HOW TO BAKE A CAKE
Table of Contents
Every home needs it. It serves every demographics, the toddlers have too much of a sweet tooth that they can’t keep getting enough of it, the granny’s taste buds are never too aged that they can’t taste some sweet heaven.
Your teenagers and becoming adults surely must have some for their meet up and of course, there is the mom and dad, can’t be too tired to treat themselves to a little chocolate cake.
The cake appears everywhere. It’s more like an Oscar nominee. It appears in weddings, parties, anniversary, thanksgiving etc. Moreso, it comes in different flavours; chocolate, vanilla, etc. yum.
So you probably want to learn how to make this bounty- the nice tasty one without tasting any evidence of applied heat, you have come to the right place. Here’s how to make a vanilla cake in simple steps.
WHAT EQUIPMENT CAN I USE?
Two saucepan
Oven
Mixer
MATERIALS TO GET
Flour
Cups of sugar
Unsalted butter
Margarine
Eggs
Vanila
Milk
Water
8-10 Eggs
Baking powder
Salt
Frosting
THE PREP TIME
It is of importance that one should realize that baking a cake takes precision and timing. Preparing before you get to bake will save you a whole lot of brown and mess.
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Prepare Baking pans
If you don’t want your cake to get glued to the pan, you have to prepare the pan before you mix the batter. Most pans require greasing and flouring the pan. Better still you could line the pan with waxed or parchment paper if it is at your disposal. There is a little exception though especially with chiffon cakes.
Tip: Use a shiny pan for achieving a golden appearance.
Mixing the Batter
The ingredients first have to be at room temperature (250C) to achieve a better look, putting the butter into consideration.
Tip: Never use melted butter when the recipe calls for softened butter.
Preheat the oven to about 3500F for at least ten minutes. When a cake bakes too quickly it can have cracks and tunnels. Too slow and it will get rough.
Measure four tablespoons of powdered milk into a bowl and pour ½ cup of water into the pan.
Mix the flour, baking powder together in a different bowl. Stir and turn until they are evenly distributed. You could add a bit of natural spicing to it i.e. nutmeg
Use a different bowl and mix the butter, margarine and sugar for about five to ten minutes. Use a mixer (you could improvise with a wooden spoon) to beat them together at medium speed. Scrap the bowl occasionally while beating. You would notice tiny bubbles as they blend uniformly. The creamed mixture would become pale, light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time with the mixture going. One at a time. Their protein help creates a structure to help maintain texture. Be careful to avoid shell fragment. It is advisable to break egg individually in a custard cup or small bowl before you put it into the mixture.
Beat the butter for two minutes at medium speed and add vanilla, beat till it blends fully.
Alternate between adding some of the flour mixtures with ½ of the milk to the butter-egg-sugar mixture, before you add another 1/3 of the dry mixture. This is because of gluten being formed. Too much gluten is the making of a tough cake. Start and finish with the flour. Do not over mix once you add liquid if you might get elongated, irregular holes in the cake.
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Baking the Cake
Divide the batter evenly between the baking pans.
Use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to evenly spread the top.
Put the cake into the oven for forty-five to fifty-five minutes. A good indicator would be when it turns golden brown and begin to pull away from the side of the pan.
Start checking the cake for doneness after the stipulated minimum time. Avoid opening the oven door until it’s time to prevent letting the heat escape.
Tip: Insert a wooden toothpick near the centre of the cake. If the piece comes out clean, the cake is done. If wet then bake for a few minutes and test another spot.
Cool the Cake, Dress and Serve
Bring down the cake to a wire rack for about ten minutes.
Place the wire rack over the top of the cake and flip the pan.
Try your best not to tear the edges of the cake while lifting or gently peel the parchment/waxed paper off the cake.
Allow the cake too completely for about one hour so it will turn out firm.
Spread the vanilla cream on one of the cakes and the other on top of it. Spread frosting too on both the sides and top.
Tip: You can spread rolled fondant on top for an extra special look. An alternate for frost would be sifted powdered sugar sprinkled round.
You can now cut a slice of that heavenly piece and serve with a drink. Enjoy.