A few Lessons I have learned over the years...

This is part one of a series of tips that I hope to continue throughout the next few months. 

#1 Always let the cake completely cool before trying to put frosting on it. If you don't, you will end up with frosting filled with crumbs. 

#2 Always cool cookies, cupcakes, and cakes on a wire rack. This ensures that they don't get all soggy. It is especially important for cookies because cooling them on a rack gives them a nice crisp texture and they won' fall apart when you pick them up.

#3 Bring butter and eggs to room temperature (unless the recipe says otherwise) for baking. A good way to bring butter to room temperature if you forgot to set it out before is to dice it into cubes on a plate and let it sit for a moment. This way, more surface is exposed to heat and it melts faster. NEVER put butter in the microwave to soften it. It will melt and the texture will not hold up frostings and batters. 

#4 Be sure to understand the difference between  4 Cups of Flour, Sifted and 4 Cups of Sifted Flour . Yes, it matters!  The first one calls for 4 cups of flours which you then sift. The second calls for sifted flour which you then measure out 4 cups of. 

#5 If you don't own a piping bag , you can always use a ziplock bag for applying frosting to cupcakes and cakes. All you have to do is put your frosting in a bag (you will need a larger size, like freezer bag size or something), zip it shut, and snip of the corner of one edge. Start by only cutting a small bit off and increase the size little by little. It's kind of a pain when you realize the hold is too big and you have to transfer all the frosting.