Making cakes is a delightful culinary pursuit that combines science and artistry. While there are countless cake recipes, some general rules apply to most cake-making endeavours.
Here’s a concise guide to help you create delicious cakes:
- Gather Ingredients: Start by gathering all the necessary ingredients, which typically include flour, sugar, eggs, butter, baking powder, and flavourings. Ensure that ingredients are at room temperature for even mixing.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to the temperature specified in the recipe, usually around 350°F (175°C). This allows for even baking.
- Prepare Pans: Grease and flour your cake pans to prevent sticking. You can also line the bottoms with parchment paper for added insurance.
- Sift Dry Ingredients: Sift the dry ingredients like flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, icing sugar and salt to remove lumps and aerate them, resulting in a lighter texture.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. This helps to trap air, which contributes to the cake’s rise.
- Add Eggs: Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. This ensures even incorporation and a smooth batter.
- Alternate Wet and Dry Ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients and liquid (usually milk) to the butter-sugar mixture, starting and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined to avoid overmixing, which can make the cake tough.
- Flavourings: Add flavourings like vanilla extract, cocoa powder, or lemon zest as per your recipe’s instructions.
- Baking Time: Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Place them in the preheated oven and bake for the time specified in your recipe. Use a knife or a toothpick or cake tester to check for doneness – it should come out clean when inserted into the center.
- Cooling: Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for a few minutes, then remove them from the pans and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Frosting and Decorating: Once your cakes are completely cool, you can frost and decorate them with your choice of icing, frosting, or toppings.
- Serve and Enjoy: Slice your cake and savor the delicious results of your baking efforts!
Remember that specific cake recipes may have unique steps or ingredients, so always follow the instructions provided in your chosen recipe for the best results. Happy baking!
If you are baking dark cakes with chocolate or cocoa and need to butter and flour the tin do not use flour but use cocoa.
Meringue
Egg whites whip best at room temperature. Add a few drops of lemon juice or a pinch of salt. First, make sure the bowl and beaters are free of grease and the whites are free of any yolk. Grease and yolk will inhibit aeration. When adding egg whites do not beat them in the other mixture but fold in with a spoon.
Cakes
Here are some more sweet and savoury cakes.:
Vegan Chocolate Avocado Orange Almond Cake
This vegan chocolate cake uses avocado and extra virgin olive oil instead of any other fat, it is loaded with chocolate flavor and and many other healthy ingredients.
The perfect Marbled Chocolate-Bergamot-Almond Cake
A Marbled Cake is a cake with a mottled appearance, that is the cake is given a streaked, marblelike appearance by mixing of dark chocolate and light batters.
Cappuccino Glazed Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
This Cappuccino Glazed Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake is moist and delicious and is the perfect ending of any meal.  Some people may think that eating a Mayonnaise Cake may seem weird but if you know what mayonnaise is made of, then you should know that most of these ingredients are already used in cakes.
Mandarin Cake with Glaze
This mandarin cake, is light, aromatic and moist. I love this Mandarin Cake as it has mandarin juice, zest, as well as mandarin marmalade. It's perfect with a cup of Greek coffee and I eat it even for breakfast!
Vanilla Apple Cake
An easy classic and delicious Vanilla Apple Cake made from scratch with fresh apples, topped with caramel sauce and pecans.
Luscious Bounty Cake
Bountry Cake is a luscious cake which mimics the chocolate bars as it is filled with coconut cream and topped with chocolate!
Basic Genoise Sponge Cake
Génoise sponge is an essential base for many pastry applications. Read on to see some more marvelous recipes you can make using this sponge cake base.
Two Tier Valentine's Cake
This Valentine's Dark Chocolate Cake is rich and delicious. Â It is super moist, filled with cream cheese, whipped cream and sour cherries and gets all its flavour from the sour cherries.
Strawberry Red Velvet Cake
An amazing red velvet cake sandwiched with strawberry cream cheese filling and topped with cream cheese frosting.
Vegan Carrot and Banana Cake with Coconut Frosting
A very moist, delicious and healthy Vegan Carrot Cake with Banana, Spices and topped with Coconut frosting and Bergamot fruit preserve.
Vassilopita (New Year's Cake)
Vassilopita is a traditional Greek cake or bread with a coin inside, named after St. Basil, which is made for New Year's Day.  Vassilopita can be made in two ways: one is a sweet kind of brioche bread called "tsoureki" and the other an orange flavoured cake.
How to make Basic Sponge Cake (Pantespani)
Sponge Cake (pantespani, in Greek) is the base for many desserts. Using the above two techniques, you can make different birthday cakes but also many other desserts.
Chocolate Peppermint Almond Cake)
Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.
Kypriaki Tyropita (Savory Cypriot Cheese Cake)
Kypriaki Tyropita is a savoury Cypriot cake made with halloui and mint. Tyropita = τυρÏŒπιτα, (pronounced ti-RO-pee-ta) means cheese from tyri and pie from pita.
Kopiaste and Kali Orexi!
