Mary Berry's best ever 5 cooking tips for 'perfect' kitchen results

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British culinary icon Mary Berry has given plenty of cooking tips and tricks over the years. Across her 50-year career, the TV presenter has published more than 75 cookery books, including her best-selling Baking Bible in 2009. The 90-year-old broadcaster started her TV career on the BBC, regularly hosting Woman's Hour and Saturday Kitchen.

But arguably, the presenter is best known for her prestigious judging role on The Great British Bake Off, which she held from 2010 to 2016. Given all her kitchen experience, she may be able to offer a thing or two to the average home cook on how to elevate their dishes. Here are her top five tips for impressing your guests at your next dinner party.

"It takes up less space, and it works better for me. If I'm only going to use them once, I'm not going to bother to have them at all."

Another key tip to keeping an organised kitchen is to clean as you go so that you don't have a laborious chore to do before sitting down to eat.

Mary argued: "If you want to enjoy cooking, keep tidy as you cook. I try to wash up as I go along, particularly things like knives and bowls. Each time I use them, I clean them and then it's back ready to use.

"Otherwise, when you've finished cooking, a great big pile of washing up isn't the best thing to face."

" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-portal-copyright="BBC/Sidney Street/Banijay UK/Craig Harman" data-licensor-name="BBC/Sidney Street/Banijay UK/Craig Harman" /> " data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-portal-copyright="PA" data-licensor-name="PA" /> Good Housekeeping back in 2014, the TV chef shared some of the key things every Tiramisu needs to make it perfect.

In the joint interview with, her former co-judge, Paul Hollywood, and Mary Berry made it very clear that all layers need to be equal and that it is especially important that "the coffee be evenly soaked across all layers." She added that if the sponge is too thin, "the coffee will run through," ruining the dish. Meanwhile, Paul added one of his classic pieces of advice: "Even distribution of flavours."

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"It will be squidgy and soft, just the temperature to be creamed. It's a simple, foolproof way of doing it and it comes out perfect every time. The perfect tip, ready for cake making."

In a conversation with The Kitchn, Mary also revealed how to prevent baking explosions from happening when baking. She told the outlet that one of the biggest complaints she hears from new bakers is that it is a very messy hobby to pick up.

But budding bakers needn't worry anymore, as she shared one of her best-kept secrets for keeping a tidy kitchen. When working with a stand mixer, she advised the outlet that throwing a splash of milk into the bowl when creaming butter and sugar together prevents the dry sugar from erupting over the side of the bowl.

" data-has-syndication-rights="1" data-portal-copyright="BBC/Sidney Street/Endemol ShineUK/Craig Harman" data-licensor-name="BBC/Sidney Street/Endemol ShineUK/Craig Harman" /> BBC GoodFood, the baker insisted that investing in simple, easy-to-use equipment will go a long way. This means opting for a "simple, plain rolling pin" instead of an overly-complicated design and investing in high-quality equipment to make life easier.

She told the outlet: "It sounds so obvious, but some people turn their noses up at the use of a gadget. Why? If a processor creates a better finished product than doing things by hand and saves you time and effort in the process, then I say, ‘Go for it!'

"There are enough parts of the process that will require manual skill, so you may as well save time where possible. And when people judge what you've made, they're judging the flavour and texture, not what they're seeing in the washing up bowl."

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