Author: Johann Dyssel

Add coffee to your chocolate bakes. I know it’s weird, but coffee = more intense chocolate flavour. I always chuck at least a teaspoon of instant espresso powder into all my chocolate bakes to amp up the flavour.

Toast your nuts and oats! This is such a game-changing tip. You get a much stronger, nuttier flavour in your baked goods by toasting first.

Rehydrate dried fruit (dates, raisins, etc.) by soaking them in boiling water for 30 minutes, then drain before adding to your bakes.

Do your add-ins (ie. berries, dried fruit, chocolate chips) always sink to the bottom of your cakes? Try dusting them with flour before adding them to the batter; it should help them ‘float’.

Before you start baking, check the expiration dates on leaveners (baking powder, bicarb, yeast) and any spices. If they’re out of date, test them to make sure they still work or are potent.

Use colour gels/pastes over liquid food colouring. Gels and pastes have a much higher concentration of colour, so you use far less than the liquid colouring. This is especially useful for bakes where you need a bright colour (ie. red velvet or rainbow cakes), because adding too much liquid colour can affect the batter.