How to Bake Cake

Cake is one of the most simplest recipe ever but with the long process it under go people keep thinking it is so hard... A delicious recipe, to me there is no big deal in baking cake all you have to focus on is the tastes. Mostly in Nigerian most of the cake use in Wedding Ceremonies and Birthday Celebrations or ordinary cake sell in the most shop under go the same process even the ones you store in your freezer to serve your kids on a day-to-day basis, the only difference they may have is by you adding a little twist to yours, which you most not over do, else you fordo it...

INGREDIENTS NEEDED

* 400g Plain Flour

* 15 Medium Eggs

* 600g Butter (other best alternative is Margarine)

* 450g Granulated Sugar (you can mix with brown sugar)

* 3 Teaspoonfuls of Baking Powder

* 3 Tablespoonfuls of Vanilla Extract

* 1½ cup of Brandy



Note; The quantities of the above listed ingredients are what I used for a cake baked with 12 inch diameter and 3 inch deep cake pan. That gives me a cake of 11.8 inch diameter with the height of 3.2 inches. But when I use the same amount of ingredients in a cake pan of 4 inch diameter and 1 inch deep I get 3 pan's all together.


Tools Need in Baking Cake.

If you don't have any of the following tools, then why are you thinking of baking cake. Mind you, if you don't have any of them, I don't think there are any other alternative as for now but if there is this recipe will be update.

* Oven: the oven most be the one of low down and top up capability.

* Cake Pan: as for me I use the one of 12 inch diameter and 3 inch deep cake pan, you can use any cake pan of your choice.

* Cake Mixer: either electrical engine or manual one.

* Sieve or Sifter.

* Bowls

* Kitchen scale.

* Egg Whisk.

* Spatulas


Note on the Cake Ingredients

- The Flour: Nowadays there are many different types o flours in the market but it is advisable to use the plain flour for you to have the best cake. Using a self-rising flour may fordo your cake but I can't say this is exactly what will happen to your cake. But what am about is that when using a self-rising flour you can never state the amount of baking powder to be use use. That why I had exhortation to get plain flour to have a great taste of your cake and have the full control over the amount of baking powder and other ingredients to be used.



- The Butter: Most people always think that Butter and Margarine are still the same or best alternative but the answer is No... The best to be use is baking butter which is sold in any shop that sells bakery ingredients. But as for other countries whose there butter comes in sticks. I have no idea about the weight each sticks of there butter. But to get the amount of butter to be used then you have to start your job some minute before the use of the butter, melt the butter a little bit to get the amount that you need and keep in fridge to freezer.

-Sugar: As we all know that there are two types of sugar which is the coarse grains sugar and the fine grains sugar. If the one sell to you is that of the coarse grains sugar, you can grind it with a dry mill before adding it to the butter. The grading most not be too powdered, you just need to grind it a bit to reduce the sizes of the grains of sugar and it helps your creaming faster.

-Flavour: As we all know that flavour in any recipe is just to add more taste to your recipe so as well is the vanilla extract is just to add a vanilla flavour to the cake. As well known that there are many different types of flavours today in the market so therefore feel free to use any other flavour of your choices and replace it where the vanilla flavour is added.

-Fruits: Let assuming that you want to use a dried grapes, then you have to soak these in brandy for some days before adding it to your cake. If not probably soaked, it may ruins the taste of the cake.

-Brandy: Well, it not new anymore we all know that today there are many cake preservative but I recommend brandy as for this recipe on this page. Brandy in your cake will help you preserve those eggs in the cake, which may get ruins before the event if you don't add any preservative to it. If it not probably add you may have your cake ruins while decorating it especially for wedding cakes that has a lot of decorations. But if you are making your cake for your kids which is going to be stored in freezer as soon as it done and cool down to 5.0°C, then you don't need to border about adding brandy. Before I forget, please be very careful about the adding of the Brandy do not go overboard your cake with it. If not people we not enjoy the taste of the cake, they will feel tipsy after eating the cake. Be Much More Careful About The Brandy...



Things to Note Before you Start Making your Cake.

1. Clean all the utensils and appliances you want to use for the cake before you proceed and dry them all.

2. Check out maybe you still have all that you need in terms of the ingredients check over and over again before proceeding, if you are sure of your ingredients then you can proceed.

3. To make the job done easily and fast you are free to Download the PDF here or Print out this page and keep it close by.

(Now we are done checking the ingredients and the tools needed, let keep the ball rolling......)


Easy Step by Step guide for Making Cake


1. Mixing the butter and the sugar to form Cream; bring out the mixer bowl and put the butter and the granulated sugar into it, place back to the mixer and start mixing. (don't change the direction of your mixing it may fordo the all Cream). Use the highest setting on your mixer, the creaming may took more than an hour it depends on your mixer capacity. (Please take note of the instructions on your mixer manual, follow the instructions before set up the mixer for creaming). For a mixer, I once used, the instruction says that; "On highest set up, the mixer should not run for more than 15 to 20 minutes at a time". So if you are using a different type or something like this try to cream for 10 to 15 minutes and stop to cool down for like 5 minutes, run it again after the resting time. Do this again and again till it completely cream the butter and the sugar. With this, I can't say the exact time of the process but what I note is that I spent 1 hour plus. It may take you more or less depending on the type of your mixer and most time also in the type of your sugar grains size.
A question comes across my mind, what is it.... You are thinking how will you know a well creamed butter+sugar... Well it is very simple, a well creamed butter+sugar will be much whiter than the butter at the beginning which you start with and softer, if you taste it you can barely feel the granulated sugar. We all know that fingers are not equal so you will surely have some grains of the sugar in the creamy the only way to eliminate this, you have to use the fine sugar not coarse.



2. Baking Pan; Baking pan is one of the key tool you really need and it cames in different shapes. Now set up your baking pan while you are taking a rest of your mixer, prepare the cake pan by
rubbing the insides with butter and flour. Start with the butter, rub it all over inside the cake pan make sure it touches every part of it, then put some flour to cover the rubbed butter in the pan, making sure the flour touches every part. By doing this is to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan and it will as well make it easy for you to bring out the cake from the pan when it done, without deforming the cake.

3. Beat of the Eggs; this process is the same as the normal way you break your eggs when firing them, but you are not going to add any other ingredients to it, just break them all and whisk them to a smoothing point.

4. Now if you have been following the steps above, then you are getting it... Let keep the ball rolling... Pour the whisked eggs to the cream, that is if your mixer is big enough to accommodate the cream with the whisked eggs. (don't forget, your stirring directions most not change,
It is advisable to stir the cake mix in one direction, from the time you add butter and sugar till you will have all the ingredients mixed, "most cake experts say that when you stir in the opposite direction, air bubbles will be trapped in your cake mix and your cake will have holes in it when done".) Now mix till you have a smooth blend butter + sugar + whisked eggs. But for those who there mixer is not big enough, don't be panic, pour the creamed butter and sugar into another bigger bowl and use your manual mixer to mix the two till you get a soft smooth blend creamed butter + sugar + eggs. Now before going to the next step, you this opportunity to set up your oven, so that it will be heating up before you are done with the mixing. Put it on to 100°C or 250°F.

5. Now it is time to add the remaining ingredients, but first of all add the vanilla extract or any other flavours of your choice, add the brandy and the soaked dry fruits then stir together with your manual mixer or a wooden spatula till all is well mixed and blend. As for those who are baking it for event like wedding, you add some browning it will help give your cake a dark colour. Add the plain flour with the baking powder but this requires a bit technique, get a small bowl and pour into it the baking powder and the plain flour and mix the two together. Place a sieve or a flour sifter on top of the creamed butter + sugar + eggs + the other ingredients, sieve out a small quantities of the flour+baking powder
into the bowl, stir very well with your manual mixer or wooden spatula till you have a good mix up. Add another small quantity of the flour with baking powder and stir again and again... Repeat this process till all the flour and baking powder are well mixed-up with the creamed butter + sugar + eggs and other ingredients. You may be thinking why passing the flour and baking powder through a sieve or sifter since they are already smooth... It is important to pass the flour through a sieve or sifter so that you are sure that the flour that enters the cake mix in its finest powder form with the baking powder and you won't like to have small lumps of flour and baking powder in your cake when it done.

6. Pour your mix creamed butter + sugar + eggs and other ingredients into the baking pan. But this also require a bit technique... Once every ingredient is well mixed-up, it's time to pour into your baking pan. As for those ones who want there cake to have a multicolour layer out, now get a new dry bowl for each color then divide the cake mix into the number of colours you want. Add the colours to each, stir again and again till well mix and pour into the cake pan one after the other to the level of your choices. Your pouring depends on the color you want at the top follow by the next, for example you want red, green, yellow, blue... You first of all pour the red mix follow by green, yellow and blue..



7. Now we are done with the pouring, get a wooden spoon to bet the cake pan on the top or gently lift and drop the cake pan for like 4 to 5 times, by doing this is to make it compact well. And you should not worry about the smoothness, so far as it is going into the oven, the heat will level it and even smoothing it.

8. Now keep the cake for like 1 to 1½ minutes, doing this, is to help you have the butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and other ingredients to compact well. Now transfer the cake into the oven, how to do that... Bring out the oven rack between the top and the bottom of the oven that is halfway to the oven, to have a well place of the cake. Close the door of your oven and increase the heat of the oven and start baking, bake for at least 1½ hours then check it, but note it may take your cake up to 1 hour or less for the cake to rise as in to a maximum. You can make it up to 1 hour 45 minutes before checking it, because if you try open the oven door before the cake has fully risen, you have fordo the cake by interrupting the baking process and this will stop the cake from rising and it will not be well cooked. When it done, it will be harder than the normal cake you buy in the market.
To cut it down, a lot of things can happen to your cake, if care is not taken. That is why it even advisable to check through the door if it is a glass door.



9. How will you Check if the Cake is done... There are many different ways but because of time I will list three of them now....

[ ı ]. When you are sure that the cake is no longer rising, dose it meant it has done "NO"... The first way to confirm that your cake is fully done, get a wooden skewer (stick) and dip it into the center of the cake (make sure it touches the bottom of the cake pan). Why I love the wooden skewers (stick) is that they are a bit rougher and it will be easy to pick more smears. So if the wooden skewer (stick) comes out clean, no doubt, the cake should be done. But still not sure you can check with step two...

[ ıı ]. After confirming with step one, but you are not OK with it you can still check with this... Now you check through the glass door to twice and you can say or not sure maybe the cake is no longer rising, check it by driving a knife into the center of the cake. If the knife comes out with smears of the mixed cake, then the cake is not done. If it comes out clean and dry, with only an oily then the cake is done. Now your cake have passes the wooden skewer (stick) and the knife test, you are like wahoo oo... You made it... But still try and confirm with the latest test.

[ ııı ]. This is quite simple but a bit technique... Now take a look at the top side of the cake pan. The cake should be separated from the pan or at least not stuck to the pan. So if your cake have pass this, then you are good to go... Why you need to confirm with the three steps is that... You will not want to end up with an undone cake and a done cake should be very easy to remove from the pan when it done so you have to be very sure of your cake.

10. Now we have carried out the three steps successfully, which means your cake is done, bring it out of the oven and leave it under a temperature of about 20°C for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. Then leave to cool down completely before decoration, that's if you have probably prepare it for an event but if you have prepare for your kids, cut it in a desirable sizes and serve it as a snack with a chilled soft drink or juice and store the remaining ones in the freezer.

Please and please don't hesitate to contact me for help when ever you are preparing your cake... You can still drop comment.....

This Cake Recipe is originally published at www.foodyarns.com and please don't copy it to your website with out given it a back link to this page....