Baking the perfect chocolate cake can be challenging for novice cooks. Their minds are filled with thoughts of a tasteless cake, icky frostings and other horrors. But truly, it’s not that hard if you use the right tools and just take things one step at a time. To help you start cooking with ease, stick with simple chocolate cake recipes until you’re more confident in your baking skills. Now you’re getting started on the path to perfect cake baking!
Preparing the Pan:
- Be Always sure to use the size recipe calls for in the pan.
- Grease the pan lightly with oil and then flour before assembling the recipe.
- If you are using a pan with an elaborate design, be sure to grease all the nooks and crannies of the cake thoroughly to avoid having it stick. In this scenario, it is best to use too much than too little.
- One more option is to apply a non-stick spray made from vegetables. These work well.
- If you are making an angel food cake or a sponge cake, avoid greasing the pan with butter or flour as this may stop the cakes from rising. If necessary, line the bottom of your pan with parchment or wax paper.
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Mixing the Batter:
- It is essential to have all your ingredients at room temperature.
- Be sure all your ingredients are measured before combining the batter.
- Turn on the oven to 350 degrees before mixing the ingredients together.
- If you are using an electric mixer to mix your ingredients, mash the ingredients together. When beating ingredients together, do not over-beat.
- If you mix the batter by hand, it will take a bit more time to get all the ingredients mixed together evenly.
- When making a cake with butter, make sure it is soft before blending the sugar.
- Prior to adding your next egg, use a blender or mixer to combine the previous eggs in with the cake batter. This is especially true if you are mixing by hand instead of using an electric mixer.
- There are many recipes that call for a specific kind of chocolate. There are many dark chocolate bars on the market today. Be sure to have a variety of melted chocolate on hand. Use your favorite dark chocolate in recipes. Make sure that the cocoa is 70% or higher.
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Filling the Cake Pan:
- To account for rising, don’t fill the cake pan more than ¾ full.
- If you are using a square pan, spread the batter into all corners.
- If you’d like to use a square, rectangular or oval pan instead of the round one the recipe calls for, make double batches of batter. To figure out the amount of batter you will need, fill your substitute pan 2/3 full of water. Fill the pan that you need to measure with water and transfer it into the pot. Adjust the batter according to how full you make your pan of water. If the recipe pan is overflowing, cut back on the ingredients. If the recipe pan isn’t full enough, make more of the batter.
- When cooking a new recipe or using an unfamiliar pan, time will vary accordingly.
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Baking Cakes:
- When baking a cake, always preheat the oven first.
- Glass or dark pans will hold heat for a longer period of time. Cook at a reduced heat temperature by 25 degrees F.
- Place the cake on the middle rack of the oven so that heat is able to circulate around it.
- If you’re baking multiple pans of food, be sure they’re not touching each other
- Place cake pans so that they are directly above or below each other on the rack.
- If your cake is baking inconsistently, then turn it a few times during the cooking process.
- To test if your cake is done, start testing it at about 8 minutes before the recommended baking time.
- One way to test if your cake is done baking is to poke it with a toothpick in the center. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is ready.
- One way to know if a cake is done is to press gently. The indentation should return when the cake has been cooked thoroughly.
- When done the cake will pull away from the sides of the cake pan.
Cooling Cakes:
- After baking cakes with butter, let them cool for five minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Then flip it out onto a cooling rack. If your batter is still sticky, try to loosen it with a spatula.
- Cakes that contain egg whites, such as angel food cakes, chiffon cake and sponge cakes should be inverted on a wire rack to cool. To invert a pan without feet, place the neck of a large bottle through the hole and tip the pan over it so that water can drain out. When cooled, loosen with a knife and turn out.
Frosting a Cake:
- If you are in a hurry and making a layered cake, use jelly between the layers or Place fruit slices between the layers and dust with powdered sugar.
- It is better to make more frosting than not enough. Leftover frosting can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days.
- If your frosting is not homemade or was “not cooked,” spread it on the cake while the cake is still warm.
- If you’ve just made the icing, spreading it on top of the cake may be best after it has completely cooled.
- If your frosting calls for stiff egg whites, and they’re not stiff enough, simply put them inside a double boiler on the stove.
- If your frosting is too watery, put it in the fridge for a few minutes, beat it over ice or add more butter to thicken.
- If your frosting is too thick, add a few drops of hot milk or water.
- If your cake is uneven, feel free to use a sharp knife to adjust the height.
- If you are making a three layered cake and the middle layer has a raised top, slice off the pointed portion
- To frost the bottom layer, set it on a plate covered in strips of wax paper to catch any frosting that may drip. Spread the icing on top of the bottom layer, then add the next cake layer over it.
- To get an even layer of frosting, start by covering the sides of your cake.
- Spread the remaining frosting over the top of your cake and let it run down against the edges.
- Remove the paper strips once the frosting is dry.
- Decorate however you’d like.
I hope these tips will help you in your quest for the Ultimate Chocolate Cake. Always remember to take it one step at a time when you’re baking.
