Tips to Baking a Perfect Scratch Cake by Ro Zinniger

Prep for Ro Zinniger's Lemon Pound Cake
Everyone goes through the, "I am not sure this scratch cake recipe is going to turn out." I certainly did. Now, I am the experimental type of person who loves to substitute and change recipes. Recipes are formulas, and these formulas need to be balanced to achieve a good result. I have had many trials and errors, with many cakes ending up in the garbage. I have come up with basics that are needed to help you achieve that perfect result.

First, you must begin with the correct equipment: stand mixer or hand mixer; professionally anodized aluminum treated pans; stainless steel measuring utensils; sturdy rubber spatula; parchment paper; an oven thermometer/gage; cake tester; and, of course, quality ingredients. Second, it is wise to choose recipes from professionals and reputable websites. I will tend to bypass allrecipes.com or recipezaar.com as many of the posted recipes can be from amateurs or unreliable sources. I tend to stick to Rose Levy-Beranbaum's books; Martha Stewart (she uses a collaboration of professionals recipes); and Food Network (at times). Once you find the recipe that you would like to work with, make sure that you read through completely, making a shopping list of the quality ingredients you need to purchase, and the recommended pan sizes (to make sure you have them in house).

Once you have your ingredients, make sure eggs and butter are at room temperature along with anything else noted as such. Use unsalted butter (not salted and not made from cream), as you will be able to control the salt going into the recipe. Make sure you measure correctly! Use a scoop for your flour, and pour the flour into the measuring cup, then level with a straight metal spatula. Do not pack flour, only brown sugar. Follow the instructions (read through the instructions first prior to beginning your cake to make sure you understand them). It is imperative to follow the steps and not reverse steps, as the end result may not be what you want. Pre-heat your oven at least 20 minutes in advance, and prep pans with parchment paper rounds on the bottom and a light spray of cooking spray does the trick. Remember not to over mix the batter, as gluten will form which will create a tough result. When pouring batter into your pans, make sure they are evenly distributed. Place pans in pre-heated oven with one pan on the middle rack to the left and the next pan on the rack lower to the right, which will allow proper air circulation for even baking. Check the thermometer to make sure it reads the temperature you desire or adjust up or down to get the oven to baking temperature.

Bake for the recommended time, however I will look at the cakes at least 5 to 10 minutes prior to the timer going off. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN in the early stages of baking, as the cake can sink due to the temperature change. Check cakes with a cake tester or bamboo skewer by inserting the stick in the middle of the cake. If it is clean with no batter or crumbs when you remove it, then the cake is done. If there is batter on the stick, then bake the cakes for another 2 minutes and check again. Do not over bake! If you cake "shrinks" from the edge, then has been over baked. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans on top of the stove or cake rack for at least 15 to 20 minutes, then you can invert on a cooling rack for an additional 45 minutes. Never frost a warm cake nor wrap a warm cake. Once completely cooled, you can wrap cakes in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator....or fill and frost!

I hope you have learned a bit. Questions? E-mail me at rozsweetart@att.net. Don't forget to like my Facebook page: Sugar Blogged Blog : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sugar-Blogged-Baking-Blog/817735338275445?ref=hl

Citrus Pound Cakes by Ro Zinniger - Completely level and
Sugar Crust formed due to the amount of sugar in the recipe