12 Secrets for Baking Amazing Desserts, from a Professional Pastry Chef

Image Credit: Joe Lingeman by JESSE SZEWCZYK

Image Credit: Joe Lingeman We asked Kyle Bartone, executive pastry chef of Eataly Downtown in New York City, for his best baking-on-the-job tips and techniques — that anyone can still use in their home kitchen. Here’s what he told us.

Measure ingredients by weight, not by volume.

Image Credit: Joe Lingeman Ditch your measuring cups for a digital scale. Measuring by weight is especially important when making baked goods like bread that rely on precise ratios.

Add milk powder to batter or dough to add richness and promote browning.

Image Credit: Emma Christensen “Milk powder is one of those secret ingredients professional pastry chefs use to amp up their desserts,” says Bartone. Try adding a tablespoon to your next cookie recipe.

Use cocoa powder (not flour) to prevent chocolate doughs from sticking to countertops.

Image Credit: Martí Sans/Stocksy And as a bonus, your baked goods will have an extra bit of chocolate flavor.

Keep layer cakes moist by soaking them in simple syrup before assembling.

Image Credit: Joe Lingeman Soaks are handy with cakes that need to be baked in advance will be sitting out for a while. Make a soaking syrup with one part sugar and one part water.

Use plastic wrap instead of parchment paper when blind baking pies.

Image Credit: Sarah Crowley This will help prevent wrinkles in the dough. However, make sure you’re using plastic wrap that’s oven-safe — and don’t use it for super-high heat applications, like broiling.

Prevent doughs from spreading in the oven by freezing them for at least 15 minutes before baking.

Image Credit: Joe Lingeman This chilling time will firm up the butter so it doesn’t melt too quickly and deform your pastries.

Try swapping vanilla beans for vanilla bean powder.

Image Credit: mommyknows { Kim Becker } on Flickr “Vanilla bean powder is made by grinding up the entire pod, not just the seeds,” explains Bartone. “This makes it much cheaper, and you still get a wonderful vanilla flavor and beautiful specks.”

Master meringues with a secret ingredient: lemon juice.

Image Credit: Emma Christensen “Whenever I whip egg whites, I rub my mixing bowl with a bit of fresh lemon juice to break down any residual fat stuck on the bowl,” says Bartone.

Swap all-purpose flour for cake flour if you want an airier cake.

Image Credit: Ghazalle Badiozamani Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose flour, meaning your cake will develop less gluten — and less gluten means a more tender cake.

Use acetate paper when you want extra shiny and smooth chocolate garnishes.

Image Credit: Joe Lingeman Next time you make chocolate bark, try setting it on acetate paper instead of parchment. It’ll give the bark a beautiful shine and smooth finish.

Invest in an oven thermometer.

Image Credit: Apartment Therapy Oven temperatures aren’t always accurate. So instead of trusting the dial on your oven, use the oven thermometer as a guide and adjust your heat dial up or down.

Watch your ingredient temperatures — especially when it comes to eggs.

Image Credit: Joe Lingeman “Most recipes call for room-temperature eggs because it prevents creamed butter from getting cold and seizing up,” explains Bartone.

For more cooking tips, visit thekitchn.com