This is the cooking tips section of my page. Here is where you'll find all those little hints and suggestions that just might make your cooking and baking experiences a little more pleasant. As always, if you have anything to add to this section, please e-mail it to me and I'll get it up here as soon as I can. Any feedback is always appreciated. Cakes that Stick to the Pan-To be sure that your cakes don't stick to the bottom of the pan, cut out a circle of wax paper the size of the bottom of each pan. Remove paper while greasing the bottom and sides of the pans. After greasing, dust sides of the pan with flour for light- colored cakes, and cocoa powder for chocolate cakes, then replace the wax paper circles. Filling a Cake-Once your cake is cool, you can level off the layers by carefully slicing off the rounded tops with a long serrated knife. This will give you a flat surface to attach additional layers to. Don't spread your filling right to the edge, leave about a 1/2 inch unfrosted border so that when you place the top layer back on, the filling doesn't ooze out of the sides. Frosting a Cake-When you first begin to frost your cake, you should apply an almost invisible layer of frosting called the "crumb coat", this seals in all the crumbs so that they don't show in your finished cake. Let your cake rest for about 1 hour after applying the crumb coat so that it has a chance to set. To make it easy to clean up after frosting your cake, cut stips of waxed paper about 3 inches wide and tuck them under the bottom layer of your cake all the way around. Any dripped frosting will fall onto the waxed paper strips and can be removed by pulling out the waxed paper. Creaming Butter and Sugar-When creaming butter and sugar, it's best to use an electric mixer. This ensures that enough air is beaten in, giving cookies and cakes a fuller volume and a lighter texture. Tips for Piecrust Success-The best pans to use are either dull-finished aluminum or glass. Pans with a shiny bottom may result in a soggy pie bottom. When you add water to your pie crust, the water should be ICE cold and added very gradually. Too much water makes the crust tough and too little make it crumbly and difficult to roll out. Take care not to overhandle pie crust dough, as this will make it tough. Glazing a pie crust gives it a nice finish and helps to keep it fresh. For a brown crust, brush lightly with milk. For a golden crust, brush with a mixture of milk and egg yolk. For a shiny crust, brush with egg white. To add sparkle, sprinkle with granulated sugar. This page created on August 20, 1997 and last modified on August 20, 1997 Page concept, layout, and button customization ©Sheri 1997 All graphics except text courtesy of & © This page is courtesy of Get your own Free Web Page