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The Basics of Cake Baking

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Back to the Basics

Cake baking seems to be a lost art at times, especially since the advent of boxed cake mixes. There is no doubt, they are a time-saver.

I want to show you a basic "from scratch" cake recipe and give you some baking tips as well.

What You Will Find Here:

  1. Make Your Own Pan Grease
  2. Gather Your Ingredients for a Basic Yellow Cake
  3. Directions for Basic Yellow Cake:
  4. Add Your Cake Decorating Links Here!
  5. Learn More About Cake Decorating!
  6. Thank you for visiting! Please share your comments here!

Start With Great Pans!

Pans for a Great Cake

A great cake starts with a great pan. I prefer Wilton's anodized aluminum pans. They are the pans I have used for 19 years, and they are still going strong. They are very durable, and are extremely easy to clean.

My first pans were two 10" round cake pans and a 9x13 sheet cake pan by Wilton. My first character pan was Wilton's Huggable Teddy Bear pan, as you see in the picture on the right. This was a good mix of pans to start with, and gave me many options to get started decorating. I still have these pans today, and they still look new.

Wilton Round Cake Pans

Round cake pans are extremely versatile, and are a must have for anyone thinking of doing a lot of cake decorating.
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Wilton Sheet Cake Pans

The other must have pan to start with is the sheet cake pan. You have so many options when decorating a sheet cake, and they are also very easy to cut and serve.
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Wilton Character Cake Pans

Character cake pans can be added to your collection as you like, and they are great way to get some practice outlining and doing some detail work. You can bake and decorate character cakes as they are, and feed about 12 - 15 guests. If you need more servings, select a large enough sheet cake and ice it, then place the baked character cake on top of that and decorate it. It will increase the number of servings, and give you a cake that really stands out!
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“Always be sure to pre-heat your oven for the best baking results.”

Check Your Oven Temperature

It is always best to check your oven temperature with a thermometer, because oven thermostats are not always accurate.

Prepare Your Pan

Grease it Right!

Now that you have your pan, you need to prepare the pan for baking. This includes greasing and flouring the pan. You can still do this the old-fashioned way, by greasing the pan and then shaking flour over it to coat it. However, there is a much easier way. You can buy a baking spray that contains flour, or you can make your own pan grease that contains flour. It is much less messy-no more having flour all over your kitchen!

Make Your Own Pan Grease

Pan Grease Recipe

1 cup shortening
1 cup flour
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix well with electric mixer. Store mixture in airtight container. Does
not need refrigeration.

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Gather Your Ingredients for a Basic Yellow Cake

You will need:

2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
3 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions for Basic Yellow Cake:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour 2 9-inch round cake pans, or one 9 x 13 inch sheet cake pan.

With a wire whisk, combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate mixing bowl.

In another bowl, cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Add vanilla and mix thoroughly.

Slowly add flour mixture from other bowl alternating with milk. (At end of each addition batter should be smooth).

Divide the batter between the 2 round pans, or put all the batter in the 9 x 13 sheet cake pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (for the 2 round pans) or bake for 30 to 38 minutes (for the sheet pan), or until a toothpick inserted in tallest point comes out clean.

Cool 5 minutes in pan, then invert onto a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.

After Use-

Always be sure to wash and dry your pan thoroughly after use. Store in a dry location, and your pans will last a long, long time.

Add Your Cake Decorating Links Here!

Be Sure to Vote for Your Favorite!

Links pertaining to cake decorating and supplies.

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Cake Decorating Items on CafePress

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Learn More About Cake Decorating!

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Cake Decorating Basics: Techniques and Tips for Creating Beautiful Cakes by Rachel Brown

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Thank you for visiting! Please share your comments here!

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  • Reply
    Momsbusy247 Oct 4, 2011 @ 8:57 am | delete
    Nice lens. Very informative.
  • Reply
    Bassey Peace Mar 20, 2011 @ 10:22 am | delete
    thanks so much for all ur infor on cake it has given me a great deal of courage to get started.pls can u help me with an answer to this question?is there any other secret ingredient in a good cake that is not always included in the ingredients? thaks
  • Reply
    Bassey Peace Mar 20, 2011 @ 10:22 am | delete
    thanks so much for all ur infor on cake it has given me a great deal of courage to get started.pls can u help me with an answer to this question?is there any other secret ingredient in a good cake that is not always included in the ingredients? thaks
  • Reply
    ajgodinho Dec 15, 2010 @ 12:53 am | delete
    Nice concise lens on the basics of baking a cake from scratch. **Blessed by a Squid-Angel**
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