So lots of people ask me for tips on baking, or tell me that they can't bake a cake. I'll let you into a little secret, up until about 2008, I couldn't bake a cake if my life depended on it! Now I can't explain how or when my baking skills improved, but they did and I've learned to follow lots of tips along the way. So I thought I would share these with you, these work for me and are my own take on things, I am not a food scientist, so if I’m off track in any way, I apologise now.
Prepare !!!
I can't stress enough, the importance of preparation. The times I have forgotten to get the butter out of the fridge, or have been one egg short, and I'm forever running out of icing sugar! So prepare well, make sure you've got everything you need, get everything out that needs to be at room temperature, weigh everything out if you want to, and always, always read through the recipe first. Remember to preheat the oven for at least half an hour and prepare your tins well.
Ingredients
Eggs
Always free range, always large, and always at room temperature, shame on you if you use a caged hen egg. If the hens are happy, then the eggs are happy too and you will have happy cakes. Its not the end of the world if you have to use an egg from the fridge, your mix may curdle slightly, but this means you will not get as much of a rise on the cake. The fresher the egg the better, you can tell if an egg is fresh by placing it in a jug of water, if it sinks and lies on its side then it's lovely and fresh, if it stands up then its getting stale.
Butter
For me it has to be butter, I know there are a lot of people who prefer to use margarine, but for me butter gives a little more richness and moistness to the cake. Butter is more expensive, but it is so worth it. I always use unsalted, if a recipe requires salt you can add it then. Now the butter does need a while to become soft enough to use, the softer the better. I usually put mine in the cupboard over my built in oven, but don't forget it's there like I do, because you'll end up with little pools of butter dripping down the front of the oven!
Dry Ingredients
Plain or self-raising flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, sugars, cocoa powder, whatever the dry ingredient, just make sure it's good quality and hasn't been sitting in the back of your cupboard for 12 months. Just for reference if you are making cakes for someone with a gluten allergy, you can buy gluten free plain and self-raising flour and baking powder, there is a difference in taste but it's not huge. Always sift your flours and cocoa powders!!! It adds air to the mix, the higher you hold the sieve, the more air you get in, do not scimp on this, it does make a difference!
Milk
I use milk in virtually all my recipes, in different quantities and it is always whole full-fat milk and at room temperature. When I'm tinkering with recipes, adding a little milk can sometimes make all the difference, and make the cake a little more moist.
Everything Else....
There are so many different things you can add to your cakes, if its fruit, try to get good quality fruit, unwaxed lemons, bananas usually need to be very ripe. Always wash your fruit, you never know who's picked it up before you! To get more juice out of your lemons and limes, give them a good firm roll on your worktop, it releases the juices inside. I only use Espresso coffee, it has a good strong flavour and you can get instant, it also makes a good cup of coffee. Chocolate, good quality, if it's dark chocolate, make sure it's over 70%, white chocolate has a low content, try to get over 30%, some of the cooking chocolates don't even have cocoa solids in them!
Methods
All recipes are different and they don't always follow the creaming of the butter and sugar first. Just read the recipe carefully and do as it says, measuring everything out accurately. Crack your eggs into a little dish before you add to the mix, that way if you get any shell in the egg, you can get it out before it goes into the cake batter (use the egg shell to get the egg shell out, they cling to each other better than anything else). When folding in the flour in gently, I use a plastic or silicone spatula, I remember seeing something once about not using a wooden spoon as it draws out the air in the mix I think, but I'm a bit sketchy on what it was exactly. When you are scooping the mix into cupcake cases, I find an ice cream scoop works quite well to measure out roughly the right amount. Don't open your oven when the cakes are baking, do not be tempted, your cakes may sink if you open the oven too early.
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