Great British Fake Off - Step Up Your Cake Game

The nation is currently gripped by the tense competition that is the Great British Bake Off. As well as shouting at contestants through the TV to keep the oven closed and gasping in horror as gingerbread models collapse, the show has also got people attempting to bake their own GBBO-worthy creations.

Unfortunately, baking isn’t always as easy as you might think, especially if you don’t really know your choux from your shortcrust. This doesn’t stop you from being able to whip up some tasty treats for family and friends, though.

Whether you’ve never moved beyond fairy cakes or you haven’t baked before in your life, these great tips will help you fake your way to some delicious desserts with minimal fuss:

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It isn’t all about the amount of air you manage to mix into cake batter when it comes to getting a good rise, your eggs also have something to do with it. If your eggs are too cold, you won’t get a good rise, so make sure you keep them at room temperature for light and fluffy cakes.

Any butter or margarine should also be at room temperature, as this will make creaming easier and stop mixtures from splitting.

We can’t all whip up some sugarpaste flowers to finish off a cake. Luckily, you can now get all sorts of decorations ready made, ensuring you can make your bakes look good – and maybe hide how lopsided your Victoria sponge is.

Buying more than just sprinkles is sure to have people thinking you’re better in the kitchen than you are.

The real key to good pastry is keeping everything cool. Ensuring your pastry itself is nice and cold, as well as the utensils you use – popping your rolling pin and a board in the fridge may seem odd but it works – will ensure the perfect pastry. If your hands run hot, try and handle the pastry as little as possible.

You don’t need to be Paul Hollywood to make good bread, all you need to do is make sure you knead it enough. Kneading bread takes patience so ensure you have enough time to do it correctly. Depending on your method, kneading should take 10 to 15 minutes and result in a smooth and supple dough.

You can check it by pulling a small part of the dough gently to make sure it can stretch thin enough for you to see through it without breaking. This means that enough gluten has been formed – it’s known as the windowpane trick.

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Some of the best cakes and cookies come with patterns and words iced on the top, with the professionals making it look really easy to achieve this finish. Sadly, unless you’ve got hours and hours to practice, your finished product can look like it’s been sat on.

Coloured icing pens, however, can make it a lot easier to write messages and create patterns. You still need a bit of practice, but not as much as if you’re trying to use a piping bag.

When it comes to folding eggs into a mixture or batter, a lot of care is needed. The idea is to get the mixture even without knocking out all the air in your whipped eggs – this is easier said than done. Not only do you need to be careful and patient, you also need the right equipment.

Avoid using metal spoons as they take out more air than wooden or plastic ones, which could see your baked goods fall flat.

Every time you open your oven door, heat escapes. For every minute of the door being open, it can mean up to an extra 10 minutes until your baked goods are done, so leave it shut! Set yourself timers according to the recipe you’re following, and check your baking through the door.

We can’t all be like Mary Berry and produce the perfect cake every time. Between weighing the ingredients, setting the right oven temperature and keeping an eye on your cake, there’s plenty of ways that things can go wrong.

If you want a perfect cake every time, try making a mug cake in your microwave. These are really simple, absolutely delicious and served warm so they are ready as soon as the microwave pings. It may not win you the showstopper challenge for how it looks, but it will satisfy your cake cravings in a jiffy.

You may think that sifting your dry ingredients – like flour and sugar – is a waste of time, but it has a couple of important functions. For starters, sifting gets rid of lumps so it’s easy to create a nice and smooth batter. Secondly, sifting actually introduces air into the mixture before you even start to combine ingredients, creating a lighter bake.

Yes, we know that cracking eggs into a separate bowl means more washing up, but it also makes it easier to get rid of stray bits of eggshell and also stops you from ruining an entire mix if you happen to get a rotten egg. If you do get shell in your egg, just use half of the broken egg to fish it out.

Most importantly, you need to read the recipe you’re following. Doing this before you start will ensure you have everything you need and that you have time to check on anything you’re not sure about. You should then follow the recipe step by step to get the best results, as skipping something could leave you with egg on your face rather than a great cake!