Baking homemade treats for yourself and your loved ones can be one of the most satisfying and rewarding experiences.
But, it can be just as frustrating and demotivating when something goes wrong, and instead of having a fluffy, evenly-baked and crumbly cake, we end up with a deformed sunken mass.
However, they can be made right at home by following some easy, yet effective steps.
If you’ve ever had a cake that had sunken in the middle or had a dense texture instead of the light and fluffy one you wanted, keep in mind these factors on your next cake-baking adventures.
Below are five tips to bake tender, moist and well-risen cakes every single time.
1. Appropriate measurements
As a basic guideline, it is important to get the ingredients and their quantities exactly right. Any alteration with regard to the quantity of ingredients would have its impact on the final result. Extra butter or oil will end up making the cake too moist as a result the cake will lose its shape. Likewise, too much flour will make the batter too dense in its texture thus making it difficult to eat.
2. Leavening agents
The key ingredient for any baked good to rise requires a leavening agent since they are the fundamental ingredients that make a cake rise. The chemical leavening agents include baking soda and baking powder. The reaction of baking soda or baking powder when combined with the liquids in the batter releases carbon dioxide, which helps in forming air bubbles leading to the cakes becoming light and airy. Also, don’t forget to check the expiry dates of your leavening agents, because then they won’t serve their purpose.
3. Creaming the butter mixture
“Creaming” is the part of the recipe when you beat the butter and sugar together to which the end result should be a smooth mixture with no lumps or separation. The timing and building an appropriate consistency of this step is crucial to incorporate air into your cake batter which will result in the cake to be airy-soft and risen.
4. Introduction of eggs into the batter
Eggs in themselves have the quality to result in a light and fluffy cake texture without requiring leavening agents. It will depend on the type of cake that is in the making that will determine how much beating eggs need. During this step, it is crucial that one follows the timings and specifics as mentioned in the recipe focusing on at the step at which eggs are to be introduced, if the eggs used should be kept at room temperature first and how many eggs to incorporate, since too many eggs in the batter can result in a dense or compact cake and even leave a bad and smelly aftertaste.
5. The right oven temperature
Using proper oven temperature is important to allow the cake to rise while maintaining its structure so that it does not sink in from between after cooling. If the oven is too hot, the cake will set too fast before the air bubbles have formed. If the oven is not hot enough, the cake will rise too much, then fall in the center before it is set. If it is lower than the required temperature, it will rise too much and collapse in the middle. So, it becomes crucial to follow the recipe’s direction when it comes to the oven temperature.
Final words
All these factors can affect how well your cake rises. Successful baking requires attention to every detail since baking is more than knowing the science than knowing the craft and basic recipe, but following these guidelines will help ensure your cakes always rise with a tender and airy crumb every time.
