Five tips for better baking

January 23rd, 2012

Ovens & Cooking

Creating the perfect cake can be tricky business. If you’ve ever created a ‘cake wreck’, don’t take it to heart – we’ve all been there! Like everything in life baking takes practice, and even the world’s best chefs have had their share of cake fails.

To make your life easier, Appliances Online has put together these helpful tips for creating perfectly light and fluffy cakes every time.

1. Use a recipe

Some people tend to view recipes as an annoying encumbrance to their innate baking genius.

‘Recipes are for people who play by the rules, man,’ they will say while cavalierly slopping whimsical quantities of flour and sugar into their bowls.

Every once in a while, (if their name happens to be ‘Nigella’ or ‘Jamie’), a miracle occurs and the cake will come out looking and tasting great. But even then, the chances are these people have had a LOT of experience in baking and simply know the measurements by heart.

For everyone else, what’s on your menu should be a big slice of humble pie. Baking is a science, and following a recipe is the best way of avoiding the culinary equivalent of a nuclear meltdown.

2. Preheat the oven

Before you start measuring and mixing, make sure you remember to turn the oven on. One of the keys to deliciously fluffy cakes is getting the mixture into a hot oven as soon as all the ingredients are combined, because if you leave it too long your cake will be flat and stodgy.

While we’re on the subject of ovens, a good one really makes a difference. The best settings for cakes are either ‘bake’ (where heating is provided from both the top and bottom elements) or ‘fan bake’ (where this heat is circulated around the oven with a fan).

Electric ovens create a dry heat (which can lead to dry and overcooked cakes) so it’s important to either add a water bath (perfect for cheesecakes and puddings) and keep a close eye on it to make sure it doesn’t overcook.

Alternatively, gas ovens produce a moist heat which produces delicious results, but you run the risk of cakes sinking because they’re not cooked through. Testing the centre of the cake with a skewer is an important step – the skewer should come out clean when the cake is cooked.

3. Measure

As mentioned above, baking has as much to do with science as it does passion. Every supermarket sells plastic measuring cups – so there’s no excuse! Getting the measurements right is crucial not just so the cake will rise, but so it will taste nice. (Adding too much baking powder, salt, sugar or flavouring are all ways to make your cake taste not-so-great).

When measuring you should scrape any excess flour back into the container with the back of a bread knife to ensure your measurements are exact. A set of kitchen scales is also a good investment as many recipes these days call for grams rather than cups.

4. Mix everything thoroughly

Probably the most important part of baking is mixing all the ingredients together properly. The smoother the mix, the better the cake. However you want to avoid over-mixing as this can prevent the cake from rising properly.

If you’re serious about baking, we recommend the Breville Scraper Mixer Pro™.  This revolutionary food mixer scrapes the sides of the bowl as it mixes, saving you the trouble of manually scraping the sides down with a spatula. It also saves you time – cutting mixing times by up to 60%.

This Breville food mixer replicates the commercial mixers used by professional bakers and pastry chefs, bringing the restaurant experience into your own home. It has also been very well reviewed on ProductReview.com.au.

See it in action!

5. Set a timer and keep an eye on the oven

Sounds obvious, but trust me, it’s a lot easier to set a kitchen timer than to invite the fire brigade to your home. Although it can be tempting to multi-task by dying your hair, washing the dog or vacuuming the car while your cake is cooking, anything that takes you away from the kitchen is not recommended. You want to be around so you can peek through the door glass from time to time, as ovens vary and you can’t always rely on suggested cooking times.

A perfectly cooked cake should spring back when touched, and a metal skewer (inserted in the centre) should come out clean.

Follow these steps, and I promise you your baking will go from frightful to delightful in no time. Happy baking!