Shadowing Practice: Baker Answers Baking Questions from Twitter | Tech Support | WIRED - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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One, two, three!
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Hi, I'm Mina Kasem and today I'll be answering your questions on Twitter.
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This is baking support.
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First up we have...
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At ClickHoleBot, how do bakers decide what temperature to bake at?
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So I kind of see a trend in most baking as 350, but there's so many different unique things that you can be baking baking.
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A meringue can go low and slow.
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Something else will want fast heat so you can crunchify the outside.
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I think you have to go specifically to what you're making just
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because if you bake something too hot you'll burn the outside and you'll have raw dough on the inside.
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If you bake something too slow your cookies could just sort of melt away instead of keeping their form
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and actually being cooked inside.
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So depends on what you're making.
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At Kate underscore Neil.
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At this point I'm not sure if I'll ever understand the difference between baking soda, baking powder or cornstarch.
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Baking soda needs acid and liquid in order to activate but we're using that usually on denser things like cookies.
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Then we have baking powder which only needs liquid to really activate and that is a more controlled temperature.
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Those are cakes, airier, lighter, fluffier things.
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Cornstarch though, the way I do use it a lot in baking now that I think about it, is in baking spray.
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I use a lot of baking spray in my pans to let them release them really fast.
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And the difference between a cooking spray and a baking spray is basically that a baking spray has cornstarch in it, so it will very, very easily release the goods.
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At Jimmy Shaw, I'm not good at baking.
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Do you use salt when baking cupcakes?
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Alright, Jimmy, let's talk about salt for a second because I love salt.
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It is actually a flavor enhancer, so you can definitely add a little bit of salt here and there in different recipes, but make sure that you are checking what the recipe is and what it calls for.
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I personally love sprinkling a little bit of sea salt over my cookies just before I bake them, no matter what kind I'm doing, because salt enhances flavor, and who doesn't want to enhance their cookies?
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Up next, we have Don't Tell Scotty.
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Okay, but when making cupcakes, what is the deal with frosting?
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How can it be so difficult to make?
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I refuse to stop baking cupcakes until I've mastered a perfect cream cheese frosting.
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If you prefer buttercream, get out of my life.
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Same, girl.
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I have a cream cheese to the core on every flavor of cake.
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My bakery, we only use cream cheese frosting, so I'm with you.
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One thing that I love about cream cheese frosting is you can sort of do one, one, one.
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And I know that just sounds crazy, so I'll break it down.
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One stick of butter, one bar of cream cheese, and one 16-ounce bag of powdered sugar.
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Well, you could add a little bit of vanilla at the end, but the ratio should just be where you still have it creamy and rich and thick, but it's not too sweet.
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But that is my favorite, favorite cream cheese recipe and it's so easy to remember when you're out shopping.
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1-1-1. At Horamorty.
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Hello guys, I need a cake.
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I think it's called an explosion cake.
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I want it for myself.
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Well, I can't send you one, but I can definitely show you how to make one.
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Here we have six layers of cake and they are six inch rounds that I baked them in.
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Here I have my cream cheese frosting.
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So I'm gonna start by doing one ring.
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Doesn't need to be perfect.
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And I'm gonna start with my bottom layer.
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You're going to see that I pressed it down and it allows the cake to not move around.
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Whoa, magic!
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And then we're going to do another ring.
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There we go.
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You don't want to get any frosting on the inside because that's where we're going to fill it with sprinkles.
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Fresh frosting is the best.
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Room temperature butter and very cold cream cheese is the way I do it.
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Color is very important too.
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I mean, I think you can see how vibrant my colors are, but I use gel food coloring.
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my sprinkle explosion mix.
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We're gonna fill it all the way to the top and don't be scared, don't be shy.
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You actually want to make sure
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that the sprinkles are coming a little bit higher than the cake because don't forget we still have more frosting to do.
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A lot of people like to trim the top of the cake so that it becomes very flat, looks professional and clean.
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My easy trick of getting something flat and perfect is flip it over.
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And that my friends is how you make a rainbow explosion cake.
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At Chang Feng.
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Wow, what a perfect timing.
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She's asking how do you frost a cake.
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Ta-da!
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The first step in frosting a cake for me is crumb coating.
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We're going to do a very, very, very thin layer of frosting all around the cake.
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What we're trying to do is seal in the crumbs.
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My favorite tool, I literally keep it in my back pocket because it's ready to go, is a cake scraper.
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If you don't have a cake scraper, a spatula, a butter knife, anything will do.
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Okay, so I've added a little bit more frosting and now we're ready to actually frost it.
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This layer doesn't need to be too thick.
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You're just gonna keep rotating it and rotating it until the cake scraper does its thing.
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And I want to just let you guys know I'm not applying a ton of pressure to it.
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I'm just lightly making sure that we are scraping off anything that's too much frosting
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and then filling in anything that's a hole.
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And you just want to make sure you're cleaning it off because you don't want the sprinkles sticking to the board.
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You want the sprinkles sticking to the cake.
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There's so many different ways that you can cover a cake with sprinkles.
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My favorite tool is my right hand.
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What I do is I scoop as many sprinkles as I can into my hand and I'm just going to slowly glide, not applying too much pressure,
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but just enough so the sprinkles are sticking.
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You're going to go straight over and try and get as much as you can.
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Just tilt the slightest bit.
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Ta-da!
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Sprinkle explosion cake.
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Okay, now the moment we've all been waiting for, we are going to cut into this explosion cake.
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Here we go.
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You want to make sure you're cutting a very big slice all the way down to the center.
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One, two, three!
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There you have it!
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Sprinkle explosion cake!
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At LilyGabos1, serious question.
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Why do cupcakes and cookies literally have the same exact ingredients but have completely different textures and taste nothing alike?
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They don't have the same exact ingredients because here we're talking about ratios.
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are so so important.
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I'm from Mexico and when you think about chilaquiles or enchiladas or just different Mexican dishes,
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they also carry very very similar ingredients but taste different because they have different textures and different ratios.
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Once you start messing around with that you can create so many different dishes.
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Up next we have Fi.
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I'm a failure.
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Why is my cake so flat?
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First of all Fi, you are not a failure.
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You just made an amazing dessert.
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So let me describe this to you.
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She has here an upside down pineapple cake with cherries, like going for it, and it's very very thin.
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But actually it doesn't look like there's anything wrong with it.
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The texture and the color look amazing.
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I think what you did wrong here is that your pan was too big.
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So if you want a fluffier cake, use a smaller pan and that way it'll be fluffier.
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Miss Camille, ooh I see sprinkles in here.
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What are sprinkles even?
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Are they just colorful sugar?
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But why don't they taste like sugar?
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Actually we have sprinkles right here.
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So there's so many different kinds.
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When you're talking about a nonpareil, they're the teeny tiny little circle balls that I cover my cakes in.
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And those are actually really crunchy and those are made out of sugar.
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More traditional American sprinkle, it's actually gel based, which gives it that texture that when you squeeze it, it's sort of, instead of popping or cracking,
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it sort of has this gel texture.
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At Envy Slove, literally why do all my cookies end up so flat?
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I'm doing everything right.
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Let's talk about flat.
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So, when your cookie is too flat, there's a few things that could go wrong there.
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The first one being if your dough is too warm
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or your butter is too warm before you put it into
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the oven Then it's already instantly going to start flattening out as it hits
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that heat It can also be too flat
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if you're putting it in the oven at too low of a temperature
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Because low and slow is not a friend to cookies Basically, it just starts flattening out the dough and never really taking a shape but
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Still tastes good You also don't want the temperature in your oven to be too hot
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because then what happens is your cookie almost starts to shrink quite the opposite of the flattening
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and it gets very very hard and the outside is hard
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and overly brown but the inside could actually still be a little bit raw which is not something that we want.
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Under baking your cookies I know a lot of people love a doughy gooey cookie
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but under baking your cookie can just be really terrible
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because as you can see it just bulges in the center
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and that means that it didn't even completely cook through to even get the right cookie shape.
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Lastly, we have a perfect cookie.
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350 degrees, cold, cold, cold dough.
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Perfectly put in, scooped out of a ball, baked perfectly, just for me.
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At Lexi Lane, question, when making cupcakes do you fill the entire baking cup or just a little bit?
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If you're using a liner, I usually do about two-thirds of the liner
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because you want it almost to rise
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that third portion here plus the little top over
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so you just have enough room to decorate and it's nice
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and domed because your cupcake will rise more than whatever you put in.
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So, rule of thumb, two-thirds.
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The Black Heart King.
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Okay, how do I get good at baking?
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I keep trying but I can't do it right.
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One good rule is to take it as if it was science.
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I personally use a scale, but if not, just try and make sure that you're using your dry measuring cups for your dry cups, your wet measuring cups for your wet ingredients, and definitely never mix those.
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Another good rule is actually to be patient.
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Don't try and get in there early.
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I see so many cakes that end up being like tipsy because you're frosting it when it's too warm.
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Just be patient, give it that time it needs to cool
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or proof or whatever it is to make good ones to do.
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At the very least, you get to eat a lot of sugar, right?
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That's good.
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This is not a joke.
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Can you make your own sprinkles at home somehow and make them pink?
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You could totally make them at home.
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You just need to have a very, very thin tip on the piping bag.
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Look up a great recipe.
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There's so many easy ones.
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Make sure you're mixing in your color beforehand.
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Put it into that piping bag and you're just going to make really long, thin lines over and over and over again.
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And once you've baked them, I like to crack them or you could just crack them like spaghetti.
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And if you want to go even crazier, luster dust them and make them sparkle.
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Let's see who's next.
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We have at Echoes and Void.
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How do bakers make meringue?
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Is that even possible? So possible. So delicious.
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Takes a little bit of time with a lot of egg yolks, but the key is meringue powder.
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Put a little bit in into your egg whites and sugar, and you basically have to let them whisk forever and ever and ever until you get this peak white,
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which is just beautiful and it looks like a mistletoe version of frosting.
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I don't even know what I'm describing, but it's amazing and you can make meringue cookies.
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Up next, we have at CN Christina Kay.
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Watched all these buttercream tutorials and hmm, I don't have a cake scraper or a ruler.
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This is going to be very interesting.
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It is interesting, but interesting can be fun.
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You could also use the back of an offset spatula.
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You could probably use a butter knife.
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I dip my knife in a very hot cup of water, wipe it off, and since then the butter knife is hot, it'll easily smoothen off the little corners.
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And then if not, just do a fun design.
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It doesn't need to be perfect.
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Cover it in sprinkles.
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At H-D-I-L-N, why are my cupcakes so empty?
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I think if you're getting air pockets inside of your cupcakes, one thing I recommend is once you've poured your batter into the tin, I give it a little tap, tap, tap on the counter,
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and that evens out my batter, but it's also going to release some of those air bubbles so that you don't have huge pockets inside.
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But you could just call this an eclair and say you succeeded.
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Up next, we have at KTLoria, baking Twitter.
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Can you please explain the chemical process that turns my perfectly tasty sugar dough into utterly mediocre cookies?
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They're not mediocre cookies once you bake them, but you are baking everything together.
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When you're tasting it, you're probably loving those little grains of sugar that are just raw, right?
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And once they get melted into the cookie, they're blending with that butter.
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So maybe up your sugar a little bit or dust them on top, roll them around in some sugar when you bake them, because it sounds like you have a sweet tooth.
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Olivia at The Northernist.
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Okay, I've got a big birthday cake question.
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I love birthdays.
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Do you like that thick white fondant icing on birthday cakes or no?
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No, I am not a fan of fondant whatsoever.
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The texture of fondant, whether you're using a marshmallow or a sugar base, it's basically like a Play-Doh, right?
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And you can play with it, you can color it, you can roll it out.
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It's very sweet and it's edible, but I wouldn't say it's delicious for the most part.
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I mean, let's be real.
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We're not making bananas here.
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You shouldn't have to peel your cake to eat it.
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I want to lick my frosting off.
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At AmmaLives, what's the hardest thing to bake and why is it cookies?
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I don't think it's cookies, to be honest with you.
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I think that maybe the expectations
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that people carry on what they want their cookie to look
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like versus the cookies they're actually making could be a little bit different.
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But the hardest thing for me to bake, I would have to say, are souffles.
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You know when you order dessert at a restaurant, they always tell you, if you want the souffle, please let us know in advance.
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It feels like a trick where they're feeding you, order the souffle.
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Number one, they are feeding you, order the souffle.
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Definitely always order the souffle.
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And number three, it does take forever.
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It's something that is rising slowly, right?
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It's not something that's just being baked like a cake.
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It has this mousse texture.
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It's fluffy, it's light, it's airy.
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So it's temperature sensitive and it needs to be in there long enough for it to rise.
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It rises so perfectly like a puffy cloud and it's delicious.
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But that's way harder than a cookie.
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Up next we have at Rotis.
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Can I replace butter with I can't believe it's not butter when baking cupcakes?
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Technically you can but they're not going to come out the same because it's not butter, right?
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If you want to use a replacement without lactose, Green Valley actually makes a butter that is identical to butter and will melt and act the exact same way.
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I've had so much success with it.
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At Amy V303, am I the only one that uses milk instead of water when making cupcakes?
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I hope not.
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I think you're referring to box mix cake
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and they do always say to use water and oil or eggs but 100% you should replace the water with milk.
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So water obviously evaporates doesn't add flavor.
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Milk has a fat content just like you would with butter and it just makes for a way better baked good.
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Alright, that's all the questions we have for today.
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I hope you guys all learned something.
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I certainly had so much fun.
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All I know is that I'm going to go off, eat a whole lot of cookies, whether they were flat or not.
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Who Is This Video For?
This video is perfect for intermediate English learners aiming to boost conversational fluency, especially those prepping for IELTS speaking practice. The casual, question-and-answer format mirrors real-life dialogues, making it ideal for practicing listening comprehension and mimicking natural speech patterns. Whether you’re learning to explain processes (like baking) or clarify differences (between baking soda and powder), the content offers practical, everyday language to master.
Words & Idioms Worth Stealing
- Crunchify: To make something crispy (e.g., "Bake at high heat to crunchify the outside").
- Fluffier: Light and soft (e.g., "Baking powder creates fluffier cakes").
- Release the goods: To help food come out of a pan easily (e.g., "Baking spray with cornstarch releases the goods").
- Flavor enhancer: Something that makes taste better (e.g., "Salt is a great flavor enhancer").
How to Get the Accent Right
The speaker uses a clear, conversational tone with natural pauses—perfect for shadowing technique practice. Focus on: reduced speech (e.g., "kind of" becomes "kinda") and stress on key words (e.g., "denser" in "denser things like cookies"). For IELTS speaking practice, mimic her pace when explaining steps (like the 1-1-1 frosting ratio) to sound confident. Use shadow speak by repeating phrases immediately after her, paying attention to how she emphasizes "cream cheese" or "sea salt" for clarity. This helps build fluency and natural intonation, key for scoring well in speaking tests.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | I've mastered · I've added · you've baked |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | being cooked · are made · being baked |
| Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form | love sprinkling · stop baking · keep rotating |
| Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group | the best · the slightest · the most part |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.