15 Brilliant Baking Hacks

Want to feel like a baking ninja? We've got fifteen genius hacks to give you some mad skills.

1. Drop a piece of eggshell into the mixing bowl? Wet your finger and hold it just above, and the shell will practically jump onto your finger.
2. No time to make frosting to decorate a cake? Spread a piece of lace across the top and sprinkle a liberal amount of powdered sugar or cocoa powder on top. Remove the lace and you've got a gorgeous, lacy design!
3. Want to speed up your rising time for doughs? Set your covered bowl on top of an electric heating pad or blanket, set on medium-low.
4. Whip up a batch of whipped cream by shaking it in a mason jar with a lid. A vigorous shake for about three minutes does the trick!
5. Most baking recipes call for room-temperature eggs. If you forgot to take the eggs out hours in advance, simply place them in a bowl of warm tap water for about 10 minutes.
6. Ran out of brown sugar? Make your own by mixing granulated sugar with molasses.
7. Tired of splatters from your hand mixer? Use a paper plate as a barrier. Simply poke the beaters through the plate and insert them into the mixer to create an effective, disposable shield.
8. Keep your favorite go-to recipes handy by printing them out and posting them inside a kitchen cupboard door for easy reference.
9. Before popping cakes into the oven, hold the pan a few inches over the counter top and drop the pan. This will pop any air bubbles for a more dense, moist cake.
10. Use dental floss to cut smooth, even layers of cake. Wrap a long strand around, cross in the front and pull slowly for a clean cut every time.
11. Substitute Jell-O for food coloring in frostings. You get color, flavor and structure from the gelatin!
12. Keep a couple of marshmallows in your brown sugar to keep it from going hard.
13. Dip cookie cutters into flour before the dough for a no-stick, clean cut over and over.
14. Get your cupcakes uniform size by using a cookie dough scoop sprayed with nonstick spray.
15. Create your own colored sprinkles with sugar and food coloring (and this easy tutorial).