Secrets From the Pros: Cake Baking
Whether you only bake cakes at birthdays or enjoy them as a dessert year round, it’s possible to make your cakes as delicious as those purchased at an excellent bakery. Just try these easy tips.
Keep it warm
All the cake ingredients should be room temperature before you begin mixing them together.
Fruit puree
Use equal amounts of fruit puree and oil in your cakes. The fruit not only adds flavor, it keeps the cake moist and makes boxed cake mixes more like “from scratch” cakes. Just be sure to reduce the amount of liquid the recipe calls for by half.
An unlikely ingredient
Add ¼ cup of mayonnaise to your cake recipes or boxed cake mixes. It sounds dubious at best, but it keeps cakes light and moist.
Let it rise
To make any cake more fluffy, add 1 or 2 teaspoons of meringue powder to the dry ingredients.
Beat it
Cream your butter for at least 5 minutes. The more you beat it, the more air will enter it, making for a lighter, fluffier cake.
Be choosey
Select a good recipe. If you’ve never tried the recipe before, choose a reliable source, like these cake recipes on videos.
It’s in the pan
Shiny metal pans are best for cake baking. Glass Baking Dishes or dark baking pans absorb more heat, making it more difficult to create a thoroughly baked but moist cake.
Paper
To give 100 percent assurance your cake won’t stick to the pan, line the bottom with waxed or parchment paper. Lay the paper out on a flat surface, place the bottom of the Cake Pan on top of it, and trace around the pan with a pen. Cut out the waxed paper, lightly coat the pan with cooking spray, and put the paper in place. Once the cake is baked and cool, the paper easily peels off.
Dusting
To rid your cakes of white flour dustings, dust your pans with some of the dry cake mix. Or, for chocolate cake, dust with cocoa.
Fill ‘er up
Fill your cake pans only halfway. This allows the cake to rise more evenly.
Check the temp
If your cakes have valleys or hills in them, or if the tops brown before the cake is completely baked, your oven temperature is probably incorrect. To remedy this, simply place a portable oven thermometer inside your oven and adjust your oven’s temperature as necessary.
Know when it’s done
The best way to know a cake is done is to poke the center with a toothpick. If the toothpick comes back clean, the cake is finished. Other methods of testing a cake’s doneness may lead to over baking and dryness.
Let it rest
Once the cake is out of the oven, always let it rest 5 to 8 minutes before you do anything to it. This prevents the cake from crumbling when you place it on a plate.
Apply several coats
Pros always put a “crumb icing” on cakes before proceeding with decorating. This ensures a smooth, even icing job. To create a crumb icing, thin down some frosting with a little water until it looks like a glaze. You should be able to apply it with a knife - barely. When the cake is just cooled, spread the glaze over the cake. Let the cake sit this way for 30 minutes, then procede with a traditional frosting.
About the Author
Kristina Seleshanko is a former research librarian for "Gourmet" magazine and the author of 16 books. Learn more at www.KristinaSeleshanko.com.
Is it possible to bake a cake in the microwave?
How long would it have to go in for? What level of power would it need to be? Will the cake/ whatever else I might want to bake come out tasting as good as regular baked goods? I want to know because I love to bake and I care about the environment. It saves a lot of energy to microwave food rather then to bake it.
Yes! Here is a recipe:
MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour (that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla
Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to share!)
And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!
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Cake Bake
Thank You. We hope you found the
Cake Bake
you were looking for.
Be Aware Of These Common Cake Baking Mistakes by Jennifer Warner
There are some people who seem to be natural bakers. They just seem to able to bake the perfect cake and other baked goods. In contrast others may follow the same recipe and have no luck at all. Instead the top or bottom is overdone or the cake is too dense or dry. For these people it can be discouraging to keep trying if there aren't enough successful results. But there are some common baking mistakes that may be affecting the finished product. By keeping these in mind while crafting your next cake you should have better luck in your future baking endeavors.
Cake Moisture
A dry cake is a common problem. This is often caused by too much flour or baking powder. An oven temperature that is too high or baking for too long can cause a dry cake as well. Too little liquid can be a cause, however you don't want too much liquid either as that can cause another problem.
Excess liquid can cause a cake to fall, meaning it will sink in the middle. This can also be caused if the cake isn't baked long enough or if you open the oven to check on the cake and let the oven door slam shut. It is best not to open the oven while the cake is baking. Occasionally old baking powder can cause this as well.
Cake Texture
If the cake is too course it may be because of too much baking soda or too little liquid in the batter. It is very important to measure all of the ingredients very carefully for your cake to turn out well.
A course texture can also be caused by baking at a temperature that is too low. To make sure your oven is actually heating to the temperature you set use a heat-resistant thermometer to check it. Some ovens run hotter and some run lower than what the dial states.
Removing The Cake From The Pan
If you have a hard time cleanly removing the cake from the pan there are a few things you can do. First make sure you use enough oil and flour when greasing the pan. The other thing that helps with this is removing the cake at the right time. If you try to remove it too soon while it is still too hot it may stick to the pan and crumble. If the cake is too cool it can also become stuck to the pan and be difficult to cleanly remove. Cooling the cake in the pan on a wire rack can also help with this.
By practicing a few times while keeping these tips in mind you should start to get the feel for these things so you too can easily bake the perfect cake.
About the Author
Once you know how to bake the perfect cake you will need to ice and serve it. Whether you prefer unique cake stands or a simple glass pedestal stand having the right cake stand is important. Learn more at: Cake Stands