Readers' Cake Baking Tips

(Please Share Your Own Tip)

Kim E-S Says: "When melting (or tempering) chocolate, you can do this in the microwave. Take care to break the chocolate into small pieces though and only heat for a short period of time, before stirring and heating again. When it is nearly melted, it may be best to melt the rest just by stirring, rather than risking overheating it as it could easily burn and become unusable. Also, make sure your bowl is dry to start with. If any water gets in it will cause the chocolate to seize."

Cakegirl Says: "To make chocolate heart decorations, melt white chocolate and use it to pipe a heart shape onto greaseproof paper. Squiggle more white chocolate in the middle and leave in the fridge to set. You can then spray with a bit of confectioners gold spray to give it a bit of shine!"

Cakegirl Says: "Melt white chocolate and spread a thin layer of chocolate on greaseproof paper or acetate. When the chocolate is starting to set, use a skewer to draw the shape of a heart in the chocolate - or if you have heart shaped cookie cutters, you could use those. Press a rasberry into the middle of the heart shape and leave until fully set."

Cakegirl Says: "To make chocolate flag decorations, melt white chocolate and divide into 3 bowls. Use food colouring to dye one blue and one red, and leave the rest white. Carefully spread blue, white and red chocolate onto greaseproof paper into the shape of a French flag using a knife or spoon. When nearly set, trip around the edges with the back of a knife to make a sharp rectangle. Leave in the fridge til set."