Thrifty cooking

Have you checked your baking powder is still in date? That could be a reason. If you have trouble with your sponges sinking the cause could be the oven door has been opened before the cake has set. the cake didn't go in the oven as soon as the mixture was ready or there's too much raising agent. If they crack on the top this hcould be there's too much raising agent, the cake tin' is too small or the oven temperature is too high. I hope this helps with your baking x

Try double cooking your chips. 1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1cm x 7cm chips. Wash the chips under cold running water to rinse off any free starch. 2. Heat the oil in a deep-frying pan to 130ºC. 3. Drain and dry the chips well and place them in small batches in a chip basket. 4. Lower the basket of chips into the oil and fry for 7-8 minutes, until soft but not brown. Shake the basket occasionally to ensure even cooking. 5. Lift the basket out of the pan and drain the chips on absorbent kitchen paper. 6. Heat the oil further to 180C and return the chips to the oil until the chips are golden brown. This could take a good few minutes, so be patient in order to get a really crispy chip. 7. Drain the chips on kitchen paper, season with salt and serve. You could even triple cook your chips by par boiling them before frying!

How very interesting. I'll have to use that paper for when I write stuff and eat chicken at the same time.