Baking is such an art … many of us are keen to learn the basics , hence some of the GS baking experts were approached to take the responsibility of teaching us baking
A note of special thanks to Somegroovychick, Ira andMehnaz , for agreeing to help us out. I will also be occasionally sharing my knowledge and would request you as well to jump in and help in every possible way …
The recipe alone is just 60% task done , its important to learn the skill behind baking , in order to get the 100% result. Our focus will be on the skill. Please start posting your queries do our experts can respond to you.
Ok ladies , my first question … which are the easiest and cost effective ( ingredient wise) cakes ? Like which cakes would you recomend newbies like me make to get started? :hmmmm:
What are some basic ingredients that EVERY baker should have...whether htey make the cake from scratch or not? Also when following a recipe online...how do u know if u should omit an ingredient or not? (Like some recipes ask for 1/4 tsp vanilla extract but if you dont have it?)
Simple, straight forward, plain cake. No nuts, no chocolate, nothing. Plain, plain, plain.
For flavour, you can add whatever essence you want. You don’t have to use vanilla. You can just a teaspoon of orange juice instead (then you will have an orange flavoured cake), coffee (coffee flavoured cake), or even simple rose water. I should actually try kewra one day …
On the weekend, I made a plain cake for my family and I didn’t have any vanilla essence left. I have some other funky flavours I purchased, but didn’t feel like using them, so I just put a teaspoon of rose water instead. Turned out great!
Mehnaz , you are here … Plain cake … excellent , next i am going to find a good recipe for the very basic cake and make it and will report the mishaps ( which always happen when i am baking *
I have some photos that I took right when I first started baking. I will show you what your cake should not look like and what to do to avoid it ending up like that. :D
Make sure your ingredients are room temperature [like eggs, butter, cream cheese etc]. Dont just take an egg straight out of the fridge and crack it into your bowl
lol, i’m going to try it to see what the result is like.
ok basic ingredients you need are:
flour
sugar
baking powder
eggs
milk
shortening (I prefer the no-name brands as opposed to Crisco)
that’s it.
Yes, make sure everything is at room temperature. mix it on low speed. never mix it on high speed cause that is what causes cakes to sink in the middle (too much air in the mixture). So mix it on low and don’t over beat it.
Masi, the temperature you are baking on is too high and you are over cooking the cake.
I find this happens a lot in Gas ovens. I have a gas oven and this is what was happening to my cakes.
Gas ovens can be really tempermental. It will say 350 on the knob, but if you buy even a cheapie thermometer and put it in the oven, you will notice that it is actually above 400 degrees. So what I do now is bake my cakes just over 300 degrees and I bake it for slightly longer than one hour. They rarely rise now and there are no cracks. When this happens, I don't need to slice a top off to make it even before decorating.
I don't know if this happens in Electric ovens as well. Maybe someone else can let us know.
Also some times if baking pan is not of proper size it makes cake to rise in the middle and split. So make sure that you use the correct size of pan as called out in the recipe and of course heat is also a factor.
oh and another thing that can essentially destroy your cakes .... you MUST use fresh ingredients. Don't take out 5 month old flour and use it. Toss it or use it else where ... you have to use fresh ingredients cause it can really change the consistency of your cake.
one tip for very basic plain cake:
After mixing well all the wet ingredients by a beater. slowly add dry ingredients (all combined and siffted in a seperate bowl at the beginning...this how i do it :) ) and mix with spatula, mixing in one direction only. As soon as dry ingredients are combined and no more powder is apparent you are done mixing. This would make cake very soft and not tough.
Some tips from my side, some of which are already mentioned:
Always make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature before you start.
ALways use fresh ingredients, like Mehnaz said. No 2 year old baking powder is to be used. I have seen it first hand how it can make or break your cake (no pun intended :D)
Always follow the recipe exactly. There are different ways of mixing different types of cake. If a recipe states to only mix until just combined, use a spatula to do the job. If the recipe wants you to beat for a good 2 or 3 mins, do just that. For some types of cakes, overmixing can result in a tough, hard cake.
Double check your oven temperature. Like Mehnaz said, either invest in a oven thermometer or if you know your oven runs hotter than you think, adjust either the baking temperature or the time accordingly. For example, i have an electric oven and i know to check 5 mins before the baking time suggested in the recipe since my oven is hotter than i think it is. For cookies, i check about 2-3 mins before.
Baking is a science. Its not like cooking. You cannot substitute oil for butter for example, and expect the results you want. Different ingredients will yield different results. But for somethings its ok, so if you dont have vanilla essence, either omit it or use another flavor. Soemtimes if a recipe calls for lemon zest and i dont have that, i will use lemon extract with good results.
Like sumla mentioned, make sure you are using the right sized pan.
Always preheat the oven appropriately before baking.
Dont keep opening the oven door to check on the cake. I usually dont check the cake until i think its almost done since my oven runs hotter.
Overbaking a cake will result in a tough cake like sumla mentioned. you should only bake till the sides have come away from the pan and a toothpick or knife inserted in teh middle of the cake comes out clean.
If baking is something you are serious about, then I would recommend you to invest in some good quality pans. Apparently, the dark pans (baker's secret) are really bad quality. They tend to overcook cakes. I invested in pans by Wilton. The ones by Betty Crocker are good quality as well.
Another thing, it is important to take the cake out of the pan immediately. Don't let it sit and cool as it will continue cooking in the pan. Just put it on a cooling rack for at least 3 hours and let it cool. After that, you can refridgerate it, etc.
… Plain cake … excellent , next i am going to find a good recipe for the very basic cake and make it and will report the mishaps ( which always happen when i am baking * 
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