How to Make the Perfect Cake

With Betty’s easy-to-follow directions, you’ll be sweetly surprised by how simple it is to make a tender, most and delicious cake every time.

Picking Cake Pans

Pan Size: Use the size of pan called for in the recipe. If the size is not printed on the bottom of the pan, measure the length and width from inside edge to inside edge. Too small a pan may allow batter to overflow. Too large a pan may result in a flat cake.

Metal, Nonstick and Glass Pans: Shiny metal pans are the first choice for baking cakes. They reflect heat away from the cake for a tender, light brown crust. Dark pans or pans with nonstick coating absorb heat faster than shiny pans and can cause cakes to brown too quickly.

Tips for Perfect Cakes

• Bake cakes in the center rack of the oven unless noted otherwise in a recipe.
• Heat the oven to the correct temperature. If the oven is too cold, cake will not rise; if the oven is too hot, the cake may over-bake.
• Measure ingredients accurately and add them in the order listed in the recipe. With cakes, accuracy is important. If ingredients are over- or under-measured, or the order of ingredients and beating times are not followed, the cake may not rise or bake properly.
• Use butter for best results. If you choose to substitute margarine, use those with at least 65% fat. Do not use reduced-fat butter or whipped products.
• Follow instructions for cake cooling and pan removal. If a cake is left in the pan for too long and sticks, try reheating it in the oven for 1 minute.
• Cool cakes on cooling racks to allow for air circulation.

Storing Cakes

• Cool cakes completely before wrapping and storing.
• Refrigerate any cake that contains dairy products in the filling or frosting.
• Store layer or tube cakes under a cake cover or improvise with an inverted mixing bowl.
• Serve cakes with fluffy frosting as soon as possible because cake will tend to absorb the frosting. Store under a cake cover but slip a knife under the edge so it is not airtight.
• Freeze frosted or unfrosted cakes unwrapped on a plate. When frozen, wrap in plastic wrap or foil and freeze for up to 6 months.
• Cakes with cream or fruit filling or whipped cream frosting do not freeze well.

Cake Yields

Size and Kind Servings 8- or 9-inch one-layer round cake 8 8- or 9-inch two-layer round cake 12 - 16 8- or 9-inch square cake 9 13 x 9 x 2-inch rectangular cake 12 - 16 10 x 4-inch angel food or chiffon cake 12 - 16 12-cup bundt cake or pound cake 16 - 24

Splitting Cake Layers

Toothpick trick: Mark middle points on sides of cake layer with toothpicks. And cut through the layer with a long, thin sharp knife using the picks as a guide.

Thread trick: Split cake layer by pulling a piece of heavy sewing thread horizontally, back and forth, through the layer.