check out tips for making beautiful and fluffy cakes

The aroma of baked pasta filling the house, the fluffy slice served with a good cup of coffee. Homemade cake, the one from grandma, has the incredible ability to snuggle us. Except when everything goes wrong. It’s cake that gets stale, withers or doesn’t come out of the mold completely. Then the homemade cake has the incredible ability to piss us off. So that these disasters never happen again in your kitchen, we talked to the pastry chef and professor of the Gastronomy course at the Centro Europeo, Éric Velazquez.

From the choice of ingredients to the right time to unmould, Velazquez shared with Good Gourmet the step by step of the homemade cake without mistake. As a bonus, he even left a cornmeal cake recipe for those who want to test their new knowledge and rock grandma’s cupcake at the first opportunity.

Let’s go to the tips!

Cake needs planning

Yes, to make it work, cake requires planning. What does that mean? First, as soon as you think about making a cake, make sure you have all the ingredients you need to make it – and in just the right amount. Did you check? Then proceed to step two. Take eggs, milk and butter – if in the recipe – out of the fridge in advance. It is important that they are not frozen when preparing the cake. This will make mixing the ingredients easier and will ensure that the dough comes to the right temperature in the oven.

Follow the exact steps in the recipe

“Each ingredient has a function in the cake. Changing the ingredients or quantities without making the correct substitutions ends up causing an imbalance in the recipe and the result will not turn out as expected”, warns Velazquez. Then no. No, you cannot make the cake with less eggs. No, not simply replacing white flour with wholemeal. No, you can’t just take the sugar out of the recipe. And you can’t make the cake in the eyemeter either. Use measuring cups and spoons. For an even better result, give preference to the scale. You’ll dirty less dishes and you won’t have error in measurements.

Cake dough is not to be beaten

Do you know when the cake has a hard dough, far from the expected fluffy result? The culprit is usually gluten. “When wheat binds to any liquid, it starts to develop gluten. If I beat the dough, I help develop this chain of gluten, which will make the dough heavy”, explains Velazquez.

Therefore, mix the flour into the dough, but do not beat. Can you use the mixer or blender in the process? He can. But, it is more guaranteed to do this step manually, with the help of a spatula. Interspersing the wheat and liquid in the recipe also facilitates the homogenization process.

Always check the expiration date on the yeast

There is no weak yeast, but there is that expired yeast that has been forgotten in your pantry for months. So, always check the expiry date of the yeast before starting the cake preparation.

It is also worth checking if you have the amount requested in the recipe. If the cake calls for a tablespoon of yeast, it certainly won’t rise properly with just a teaspoon. So, make sure the yeast is according to the need for the recipe.

Pinch of salt, grandma’s secret

This is not a rule, but a precious tip. Salt is first and foremost a flavor enhancer. So adding a little pinch to the dough will help to make the flavors of your cake more evident.

Unite the shape with whim

You made the perfect cake, but if you didn’t grease the pan carefully, forget it. You will hardly be able to unmold the darn thing perfectly. What does it mean to grease with care? Cover each piece of the mold with a thin layer of the fat you chose to grease. Worth oil, butter or spray release agent.

In the case of the first two, you will also need to flour the mold – in addition to flour, it is worth using chocolate or even sugar here, depending on the result you are looking for and the taste of your cake. The release agent, found in confectionery houses, dispenses with the flouring step. It is mainly recommended for those shaped molds with many recesses that make any homemade cake super chic.

Butter paper is also an ally to ensure that the cake does not stick to the tin (grease the tin with butter and apply the parchment paper). But make sure it’s a good quality paper or you risk the cake sticking to the paper – that’s real anger. When in doubt, grease the paper as well.

Velazquez recommends using parchment paper mainly for cakes like the Red Velvet, where you want a uniform result in the color of the dough. This is because the butter paper protects the cake from direct contact with the pan, preventing it from changing color when it bakes. Grandmothers certainly didn’t make Red Velvets for afternoon coffee, but here’s the tip.

Know your oven and you will make a good homemade cake

Dough ready and in shape, it’s time to go to the oven. For starters, it should already be preheated. Hot oven is essential for a fluffy homemade cake. But, no overheated oven. Ideal temperature for baking cakes is 180°C. Too hot an oven will make the cake bake unevenly, leaving it bulging in the center. On the other hand, a cold oven will make your cake wilt. Knowing your oven will be key to knowing how long it will need to be preheated and reach the ideal temperature for baking.

hold the anxiety

Cake in the oven, go wash the dishes and hold on to your anxiety. No more opening the oven door every ten minutes. This will lower the temperature and will certainly not be good for your dough. Velazquez’s recommendation is that you only open the door about 30 minutes after placing the cake. Waiting for that good smell taking over the kitchen is another tip.

Look, the cake looks ready – grown and golden? Do the old-fashioned toothpick test to make sure it’s ready to take out of the oven. Another way is to pinch the surface of the cake. If the dough sinks and then returns to the previous structure, like a spring, this is a sign that it is baked.

Do not wait for the dough to cool completely before unmolding it.

That one got you, didn’t it? Grandmas rule says that we need to wait for the dough to cool down completely to unmold. None of that. Ideally, the cake should still be warm when it comes out of the mold. Tap the shape. If it is warm, but it is already possible to handle it without needing a cloth or glove so as not to burn yourself, it is time to unmold it. This way, it’s easier to take out of shape and there’s no risk of breaking. But, be careful, if you are going to make stuffing, wait for it to be completely cold before cutting it.

Cornmeal cake