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BAKING BASICS

This section gives you all of the basic information that you need to know before you actually start making the cake. There is advice on what you need to think about before you start, cake sizes and portions, information on baking pans and how to line them, and a fail-safe way of calculating how much mixture you need. Basically, you’ll find everything you need to know to get you started.

There are certain questions that you need to think about beforehand to ensure that the finished cake is everything that you wanted it to be:

• How many people will the cake need to serve?

• What sort of cake does/do the recipient/s like?

• What style of cake is needed?

• How much time do you have?

• Are there things you can do in advance?

Cake sizes and portions

To get the maximum number of portions out of a cake, it is best to cut it into fingers rather than wedges.

To give you an idea of the size of cake you should be baking, opposite is a guide to the approximate number of portions you can get from cakes of various sizes.

These diagrams show the best way to cut a round and a square cake.

SIZE AND PORTION GUIDE

Size	Sponge Cake	Fruit Cake
6 in. (15cm) round	10	20
6 in. (15cm) square	15	25
7 in. (18cm) round	15	30
7 in. (18cm) square	20	40
8 in. (20cm) round	20	40
8 in. (20cm) square	25	50
9 in. (23cm) round	25	50
9 in. (23cm) square	35	70
10 in. (25cm) round	30	65
10 in. (25cm) square	45	90
11 in. (28cm) round	40	85
11 in. (28cm) square	55	110
12 in. (30cm) round	50	100
12 in. (30cm) square	65	130

Cutting cakes

To be sure you have enough to feed everyone, a cutting cake can be made. This cake does not have any decoration on it. It should be made to match the main cake—fruitcake, sponge cake, chocolate cake, or whatever and covered with the same kind of icing, but it is then left plain, as it will never be on show. It is especially useful at weddings to have a spare cake like this to provide lots of extra slices.

Baking pans

There are all kinds pans available for baking cakes. Some are rigid all-in-one pans; others have a spring-release mechanism that releases the sides of the pan, freeing the cake; while even more others have a separate top and side section that allows you to push the cake out of the pan when baked. There is also an increasing variety of shaped pans available, from numbers and letters, hearts and stars, to cartoon characters. There is no hard and fast rule as to what type of pan (spring-release, rigid, and so on) is best for a particular cake. You just need to ensure that whatever size or shape of pan you use, that it will provide you with enough cake for your chosen design.

Lining a cake pan

Lining a cake pan sometimes seems like the most tedious part of the whole cake-making process, but it really is the only way to ensure that all of your cake comes out of the pan in one piece. There are several products on the market, such as “cooking sprays” that claim that if you use them, there is no need to line your pan. I can’t comment on whether they are effective or not since I’ve never used them. Regardless, I prefer to line my pans.

Some specialty or online suppliers sell precut paper cake pan liners, which you simply put in the pan eliminating the need to add grease of any kind. I have used one of those in the Monster Cupcake here, where it even becomes part of the finished creation.

You can use either waxed paper or parchment paper to line the pan. The only difference is that the parchment paper does not need to be greased. The following directions will walk you through the correct way to line a cake pan.

1. Measure the circumference and height of the pan. Cut out a strip of waxed paper or parchment paper to that length and about 1 in. (2cm) wider than the height of the pan.

2. Place the pan on another piece of paper and draw around the base. Cut out the drawn shape.

3. Wipe a little butter or margarine around the inside of the pan.

4. Place the long strip around the inside of the pan (Fig. a). Slip the other piece into the bottom of the pan.

Lining a cake pan for fruitcake

The method for lining a pan ready for baking a fruitcake is exactly the same as for a sponge cake, except that you need to double-line the pan. This will protect the sides and base of the cake during its long cooking time. So cut out two strips for the sides and two base pieces.

It is also advisable to wrap a double layer of parchment paper or waxed paper around the outside of the pan. Tie string around the outside to hold it in place (Fig. b).

How to calculate how much mixture is needed for an unusually shaped pan

Not all cake pans are square or round. Here’s a handy tip to work out how much cake mixture you will need.

1. Fill a cup with water. Tip the water into the pan. Repeat until the water has reached the level that the unbaked cake mixture would reach if the pan were filled—this is usually about 1 in. (2.5cm) from the top. Count how many cups get filled.

2. Now take a cake pan for which you know how much cake mixture would be needed; for instance, an 8 in. (20cm) round pan that would take a four-egg sponge cake mixture. Using the same cup, count how many cups of water would be needed to fill that pan.

3. If the number of cups to fill the unusually shaped pan is double the cups required to fill the 8 in. (20cm) round pan, then you know that you need to make double the quantity of cake mixture. If it is half, then you know you need to make half and so on.