It is great to be able to serve a homemade cake on a special occasion such as a birthday. You can easily find the perfect recipe from a friend or online. At the same time, cake baking is not a simple task. You have to follow the instructions provided in the recipe precisely. You have to ensure that you will avoid the following commonly made mistakes as well.
Using Cold Ingredients
This is one of the biggest cake baking mistakes which people make. If the ingredients are cold, this can result in lumps and other issues with the texture of the batter. You would certainly not want your creation to be ruined by such a silly mistake. All ingredients have to have room temperature when they are added together for the making of the batter. For this, you need to take out the ones which are stored in the fridge such as eggs, milk and butter around one and a half hours before you start cooking.
Getting the Baking Temperature Wrong
You have to ensure that you bake the batter at the perfect temperature. Otherwise, you may end up with a hard, flat or lumpy cake. Make sure that you use a recipe with a precise baking temperature. Usually, the over has to be preheated. You must not slip the pan with the batter in earlier.
It is best to rely on an oven thermometer rather than on the control knob and the lights of the appliance as they are not particularly accurate. Another really important thing is not to open the oven too frequently during the baking process. In fact, you should refrain from doing this.
Over-baking Leading to Dry Cake
This mistake can really ruin the taste no matter how great the recipe is. In order to avoid it, you must never bake the batter for too long. If the recipe does not come with a fixed baking time, you should check the batter after half an hour of baking. Open the oven, push a wood skewer inside the batter and take it out gently. If there is no trace of the mixture on the skewer, then the cake is ready. If more baking is required, you have to check after another ten minutes.
Adding Frosting to a Warm Cake
If you make this mistake, the frosting will simply melt and lose its original texture and look. The cooling to room temperature typically takes about one to two hours. You have to provide for this time when you start with the preparation of the recipe. You can speed up the process by leaving the pan on a cool countertop. You must not place it in the fridge while it is still warm, however.
Leaving the Cake without Decoration
You can come up with creative decoration even if you are in a hurry or you are not very good at this. One of the simplest techniques is to add pieces of fruit in an interesting pattern. You can also use ground raw nuts. Even if you do not have a decorating bag, you can take a clean plastic bag and make a small hole by removing one of the corner. Then you can fill it with the frosting and set your fantasy free.
You are now prepared for baking the perfect cake.
Syed Faris Hussain
