While popular TV shows like The Great British Bake Off and Masterchef show amateurs mastering various kitchen skills, not everyone is excellent at cooking or baking. I may be able to bake a decent cake but I always struggle with the icing, so when online brand Jackandbeyond.com got in touch with some interesting stats about bakers around the world, I was curious to see what are the biggest baking mishaps and longed-for skills in other countries? Read on for A Global Comparison of Baking Mishaps and Skills that Home Cooks Want to Master:

Don’t miss the chance to have your say! We’re looking for parents to get involved and give their feedback on all aspects of family life. Find out more here.

This comparison looked at UK, Ireland, Australia and USA and used surveys to find out what were the most common baking mishaps, as well as the top searches of baking and cooking topics to drill into what people are looking for help on.

A big thanks to Jackandbeyond.com who kindly supplied the core information.

You May Also Enjoy 50 Best Bake Sale Ideas to Make You the Coolest Parent Ever

A Global Comparison of Baking Mishaps

UK Bakers

• The biggest baking mistake bakers across the UK make is forgetting to soften butter – 72% are guilty of it
• Over kneading dough is the next biggest mishap (70%), explaining why many struggle to master baking bread
• The kitchen skill people in the UK want to master most is making buttercream with over 142,000 searches a month
• In second place is puff pastry, with 123,820 UK bakers Googling how to make it every month

Which are the Top Baking Mishaps in the UK?

1. Forgetting to soften butter 72%
2. Over kneading dough 70%
3. Guessing measurements 69%
4. Over whisking mixtures 67%
5. Substituting incorrect ingredients 64%
6. Overcrowding the oven/baking tins 63%
7. Forgetting to sift 61%
8. Opening the door too often 57%
9. Cooking at the wrong temperatures 55%
10. Adding too much raising agent to cakes 52%

Survey of 2,397 UK bakers by Jackandbeyond.com

What do UK bakers and cooks want to master?

1. Buttercream 142,300
2. Puff pastry 123,820
3. Caramel 63,900
4. Teriyaki 63,200
5. Poaching 60,500
6. Custard 57,990
7. Filo pastry 57,940
8. Purée 44,210
9. Blanching 37,840
10. Spatchcock 36,500

Figures shown are average monthly search volumes

Irish Bakers

• The biggest baking mistake Irish bakers make is forgetting to soften the butter, 63% are guilty of it
• Opening the oven door too often is the next biggest mishap (58%)
• The kitchen skill Irish parents want to master most is caramel with over 6,000 searches every month.
• In second place is shortcrust pastry, with 5,880 people in Ireland Googling how to make it every month

Which are the Irish biggest baking mishaps?

1. Forgetting to soften butter 63%
2. Opening the oven door too often 58%
3. Guessing measurements 56%
4. Overcrowding the oven/baking tins 49%
5. Substituting incorrect ingredients 49%
6. Cooking at the wrong temperatures 46%
7. Over whisking mixtures 44%
8. Forgetting to sift 39%
9. Over kneading dough 37%
10. Adding too much raising agent to cakes 25%

Survey of 423 parents by Mykidstime.com

What do Irish Bakers and Cooks Want to Master?

1. Caramel 6,020
2. Shortcrust pastry 5,880
3. Buttercream 5,680
4. Gratin 4,540
5. Custard 3,740
6. Teriyaki 3,670
7. Puff pastry 3,620
8. Poaching 2,360
9. Curd 2,280
10. Vol-au-vent 2,250

Figures shown are average monthly search volumes

Australian Bakers

• The biggest baking mistake Australians make is over whisking mixtures – 75% are guilty of it
• Over kneading dough is the next biggest mishap (73%), explaining why many struggle to master bread
• The kitchen skill Aussies want to master most is making fondant – over 77,000 searches a month query it
• In second place is caramel, with 72,590 Aussies Googling how to make it every month

Which are Australians’ biggest baking mishaps?

1. Over whisking mixtures 75%
2. Over kneading dough 73%
3. Guessing measurements 68%
4. Forgetting to soften butter 66%
5. Forgetting to sift 65%
6. Overcrowding the oven/baking tins 61%
7. Adding too much raising agent to cakes 60%
8. Substituting incorrect ingredients 59%
9. Cooking at the wrong temperatures 53%
10. Opening the door too often 51%

Survey of 2,175 Australian bakers by Jackandbeyond.com

What do Aussie Bakers and Cooks Want to Master?

1. Fondant 77,130
2. Caramel 72,590
3. Buttercream 61,960
4. Teriyaki 42,790
5. Pickling 36,330
6. Custard 33,950
7. Sous vide 32,340
8. Purée 31,030
9. Poaching 28,870
10. Shortcrust pastry 24,900

Figures shown are average monthly search volumes

American Bakers

• The biggest baking mistake Americans make is forgetting to soften butter – 73% are guilty of it
• Overcrowding the oven or overfilling baking tins is the next biggest mishap (72%)
• The kitchen skill Americans want to master most is sous vide – over 326,000 searches a month query it
• In second place is buttercream, with 318,260 Americans Googling how to make it every month

Which are Americans’ biggest baking mishaps?

1. Forgetting to soften butter 73%
2. Overcrowding the oven/baking tins 72%
3. Over whisking mixtures 70%
4. Guessing measurements 67%
5. Forgetting to sift 64%
6. Over kneading dough 62%
7. Substituting incorrect ingredients 58%
8. Adding too much raising agent to cakes 55%
9. Opening the door too often 52%
10. Cooking at wrong temperatures 51%

Survey of 2,462 USA bakers by Jackandbeyond.com

What do US Bakers and Cooks Want to Master?

1. Sous vide 326,020
2. Buttercream 318,260
3. Teriyaki 270,250
4. Caramel 168,040
5. Marzipan 136,960
6. Puff pastry 119,020
7. Fondant 118,070
8. Custard 103,120
9. Soufflé 99,060
10. Fondue 96,770

Figures shown are average monthly search volumes

You May Also Enjoy 10 Easy Peasy Baking Recipes for Kids

Have your say! Do you search on the same things and have the same baking mishaps as people in your own country (or elsewhere)? Leave a comment below and let us know – we’d love to hear from you!