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0 - Tips - Cake Baking Tips

Source of Recipe

Various sources


List of Ingredients

PREPARATION TIPS


OVEN:

• If your oven temperature is questionable, invest in an oven thermometer. Some ovens can be off by as much as 75°.

• Before mixing the batter, prepare the pans, turn the oven on, and make sure the rack is in the center.

• Reduce the oven temperature by 25° when using glass pans.



PANS:

• Shiny pans reflect the heat, and are your best choice for cake baking.

• Reduce the oven temperature by 25° when using glass pans.

• Substitute 8-inch square pans for round if you want, or use 2 to 3 8 X 4-inch loaf pans. The baking time will be less, so begin checking about 15 minutes before the time suggested.

• Grease pans with about 1 tablespoon of fat per layer pan.

• Use cocoa (or carob powder) instead of flour for dusting a greased pan when making a chocolate cake.



INGREDIENTS:

• Have all ingredients at room temperature for best results!




THE BASICS

BAKING THE PERFECT CAKE:

To create the perfect cake for decorating:

1) Start with a good, quality pan, properly prepared for baking.

2) Preheat oven to the temperature specified in your recipe.

3) Prepare the pan by polishing it liberally with solid vegetable shortening.

Never use butter, margarine or a liquid based
vegetable oil as those can cause the edges
of your cake to crisp and burn.
Oils and butters can also cause your cake to
stick to the pan.

4) Dust the pan lightly with flour. Turn the pan in your
hands to make sure all the greased surfaces are
covered with the flour. Tap the bottom of the pan
after dusting to see if there are any shiny spots.
If so dust the pan again.

As a rule try to use about two tablespoons of flour
per nine inch pan.

Another popular method is to simply line the bottom of
the pan with parchment paper and spray the sides of
the pan with cooking spray. (Once cooled, the cake
should come out easily. Then, just peel the parchment
paper off the bottom of the cake.)

5) Pour cake batter in the pan and spread the batter
evenly with a spatula.

Give the pan a light bang on your table counter to
remove any bubbles that might be in the batter.

6) Bake cake on the middle rack of a preheated oven for
the amount of time specified in the recipe.

7) To test whether the cake is done, insert a toothpick or
cake tester near center and remove. If tip is clean,
cake is done. If batter is visible, bake a little
longer until toothpick comes out clean. When done,
remove your cake from the oven and cool in the pan on a
rack for 10 minutes.

8) To unmold the cake place a cooling rack on top and flip
it over so that when the cake is unmolded it will be
resting on the rack. Lift the pan carefully off of the
cake and gently brush away any loose crumbs.



CAKE TIPS

No-Cracking Cakes:

One of our readers asks, "... Why does the cake rise beautifully and then crack in the middle?"

Here's one possible answer:

Your cake could be developing air holes during the mixing.
Make sure your baking powder and/or baking soda are mixed evenly with your flour so your cake doesn't get uneven air holes during baking.

(Sometimes that will cause it to fall apart or crack.)

Mix it all together with a big mixing spoon so everything gets distributed. (Sometimes the dry ingredients slip through the tines of a fork creating uneven mixing).

Always mix all the way down to the bottom of the bowl.

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LEVELING THE CAKE:

No cake emerges straight from the oven perfectly straight and flat. After the cake has cooled one hour, you will need to level it.

In essence leveling means using a knife or a cake leveler to remove the bump (called the crown) from the cake center to get an even decorating surface.

Trim off the raised center portion using a serrated knife or a cake leveler.

Most cake levelers come with three or four different notches through which you insert wires. You can use several wires to "torte" your cake (separate it into several layers) by gliding it through the cake.
Cake levelers come in different heights and widths to suit different cake sizes.

If you're using the Cake Leveler, start with your cake on a cardboard cake circle. Measure the height you want to cut from your cake, then position the ends of the cutting wire into the side notches to reach that height.

Keep the legs standing level on your work surface, and cut into the cake, using an easy sliding motion.

If using a knife, place the cake on a cardboard cake circle, then place on it on a cake turntable. While slowly rotating the turntable, move the knife back and forth across the top of the cake in a sawing motion to remove the crown (the bulge in the center of the cake). Try to keep the knife level as you cut. Brush off all loose crumbs.

Some people also set their cakes on turntables to ice them. Tilting cakeboards with rubber mats on the bottom that keep the cake board (a circle or square of cardboard that fits below the cake)
from slipping.

Another:

To split layer cakes loop a long strand of unflavored dental floss around the center of the cake horizontally. Cross the ends and slowly and firmly pull on each end to cut cleanly through the cake.





SECRET TIPS!


• Beat butter & sugar for as long as the recipe directs.

• To make a lighter cake, separate the eggs first. Add
the yolks to the butter mixture, beat the egg whites
then fold into the batter.

• In general, use 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder for every
cup of flour in cake batters.

• To speed up the softening of cold butter, grate or
thinly slice it and let stand for about 10 minutes over
a bowl of warm water.

• Toss nuts, raisins and chopped fruits in a little flour
before adding to batter.
This will help keep them suspended in batters.

• For better texture, try substituting buttermilk
for regular milk in your cake recipe.
For each cup of buttermilk used, add 1/2 teaspoon
of baking soda to the dry ingredients

• Cool the cake thoroughly before frosting.

• Make chocolate whipped cream by combining 2 tablespoons
each unsweetened cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar
in a mixing bowl. Gradually stir in 1 cup whipping
cream, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before
beating.



TIPS FOR JAZZING UP CAKE MIXES:

With today's very busy lifestyles, not everyone has time to make a cake from scratch. I find myself using more cake mixes. Why not? My husband sells food to restaurants and bakeries, and he sells a lot of cake mixes. The point is not that you use a cake mix, but what you do with that cake mix.

Here are some ways to jazz-up your cake mix cake.

For a fluffier cake, add 1 tablespoon of meringue powder.

Instead of water called for on the box use other liquids for added flavor. Some examples: I almost always use milk instead of the water called for on the cake mix box. It makes a denser cake and it adds nutritional value.

Use lemon-lime soda to enhance the citrus flavor in a lemon cake.

Orange juice always works well in an orange cake.

Chocolate milk or flavored soda works great with a chocolate cake mix.

Exchange some of the liquid with chocolate syrup.

Instead of vegetable oil use melted and cooled real butter for a richer cake.

Enhance the cake flavor with extracts. Adding a teaspoon of vanilla or other coordinating flavored extracts to the cake mix won't make your cake batter overly wet. If more extract is desired, exchange it for some of the other liquid used in the mix.

If changing from a scratch poundcake recipe to one using a cake mix, be sure to add 1- 3/4 ounce package of instant pudding (in a coordinating flavor). Up the eggs necessary to 4. Also be sure to include a total of 1 cup of liquid and 1/2 cup of oil or melted butter.

If adding cut fruit, chocolate chips or nuts to a cake be sure to adjust cooking times accordingly.








Recipe