Baking a cake has always been a personal experience, because each person has their own choice on the kind of cake that they like to bake. Baking a cake has always been the one simple pleasure in life that most couples to share together. Baking a cake involves the mixing of baking powder, sugar, and butter. If you are a beginner you will feel that this is easy but the truth is that this is a tough job that requires concentration and experience.
Baking a cake involves a great deal of practice before you can master it. There is no one recipe that will suit all. Baking a cake is an overall chemical reaction as both the baking soda or powder that undergoes an oxidation reaction changes. In this dramatic episode of intense crash course kids Sabrina and Johnny talk about how to determine if you have baked a chemically changing cake. You can’t separate the ingredients of any cake once it’s baked.
The first thing to check while baking a cake is whether the temperature of your oven is the same at the start of the recipe as it ends in. This means that the original recipe should take exactly the same amount of time at the end of it than it did at the beginning. A good rule to follow is that if the temperature of the oven is the same at the start of the recipe as it ends it then your recipe must be OK. To check whether the recipe is OK to use a food thermometer which can be bought at any hardware store. If the temperature continues to remain the same or increases slightly then your recipe may be OK.
Another way to check if the cake is done is to use a non-stick spatula or a wooden spoon to probe into the center of the pan. Once you have inserted the spatula or wooden spoon into the center of the pan you can lift it out easily. If it comes out cleanly with very little air trapped inside it then the cake has cooled sufficiently. Once it cools further you can lift it out of the pan with a serving spatula.
A more common problem associated with low calorie cakes are raised peaks or domes. This is due to too much baking powder or carbon dioxide being produced. In order to avoid this problem you can mix the batter slowly. Once the ingredients mix together very slowly you will have no problems with the peaks forming.
Check the bottoms of the pans after baking to see if they are brown. If they are not brown (or even black) they need to be mixed with additional baking powder or baking soda. If they are still not brown after thirty minutes more, then the pan is baked on the wrong temperature. The pan may need to be adjusted. If the cake has cooled completely, you can check from across the room if the cake is done by placing your finger in the center of the cake.
Another common problem comes when the cake is baked with the right texture but the top is still soft. There are several reasons for this problem. The most common reason is a bad recipe. Also, there could be air cells in the pan that are preventing the cake from baking properly. To solve this problem you should mix the batter slowly and take the time to ensure there are no air cells trapped in the pan.
Many cakes fail to come out correctly because of the temperature of the oven. Check the oven door to make sure it is not open. Also, when the cake is ready you should check the bottom of the cake for a “poof” or “smoke” – usually this means the chemical change has occurred. If there is a white smoke emitted, the cake probably failed carbon dioxide detoxification. This is easily fixed by re-heating the oven or getting an infrared oven.
