Why I want to be mentor: I have tried countless recipes and have had people ask me about baking/dessert making tips all the time.
Lesson Learned: Never be discouraged. Everyone has flopped a dish before. The key is to not get discouraged and try it again rather than putting the recipe in the back of the box.
Tip: Cold eggs will reduce the volume of your cake
Why I want to be mentor: I love to cook and love to help people that are interested in learning how to cook.
Lesson Learned: pay attention to what you are doing, write yourself notes on your recipes (ie, what did if look like, did it take longer to cook than you thought)
Why I want to be mentor: I could troubleshoot people\'s baking problems all day long--it\'s one of my favorite things about my blog, when people get into a discussion about baking problem-solving. And when people find out about my blog and start peppering me with questions about recipes they love and ones that didn\'t work for them and everyone starts sharing great tips or commiserating about kitchen failures, there\'s no party conversation I like better. Maybe this is a little embarrassing to admit and I should keep this to myself?
Lesson Learned: The science of baking can be really daunting to a lot of people, as it certainly was for me in the beginning. But a few things can really get you on the right track: Read your recipe completely before you begin. Get all your ingredients to room temperature (unless the recipe calls for cold ingredients). Get yourself an oven thermometer. Use dry measuring cups for dry ingredients and liquid measures for liquids and measure precisely. Make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh if you haven\'t used them in a while. And unless the recipe tells you otherwise, don\'t overwork the batter or dough once the flour is added.
Tip: See "Lessons Learned". Every good tip I share with my readers comes from my own "a-ha!" moments in the kitchen.
Why I want to be mentor: So many people I have run across through the years think that cooking of any kind is hard. I learned just by watching. Creativity comes with time and experiece.
Lesson Learned: Just because its hard to make, does not always make it good. Sometimes the easiest and best tasting dishes are simple.
Tip: Make it simple, easy for a child to understand.