Baking a Cake can be a Piece of Cake
Baking is, indeed, a little bit more exacting and a little less forgiving than cooking, wherein one has more room for error. Still, with this list of tips and tricks I collected over the years from books, magazines, the web and experience, baking a cake can be a piece of cake.
Always use fresh and good-quality ingredients. For best results, start with all ingredients at room temperature.
Allow eggs to warm to room temperature before whipping or before adding to recipe. To drop temperature fast, dip eggs in a bowl of warm water. For egg whites to retain their volume, add to recipe in three stages.
Line cake pan with parchment paper to allow cake to come out easily. To avoid unsightly white flour stuck on sides of cake, substitute cocoa (for chocolate cakes) or sugar for flour in greasing pan.
For crumb-free slices in cutting cakes, run knife under or dip in very hot water and then wipe dry with a clean towel.
To avoid air bubbles in the cake layers, after pouring in batter, lift the pan a few inches from the counter and let it drop. This will force the air bubbles to the top.
To help cakes rise more evenly, before putting cake batter in the oven, spin the pan around on the counter to allow batter to climb sides of pan.
To prevent the cake from splitting or cracking at the top, add one package of unflavored gelatin to the batter.
For moist cakes, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise or sour cream to batter.
Make sure baking rack is at the center of oven. Pans should be positioned as near to center as possible and should not touch sides of oven. Bake only on one rack.
Invest in an thermometer to ensure proper oven temperature. Make sure oven is fully preheated. Cake will rise unevenly if oven is too hot or will be dense and heavy if oven temperature is too low.
Cool cake completely before frosting. If it is crumbly and hard to frost, brush with a little simple syrup and freeze.
To prevent nuts and fruits from sinking to bottom while baking, toss in flour first before adding to batter.
Shiny metal pans are best for cakes as they produce a tender, lighter-colored crust by reflecting heat away. Make sure to adjust temperature if using dark nonstick baking pans or glass baking dishes. Reduce baking temperature by 25 degrees F as these pans absorb more heat.
When making angel, sponge and chiffon cakes, do not grease pans unless otherwise directed.
For lighter cakes, separate the eggs first. Beat yolks till creamy and then add to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat egg whites until frothy and then fold into the batter. Adding a teaspoon of lemon juice to the butter and sugar before mixing the rest of the ingredients also makes cake lighter.
Always use large eggs when baking, unless otherwise specified.
To prevent dense and heavy cakes, fold in flour gently and mix in at the lowest speed. Do not overbeat mixture once flour is added as this will result to gluten formation. Overmixing batter will also result to top of cake to “peak”.
Prevent lumps by always sifting flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices. Add a pinch of salt to the flour mixing with wet ingredients to prevent lumps in batter.
When butter is too hard, slightly warm sugar to make creaming easy.
For moister cakes and to cut fat, replace all or half of the oil in the recipe with unsweetened applesauce or plain yogurt.
To allow even baking and rising, fill cake pans to no more than 2/3 full.
For a glossy, smooth and molten appearance on decorated cakes, frost and then blow-dry surface with hair-dryer until frosting slightly melts.
Make sure to beat sugar and butter as directed. If they are beaten together too long, cake will be coarse in texture.
Add a pinch of baking soda when mixing frosting to prevent it from flaking or cracking.
When eggs on hand are not enough for what’s called for in the recipe, subsitute a tablespoon of cornstarch for each egg needed.
Cake is done when it shrinks from the side of the pan and the top springs back and will show no depression when pressed lightly with fingers. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. To test a large cake, use a strand of uncooked spaghetti.
To split cake layers, use toothpicks to mark middle points on sides of cake and use as guide. Slice through the layer with a long, thin sharp knife. A piece of heavy sewing thread or unflavored dental floss can also be used to cut through the layer by pulling horizontally, back and forth.
Sprinkle layers lightly with confectioners’ sugar before spreading filling to prevent cake filling from soaking into the cake.
Lighten a stiff batter by adding a little amount of whiskey to thin it out.
For wholesome sweetness, replace all sweetening in cakes with honey. Add 1/3 teaspoon soda for each cup of honey used and decrease liquid.
When substituting cocoa for chocolate in a cake, use 3/12 tablespoons cocoa and 1/2 tablespoon butter for each ounce of chocolate called for. Sift cocoa with dry ingredients or mix with just enough water or milk to make a paste and add directly after eggs.
For a more delicate and fluffier cake, use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. Make your own cake flour adding two level tablespoons of corn starch into the bottom of a 1 cup measure, then fill to the top with flour. 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch will yield 2 cups of cake flour.
Raisins are plumper and juicer when heated in the oven for 3 minutes before adding into batter.
Keep cut cakes fresh and prevent sides from drying out by storing cake with a couple of fresh apple slices or sugar cubes. Wrap cake with plastic wrap or store in an airtight container.
To prevent angel cake from falling as it cools, take it directly from the oven after baking and place upside down on the neck of a bottle.
Place a cup of water in the oven when baking fruit cakes as this helps keep moisture in the air and prevents cake from drying out.
The rule of thumb is 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder for every cup of flour used in cake batters.
Substitute buttermilk for regular milk in recipe for better-textured cakes. Add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the dry ingredients for each cup of buttermilk used.
To prevent cake from sticking to the bottom of serving platter, lightly dust platter with confectioner’s sugar before placing the cake on it.
For lighter-textured and higher cakes, add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of meringue powder to cake mix.
Mix baking soda used in chocolate cakes with a teaspoon of vinegar.
Lightly dust flour on top of cake before spreading the icing on top to help hold icing to the cake, especially if it is too thin.
Remove cake from pan as soon as it cools as leaving it in too long after removing from oven results to doughy cakes.
More Good Food!
So you did not make the cake in the photo?
I wish I am that good but unfortunately, my baking skills are not that impressive. It’s a stock photo just to liven the page. Tips, as I’ve said, were collected from magazines, baking books and most I’ve tried in baking simpler cakes.. Hope to put them into good use so I can actually bake such a gorgeous cake ha ha ha.
…I don’t bake much but thanks for these helpful tips…