Perfect Bake: Smart Baking Companion

My simple notion of homemade baked treats has been shaken to the very core since Perfect Bake™ came into my life. The app-controlled smart baking system guides users through every single step of the baking process to ensure optimal results, from ingredients and prep, to baking and finishing. Perfect Bake is basically like having someone who knows a whole lot about baking hold your hand and walk you through a recipe.

The system includes a scale, three color-coded mixing bowls, an oven thermometer, and a tablet/phone stand. Perfect Bake works through a free app that can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Once the app has been downloaded, turn on the scale and connect your tablet or smart phone to it by plugging into the audio jack.

The next step is to choose a recipe, of which there are over 220 available with more added continually through app updates. The recipes have been developed and tested by trained pastry chefs from the Culinary Institute of America, and there are many categories to choose from including Getting Started, Simple, Advanced, Cookies, Vegan, Holiday, and so on.

A neat feature of Perfect Bake is the Pantry function where users can input all the ingredients they already have on-hand at home. Once you have added in all the ingredients, there is an option to display a list of recipes according to how many of the ingredients are currently in the pantry. The app will keep track of what you have, and when you select a recipe later, it will show a check mark next to the ingredients you already have.

Once a recipe has been chosen, select the BAKE! button at the bottom of the screen. The app will register that the scale is connected and prompt you to select OK to calibrate the scale. The recipes are broken down into color-coded blocks that match the included bowls and each block has steps within it. For example, if you’re making cookies, the Prep block might tell you to preheat the oven, and maybe pull out the butter and eggs to bring them to room temperature and get out the first bowl you will need.

There is a boxed question mark symbol next to each step that will reveal details about that aspect of the recipe. So if the step is to Mix/Cream and you are not sure what that means, clicking the question mark will take you to a new screen that describes what it means to cream, lists steps for creaming, and displays a table of KitchenAid Mixer speeds as they translate to Perfect Bake speeds.

Once you advance to the first step of the recipe and put the bowl on the scale, ingredients are weighed by the scale as you pour. A virtual bowl on the screen shows the progress in real time and a ding sounds when it is time to stop. If you overpour an ingredient, the recipe can be adjusted to compensate, but you do have to tell it do so. Otherwise, it will flag that there was an overpour, but not automatically adjust everything for you. When mixing is required, a timer will display and count down to ensure the perfect amount of mixing time.

When the recipe is all weighed, mixed, and ready to pour, a portion meter will weigh each cookie, cupcake, muffin, etc. as you place it on the cookie sheet or pour into a cupcake pan. The portion meter has an arrow that shows you if the weight is in the ideal range. Once the arrow lands in the range, it will auto-zero after detecting a steady weight for three seconds, and you can portion out another. The app will also indicate how far apart you should drop the cookie batter on the sheet. This is especially helpful for getting uniform cupcakes and cookies, or avoiding the dreaded mutant cookies that all run together.

Perfect Bake will then time out your baking and alert you when it is done or time to check on your creation. There is also a timer for the cool down time, if needed. Lastly, the app will direct you to any finishing touches, like dusting powdered sugar over cookies, and will also indicate the proper storage for the baked good.

What I like about Perfect Bake is that the way the recipes are presented makes it so any baking technique seems approachable. The second recipe I made was the Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes with Espresso Buttercream Frosting, which called for using a double boiler to combine the egg whites and sugar. Now normally, I would see a step asking me to use a double boiler and immediately choose to skip the recipe entirely. But this time I told myself it was completely doable and went for it – maybe it was because the recipe was under both the Getting Started and Simple categories of recipes. Whatever the case, I am glad I tried it because the frosting came out wonderfully and the cupcakes were amazing.

After that boost of confidence, I was super impressed with myself. “I can do stuff,” I told myself, and made Chocolate Chunk Cookies the next week that were so good my husband demanded that I not even attempt to share them with anyone. I made spur of the moment Red Velvet Mug Cakes for my friends that they are still talking about. The word “cookie” was mentioned in my house and I immediately volunteered to make some. I made Pecan Sandies that almost made me cry they came out so perfectly. I even toasted the pecans myself, another recipe step that would have previously caused me to skip the recipe altogether – but not this time. I toasted the chopped up pecans and those cookies were brilliant, I tell you.

With a suggested retail price of $69.99, Perfect Bake is great for bakers of all experience levels. There are advanced recipes, like Ricotta-Honey Cheesecake and Pâte à Choux, for more advanced bakers, and there are no bake recipes for those with a limited kitchen. If you want to get into baking Perfect Bake is good gateway product since it is essentially a smart cookbook that really doesn’t want you to mess up and even makes sure you measure correctly by doing this for you through the scale. Since using the system I have a new appreciation for homemade baked goods and may even kick my boxed mixes habit. I’ll need to try out a cake recipe first, and the Browned Butter Carrot Cake is certainly calling my name.

This story was originally published in the September 2015 issue of Kitchenware News, a publication of Oser Communications Group.

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