{"id":390,"date":"2014-08-23T01:50:47","date_gmt":"2014-08-23T01:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/?page_id=390"},"modified":"2014-10-06T23:00:24","modified_gmt":"2014-10-06T23:00:24","slug":"cake-notes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/cakes\/cake-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"~ Cake Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"

CAKE NOTES<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s better to use real BUTTER than margarine, although margarine may be substituted with a 2nd best result.\u00a0 If you use margarine, make sure it is at least 66% vegetable oil OR MORE.<\/p>\n

TESTING FOR DONENESS:<\/strong>
\nCake should be starting to pull away from sides of pan.
\nColor should be lightly brown; should spring back when you lightly press with fingertips; toothpick inserted in center of cake should come out CLEAN.<\/p>\n

TURNING CAKE OUT OF PAN<\/strong>:\u00a0 Allow cake to rest 10-15 minutes on wire\/cooling rack.
\nAny longer than that, and it may stick to pan\u2014except tube and bundt pans may need 20 min.
\nRun a dinner knife around edges of cake before inverting it\u2014will release easier. You may need to invert the cake again so wire rack lines don\u2019t form on top of cake.\u00a0 (Cakes baked in bundt & tube pans don\u2019t need to be inverted twice.)<\/p>\n

FROSTING:<\/strong>\u00a0 Remember, it\u2019s easier to wrap a cake (for freezer) after the frosting hardens.
\nFrostings using milk or cream cheese need to be refrigerated!<\/p>\n

To prevent a cake humping in the middle, cover with foil during first part of baking time and only remove for last 10 min.<\/p>\n

If surface of cake cracks, oven is too hot.<\/p>\n

Too little liquid = dry cake, and gets stale quickly
\nToo much liquid = small volume, very moist
\nToo much sugar = small volume; sugary crust<\/p>\n

Cream shortening and sugar til looks like whipped cream; until there is no gritty feeling of sugar.\u00a0 This makes for a better cake, and also makes it rise better.<\/p>\n

As you complete the beating process of this or any from-scratch cake the batter should resemble thickened whipping cream.\u00a0 If it’s watery, the cake will not be light & moist. If the batter is watery it means you added the liquids to the bowl first and everything added after that contributed to creating a “paste” rather than a “batter”. The butter should be softened at room temperature to the point that you can draw your finger through it without effort, but it should NOT be melted.<\/p>\n

\n

From the Book:\u00a0 The Cake Mix Doctor<\/strong>\u00a0 by Anne Byrn<\/strong>
\nwww.cakemixdoctor.com<\/strong><\/p>\n

ADVANTAGES: \u00a0<\/strong>
\nDon\u2019t have to allow ingredients to get to room temperature
\nCake-mix cakes are good keepers, and if stored properly, will last up to a week at room temperature.
\nNo sifting flour, no creaming butter, no adding eggs one at a time.
\nMesses up ONLY ONE bowl \u2013 uses the DUMP method.
\nPrepared in a fraction of the time a \u201cscratch cake\u201d requires.
\nCake mixes are RELIABLE.
\nAre easily adaptable to adding new ingredients, different pan sizes, and oven temperatures.
\nThey bake up not only into cakes, but also into bars, cookies, cheesecakes, crisps &\u00a0 pies.
\nThey contain marvelous emulsifiers that seal in moisture and keep your cake fresh on the counter for days.
\nMixes also perform if you use too much or too little liquid; if you over\/under beat them; if you use the wrong size pan (altho you might not get the volume you expected).\u00a0 They are RELIABLE.<\/p>\n

DISADVANTAGES:<\/strong>
\nThat \u201ccake mix taste\u201d is the only downside to baking with mixes.<\/p>\n

Flavors vary with manufacturers.\u00a0\u00a0 For example:\u00a0 some yellow cakes have an overtone of coconut.<\/p>\n

Mixes contain same ingredients a \u201cfrom scratch\u201d cake does AND MUCH MORE!
\nIngredients:\u00a0 sugar, flour, some vegetable shortening (or other fat) leavenings, emulsifiers and flavorings, binders, thickeners.<\/p>\n

Pudding in Cake Mixes:<\/strong>
\nDO NOT add an additional pkg of\u00a0 pudding to one of these!
\nThese mixes will be heavier and very moist.\u00a0 Don\u2019t use if you want a light cake or are planning to make layers with filling\/frosting between layers. (The bottom layer will be quite wet.)
\nThey tend to shrink upon cooling \u2013 and you may be disappointed in the appearance.<\/p>\n

OIL\/FAT:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is CRITICAL.\u00a0 Select lighter flavorless oils like canola and soybean, instead of heavier, more fragrant oils like olive oil.\u00a0 Vegetable oil will give an especially moist cake. (more than shortening or butter).\u00a0 Use lightly salted butter, if\/when using.\u00a0 Margarine is not recommended unless mix calls for it.<\/p>\n

LEAVENING:<\/strong>\u00a0 scratch cakes use soda or baking powder to make the cake rise.\u00a0 Cake Mixes add all sorts of others leavenings that are very reliable.<\/p>\n

EMULSIFIERS<\/strong>:\u00a0 Are ingredients that keep fat and liquid in a cake mix from separating.\u00a0 They hold the ingredients together.\u00a0 Plus they help the cake stay moist for days on the kitchen counter.\u00a0 In a scratch cake, the only emulsifier is the egg yolk.\u00a0 Cake mixes contain marvelous emulsifiers that seal in moisture and keep your cake fresh on the counter for days.<\/p>\n

COLORINGS:<\/strong>\u00a0 are all GRAS or \u201cGenerally Recognized As Safe by the Food & Drug Admin.<\/p>\n

MILK:<\/strong>\u00a0 If mix calls for WHOLE milk \u2013 it is essential to use WHOLE milk \u2013 as recipe is depending on the fat in the milk. If not specified \u2013 use whatever you have on hand.\u00a0 It can be added COLD.<\/p>\n

EGGS:<\/strong>\u00a0 OK to add straight from refrigerator \u2013 don\u2019t need to allow time to become room temp.\u00a0 Use size large.<\/p>\n

NUTS:<\/strong>\u00a0 Can add straight from freezer.<\/p>\n

FLAVORINGS:<\/strong>\u00a0 That \u201ccake mix taste\u201d comes from artificial flavorings.\u00a0 Camouflage this by adding bold-tasting ingredients like coffee, PURE vanilla or almond extract, lime or orange zest, chocolate and boozy things like sherry, rum, and bourbon to the batter.<\/p>\n

EXTRACTS:<\/strong>\u00a0 Be sure to buy PURE extracts.<\/p>\n

SPICES:\u00a0<\/strong> Buy in small quantities \u2013 as the longer they sit on the shelf, the less flavorful they become.<\/p>\n

OVEN TEMPERATURES:<\/strong>\u00a0 350\u00b0F is the general rule of thumb, but some mixes\/recipes may vary slightly.\u00a0 Some bundt or tube cake recipes call for 325\u00b0F.\u00a0 Pans with dark finish and glass baking dishes need lower heat (325\u00b0F) to prevent over-browning.\u00a0\u00a0 For most cakes position rack in the middle of the oven.<\/p>\n

GREASING & FLOURING PANS:\u00a0<\/strong> Best to use shortening and flour.\u00a0 Dip paper towel in shortening\u00a0 and use to apply to pan bottom AND SIDES.\u00a0 You\u2019ll need abut 1 T shortening per 9 x 13 pan.\u00a0 Sprinkle 1T flour in it and shake til covers bottom and sides.\u00a0 Tap out the excess flour into the trash.\u00a0 This forms a nice, firm, easily frosted crust to cake.<\/p>\n

MIXING:<\/strong>\u00a0 Once everything is in the bowl (except nuts and chips or coconut and some fruits like raisins), mix on lowest speed for 30 seconds to 1 min.\u00a0 Turn off miser and scrape and mix with spatula.\u00a0 Then turn mixer back on for 1-2 more minutes on med. Speed.\u00a0 No need to beat any longer than that (as you would for a scratch cake to get volume)<\/p>\n

\n

Ratios of Sheet Cake pan sizes to No. Servings<\/strong><\/p>\n

1\/4 sheet=20 servings (9 x 13)
\n1\/2 sheet=40 servings\u00a0 (18.5 x 13)
\nfull sheet=80 servings (18 x 26)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CAKE NOTES It\u2019s better to use real BUTTER than margarine, although margarine may be substituted with a 2nd best result.\u00a0 If you use margarine, make sure it is at least 66% vegetable oil OR MORE. TESTING FOR DONENESS: Cake should be starting to pull away from sides of pan. Color should be lightly brown; should […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":22,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-390","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=390"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":960,"href":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/390\/revisions\/960"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellingthetruth.info\/recipearls\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}