Tip the dough out on to a floured worktop and lightly roll it into a rough, scraggy ball. Wrap it in baking parchment and rest it in a fridge for 15 minutes. Once rested, on a floured surface ...

However, this unassuming roll of treated paper has ... work its magic in the oven. Cutting parchment circles to fit the bottom of cake pans is an age-old trick that ensures flawless layer cakes.

And no, it doesn't involve any convoluted origami. A standard parchment roll is 15 inches wide, so, for a two-layer cake, our first instinct might be to pull out a 16-inch sheet, fold it in half ...