Turns out tea infusers are good for more than just steeping a good cuppa. I've been using mine for baking; specifically, for dusting small, fine layers of flour, cocoa or icing sugar over things.

These little tools are made with very fine metal mesh, which keeps tea leaves in the infuser and out of your cup. But that fine mesh is also just the right size to allow delicate amounts of flour, cocoa power and icing sugar to pass through. Last night, I whipped up a cake for a Christmas party I'm going to. The instructions say to grease the pan, then dust lightly with cocoa powder (a combination that helps the cake "climb" up the side of the pan as it bakes). Normally, you might use a regular strainer or dust the cocoa on by hand and shake out the excess. But I find the mesh on a regular strainer a little too coarse (and hands are too messy), leaving you with a thick layer of cocoa that gives the outside of the cake a bitter edge. Action shot, with my dog "helping" beneath my feet But the tea infuser leaves a nice, delicate layer of cocoa—with no excess to shake out before adding the batter. It's the perfect double-duty gadget. And the best part: I can just wash it out and use it to dust the finished cake with icing sugar. Brilliant! Tell me: What's your favourite double-duty gadget?