Tips for Making Cake

Hello Dear Friends,

We have problems from time to time while baking cakes. That's why I get a lot of questions. The most common ones I come across are “Why didn't my cake rise? What could be the reason why my cake is raw inside? Ingredients such as nuts and chocolate chips that I add to it are sinking to the bottom, how can I prevent this situation?” is in the form. Today, I will try to write about these questions as much as I can for you.

As you know, cakes are one of the cornerstones of pastry and fall into the category of dough made by whipping. We often try different types of cakes in our homes, but since these are homework, we use spoon and cup sizes instead of grammages and milligrams. Of course, customs also come into play in eggs and baking powder.

There is a line in the definition of cake in Larosusse Gastronomique. “The success of the cake is possible by ensuring that the added fruits are distributed evenly in the dough by strictly following a certain sugar and flour ratio, and by preventing it from collapsing to the bottom.” What I want to underline here is the part by strictly observing certain proportions. It is a must to comply with certain proportions in cakes…

There are methods in which eggs and sugar are whisked at the beginning of the cake, egg yolks are whisked with sugar and the whites are fluffed separately, or eggs are added after the sugar and butter are whisked together, but in all of them a certain ratio is adhered to.

Tips for making chocolate drip cake and cupcakes (Long live the weekend with İclal Aydın)

Now, let's review the first points we need to pay attention to in order to make a good cake one by one.

What are the main points we should pay attention to when making cakes?

• All the ingredients to be used while making the cake should be at room temperature.
• Dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking powder, vanillin) should be sifted.
• The bowl, whisk, mixer tip or mixer bowl to be used while making the cake must be dry.
• Care should be taken to ensure that eggs, dairy products and, if used, baking powder are fresh.
• The sugar used should be whisked until it dissolves.
• The given cake material, the pot to be baked and the temperature of the oven must be followed.
• Unless otherwise stated, the oven must be preheated.
• After the cake dough is prepared, it should be cooked without waiting.

I would like to touch on the subject of eggs a little more, because one of the basic ingredients that gives the cake form is eggs. We wouldn't be exaggerating if we say that the beat of the egg determines the fate of the cake.
While the little whisking of sugar and egg negatively affects its rise, since the sugar does not melt, it may cause the sugar in the cake to be crunchy in your mouth.

If the egg is beaten too much, more air enters than it should, this causes it to lose its moisture and causes the cake to collapse while baking. You can see that it starts to go out on its own when you beat it too much.

Now let me try to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

What could be the reason why my cake deflates or collapses in the middle after baking?

The first reason may be excessive beating of eggs and sugar, as I mentioned above. Follow these definitions if the recipe says "boozy consistency or fluffy like snow".

If it is called as boza, it is whitened but fluid.
If it is not like snow, it does not flow when you turn the container upside down, or it has a consistency that can be cut with a spatula.

• Using more baking powder than the amount specified in the recipe for your cake to rise may cause your cake to swell rather than rise. Sometimes I add two baking soda and you say it still collapses, that's why.
• Ingredients such as yoghurt and fruit that you add to the cake must also be at room temperature. If it is too cold or hot, it can upset the balance of the cake mix and cause the cake to collapse.
• Not only the ones mentioned above, but also mistakes made while baking the cake can cause the cake to collapse.

What are the tricks you should pay attention to while baking the cake?

• You need to preheat the oven to the degree given in the recipe.
• While baking a cake, the oven door should not be opened for 20-25 minutes after entering the oven. As this will cause a change in the temperature of the cake, it may cause collapse.
• While your cake is baking, be careful not to move or move it in the oven.
• If the oven temperature is higher than the specified temperature, the outside of the cake may remain raw while it burns.

How to prevent the ingredients added to the cake from collapsing?

• First of all, your cake mix should be balanced and dense enough to carry the additional ingredients to be added. If the ingredients to be added into the cake batter are too liquid, fruit or nut, etc., the ingredients will collapse.
• If materials such as raisins or dried fruit have been kept in water before adding, they must be dried and if necessary, some flour should be added and excess flour should be sieved.
• Instead of using large pieces of fruit, they should be divided into smaller pieces and even after grating, the excess water should be filtered and added to the mixture.
• Additional ingredients such as fruit, nuts and chocolate to be added to the cake should be added to the cake last and added to the dough by mixing with the help of a spatula or spoon, not by whisking.

How do I know when my cake is cooked?

• You should stick to the time specified in the recipe, but the difference in the pot, material and oven used may cause the cooking time to change.
• At this point, after examining the outer appearance of the cake, you can understand whether the inside is cooked by inserting a knife or a toothpick. If the knife or toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done.

Love…