All cakes should be covered to keep them at their freshest. Plain cakes keep well in a ventilated cake tin or bread box for several days. Cakes with whipped cream or cream filling should be refrigerated until served for best results.

All baked goods should be thawed at room temperature. The time required for thawing depends on the type of product, but it's usually 3 to 4 hours. Pies with fruit fillings require a longer period of time to thaw than those filled with whipped cream or cream fillings.

Yes, unfrosted or butter frosted cakes may be wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 weeks. For a soft frosting, freeze cake unwrapped for several minutes; then as soon as top is firm, cover with plastic wrap.

Shiny pans can give your pie a soggy bottom. To avoid this, go with dull-finished aluminum or glass pie pans instead.

We use the Julian calendar to code when our products have been manufactured.  The four-digit code resembles the day of the year the product was manufactured (i.e.: 001 = January 1st, 032 = February 1st, 352 = December 31st).  The last digit of the code is the year the product was manufactured (i.e.: 1 = 2011, 2 = 2012).  All premium desserts have an 18-month shelf life.  18-months from the date used in the Julian calendar is the expiration date.  As this can be a confusing task, in 2013 we changed to a more conventional "best by" date on the end of all of our products.  

This technique helps prevent soggy pie crusts because the egg protein forms a shield between the dough and moist pie filling. Since the coagulating temperature of the egg mixture is lower than the jelling temperature of the filling, you reduce the period in which the water in the filling comes in direct contact with the crust.

Yes, keep the following pointers in mind when making your pie pastry: Choose dull-finished aluminum or glass pie pans. Shiny pans can give the pie a soggy bottom. Prick an unfilled pastry shell before baking. If the pastry shell is to be baked before it is filled (such as with lemon meringue), prick the bottom and sides with a fork just enough to keep it from puffing during baking. If it does begin to puff, reprick the crust. Don't prick the bottom too much or the filling may seep under the pastry.

Yes! Be creative! Add your favorite fruits (dried or fresh), nuts, baking chips, raisins, etc., to a prepared mix for wonderful new taste sensations while still saving time and enjoying the ease of using a mix. To prevent sinking, toss dry fruit or raisins in flour before adding them to the mix.

Always prepare your pans before mixing the batter. The texture and volume of the baked product can be affected by allowing the batter to sit in the bowl while greasing pans. To properly prepare baking pans, brush the bottom of the pan with margarine, butter, shortening or cooking spray. Sprinkle the bottom and sides with a bit of flour, rolling the pan to ensure it is evenly coated; then discard the excess flour from pan. Hint: When making a chocolate cake, use cocoa to prepare pans so that when baked, the cake does not show a coating of white flour.

This is caused by improper greasing of the pan. To facilitate the removal of the cake, place a hot, moist cloth around the pan and then let stand for a few minutes. Repeat, if necessary.

Tunnels may result from overstirring the batter or baking at too high an oven temperature.

Cover it with foil or waxed paper, and check your oven temperature. The oven may be too hot.

This can be caused by insufficient rising agents such as baking powder, beaten egg white or yeast. Oven temperature may be too low, or there may be too many liquid ingredients used (including eggs, milk, etc.). Hint: Unless otherwise stated, most recipes use large-sized eggs.

Place the cheesecake on the lower oven rack to bake. If baked on a high rack, the surface will dry too quickly and the evaporating liquid of the cheese will crack the surface.

Yes. This is because the transparency of glass allows radiant heat to pass directly through it, absorbing comparatively little of that energy in the process. Cooks using a recipe based on figures for a dark-surfaced pan and baking in one made of oven-proof glass must either shorten the baking period or lower the oven temperature by 10°F. When the recipe is designed for a shiny pan and you use a Pyrex container, decrease the temperature by 25°F.

Absolutely. Cookie mixes, pouch cakes and muffins can be successfully doubled.

Poke a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out dry, the product is done. If the batter sticks to the toothpick, continue to bake a little longer.

Yes, you can use the prepared mousse as a filler in your favorite pie shell or dessert cup.  You could also use it as a frosting once it had thickened. 

The gelatin is from a beef base

We are sorry to say that at this time, we do not offer translation as a service.

Yes. Dr. Oetker Instant Dry Yeast has been successfully used in bread machines.

Yes, the two kinds of yeast can be used interchangeably. One envelope of active dry yeast is equal to 1 (1/2 ounce) cake of compressed fresh yeast.

Yeast is a tiny living plant that produces carbon dioxide gas, causing dough to rise. There are two kinds of yeast available today: active dry yeast, granulated in form, and cakes of compressed fresh yeast. Fresh yeast works quickly in a warm dough. It can be refrigerated. Dr. Oetker Instant Dry Yeast has all the properties of fresh yeast. It can be mixed with flour without premixing in a warm liquid, and it can be stored for up to 18 months in a cool, dry place without losing its strength.

Dr. Oetker Whip It is a starch product. It binds the liquid parts of the whipped cream together. Whip it enables whipped cream to remain stiff for several hours.

Glaze may turn opaque when stirred too much during cooling. This traps small air bubbles inside the setting glaze. Stirring carefully with a wooden spoon instead of an egg beater will prevent this problem.

Dr. Oetker USA complies with all American allergen labeling requirements. Allergens that must be declared in the United States include: Treenuts, peanuts, soybeans, wheat, eggs, milk, fish, crustacean shellfish, and sulphites. Allergens that are in our products are labeled either in the ingredient declaration (example: wheat flour, sodium caseinate (milk)); and/or listed in a “contains” statement (example: Contains: wheat, milk).   We also require all of our suppliers to have allergen cleaning procedures in place. Where our suppliers are not in a position to guarantee that these procedures can avoid getting trace amounts of an allergen in the raw materials they supply us, as an extra safety step we put a “may contain” statements on those respective products.  For more specific information about a certain product, please contact our customer service department directly.