Baking a Cake From Scratch

Baking a cake from scratch is not difficult.
I have several recipe books and use from several that I have had over 20 years.

To start you want your pans prepared. Grease and flour the pans. Usually I like to make a 2 layer cake that is made with 2 9" round pans.

Let me use a recipe I really like. My husband enjoys chocolate cake but some family members aren't big on chocolate so here is a banana cake recipe.

Baking a cake from scratch can be just as easy as a mix. You just want to make sure you have all your ingredients before you start. Take inventory and read the ingredients. Read your recipe through because once in awhile I will notice that they ask for something that isn't on the ingredients list. Then you have to substitute or make a quick run to the store.

Our banana cake recipe starts with creaming the shortening and sugar together. It calls for 3/4 cup shortening and 1 and 1/2 cups sugar. Shortening should be soft (you can use butter or margarine, a stick of margarine is 1/2 cup so you would use 1 and 1/2 sticks) and mix the sugar with it on low speed with an electric hand mixer.

As we continue baking a cake from scratch we will add 1 cup (about 3 bananas) of mashed bananas to the shortening mix, then add 1/2 cup milk, 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of vanilla, Mix these all together with your electric mixer on medium speed until everything is mixed and creamy.

I will then just add the 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of baking powder plus 1/4 teaspoon of salt. I add one on top of the other and then just mix it all in at one time. Start the electric mixer on slow and gradually get it to high as it mixes.

When you have a smooth mix you are ready to pour it into the prepared pans. Pour some into each pan and get them where they are almost equal. Now I will take and just give each pan two hard taps on the counter to remove air bubbles. Just grab the top with both hands for this. At this point they are ready to bake.

Bake the cake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes a put a knife in the center. If the knife comes out clean the cake should be done. I don't like to over bake a cake as it dries it out.

Now that you know how easy baking a cake from scratch is you can add a nice butter cream frosting and have a delicious cake that you can decorate.

Think of how many orders you could get for homemade cake and beautifully decorated too.

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You can learn the art of cake decorating. It is fun, easy and can be profitable. http://www.squidoo.com/DecoratingBeautifulCakes

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This Easy Cake Recipe Means Anybody Can Bake Homemade Cakes

If you're fed up with the dull and boring cakes that you can buy from the local store, then perhaps it's time to get back into homemade cakes. The cakes you buy may be beautifully packed to look attractive, but read the ingredients and you will see how many preservatives and additives are used to ensure they stay fresh on the shelf.

One of the easy ways to make cakes at home is to use cake mix, but again these prepacked mixes often contain ingredients designed to make the mix cheap and long lasting, rather than to produce a wholesome cake. But, help is at hand - soft, melt-in-the-mouth sponge cakes can now be made very quickly and easily thanks to soft margarines which enable ingredients to be blended very quickly.

Cakes can still be made using traditional methods of creaming together fat and sugar and then adding the eggs and other ingredients, and there's no doubt that cakes made in the traditional way have a unique texture. But if you're just getting back into making homemade cakes then try this very easy sponge which has to be the quickest cake to make from basic ingredients. You simply put the flour in a bowl and mix in all the other ingredients!

Very Easy Sponge Cake

4 oz...110g self raising flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

4 oz...110g quality, soft margarine at room temperature

4 oz...110g caster sugar

2 large eggs

2-3 drops vanilla essence

To finish:

Icing/confectioners' sugar, jam

Two 7 in (18cm) cake tins, at least 1.5in (4cm) deep, greased and bases lined with greaseproof or waxed paper.

Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 3, 170 deg C, 325 deg F.

Sift the baking powder and flour into a large mixing bowl. Make sure the margarine is soft and simply add all the other ingredients to the bowl and beat them well until everything is thoroughly mixed together. An electric mixer will give good results. The mixture should just drop from a wooden spoon when tapped on the side of the bowl, so if needed mix in 1-2 teaspoons of warm water to get the right consistency.

Divide the mixture between the lined and greased tins and place on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for about thirty minutes. When cooked, the top of the sponge should be golden and springy to the touch.

When cooked, allow to cool for about a minute. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn the sponges out onto a wire rack to cool. Carefully remove the lining paper and when completely cool spread your favourite jam on the sponge and sandwich together. To finish, dust the top with icing/confectioners' sugar if you like.

What could be easier? A lovely homemade sponge cake in less than an hour from beginning to end.

Mike Houghton has been cooking for his family for over 20 years. His first love is French food, simply prepared and beautifully presented, but he also enjoys traditional British cooking, especially desserts, such as crumbles and puddings. He is the webmaster for http://www.homemade-cake-recipes.com/ where a selection of lovely cake recipes can be found.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Houghton

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