Tips for Baking the Perfect Cake
By: Thesweetshoppebybeth Mycakelife
Tags: Cake, Food, Baking

How can you make a cake that tastes good and looks good?

I get this question all the time from my cake customers and even friends and family. There isn’t a perfect answer to that question, but there are tips to help you as you bake and try to achieve that perfect cake.

Let’s focus today on baking the cake.

It can seem completely impossible when looking for a cake recipe that you like to find one that has great flavor and that can withstand decorating without drying out or falling apart.

I’m going to focus on some of the things I’ve learned over the years and hopefully help you find that fool proof cake recipe. One that you’ll use again and again and can always count on.

Tip #1. Try three to four different cake recipes of the same flavor (I suggest vanilla or white cake) and take notes about what you did and didn’t like about each one. You don’t have to make them all the same day, but I would suggest making them within the same two weeks so that each cake is still fresh in your mind.

When choosing your recipes, try to pick ones with different techniques or ingredients so that you get different textures and consistencies. I like to try a more difficult recipe or technique on one cake but then offset it with a simpler cake recipe, possibly one that even contains a mix or shortcut. This way you get to see the difference in a more technique driven cake recipe and a classic cake recipe that is usually less time-consuming.

After trying the cakes, feel free to combine recipes and flavors to make it your own.

I like adding a cake mix along with cake flour, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, a little salt, buttermilk or sour cream, and extra eggs when making a vanilla cake. The cake mix can give you a fluffy texture while the cake flour and buttermilk give it that scratch taste. I don’t consider it cheating by adding a cake mix because I am changing that mix drastically.

You can also use this method as your go-to recipe and then create other flavors by adding puréed fruits, extracts or flavorings, pecans, coconut, chocolate chips, and so many more options to give a completely different flavor and texture.

Its my little secret to the perfect cake!

Tip #2. Always make sure to not overfill your cake pans, which would result in having to almost burn the cake on the outside just to finish baking the cake on the inside. You want to fill them approximately 2/3 of the way up the pan unless the recipe calls for a different amount.

There’s nothing wrong with having a cake that rises above the pan a little, just make sure not to let them overflow. I like that my cakes rise up above the pan so that I can cut the top off of the cake while it’s still in the pan and create a nice level cake layer.

Also, make sure to use a baking spray on your pans before pouring the cake batter in. This ensures they don’t stick to the pan and cause a lot of frustration! If you prefer to use softened butter you can spread it around the cake pan on the bottom and sides and then cover with a thin coat of flour before adding your cake batter.

Tip #3. If you have a convection setting on your oven, use it. This will give you a more even bake and speed up the baking time as well. It’s a win-win!

When using the convection setting make sure to drop the temperature approximately 25 degrees from what the recipe calls for, so as not to dry the cake out during baking. The convection oven generally uses a fan to keep the heat evenly distributed throughout the oven and can dry the cake out if baked at a temperature that is too high.

If you’re not using convection, no worries, your cake will still be wonderful! It just may take a little longer to bake and you’ll want to make sure to rotate the cake periodically throughout the baking process by turning in completely around and switching oven racks if possible. I would recommend rotating the cake twice, once about 1/3 of the way through and then again about 3/4 of the way through. Even when using the convection oven, I rotate it about halfway through my baking time.

Tip #4. Once your cake comes out of the oven let it sit in the pan for about 10 minutes with a clean dishtowel over it to make sure the center of your cake is baked through. This is especially important if you’re baking a fruit-based cake like strawberry or lemon since those tend to take a little longer in the oven and can be too soft if not baked properly which makes icing them difficult.

After your 10 minutes have passed remove the towel and if your cake has risen above the pan take a large serrated knife and saw off that cake top.

This makes a great snack later!

Grab a cooling rack and flip your cake onto it but be careful since that pan will still be hot! I prefer to place the cooling rack on top of the cake pan then flip the cake pan and cooling rack over together to guarantee the cake lands safely on the rack.

Let the cake cool for about 5–10 minutes and then wrap it completely in plastic wrap until it has completely cooled enough to ice and decorate. I like to wait several hours and even overnight if I can before icing the cake.

Slather on your favorite buttercream icing and enjoy!

Thank you so much for reading and I hope these tips will help you to achieve that perfectly baked cake!!

Please feel free to follow me at www.facebook.com/TheSweetShoppebyBeth/ or visit my website at www.thesweetshoppebybeth.com and for instructional cake videos check out my YouTube channel https://youtu.be/MBLnGSwBxys

Stay tuned for more articles from My Cake Life!