I came across a question from a family member this past week that inspired this blog post. My sister-in-law was trying to make a cake with chocolate chips suspended throughout it. She mixed the chips in with the batter and put the cake into the oven to bake. However, when she took it out, she found that all of the chips had sunk to the bottom of the cake – not exactly what she was looking for.

Why?

Since the chocolate chips were heavier than the batter, they sunk to the bottom as the cake cooked. A great way around this is to toss the chocolate chips in a couple tablespoons of flour prior to adding them to the batter. The flour will coat the chips and prevent them from sinking.

This tip applies to fruit, nuts or any other ingredients you want to add to your muffins, cakes or quick breads.