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20 Dough and mixtures Shortcrust pastry Shortcrust pastry comes out particularly well when baked in ovens with a moisture function because the steam supplied to the dough makes it particularly short. Tips: Only knead your dough for a short time because a long kneading time will take away the desired crumbly consistency of the pastry. In order to achieve a short kneading time, use soft fat where possible. The chilling time after kneading enhances the desired crumbly consistency of the finished bake. When rolling out the dough, use as little flour as possible. This will allow the dough to retain its elasticity. The dough pieces can always be kneaded together again. If the dough turns too crumbly, just add some water. Shortcrust pastry can be prepared in advance. When packaged correctly, it can stay fresh for 2–3 days in the fridge. Cake batter Cake batter is a creamy, viscous dough that is mainly made from fat, sugar and eggs. These ingredients ensure that the cake is nice and moist. Tips: Cream the sugar and butter and mix in the other ingredients quickly. All ingredients used should be at room temperature. If the consistency of the batter becomes too stiff, you can add some liquid, e.g. milk. Dust fruit, nuts and chocolate chips with some flour and mix them into the batter just before baking. This keeps these ingredients evenly distributed in the cake during baking. Bake the dough as soon as it has been made. To test if the cake is done, simply insert a wooden skewer into the cake. The cake is cooked through when the skewer comes out without any moist cake crumbs sticking to it. The warm cake can be removed from the baking paper more easily if you moisten the bottom of the paper with some water.