Whether you’re baking a cake for a special occasion or just because it’s important to follow some simple steps to ensure you get the perfect result every time. Here are my five tips for baking beautiful perfect cake:
Line the bottom of your cake pan.
Line the bottom of your cake pan. This is to do in several ways: with parchment paper, baking cups, or by lining it with wax paper.
Line the sides of your cake pan. You can use any of the above three methods, but parchment paper is much easier than wax paper because you don’t have to un-stick them from each other afterward (they peel apart easily).
If you’re using baking cups instead of parchment paper or wax paper, make sure to grease them first before putting them into place over the batter (or else they’ll stick). Make sure that there are no gaps between each cup so that steam can escape during baking; otherwise, this may cause some parts of your cake not to be cook properly!
Avoid opening the oven door.
Opening the oven door will disrupt the flow of heat, which can cause your cake to lose moisture and heat.
Keep the oven closed as much as possible. If you need to check on your cake, peek through the oven window instead of opening it fully.
Use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Now that you’ve baked the cake, it’s time to check if it is done. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and remove it. If the toothpick comes out clean, with no batter sticking or wet batter around it, your cake is ready.
If there is still some batter on your toothpick after baking, you can bake your cake for another 2 minutes or so at 350°F (180°C). However, if the wet batter is stuck on yours or around yours after baking for this long, then your cake may be overbaked. In this case, take out your pan from the oven immediately before any more damage occurs!
When baking cakes in an 8-inch round pan or 9×13″ square pan, divide baking time by two; when using mini muffin tins, divide by six; when using cupcake pans, bake one extra minute per cupcake (about ten minutes total).
Let your cake cool in the pan.
Next, let the cake cool in its pan for at least 10 minutes.
This is an important step to help the cake set and prevent it from sinking. If you don’t let the cake cool in its pan, it may sink in the middle because of condensation from using a baking sheet that is too hot or because of moisture created by your hands when you press down on cake layers.
Decorate your cake immediately after frosting it.
After you spread your frosting, you can either use a spatula or a piping bag to create designs on top of your cake. A spatula is great for spreading the frosting around in a decorative way, while piping bags are better for more intricate designs that involve writing and other shapes. If none of this sounds like fun to you, go ahead and use a knife and decorate it however you like!
Whatever method you choose to decorate with, don’t wait too long before doing it—frosting will harden if left out for too long (and no one wants that).
Conclusion
There you have it—the five must-follow rules for baking the perfect cake. If you take your time, follow these tips, and use them in combination with your own ideas and creativity, you’ll be able to create delicious cakes every time!
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