Essential Baking Utensils: Terraillon Review

Every home baker needs the right tools for successful baking. I'm not talking unnecessary fancy expensive gadgets, but straightforward inexpensive quality equipment that's both compact and easy to use.
For the past couple of months, I've enjoyed testing Terraillon's essential baking utensils for this review. You may have seen me on social media, baking constantly over weekends and many weeknights, making tarts, macarons, financiers, ice cream, and more recipes from my latest book, Teatime in Paris, just to fully put them to the test.

To date, I've been most impressed with the digital scales from the macaron range.  If you don't use digital scales to measure your ingredients for baking, then please read this now on why it's important to measure in weight not volume. Please avoid using cups: weighing your ingredients exactly by grams (or ounces) will not just give you successful results - but consistently successful baking results.

Let's start with this clever new mixing bowl kit.  As with all Terraillon's baking utensils range, it's approved by Christophe Michalak, one of France's most prestigious star pastry chefs. As they say, Express Your Chef!

Terraillon Multi Function Mixing Bowl Kit

The compact design is ingenious: it's a five-in-one mixing bowl kit stacked conveniently together to avoid cluttering the kitchen. It includes:

• Transparent lid
• Egg yolk separator
• 0.5L microwavable silicone bowl
• Anti-splatter and non slip support
• 3L Stainless steel mixing bowl

Stainless steel bowls are essential tools and this mixing bowl is a dream for making macarons, particularly as it's slightly heavier than my current ones. As a result, there's more control in mixing the batter (macaronnage) and placed on its non slip support, I can turn it around effortlessly and securely while mixing. Without this support, I've been known to zealously whisk using a super light bowl with the bowl finally flying in the air and batter on the floor!  It's not possible with this, rest assured.

The non slip support has a dual function, as an anti-splatter lid - and I've found it conveniently fits on all my other bowls in the kitchen.  It's ideal for mixing up cookie dough, mousses or meringue without the splatter that can be caused using an electric whisk.

This microwavable silicone bowl is handy for directly catching the egg whites from the separator: put the lid on and store in the fridge for about 3 days if you're making macarons. It's also great for gently melting butter or chocolate directly in the microwave.

Although it didn't fit my own smaller saucepan, it's ideal for melting chocolate over a pan of simmering water (bain-marie) and I've used it for preparing ganache fillings for macarons and Tigré (financier) French cakes. It's also handy for storing leftover batter or ganaches with the lid on in the fridge.

Essential Baking Utensils: Tall BalloonWhisk

The Premium Tall Whisk is part of the hand tools collection.  I already have 3 whisks that are used constantly for making smooth sauces, silky pastry creams, ice cream, etc. and so they take a beating.  2.5 out of 3 are already deformed and frankly, not good quality.
On the other hand, this tall whisk is very slightly heavier and at 35cm, with its comfortable ergonomic stainless steel handle with stainless steel arms, is sturdy and robust for continued easy whisking. I find it bounces along beautifully and copes well with the thicker sauces or custards, and I love the comfortable length. The silicone ring makes it easy to hang up too. As with the rest of the Terraillon baking equipment, it's dishwasher-safe.

Terraillon Pastry Mat & Rolling Pin

Yet another ingenious space-saving innovation is Terraillon's rolling pin and pastry mat set. It's just as compact: the pastry mat is neatly rolled inside the rolling pin tube, closed at the end of the tube with a silicone cookie cutter.

It's a 2-in-1 mat (47.8 x 38cm) that's graduated for precision to fit your tart rings/pans and - wait for it - goes DIRECTLY IN THE OVEN, withstanding temperatures up to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. This is particularly useful when using tart rings, for example, as once you've rolled out your pastry and pressed it neatly into the ring, it's so much easier to keep it directly on the mat and place in the oven.  No transferring to the oven sheet is necessary: just slip the baking sheet under the mat.

I also find the mat washes well and, unlike other mats I've tried, it dries quickly and doesn't leave a greasy film on it. Once cleaned, it's easy to roll it up neatly with the elastic and pop it back in the rolling pin tube.

How can you define the best kind of professional standard rolling pin?  It's pretty subjective as some of us may prefer handles but after trying this rolling pin, I'm not going back to my old ones with wooden handles. For a start, it has a lovely length of 42cm and as it's lightweight, just glides smoothly without the stickiness on the pastry dough.
Its precise graduations and 3 pairs of removable rings allows you to adjust the thickness of your dough: 4mm, 6mm or 8mm, making your pastry beautifully even.

For tart and tartlet recipes, enjoy this chestnut flour, pumpkin and mushroom tart.
Another essential item for the home baker? You'll need my book, Teatime in Paris! As well as recipes for more macarons, éclairs, millefeuilles, ice cream, teacakes etc. there are also detailed instructions on how to make the perfect tart pastry (including chocolate) in the tart recipe chapter.

Disclaimer: I was not compensated for this post and was given the above new baking equipment from Terraillon UK for the purpose of a review. I was not required to be positive and, as always, all opinions are my own. Links to Amazon are not affiliate links.