Do you ever make the most delicious batter, but the cake itself comes out dry? Or does your cake look like it's going to topple over at any second? Do your cake layers ever come out perfectly, but your frosting ruins it? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then this is the post for you! Here are ten of the many things I've learned (sometimes the hard way) over my years of baking cakes!
Cool your cakes completely before you start stacking! This might seem intuitive, but you'd be surprised at how many cakes get stacked lukewarm and end up melting the frosting and slipping off onto the counter. Plus, the colder the cake, the sturdier it is. If you're in a rush, pop it in the fridge for thirty minutes.
Ever have trouble getting the cakes out of the pan? The first step to fixing this problem is to spray your pans with non-stick cooking spray or coat it in butter. The second step is to cut out a circle of parchment paper and place it on the bottom of the pan. This will completely prevent the bottom of the cake from sticking to the pan! Finally, as soon as the cakes come out of the oven, run a knife along the edges of the cake to prevent the sides of the cake from sticking to the cake pan. Follow these steps and I guarantee your cakes will seamlessly release from the pan!
Always crumb coat a cake. What's a crumb coat? It's a thin layer of frosting on the outside of the cake. This acts as a base coat, trapping the crumbs of the cake, so that once you add your thicker layer of frosting, no crumbs will be visible. This will make the overall presentation of your cake way neater!
Don't overmix your cake! Sometimes, it can definitely be tempting to want to continue mixing your batter! Afterall, it just looks so smooth! However, doing so greatly impacts how your cake bakes by weakening the protein structure of your cakes and by causing the gluten to form elastic strands. This results in a gummy, dense, heavy cake. No one wants that!
Stop opening and closing the oven. Set a timer and let it be. Opening the oven allows hot air to escape and cold hair to invade the oven. This will cause your cake to collapse and have a sunken center.
Use room temperature ingredients (especially when baking with butter and cream cheese). Using ingredients that are too cold will prevent them from fully incorporating into the batter, resulting in a clumpy batter. Using warm ingredients will cause the cake to be coarse in texture. For butter, take it out of the fridge around 45 minutes before you need to use it. For eggs, place them in a bowl of warm water for about 7 minutes.
Spoon and level off your flour. People often scoop the flour directly out of the bag using their measuring cup. Doing so packs the flour into your cup and you'll end up having too much flour in your batter. Why does this matter? It will make your cake much dryer!
Cut your cake layers if you plan on making a stacked cake! Leaving your freshly baked cakes with a rounded top will prevent your cake from having a solid structure. Your cake will be wobbly and not have clean edges. To avoid this, take a serrated knife and gently cut off the rounded part of your cakes to make a flat top. Be careful you don't cut too much, though. You want even cake layers!
Fold in your egg whites. Don't beat them or stir. To fold, simply take your spoon or rubber spatula and gently place it against the back of your bowl, run it along the bottom of your bowl, and up the front of the bowl in a single motion. Rotate the bowl after each one of these motions. Doing so creates a light and airy texture by trapping air into the batter, without getting those stupid air bubbles. If you, instead, beat your egg whites into the batter, your batter will become heavy and deflated.
To check if your cakes are done, poke them in the center with a toothpick. Don't just go off of color! If the toothpick comes out clean, your cakes are ready! For brownies, I like to have a tiny bit of batter left over on the toothpick before I take them out of the pan to keep them from overcooking in the pan. Even when you take your baked goods out of the oven, they will continue to cook slightly in the pan!
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