It’s the final installment of our kitchen hacks series, so we obviously had finish it off with desserts! Get the sweet tips here.
Key-lime pie from start to finish in 10 minutes.
Skip the oven to save time on your next key-lime pie. All you need is heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, lime, and Ritz crackers. Start by making the custard: combine the heavy cream, condensed milk, and lime juice and stir. Then, pour a layer of the mix into your pie dish (or glass if you prefer), cover it with a layer of crackers, and repeat. Chill the cake until frozen and enjoy.
Powder your sugar at home.
Don’t have confectioners’ sugar? No need to go to the grocery store because you can make it at home using granulated sugar and a blender or food processor. Add the sugar to your mixing device of choice and set it to ‘pulse’ or ‘blend’ until it has reached a powdery consistency. Sift through a strainer and you’re good to go!
Forget the frosting; make it with marshmallows.
This will save time and earn you creativity points: instead of frosting your cupcakes with frosting, melt marshmallows on top. After your cupcakes are baked, place a marshmallow on top of each, and stick them back in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the oven and press down gently to create that snow-white cap.
Pro-tip: For a more toasty topping, broil the marshmallow topped cupcakes, but be sure to watch them closely!
No more batter splatter means easier cleanup.
Whether you’re making cake, cookies, or something on the savory side, stop your batter from getting all over the place with a paper plate. Just poke the ends of your mixer’s beaters through the middle of a paper plate before attaching them to the mixer. The plate will act as a shield, keeping your batter where it’s supposed to be.
Use dental floss to slice cakes.
First, make sure you are using waxed, unflavored floss. You don’t want a minty cake! Then, place toothpicks around the cake where you want to slice. Align the dental floss around the row of toothpicks and wrap fully around the cake. Hold the ends with each hand and pull out and away from the cake, so the floss cuts through the cake as the circle of floss tightens. Move the floss slightly from side to side to help the cutting movement. To separate the layers, slide a piece of cardboard or baking sheet with no sides in-between and lift the top layer. And voila!
Pro-tip: For sponge cakes, use a serrated knife to make a few cuts along the toothpicks to give the floss a head start.
Save cakes from going stale.
If you’re lucky enough to have leftover cake (especially after reading this), keep it nice and moist with just bread and toothpicks! Cover the cut, un-frosted part of your cake with bread slices and hold them in place with toothpicks, then store in the refrigerator. The bread will get hard and stale, but the cake will stay nice and soft. Sorry, bread—you’re being sacrificed for a greater good.
Get more kitchen hacks here.