You invest your money, time and effort and then suddenly something goes wrong and you end up with an unplanned mess! It doesn’t matter if you’re a baking beginner or consider yourself a cake creating pro; a few tricks never hurt anybody. Follow the below tips to hack your way to baking the perfect cake and more:

Getting Started:

  • Always have your ingredients at room temperature, to help with the texture and rising of the cake.
  • Use measuring cups and spoons while baking to make sure you are using the right quantities.
  • Tie a wet cloth around the baking pan to get a smooth cake top without a hump. Squeeze all the water out of the cloth so that it doesn’t drip in the oven.
  • Always preheat your oven and use an oven thermometer to reach the right temperature before you place anything inside.
  • To make sure your cake comes out smoothly from the pan, grease it with oil or non-stick spray and dust with flour, or use parchment paper.
  • Store your brown sugar in an airtight container with a slice of bread to keep it moist.

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Preparing the Cake Batter: 

  • To bring eggs to room temperature, put them in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes.
  • Always crack your eggs in a separate bowl so that you don’t ruin the batter if one is bad.
  • To get a broken egg shell out of a bowl, wet your fingers first.
  • Spray your measuring spoons with oil before measuring sticky ingredients.
  • Sift your dry ingredients to make sure there are no clumps or lumps in your batter.
  • Add your dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed to avoid dust and splatter all over the kitchen.
  • If your brown sugar becomes a solid mass, heat it in the microwave on high for intervals of 10 seconds.
  • Test the expiry of baking soda by placing 1 tsp baking soda into 1/2 cup of hot water. If it bubbles then it’s still good.
  • In the case of making muffins or cookies, use an ice cream scoop to measure out the batter so they will bake evenly.
  • To get the perfect cake texture, drop your baking pan on the counter a few times before placing it in the oven to release the air pockets in the batter.

After the Oven:

  • Place a piece of sliced bread on top of your cake while cooling to keep it moist.
  • Leave your cake to cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan before removing or inverting.

 

Photo credit: Passion for Baking