This type of recipe will say things like “cream” the butter and sugar or “beat the butter and sugar till pale and creamy”. Cakes made using this method will first cream the butter together with the sugar, and then the eggs are added one by one, and finally the flour (which is usually added alternatively with a liquid).

To cream butter, start with softened butter. Literally beat the butter in your mixer until it changes colour and becomes lighter or pale. The butter will eventually lose its buttery taste and become creamier.

Why is this such an important baking technique? Creaming the butter with sugar not only helps the sugar to “dissolve” into the butter and be spread evenly through the batter; it also aerates (adds air) to the butter – giving a lighter texture to bakes.

This method is often used in bread and pastry making. The recipe will begin with the instruction to “run the butter into the flour”.

To do this, simply use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until it begins to look like crumbs. This rubbing in will coat the flour in a fine layer of butter, which helps give a pastry or bread the correct texture when baking.

This type of recipe calls for the butter and liquid to be boiled together before being added to the flour. Cupcakes and old fashioned hot milk puddings are made using this method.

Pies or tart recipes will ask you to “blind bake” your pastry. This means that you need to precook your pastry before adding the filling to prevent the pastry from becoming soggy.

- To bake blind, follow the steps below:
Roll the pastry out slightly larger than the pan.
Use a rolling pin to lift the pastry and position it over the pan.
Leave an overhang of pastry around the sides of the pan.
Roll the rolling pin over the top to trim off the excess pastry.
Lightly press the pastry into the pan using your fingertips and prick the base of the pastry case all over with a fork.
Place a sheet of baking paper on top of the pastry and fill the middle with baking beans, dried pulses or rice. (The baking beans or rice are added to the baking paper to add weight to the pastry shell and help hold it in place as it bakes.)
Bake the pastry crust for about 15 minutes in a hot oven or until the pastry is firm.
Remove the beans and the paper and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.

This one is as easy as, well, pie. All the recipe ingredients are mixed together in one go.

The most common form of baking, relying on an oven to trap heat in an enclosed space with the dough or batter.

A common form of baking in the UK, steaming entraps heat using a small amount of water in tight-fitting lid and pan to cook baked goods from crumpets to cakes.

A method of baking that uses a hot stone to evenly distribute high heat into breads and other baked goods.

 A primitive form of baking over a bed of fiery ash, typically used to cook flat breads and cakes.

A hybrid method of cooking that begins on the grill and is finished in the oven—or vice versa—to infuse baked goods with a slightly smoked or charred flavor.