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Basic
Cake Recipes You can skip to the recipes or read our baking primer below: Rich
and easy Chocolate Cake |
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| Prepare
you cake and desserts FIRST.
In a kitchen you can prepare
"sweet" (desserts and
salads) or "savory"
(meats and gravies) foods.
Cleaning your workspace and
cutlery of any garlic or onions
is important as one of these
flavors can ruin your
cake. Prepare the dessert,
keep it in the refrigerator
until the main course is
finished cooking, THEN
bake your cake.
Don't cook your cake and dinner at the same time. It seems logical that the taste of your beef roast would flavor a chocolate cake if placed in the oven at the same time. Brute force works but finesse counts in baking. If you are in a hurry and have a hand mixer you can easily toss all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix well (see below). But if you want the best results use separate bowls; cream the shortening and sugars, then add the dry goods, then beaten eggs and then mix together, these extra steps create a superior; lighter cake. |
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| How long should I mix my cakes? Aunt Sue's Home Economics teacher told the girls that the trick was to follow the diagram below; 20 times. Sue's cakes are always fluffy and Uncle Buck loves them; so this seems about right... |
 Mix your batter in this pattern 20X with a hand mixer for fluffy cakes every time |
| Icing
and Decorating
Make sure the cake is completely cool before icing it. There is nothing worse than icing your cake and then watching the icing melt off. Put it in the freezer for a few minutes if you are in a hurry. Uncle Buck prefers buying prepared icing since it tastes "real". I am going for restaurant-style food; prepared icing is what people expect to taste and does taste superior; it's usually the cake that is bland or full of additives in commercial food. |
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This is your typical home-made cake. It scream's "BAKE SALE" and when iced tends to be uneven on the top and sides; the decorations fall off, it's hard to letter. Also tough to cover the sides due to the overhanging lip. |
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Try
removing the cake and flipping
it over before icing it.
This gives you a nice even surface to ice and looks much more professional. You can use a bread knife to even out the bottom if being served on a flat plate; but most large serving plates accommodate this top nicely. |
| Spend a
couple of dollars on sprinkles
and decorations.
Remember; you want your family
to eat the food you prepare and
if it looks great it's more fun
to eat.
A few cents worth of rainbow sprinkles will give the cake a splash of color and make all the difference in the world. More dessert ideas at Buck's Recipe HomePage |
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