I know, I know…
Fitting your parchment into your baking pan isn’t the sexiest thing to talk about but, if you’re a baker, then it can be reeeeally sexy!!
I mean, look at that magnificent cake! Not that parchment placement had everything to do with it’s gloriousness, but it came out of the pan in one piece thanks to parchment placement.
I remember teaching one of my very first cooking classes at a cooking school and they had run out of parchment. I made carrot cake and I clearly didn’t spray the pan with cooking spray in it’s entirety because, when I turned it out, it crumbled into pieces. With a giant gasp coming from the audience, I said, “no worries, we will now have a lesson in cake pops!!”.
Okay…let’s get back to the task at hand.
Parchment placement.
First things first, whether you get this right or not, it’s not a total game changer. But, like struggling with fitting sheets, when you get the paper in evenly, it is so gratifying.
The first method is what I call “snip and fit”.
First, cut a piece of parchment into a size that will fit your pan.
Next, fold it in half.
Then in half again…
Now, at the outer corner, snip a fairly deep slit with scissors.
See…this is what it should look like…
Now, push it into the pan and it should fit perfectly (if it doesn’t, snip a bit deeper).
Now, here is a different way…no scissors needed!
Take your piece of parchment and crumble it up like this…
Now, squish it into your pan…I promise it won’t slip out!
This method is a tad easier but, if you are looking for smooth baking corners on your cakes or loaves, the cutting method is the way to go.
Now that you’ve learned this incredibly life-altering technique (kidding, it’s a great technique, but it won’t solve world hunger or anything!), go ahead and bake a cake. It’s the last weekend of summer vacation and zucchini are in abundance…why not try my chocolate zucchini cake?
What the heck…
And let me know how it turns out!!
