Switched to weighing ingredients after a flop at my sister's birthday party

I was at my sister's place last month making her a birthday cake, and I figured I'd just eyeball the flour like I always do. Big mistake. The batter came out way too thick, so I added more milk, then it was too runny, and I kept chasing it until I had basically a soup. The cake came out dense and lopsided, and my brother in law jokingly called it a 'brick loaf'. Right then, my sister handed me her kitchen scale and said 'just use this, it's not that hard.' I tried it for the first time and the next batch came out perfect. Now I weigh everything including sugar and butter, and it's so much more consistent. Has anyone else had a big baking fail that forced them to change their whole process?

2 comments

2 Comments

charles_coleman11d ago

My first big baking fail was a batch of cookies that spread into one giant sheet because I packed the flour way too tight. Once I started weighing it, I realized I had been using almost 50% more flour than the recipe called for. Now I never touch a measuring cup for dry ingredients, and my baked goods actually turn out like they're supposed to.

williamw7510d ago

Totally been there, Charles! That first "flour fail" is such a rite of passage. I made one giant pancake cookie too and it was so disappointing, now I'm team scale for sure.