Helpful Baking Tips

1. When you are boiling milk, add a pinch of baking soda in order to help keep the milk from curdling. 
2.  Add salt to flour for when a recipe calls for thickening. This will help to prevent lumping.
3.  Dip sliced bananas in lemon juice. This will help to prevent browning.
4. To prevent brown sugar from hardening, place the brown sugar in an air-tight container along with an apple slice.
5. When cutting marshmallows, dip the utensil in hot water beforehand to prevent the utensil from sticking to the marshmallow.
6. Add eggs to the mixture first. This way you can make sure that there are no shells, and remove any if necessary.
7. When measuring a sticky substance such as oil, or syrup, rinse the measuring utensil with hot water first to help the substance come out cleaner and not stick to the sides of the measuring cup.
8. Shiny metal pans tend to cook better than glass pans.
9. Not sure if your eggs are good? Place the egg into a bowl of water. A Fresh egg will sink in a bowl of water and an old egg will float on the top. A semi-fresh egg will bob slightly below the surface. 
10. To see if a cake is done, press a toothpick into the middle of the cake. Gently pull the toothpick out of the cake. If any residue or substance is on the toothpick, the cake needs to cook longer. If there is nothing, the cake is done. This will work for cupcakes, muffins, etc.