If you're a chef who can't resist tossing, you might feel a little hurt at baking. Why the cake you make yourself is always not as good as the cake bought in the cake shop outside, there are some secrets that we ordinary people may not know. As for what this secret book is, today I specially consulted the Chengdu Hongye Valley Pastry Cake Training School, and the senior pastry teacher came to reveal the secrets for everyone one by one, if you make a delicious cake by yourself to share with your family.
1. Use good recipes
To guarantee results, it's important to follow baking recipes so that your cake is as good as the recipe you use. Get recipes from reliable places. Many recipes, especially on the internet, have not been tried and tested (we have!). ）
2. Use the tin size specified in the recipe and arrange it well
Lining cake jar If you want to use another one, you need to adjust the cooking time.
Baked parchment lining is not sticky and works well. Sprinkling with floured butter, or sprinkling oil with flour, are substitutes. Do not use too much fat or you will damage the sides of the cake. If you cook cake for a long time (such as a rich fruitcake), you can also wrap the outside of the tin with brown paper and rope to stop the edge from burning.
3. Preheat the oven
If you put the cake in an oven that is not hot enough, it will affect how it is fermented. The fan oven allows the cake to dry slightly to allow for a longer shelf life with a traditional setting.
4. Accurate weight and composition
Make sure to use the precise measurements and ingredients described in the formulation. You can't just add more baking powder if you want your cake to swell more, or replace regular flour with jack-up flour. Use a measuring spoon instead of cutlery to ensure accuracy. Also, avoid mixing imperial and metric measurements and choose one or the other.
5. Make sure the ingredient temperature is appropriate
Most recipes require animal and vegetable oil and eggs to be at room temperature. If you take the butter straight out of the fridge, it won't melt very well, and cold eggs can easily make the cake solidify.
6. Pour as much air into the cake as possible
Cream butter and sugar until the texture and color of the mixture become lighter. This increases the air and volume of the cake, resulting in a lighter effect.
Mix the flour with other prescribed ingredients and add air to make them more fluffy. The large balloon stirrer (used gently) is best for folding because it helps avoid flour blocks, but does not overwork the mixture. Don't try to over-stir as this will destroy the air and cause the cake to become heavy.
7. Once the cake mixture is made, place it directly in the oven
The starter culture will start working as soon as it comes into contact with any of the "wet" ingredients, so to ensure a good fermentation, your cake mixture should go into the oven right away.
8. Place the cake on the correct rack and close the oven door
Cakes are usually best placed on the middle shelf to ensure even cooking.
After the cake is in, avoid opening the door until it is almost cooked. If you allow cold air to enter the oven, the cake may crumble and you will need to wait until the set time is over before opening it. Similarly, when you put the cake in the oven, when you put the cake in the oven, don't hang around and let all the heat out.
9. Stick to the cooking time
If you use the correct tin and you have a good oven, the timing stated in the recipe should be accurate. Since the oven does vary, check the cake before the cooking time is over. A baked cake should feel the same way if pressed on the edges or in the middle. In addition, the fork inserted into the center should be dried. If your cake is not cooked but looks brown, you can cover it with a little soaked oil-proof paper.
10. Cool the cake
Recipes usually provide cooling instructions, but in general, most sponge cakes are best left for a few minutes and then turned to the cooling rack to avoid getting wet on the edges. Rich fruit cakes are cooled better in tin.
As long as you pay attention to the above 10 points, then follow the formal cake making recipe. You can also make cakes that taste like a cake shop at home! If you want to systematically learn all the Western food making, you can come to our Chengdu Hongye Valley Pastry Cake Training School to sign up! That way you can become a veritable pastry chef.