour, egg and other wet ingredients to create the crumb – the basis of a good sponge.

SOFT, SWEET AND WITH ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES – WHEN IT COMES TO DECORATING CAKES WE’RE RATHER FOND OF FONDANT. READ ON TO LEARN THE BASICS OF CAKE DECORATION WITH OUR BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO DECORATING WITH THIS EASY TO USE ICING. Presentation is such an important part of baking and it can also be the most fun part too. After all the careful measuring and temperature adjusting is done, you can turn your sponges into something spectacular with sprinkles, glitters, writing icing, marshmallows, sweets, chocolates… the list goes on!  Sugarpaste decorations are not only easy to make but can be made up to a few days in advance and stored in an airtight container once dried for a fabulous last minute finishing touch. As the saying goes, we eat with our eyes, so getting the basics down when it comes to sugarpaste will open up so many decorating options for prettifying your bakes. Here are a few frequently asked questions about working

CUPCAKE BATTER OVERFLOWING? PAPER CASES PEELING AWAY? THE HUMMINGBIRD BAKERS ARE ON THE CASE! A cupcake isn’t properly dressed without its case. These delicate papery cups are what separate cupcakes from the rest of the cake crowd. We get through millions of them every year in our bakeries and it’s a real talking point for many of our home bakers. So to lay a few queries to rest, we thought we’d crack the mystery of the cupcake case once and for all!   Design Every season brings a new case onto the cupcake catwalk. Even if you chose to bake with a different patterned cupcake wrapper every time you baked, you’d probably never run out of design options. From florals and checks to polka dots, cartoon characters and more, the selection is enormous and it is simply down to personal preference which one you go for. In our bakeries we use classic white paper cases for all our cupcakes aside from our Made

FEATURING IN PANCAKES, WAFFLES, COBBLER, RED VELVET CAKE AND MANY MORE RECIPES, YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED AT JUST HOW MANY BAKES DEPEND ON A DASH OF BUTTERMILK. What began as a humble by-product of butter making has rightfully earned its place in countless American baked treats. The reason for the popularity of buttermilk not only stems from the resourceful use of the milky liquid left behind after butter is churned, but the ingredient itself also works to improve the texture and flavour of various bakes.   What is buttermilk?  There are several types of buttermilk: traditional buttermilk is made when butter is churned from cream and the residual liquid separates away. Cultured buttermilk is the variety that you’re more likely to find in the dairy

HEAPS OF FLUFFY FROSTING ARE WHAT MAKE AMERICAN CUPCAKES SO DELICIOUSLY MOREISH. GET YOUR TOPPING TIP TOP WITH THE HUMMINGBIRD BAKERY’S GUIDE TO CAKE FROSTING. Luscious, creamy and with so many beautiful colours and designs, frosting is in every sense the icing on the cake. Most Hummingbird Bakery cakes are topped with generous mounds of either buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting. We whisk up enormous batches to top our cupcakes and layer cakes and often experiment with different frosting flavours when we have new ranges to design. Cupcakes are a classic example of a bake that wouldn’t be seen dead without a decadent swirl of fresh frosting. For tips on frosting preparation, storage and decoration please visit our Decorating Tips page.   Top tips: Experiment with edible essences, flavourings and infusions to create new combinations of frostings and sponges. You can even stir ingredients

EXPLORE NEW DIMENSIONS OF FLAVOUR IN YOUR BAKING WITH DELICIOUS FLAVOURINGS, EDIBLE ESSENCES AND SWEET SYRUPS. One thing we love about cupcakes is their ability to take on so many different flavours. In our development kitchens at The Hummingbird Bakery we get to play around with all sorts of different ingredients to create new and exciting cupcake flavours. To do this, we often use edible food flavourings, essences, extracts and syrups – and it’s so easy, any home baker can give it a go. Flavour can come from wet ingredients or dry ingredients, for example, we use a sprinkle of cocoa powder in our famous Red Velvet cakes to give an added depth of chocolate. Liquid essences are handy to have in the cupboard and are an economical means of adding

INVOLVING CHILDREN IN BAKING IS NOT ONLY LOTS OF FUN BUT IT CAN HELP INSPIRE A FUTURE GENERATION OF BAKERS! More often than not, you won’t have to ask twice for a hand baking in the kitchen when the kids are around. Baking is a fantastic way of getting children interested in preparing wholesome food from scratch and enjoying the rewards with a few delicious treats afterwards. What can begin as a rainy day activity could even become a lifelong passion!   Here are a few suggestions for a fun family baking session:   Stay safe in the kitchen and explain the dangers when cooking around sharp knives and hot ovens. Doing this before you start to measure out any ingredients is a good idea as children are less likely to be distracted by all the delicious food around them. Choose an easy recipe to follow and measure out all the ingredients beforehand. Reading through the steps first will help kids to learn

BAKED DELICIOUSNESS COMES IN MANY SHAPES AND SIZES. THE HUMMINGBIRD BAKERS EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FAIRY CAKES AND CUPCAKES AND OFFER THEIR TIPS FOR PERFECT CUPCAKE SIZING. Bite-sized mini cupcakes, dainty fairy cakes, generous American cupcakes… when it comes to baking, there’s no one-size-fits-all rule! In a quick Q & A, our bakers share their answers to some of the more frequently asked questions concerning cake sizes.   What is the difference between a fairy cake and a cupcake?  Cupcakes are bigger than fairy cakes and use a generous amount of frosting on top. In comparison, fairy cakes are often drizzled with icing rather than piled high with the buttercream or cream cheese frostings that American-style cupcakes are famous for.   How can I get my cupcakes to turn out the same size? If you want to ensure even-sized cupcakes, a food portioner can be a great gadget