check out tips for making beautiful and fluffy cakes

The aroma of baked pasta filling the house, the fluffy slice served with a good cup of coffee. Homemade cake, the one from grandma, has the incredible ability to comfort us. Except when everything goes wrong. It’s cake that gets old, withers or doesn’t come out of the mold completely. Then the homemade cake has the uncanny ability to make us angry. So that these disasters never happen again in your kitchen, we spoke to the pastry chef and professor of the Gastronomy course at the Centro Europeo, Éric Velazquez.

From choosing ingredients to the right time to unmold, Velazquez shared with Good Gourmet the step by step of the homemade cake without error. As a bonus, he even left a cornmeal cake recipe for those who want to test their new knowledge at the first opportunity and want to rock grandma’s cupcake.

Let’s get to the tips!

Cake must be planned

Yes, making it work takes some planning. What does it mean? First of all, as soon as you think about making a cake, make sure you have all the ingredients you need to make it – and in just the right amount. did you check Then proceed to step two. Take eggs, milk and butter – if in the recipe – out of the fridge in advance. It is important that they are not frozen when preparing the cake. This will make mixing the ingredients easier and will ensure that the dough reaches the right temperature in the oven.

Follow the exact steps in the recipe

“Each ingredient has a function in the cake. Changing the ingredients or amounts without making the correct substitutions eventually causes an imbalance in the recipe and the result will not turn out as expected”, warns Velazquez. Not then. No, you cannot make the cake with fewer eggs. No, not just replacing white flour with whole grain. No, you can’t just take the sugar out of the recipe. And you can’t make the cake in the eye gauge either. Use measuring cups and spoons. For an even better result, give preference to the scale. You will dirty less dishes and you will not have errors in measurements.

Cake dough is not over-whipped

You know when the cake has a hard dough, far from the expected fluffy result? The culprit is usually gluten. “When wheat binds to any liquid, it starts to develop gluten. If I beat the dough, I help to develop this gluten chain, which will make the dough heavy”, explains Velazquez.

So mix the flour into the dough, but don’t beat it. Can you use the mixer or blender in the process? He can. But it is more guaranteed to do this step by hand, using a spatula. Mixing the wheat and liquid in the recipe also facilitates the homogenization process.

Always check the expiration date on the yeast

There is no weak yeast, but there is that expired yeast that has been forgotten in your pantry for months. So always check the expiry date of the yeast before you start the cake preparation.

It’s also worth checking that you have the amount called for in the recipe. If the cake calls for a tablespoon of yeast, it certainly won’t rise properly with just a teaspoon. So make sure the yeast is according to the need for the recipe.

Pinch of salt, grandma’s secret

This is not a rule, but a valuable tip. Salt is first and foremost a flavor enhancer. So adding a little pinch to the batter will help bring out the flavors of your cake more.

Unite the form with whimsy

You made the perfect cake, but if you didn’t grease the pan carefully, forget it. You’ll barely be able to deform the damn thing perfectly. What does it mean to lubricate carefully? Cover each piece of the mold with a thin layer of the fat you have chosen to grease. Worth oil, butter or spray release agent.

In the case of the first two, you will also need to flour the mold – in addition to flour, it is worth using chocolate or even sugar here, depending on the result you are looking for and the taste of your cake. The release agent, found in candy houses, omits the flour step. It is mainly recommended for those molded tins with lots of cutouts that make any homemade cake super fancy.

Butter paper is also an ally to ensure that the cake does not stick to the tin (butter the tin and grease the parchment paper). But make sure it’s a good quality paper or you run the risk of the cake sticking to the paper – that’s real rage. When in doubt, grease the paper too.

Velazquez recommends that you mainly use parchment paper for cakes like the Red Velvet, where you want a uniform result in the color of the dough. This is because the butter paper protects the cake from direct contact with the pan, preventing it from changing color when baking. Grandmas definitely didn’t make Red Velvets for afternoon coffee, but here’s the tip.

Know your oven and you will make a good homemade cake

Dough ready and in shape, it’s time to go to the oven. To begin with, it should already be preheated. Hot oven is essential for a soft homemade cake. But, no overheated oven. Ideal temperature for baking cakes is 180°C. An oven that is too hot will cause the cake to bake unevenly, causing it to bulge in the middle. On the other hand, a cold oven will make your cake wilt. Knowing your oven will be key to knowing how long it will need to preheat and reach the ideal temperature for baking.

hold the anxiety

Bake in the oven, go wash the dishes and hold on to your anxiety. No more opening the oven door every ten minutes. This will lower the temperature and will definitely not be good for your dough. Velazquez’s recommendation is that you only open the door about 30 minutes after placing the cake. Waiting for that good smell to take over the kitchen is another tip.

Look, the cake looks ready – risen and golden? Do the old-fashioned toothpick test to make sure it’s ready to take out of the oven. Another way is to pinch the surface of the cake. If the dough sinks and then returns to its previous structure, like a spring, this is a sign that it is baked.

Do not wait for the dough to cool completely before unmolding it.

That one got you, didn’t it? Grandma’s rule says that we have to wait for the dough to cool completely to unmold. None of that. Ideally, the cake should still be warm when it comes out of the tin. Tap the shape. If it’s hot, but it’s already possible to handle it without needing a cloth or glove to avoid burning yourself, it’s time to unmold it. This way it is easier to get out of shape and there is no risk of breaking. But, be careful, if you are going to make filling, wait until it is completely cold before cutting it.

Cornmeal cake