Make a Success of a Time-Honored Tradition : Cake-Making Tips to Ensure That It Will Rise to Your Fondest Expectations

Cakes. Are they in . . . or out? Well, they haven’t been spotted in the fad lists of food ins and outs, but as one of the oldest foods they’ve had a constant following and are here to grace dessert tables forever. Cakes baked today reflect refined techniques and basic ingredients handed down from generations of bakers. For the modern home baker, here are cake-making tips as well as some explanations as to why a cake sometimes may not rise to one’s expectations.

--Precision in cake making starts in reading and understanding the whole recipe thoroughly. Set out all tools and every ingredient needed, measuring accurately. Use glass measuring cups for liquid ingredients and individual cup measures for dry ingredients.

--Always prepare baking pans in advance. Once the batter is mixed with the leavening agent there’s no time for greasing or cutting paper liners. Use the correct pan size--low volume will result if the pan is too large, whereas a smaller pan could cause an overflow, and often loss of volume, during baking.

--If using glass baking pans when the recipe calls for metal, reduce oven temperature 25 degrees. Conversely, if using metal baking pans when the recipe calls for glass, increase the temperature 25 degrees. Black steel or other dull metal pans produce heavier, darker-crusted cakes, whereas bright, light aluminum pans produce lighter products.

Use With All-Purpose Flour

--Solid vegetable shortening (instead of oil, clarified, melted or soft butter) works well for greasing pans. Use with all-purpose flour when using decorative or plain molds. When directions call for a greased and floured pan, brush with shortening, then spoon in a tablespoon or so flour. Turn and tip pan, shaking slightly until flour coats it well. When pan is lightly coated, shake out any excess flour. For layer and sheet pans, particularly large ones, it may be necessary to line pans with parchment and brush with shortening. Extra greasing and use of paper lining also helps with removing rich, highly sweetened cakes from the pan. Greasing is not required when baking angel food and chiffon cakes and when using tube pans with removable bottoms.

--Sifting of flour is particularly needed in foam cakes to aerate and evenly distribute the flour and leavening throughout the batter. When a recipe calls for sifted flour, the flour should first be sifted, then measured and sifted again.

--The scoop level technique is often recommended when measuring flour, sifted or unsifted: Dip 1 cup dry measure into the flour, scoop up the flour and sweep off excess with a metal spatula.

--Never shake the cup as this will result in too much flour. Too much flour produces a tough, compact cake, and the top may split in the center. Too little flour will cause a cake to collapse when baking, resulting in a small cake with gummy texture.

--Seven-eighths cup of all-purpose flour may be substituted for cake flour, but the texture will not be as delicate. Cake flour has a low gluten content, which is needed for tenderness and fine texture.

A Need to Work Fast

--Baking powder may be replaced by baking soda in butter cakes if an acid liquid such as buttermilk, fruit juice or even mashed fruit is used to react with the soda. When the leavening mixes with the acid, carbon dioxide is released, so one needs to work fast. Otherwise the gas will be lost, which would result in a cake with poor volume.

--If you see old recipes with soda added to the liquid, the explanation is that soda used to be coarsely ground and needed to be dissolved in liquid first, sometimes in hot liquid. When making those recipes today, revise by sifting the fine soda with the dry ingredients.

--Some cakes become too bitter because of too much soda. Old recipes called for more of it since it was coarser and therefore less concentrated. A good guide is to use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda for every cup of flour.

--Always use strictly fresh baking powder, checking date code. One teaspoon baking powder per cup of flour is usually adequate. Increasing the baking powder might increase the volume but the texture will be coarser. Too much baking powder will stretch the gluten strands to the breaking point and the cake will fall and have a very small volume. Also, the cake may have an unpleasant bitter taste.

--In old-fashioned cake recipes calling for sour milk, buttermilk may be used. Otherwise, to “sour” sweet milk, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar per cup of milk.

--The amount of sugar should not be reduced in cakes for the following reasons. Other than providing sweetness, sugar increases volume and tenderness and browns the crust. Tenderness is achieved because sugar raises the coagulation temperature of protein in the cake batter, providing more time to stretch the cell walls. When stretched, the walls become thinner, accounting for the tenderness. Sugar also slows the development of gluten, which hardens the structure. In addition, the sugar granules also help to create many air pockets in the batter when creaming. Cakes with high sugar content should be baked slowly to prevent overbrowning.

--Salt brings out the sweetness in cakes but may be omitted for health reasons. (It plays a more important role in breads made with yeast as it helps produce a light crumb and firm crust.)

Most Misunderstood Direction

--The term “cream together” is probably one of the most misunderstood of all baking directions. It has nothing to do with the dairy liquid. Instead it simply means to beat the fat used until it becomes light and creamy in texture. Always use medium speed on an electric mixer when creaming.

--Undercreaming often causes problems in shortened cakes. Fats play a major role in creamed cakes as all air bubbles in the batter are entrapped in the fat. The more air cells incorporated into the batter, the lighter the cake will be.

--Butter should be at room temperature (60 to 75 degrees) to be properly creamed. To hasten softening, cut butter in pieces. Cream with a wooden paddle or electric mixer. When using the mixer, avoid overbeating the batter to the point where the butter melts and the egg separates, resulting in a heavy, lumpy cake. Further beating after the flour is added will also release air from the batter, reducing the volume of the cake. When making butter frostings, a cold liquid added to creamed butter could also cause some curdling reactions. The mixture may be saved by letting it stand at room temperature before re-beating. If necessary, blend in a food processor until smooth, then beat again until light.

--When substituting butter or margarine for vegetable shortening in creamed cakes, increase the butter by about 20% to make an equally tender cake. The reason is that shortening is 100% fat, whereas butter is only 80% fat. The rest is water.

Poor Volume, Dense Cakes

--Underbeating and overbeating eggs, particularly egg whites, can result in poor volume, dense cakes. Overbeaten egg whites are harder to incorporate and may produce a dry cake. Bring egg whites to room temperature before beating for best results. The merest dot of yolk, or other fats, will keep whites from whipping well. Beating eggs before adding to the creamed fat and sugar will also help increase the volume in creamed cakes.

--Large air bubbles in angel food cake can be avoided by running a spatula around the center of the batter in the pan to pop the bubbles. Overfolding the flour into the beaten whites will reduce the volume. Mixing part of the sugar with the flour, then adding at the last stage will help stabilize the foam and aid in incorporating the flour.

--Folding egg whites with a rubber spatula has always been tricky to master. An easier method is to “fold” using an electric mixer, particularly one with a whisk attachment: Set the mixer at the lowest speed and stop once or twice to scrape the sides of the bowl.

--When working with chocolate, loss of flavor, gloss and texture is caused by heating the chocolate past 120 degrees. Water in a double boiler should not exceed 140 degrees, and the top pan should not touch the water below. Moisture falling into melting chocolate will cause it to tighten to a stiff, unworkable mass. When melting chocolate in a microwave, the shape may not change without some stirring and that could cause overheating. Stir every 20 seconds.

--Avoid overbaking jellyroll cakes because the cakes will be crusty, too dry and will crack when rolled.

--Fruitcakes are usually made of a dense creamed batter to support heavy fruits and nuts. Toss the fruits and nuts with a few tablespoons of flour before adding to keep them from sinking. Chopping them more finely also helps to scatter them throughout the batter.

--Cake pans should be filled one-half to two-thirds full.

Calibrated Periodically

--Ovens should be calibrated periodically. Too hot an oven will produce cracks on top of the cake, and a low oven temperature may cause cakes to fall or become heavy. When topping cakes with fruits, seal tops of cakes with a glaze or melted jelly so the fruit juice will not make the cake soggy.

--Dome-shaped cakes may be made from two round cake layers. One layer is pressed into a large bowl to form a well for filling with mousse or ice cream. Cut pieces from remaining cake layer to fit sides and top of bowl.

-- Genoise, sometimes called butter spongecake and a favorite of French bakers, combines the characteristics of both fat cakes and foam cakes. Heating the eggs helps them to whip to a greater volume. Whole eggs are beaten with sugar over hot water until lukewarm and frothy, when they should be removed from heat. The mixture is then beaten for about 10 minutes until light and cool. At this stage it should look like whipped cream. Flour is sprinkled into the mixture, then the butter is folded in.

--When making butter cream, yolks should be beaten until light before adding the hot sugar syrup. Do not pour the syrup onto the whisk as it will splatter around the sides of the bowl and crystalize. Pour the syrup directly into the yolks, unless using a mixer, in which case pour the syrup down the side of a steep-sided bowl. Beat until the mixture is white, firm and cool before adding soft butter that is cut into pieces.

--Avoid overwhipping cream. If cream is to be spread or piped in pastry bags, allow for these extra manipulations and try to whip to smooth soft peaks. Granulated sugar and vanilla may be added in the beginning, contrary to some beliefs that this method will not whip well. Some bakers do not like to use powdered sugar in whipped cream because of the starchy texture it produces in the finished product.

--Test cakes for doneness by inserting a wood pick or skewer or broom straw (metal testers do not seem to work well as they come out clean most of the time) in the center. If it comes out dry with no batter, the cake is done. (Be careful, it could be overdone, too!) Press the center top lightly with your finger, and if it springs back leaving no indentation, it’s done. Another sign (which could also mean overbaking) is when the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Avoid Denting

--Allow the cake to cool and settle in the pan according to the recipe, usually eight to 10 minutes. To avoid denting the top of the cake with the wire rack when you remove it from the pan, instead of leaving the cake resting upside down on the rack, turn it out on the rack then, using another rack, quickly turn it over once more so the bottom rests on the rack. If the cake has cooled too long in the pan to be removed successfully, heat the pan directly over a burner on medium heat 30 seconds or less, then try removing again. Repeat warming once or twice.

--Oven shelves that aren’t level and sometimes cake pans touching one another or oven walls will result in lopsided cakes with uneven browning. Stagger cake pans in oven, placing as near center as possible.

--Rather than using more frosting to adjust unevenness of a cake surface, trim the cake until level. For even cake layers, weigh pans and batter. Tap pan lightly on a counter top before baking to remove excess air bubbles.

--Crumbs are a nuisance when frosting a cake as they stick to the icing on the spatula and cause blockage in a pastry tube. Eliminate sugar-bloom crust (an overly-browned cake crust caused by the caramelizing of the sugar in the cake) by trimming cake layers or brushing off loose crumbs with fingers or knife. Seal in any remaining crumbs with a thin coating of frosting. When applying fondant, seal the cake with apricot glaze or butter cream. Chill to prevent melting when warm fondant is added.

--Cakes, like many baked goods, lose their quality rapidly. Store in airtight containers to prevent drying. Cakes higher in fats and sugar are good moisture retainers and keep for the longest period. Rich poundcakes and fruitcakes may be left at room temperature for two weeks (longer for fruitcakes). Chemical staling of cakes, evidenced by drying, loss of aroma and texture, is rapid in the refrigerator. Cakes may be left at room temperature for short-term storage or frozen for longer keeping. However, cakes with cream filling should be refrigerated to avoid spoilage. Cakes with powdered sugar-butter frostings and glazes freeze well, whereas those with boiled egg white frosting do not.

The above tips are simply general guides to help you when baking cakes. For more detailed instructions, as well as good cake recipes, classic and new, here are some reliable cookbooks for suggested reading:

“The Fannie Farmer Baking Book” by Marion Cunningham (Alfred A. Knopf: $16.95): Book contains an informative chapter on cakes with helpful new tips on mixing, preparing pans, frosting, freezing and mailing cakes. Also contains description of ingredients and equipment. Recipes include detailed basic master recipe for classic angel food, sponge and yellow cakes, as well as many interesting, popular and easy “neighborhood” cakes. Cunningham also has a group of cakes with new textures using special flours and grains for health-minded individuals.

“Mastering the Art of French Pastry” by Bruce Healy and Paul Bugat (Barron’s: $21.95): Clear, detailed instructions, drawings (beautiful, although few recipe pictures) and many chef secrets simplify French pastry making. Recipes have been adjusted for the American measures but also offer metric equivalents.

“Cakes” (The Good Cook Series by Time-Life Books: $9.95): Excellent reference book featuring history of cakes and individual chapters on types of cakes. It is effectively illustrated with many step-by-step techniques in mixing and using ingredients. Good selection of popular recipes crediting other sources include both customary U.S. and metric measurements.

“The Simple Art of Perfect Baking” by Flo Braker (Morrow: $24.95): A great baking text book, answering many questions in all aspects of baking. Braker shares secrets of the pros, tells you how to judge for yourself the time required for each step and when to move to the next step. Although the book lacks color illustrations, the comprehensiveness in methods with every recipe, starting with foundation recipes to more advanced and elaborate cakes, more than makes up for it. Equivalents in metric weights are also given.

“Elegant Desserts” (HP Books: $17.95): an art book with beautiful pictures of 115 internationally famous cakes and desserts with more than 400 excellent how-to illustrations.

“Baking, Easy and Elegant” (HP Books: $15.95): Offers a greater selection of creative cakes, tortes and gateaux for special occasions. A chapter filled with basic information at the end includes an ingredient equivalency chart of market units and household measurements.