Some time in late 2016, I got an obsession – I wanted to learn to bake a good cake. But was I good at cooking? No. Did I know how to bake a good cake? No. Did I end up learning how to do that? Hell yes!
If you’re into baking or you just want to bake a good cake for a special occasion, here are the bits and pieces that helped me out.
1. You Need Practice
Yes, baking a good cake needs good amount of practice. You will be foolish to expect that you can bake a brilliant cake in one go. The truth is you can’t. Even if you do end up having the beginner’s luck, your next cake would be a disaster.
In all those times of failure, understand that it’s okay. You’re doing it to learn and you’re bound to fail. Figure out what went wrong and try again.
2. Always Mix The Batter In One Direction
Yes! Even I used to think what difference could this simple thing make. But it makes a LOT of difference. If you want a soft and fluffy cake, you definitely need to follow this instruction.
3. Don’t Forget To Sieve The Flour
For this, I know the technicality of how this tip makes a difference and helps you bake a good cake. When you sieve the flour, it creates air bubbles inside it. Those air bubbles help your cake turn out to be fluffy when you bake it.
4. Mix The Dry And Wet Ingredients Separately
It’s again a tip that results into that fluffy cake. Flour and cocoa powder should be sieved and mixed together. Other wet ingredients like milk, butter, egg etc. should be mixed together. Then, you mix these two together and mix it quick. Add baking powder and baking soda in the end just before you’re about to put the cake into the final tin to bake.
5. Always Check The Cake With A Knife
Every recipe gives you an estimate of time in which cake should be ready. It may take longer or maybe, even lesser time. So, keep checking your cake time to time and stop baking it only when it passes the knife test i.e. the knife comes out clean when you put it into the cake.
6. Grease The Tin Generously
Let’s go back to before-the-baking. Don’t be a miser. Grease the tin as if you have no worries about the fat content and you have too much of oil to use up.
There you go ladies and gentlemen! Those are my top six tips to bake a good cake. I am not perfect at it. I just try to be better everyday. Hope this helps you out! For some cake photos that are baked and clicked by me :P, you can check my instagram!
Do you have any tips to add? Let me know in the comments.