Cake Baking Tips for Beginners

A lot of people love to bake and some even think it’s therapeutic. It might be that you watch a lot of baking videos and fancy giving baking a try, but you don’t know where to begin or you may be appalling in the kitchen. If you want to try being a cake baker but you’re unsure about what to do, here are a few tips for beginners.

Follow a recipe

When you’ve chosen the type of cake you want to bake, ensure that you’re following a recipe. It can be a recipe online or from someone you know, but make sure that it’s from a trusted source, especially if you have found the recipe online. It’s also important to follow each step if this is your first time baking.

Make sure you have the right tin size 

For the cake to have the end result you want, you need to make sure you have the correct tin size. If you plan to use a different one, remember that you’ll have to adjust the cooking time. When baking, it’s also important to line the tin; baking parchment is a good option since it’s non-sticky. Alternatively, you can use softened butter dusted with flour or oil dusted with flour. However, make sure that you don’t use too much fat since it may result in burning the sides of the cake.

Remember to preheat your oven 

Preheating your oven is essential because it will affect the way your cake rises. If your oven isn’t hot enough, the cake may result in being undercooked. You might also want to consider using the conventional setting on your oven since the fan setting can slightly dry out a cake.

Ensure you have the exact measurements

When following a recipe, make sure that you have the exact measurements stated. For instance, it’s not ideal to add more baking powder just because you want your cake to rise more. It’s also a good idea to buy measuring spoons and jugs, if you don’t already have them, to make sure that your measurements are accurate.

Ensure that ingredients are the right temperature

Some recipes may require the eggs to be at room temperature. For example, if you take butter straight from the fridge and mix it with the eggs, it will result in possibly curdling your cake and not creating a good batter. Therefore, you need to ensure that you have the right temperature if it’s stated in the recipe that certain ingredients need to be at a certain temperature.

Ensure that your cake has a lot of air

When mixing butter and sugar, make sure that they are mixed until the texture and colour has lightened. Doing this will increase the air and volume of your cake, producing a lighter result. You should also remember to use a whisk gently since whisking violently can result in the air decreasing in your mixture, resulting in a cake with a heavy volume.

Always stick to cooking times 

For your cake to be cooked thoroughly, you should always stick to cooking times stated in the recipe you’re following. Taking a cake out before the cooking time is over will result in undercooking it while leaving it in for too long will result in an overcooked cake. It’s the same as when you cook any dish. To check whether your cake is cooked, press it in the middle or around the edges; the utensil or cutlery you use should come out dry. If your cake isn’t cooked properly within but looks golden, it can be covered with a bit of dampened greaseproof paper.

Cool your cake

When your cake has cooked thoroughly, remember to let your cake cool. Recipes will usually have instructions for cooling. If you’ve baked a sponge cake, remember to let it cool for a few minutes and then transfer it onto a cooling rack in order to avoid soggy edges. If you’ve baked a fruit cake, they can be left in the tin to cool.

These are the steps you can follow if it’s your first time baking a cake. For any cake baking enquiries or if you’d like to have a custom cake made for you, take a look at our list of cake makers here.

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