Cake Baking Tips

Caking Baking Tips

All the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Always use fresh ingredients and good quality.

Before measuring sticky ingredients, such as honey, molasses, corn syrup, golden syrup or ice cream topping, lightly coat the inside of the measuring cup with non-stick cooking spray. The sticky liquid will slide right out of the cup with minimal scraping.

Accurate measuring of ingredients is important for successful baking. Use a metric glass or plastic measuring cup with a spout to measure all liquid ingredients such as milk, water, juice or oil. With measuring cup on level surface, bend down so your eye is even with the correct measuring line. Slowly fill the cup to the correct line.

Use plastic or metal graduated metric measuring cups to measure dry or solid ingredients such as sugar, cereal, chopped nuts or shredded cheese. Use the right size measuring cup for amount specified in recipe. For example, for ½ cup sugar, use a ½-cup measuring cup. Fill cup to the top. Level off with edge of knife or spatula.

Tips for Successful Cake Baking

Review recipe, assemble ingredients and follow recipe method carefully.

Measure ingredients carefully and accurately.

Baking pans should only be filled 2/3 full of batter, not full.

Prepare baking pans before starting to make cakes. Always use the size of pan called for in the recipe. If a large pan is used, the cake will bake too quickly and the finished cake can be dry. If the pan is too small, the cake batter could spill over the sides and not properly bake in the middle. Always grease pans, unless specified in recipe. Lining cake pans with waxed or parchment paper allows for easy removal of cakes from pans.

Always preheat oven before baking, allow at least 10 to 15 minutes for proper heating.

Don't open the oven door during the first 10 to 15 minutes of baking. A temperature change or movement from opening the door could cause the cakes to fall.

Bake cakes in the centre of oven; if baking more than one pan, leave at least a 3 cm space between pans to allow the heat to properly circulate.

Test cakes for doneness, with a metal skewer. Insert the skewer into the centre of the cake, (not in a crack) if the skewer comes out wet and tacky the cake requires further cooking. If the skewer comes out clean, then remove from the oven.

Cool cakes for at least 5 to 10 minutes in pans on a rack. Run a knife around edge of cake and then invert on rack to finish cooling.

Make fruitcakes at least 3 weeks before using, this allows them time to ripen.

If parchment paper / wax paper is out of stock - Grease baking dish with 2 - 3 teaspoon butter ( depends upon the size of the baking dish ) and dust with 1 tablespoon flour ( sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of flour inside a cake pan and shake to coat all greased surface. Turn pan upside down to tap out the excess flour ).

Completely dust the fruit and nuts with flour so they don’t fall to the bottom of the batter while baking. Shake off excess flour before mixing in the recipe.