Baking Basics: Substitutes, Rising Agents & Fixing Cakes

Mastering baking basics involves understanding rising agents and finding the right substitutes for butter or milk. Learn how to fix a crumbly cake, avoid soggy pizza dough, and ensure your baked goods rise perfectly every time.

The process of making homemade cookies

Can You Use Honey Instead of Vanilla Extract When Baking Cookies?

When you've made sure to buy all the basics for cookies -- flour, eggs, butter -- it's easy to forget that your bottle of vanilla in the pantry is empty. Honey will make the cookies sweeter and will give them a subtle honey taste, but won't impart any vanilla flavor.

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Bicarbonate in a wooden spoon

What Happens if You Do Not Put Baking Soda in a Cake?

If you forgot to add baking soda to your cake recipe, you may want to get out the bowl and whisk again. Baking soda is one of several types of leavening agents that allow your cake to rise in the oven, yielding a light, tender crumb.

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