starch) or maize (cornstarch) base. The two types
are interchangeable in these recipes, but only
wheat starch has the power to drop gluten levels.

Occasionally, I’ll use flours such as rye to add
a nutty flavour, but I’m not adept at introducing
spelt and rye into structural, layery bakes. If you
are, tell me everything you know!

Gluten-free baking I am very gluten forward,

and the few dabbles I have made into gluten-free
flours have honestly failed and left me frazzled
(no Gluten-freetrix Bakes yet, I’m afraid). So I stick
with my strengths. The packet-mix gluten-free
flours available from the supermarket seem to be
getting more easily swap-in-able with success, so
I recommend starting there and doing a test bake.

Flour temperature (it’s a thing) In a really warm

ambient kitchen, chill/freeze the flour for at least
30 minutes before using to slow down the butter
softening (or worse, melting!) when mixing pastry
doughs. Conversely, in a cold kitchen in the
most frigid of winter weather, warm the flour by
microwaving it for 10 seconds on High (100%),
or put it in a warm place before mixing into cake
batters so the batter temperature doesn’t decrease.

Batters that go into the oven in the perfect
temperature ballpark (20–22°C/68–70°F) start
baking faster, have better lift and a finer, more
tender crumb than cake batters that start cold.

Gelatine
Leaf gelatine is the best to set mousses and
fruit jellies. Gelatines differ in bloom strength or
setting power. Titanium strength (my fave) has

100 bloom strength. Gold is 200 bloom strength,

and is the type that your supermarket most likely
carries (usually unspecified, to my chagrin).

Therefore, you’ll need half the gold gelatine
weight to set the same as titanium.

Powdered gelatine sits at around 210 bloom

strength and is good for adding to liquids that
will be boiled or close to. Always bloom (soften
in cold water) before adding to hot liquid.

Nuts
Always shell out for the good ones. Three things
will bring Supreme Nut Joy (SNJ) to your baking,
and thus your life: 1. Buy raw (not roasted,
as they deteriorate faster); 2. Buy from a nut
provedore or market that looks like it turns over
stock often; and 3. Keep them chilled or frozen for
maximum longevity. Bring the nuts to an ambient
temperature before using in cake batters. Use
chilled in pastry and cookie doughs.

When toasting, go low and slow (between 120°C
and 140°C/250°F and 285°F) to bring out that
comprehensive nut flavour. Pan-toasting on the
stovetop or in a high-temperature oven only means
scorched edges and raw centres. Check doneness
by cutting one open – you want to see an even
golden brown shade through the inside. If you have
slightly over-toasted your nuts, swiftly get them
out of the tray and into the fridge. If you have really
over-toasted (read: burnt) them, they have to be
binned; they’ll taint whatever you put them into.

I like to plan my bakes and toast the day before to
get the jump on a recipe. Toast as you need; once
toasted, rancidity is accelerated.

I am a skin-on kinda gal because I choose the
freshest, best nuts, only giving hazelnuts a lazy
rub to remove a partial amount of the skin.

When crushing nuts, avoid turning them into
nut paste (unless that’s your aim). Crush nuts
in a mortar and pestle or pulse them in a food
processor with a little of the recipe’s flour or
sugar. Be mindful of how coarse or fine they
should be for a recipe. Finely ground nuts will
absorb more liquid; coarser will bring the crunch.

Oil
Using flavourless oil for ALL baking is an old- school

rule. A good extra-virgin olive oil adds

buzzy green flavour to the Salty sweet lime crisp
sandwiches’ frosting (page 41). Use it in the
Hazelnut layer cake (page 163) or match nut with
nut oil and use hazelnut oil instead. Use bland