November 29 2011 Tuesday at 11:12 AM

Our Five Favorite Baking Tools

So many perfect, pretty, ingenious kitchen gadgets; so no space left in the kitchen. Since we apartment dwellers can’t give homes to all the darlings, here are 5 that deserve it. 1. Fun Measuring Cups, Spoons & Bowls Anything worth doing, is worth doing using something way cooler than what your neighbor has. DayGlo mixing bowls -- yes, and they’re nested! Sculpted, stainless-steel teaspoons -- I could hold you all day. Measuring cups with cat handles -- ssssure. Matryoshkas measuring cups -- better.

2. Mini Cupcake Pan When you can’t decide on just one frosting, make minis, and make all your favorites. Or, next time you bring cupcakes to the party, bang out two pans of minis (that’s 48 cupcakes!), then go grab a drink. Speaking of drink, particularly potent boozecakes or extra rich recipes are best in small doses. And we all have a few of those friends whocan’t possibly have a whole cupcake. 3. Canisters Sleeker than a sack of flour, cleaner than a sticky bag of brown sugar, canisters keep your kitchen neat-o. Use tiny canisters for spices, medium for chocolate chips and large for home-made cookies (or let’s-pretend-they’re-home-made cookies). If not for the “Sleeping with the Enemy” flashbacks, I’d canister everything.

4. Sifter

For especially obsessive bakers, sifting is the only way to get consistent flour measurements. Well, the only way without a scale -- that’s just crazy. It’s also great for de-lumping powdered sugar to get perfectly smooth frosting, and works as a strainer for keeping seeds and pulp out of fresh-squeezed fruit juice. Look for a cute, retro number at your favorite thrift store. 5. One Great Spatula Something sturdy, but not too stiff. Not too big, not too small. You need the right spatula to get every last drop from the bowl to the pan. Pick your favorite color. Stir, fold, scrape, lick clean. *Bonus Holiday Must Have: Naturally since it's the Holidays you will definitely need one great wine rack.  The rack is for looks the wine is so you can deal with your family all season long ;)