Baking a Cake can be a Piece of Cake

Use good-quality ingredients. High-end cocoa powder makes a big difference in the color and flavor of the cake.

Allow eggs to warm to room temperature before adding to recipe or before whipping them.
To fold eggs into the recipe, do it in three stages so egg whites will retain their volume.

Line cake pan with parchment paper to allow cake to come out easily.
Substitute cocoa or sugar in greasing a pan instead of flour so cake won’t have white flour stuck on the sides.

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 start the batter climbing up the sides.

Source: Chef Casey Hayden