SCALES

If pastry chefs didn’t measure ingredients on scales, cakes and desserts would be different every time. One tart would rise well, and another would remain dense. The cream would sometimes be liquid and sometimes dense and unsweetened. You could forget about portioned and small desserts (cupcakes, macaroons, marshmallows). For cupcakes, an extra gram of leavening agent would blow up the cupcake, and for macarons, an extra drop of water would turn the brownie into a scone.
Therefore, a pastry chef’s rule of thumb is to measure all ingredients on a scale. Any electronic scales will do.
MANUAL OR PLANETARY MIXER

For beginner pastry chefs, I suggest using a hand mixer. It will perfectly cope with making biscuits, and whipping cream. It will be more difficult to whip meringue and marshmallows (compared to a planetary mixer), but it is also possible. In recipes, I try to use a hand mixer. I do this to show that you can make almost anything with a hand mixer.
In my practice, I use both a hand mixer and a planetary mixer. If I need to mix a biscuit and some cream, I use the hand mixer. If I make a large amount (cream, dough) or marshmallows, or meringue, I whip with a planetary mixer. I know that choosing a good planetary mixer is not easy. So I interviewed students, added my experience, and prepared a detailed review for you on how to choose a planetary mixer.
The most important things in choosing a mixer are a higher power, metal whiskers, and the ability to change speeds.
OVEN

It’s ideal if you have an electric oven. For biscuits and muffins, the convection mode is suitable for baking cheesecakes, eclairs, and pasta – top-bottom mode. Usually, for biscuits, you should set a temperature of 170-180 °C. If macarons, then lower. For cheesecakes around 100 °C, and for… Read more

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