Works For Me Wednesday - Cake Baking Tips

Shannon is having a theme works for me wednesday: Kitchen Hints and Tips.

Here are my tips for baking a cake

Prepare cake pans. Grease and flour cake pans and put them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before you are ready to pour the batter in and bake. I usually prepare the pans, put them in the freezer and take them out when I have assembled the cake batter. Cake will pop right.

Instead of greasing and then flouring I mix 2 parts flour and 1 part shortening first to make a sandy mixture the Greasing the pan and use this.

To prevent cakes from cracking while they cool, add one envelope of unflavored gelatine to the dry ingredients of any cake batter. This will prevent cracking, and will also make the cake fuller. The gelatin does not change the flavor or moistness of the cake.

When measuring sticky products such as molasses, honey or corn syrup, lightly spray the measuring cup with cooking spray. The substance will pour out much easier.

To cool a cake quickly for frosting, pop it into the freezer while you make the frosting. By the time frosting is ready, the cake will be cool and ready to slip out of the pan.

Making Tops Level Fill cake pans about two-thirds full and spread batter well into corners and to the sides, leaving a slight hollow in the center.

Stabilizing Layers While Frosting Them
If tiers of a multi-layer cake slip as you are applying frosting, insert strands of uncooked spaghetti through the cake for support. Carefully pull out spaghetti when the frosting has set.

For cakes with nuts and/or raisins
Roll fruits, raisins and nuts in flour before adding to cake batter. The will be less likely to sink to the bottom of the cake.