Baking tools

And
Equipments
1. Baking tins

There are many tins on the market these days of all shapes, sizes and materials. At Good
Food, we prefer heavy-duty, silver-coloured tins. Dark-coloured silicone bakeware has a
tendency to absorb heat and make the sides of the cake dark. It is essential to use the
correct tin size and shape stated in the recipe or else cooking times will need to be
adjusted.
 
2. Cooling rack

This is an essential piece of equipment for helping air to circulate around your freshly-baked
cake or biscuits, avoiding sogginess.
The best cooling racks
 
3. Cutters
A selection of metal cutters allow you to create simple but effective cake decorations and
fun biscuit shapes.
 

4. Dredger/ Shaker

A dredger is useful for lightly dusting surfaces with flour or icing sugar when rolling out
doughs or icing. However a tea strainer or sieve can perform the same function perfectly
well.
The best flour shakers
5. Icing smoother

A handy tool for cake decorating, the smoother helps to give you a professional finish,
smoothing down your marzipan or sugarpaste (ready-to-roll icing) after you've applied it to
the cake. You can buy this from specialist cake decorating shops.
 
6. Food mixer

A food mixer is not essential for cake-making but it does save time and minimise effort.
The best food mixers
 
7. Greaseproof paper

This type of paper is ideal for wrapping food, particularly greasy or fatty foods. It's often
suggested as a suitable wrapping for fruit cake before placing it in a tin. It can be used in
the freezer as well as the microwave and oven. If you are using it for lining a cake tin, you
should also lightly grease the paper before spooning in the cake mix.
 
8. Food processor

Useful for so many functions both sweet and savoury, the food processor can also be used
for many cake recipes and is good for rubbing fat into flour when making pastry.
The best food processors
 
9. Marzipan spacers
If you like to decorate cakes with marzipan or sugar paste then spacers will help you
achieve an even thickness. These can be bought from specialist suppliers.

10. Measuring spoons

People often under- or overestimate the size of a teaspoon or tablespoon. Measuring

spoons ensure an accurate amount is used. If you like to use American recipes, it's also
worth buying a set of measuring cups to avoid tricky conversions.
The best measuring sets
11. Measuring jug
Baking recipes often include oil, milk or other liquid ingredients and a measuring jug is
essential for getting the quantities right. As a measuring jug is needed for so many cooking
purposes, it's always useful to have one to hand.

12. Mixing bowls

It's useful to have at least two large mixing bowls as many recipes require more than one.
Choose glass, metal or plastic according to preference but it's worth having heatproof ones
so that you can put them in the microwave or over simmering water when melting
chocolate.
The best mixing bowls
13. Palette knife

A palette knife is a long, thin implement with a rounded end. It has a wide range of uses,
including smoothing on icing or cake fillings, scraping bowls and cutting butter into flour.

14. Pastry brush

A pastry brush can be used to glaze your pastry with egg wash or milk or for brushing filo
pastry with melted butter. It's also good for brushing off excess icing sugar when cake
decorating.
The best pastry brushes
15. Sieve

A fine sieve made from metal or plastic is ideal for sifting flour and icing sugar, which is
highly recommended when cake-making. It can be easier to use a small tea strainer to dust
surfaces and decorate desserts with icing sugar or cocoa.

16. Rolling pin

You can buy one-piece rolling pins or the type with a fixed handle at either end, depending
on which you find easiest. For really smooth results make sure the pin is wide enough to
fully cover the width of dough or icing you are rolling out. If you do a lot of cake decorating
with sugarpaste/ready-to-roll icing it is handy to have both a wide pin made from smooth
plastic and a mini pin for intricate work.
The best rolling pins
17. Skewer

A metal skewer will help you determine whether your cake is cooked. If you insert it into the
cake and it comes out clean, your cake is ready.

18. Scales

As accuracy is key in baking, a good set of scales are necessary for measuring out
ingredients. Choose from digital or manual – we like digital as they can usually accurately
measure right down to a gram or two. 
The best digital weighing scales
19. Zester

It's handy to have a zester, fine grater or microplane, as many baking recipes require citrus
zest. The latter two can also be used to grate nutmeg.

20. Spatula

Avoid leaving cake mixture or melted chocolate in your bowl by using a bendy spatula which
can easily skim around the sides.
The best spatulas
21. Spoons

A wooden spoon is a great all-rounder in the kitchen. If you don't have a food mixer, use it
for beating your cake mixes. A large metal spoon is handy for folding in flour or whisked egg
whites.

22. Whisk

Whisks are designed to give volume and aerate foods and are therefore important for cake
making. A balloon whisk is a handheld tool with metal loops that form into a bulb shape at
the end of a long handle. It's always handy to have one of these in the kitchen as in addition
to whipping cream, whisking egg whites and gently folding in flour, you can also use it to
remove lumps from sauces. An electric whisk or a food mixer make short work of whisking
and creaming. The food mixer, with its different attachments, is more versatile but also
much more expensive.
The best whisks
23. Baking parchment

This is a non-stick paper ideal for lining cake tins. It is also known as silicone paper. Baking
parchment is both greaseproof and moisture-proof. You can use it to line cake tins and
baking trays. No additional greasing is necessary. It can be used in the oven and freezer.