Unlike cooking, where you can improvise and put your own spin on recipes, altering key components in baking – like flour, leavening agents or sugar – can dramatically change the texture, rise and flavour of the final product. Remember that baking is a precise science that relies on specific ingredient ratios and techniques, so don’t be tempted to swap demerara sugar for white sugar if that’s all you’ve got in the cupboard. To avoid this, ensure you have all the ingredients listed in the recipe before you start cooking.

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