Sunday, June 3, 2012

Birthday Cake

A friend asked me to make a birthday cake for their niece.  Actually I was sort of tricked into it - but never mind - I want to do it. I am tweaking a few recipes for the cake.  It will be a Devils Food Cake with Bavarian Cream filling and Chocolate Buttercream frosting.  While I am working on the details I thought I would share some of the finer points of cakes.

1. Always Always have all of your ingredients at room temperature.  Your baking will be so much better when you do. That means in this case the butter, the eggs, the buttermilk (makes the cake very moist) and your dry ingredients all need to be at room temp.

2. Use only the best ingredients that you can afford. There is a direct correlation between the quality of the ingredients and the outcome.

3. Be sure that all of your equipment is clean and dry. Have your spatulas and other utensils ready and waiting. Is your colling rack ready? Are your pans ready?

4. Assemble all of your ingredients and measure before you start.  That way if something is not right or you forgot something you can correct it before you start mixing. Only start once  everything is in place.

5. Your oven - when you preheat it makes a difference.  I start mine when I walk into the kitchen.  I like to have it cycle at least once after the initial preheat. That way I am sure it is at the right temperature.  I also use an oven thermometer to check.

Now you can start the recipe.  I will post the recipe and some pictures next week when I make the cake.

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