With holiday baking right around the corner, here’s a few tips on getting the best cakes possible for the least amount of effort:
- Use aluminum pans, if possible. They reflect heat away from the cake, keeping the edges lightly brown instead of crispy.
- Even though nonstick spray is awesome, make sure to coat the pan in flour too. It makes nicer more uniformly shaped cakes when you remove them from the pan.
- Don’t skip the wire cooling rack. It lifts the cake off of the counter and lets air flow around the entire cake, rather than trapping moisture.
- Don’t overmix your batter {this is especially true with cakes made from scratch}, it will cause your cake to become heavy.
- When baking a cake from scratch, measurements should be EXACT. That’s why the “purists” will weigh their ingredients instead {I’m not a purest, but I do try to get my measurements exact by leveling them off with the back of a knife}. The slightest bit off could cause your cake to fall in the center or taste too dry.
- Don’t lift your cake out of the pan. Instead, bring the wire rack to the top of the cake, flip the entire pan, and then gently lift the pan off of the cake.
- When decorating your cake, use a toothpick to draw out your outlines first. You can always frost over any mistakes, and it will give you an awesome guide.
- For sheetcakes, use a serrated plastic knife to cut. They cut amazing without bringing lumps of cake with them.
- Don’t open the oven door to check on your cake–like ever. The change in temperature can cause your cake to fall. Use the oven light instead.
- Only use the low setting on your mixer in order to prevent over-beating.
How about you, any awesome tips for baking cakes that you’ve learned over the years?
~Mavis
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Tangela says
Pam makes a baking spray now, that contains flour (or it appears to). It works awesome and imo, is SO much easier than oiling and flouring. Love your blog! 🙂
Sakura says
When I was a kid my mom taught me to cut wax paper for the bottom of the pan. You still crease the pan but you have a piece of wax paper on the bottom. When your cake is done and cooled it peels right off. Just trace around the pan on the wax paper and cut with scissors.
Tina B says
You can do this with parchment paper as well. My Aunt, who teaches baking classes at the University of Missouri, has taught me this. Just cut the paper to fit the bottom of your pan and you’ll never lose your cake to the pan again. You can grease the paper if you wish.
Jen says
I haven’t ever gotten the flour thing to work. My cake has stuck and fallen apart every single time. I’ve tried it with oil, spray, butter, and coconut oil, with homemade cakes and with box mixes. I even tried powdered cocoa instead of flour with chocolate cake from a tip I read to keep your chocolate cakes from getting white patches on it and had the same result. The only thing I have gotten to work is plain ol’ cooking spray. I have tried baker’s joy and such and it works well, but is so expensive compared to the cooking spray. Any suggestions on what I’m doing wrong? I mean, I guess if cooking spray works for me then that should be good enough, but I feel like the flour thing is a secret I should know since I do a lot of baking…lol!
Mavis Butterfield says
Gahhh! I don’t know, I like to switch between parchment paper and flouring my pans. I wish I could be more help.
Jen says
It’s all good. I forget about parchment! I did try that once and remember it worked well. Love your blog! Has helped me tons!
steph says
I second the wax paper idea. parchment paper works too. Nothing ever sticks to the bottom.
Katie NC says
What I want to know is, where’s the recipe for the delicious looking cake in the lead picture?!?!