How to Make a Cake

Learning how to make a cake is part art and part science. The first step is choosing what kind of cake you want to make and then using the best quality ingredients you can find and measuring them carefully. Be sure to follow the recipe's instructions for mixing and soon you may find that when you make a cake, you're not only creating something tasty, but expressing your own creativity through baking.

Choose a Cake
The first decision you'll need to make is what kind of cake you want to make. Some cakes are basic and take little time and effort, and others require a little more knowledge and skill (and ingredients). Baking is only part of the process-depending on the cake you choose, you'll need to consider icing or frosting and any decorating the occasion may call for.

The simplest cakes, like pound cake or cheesecake, require little more than a dusting of powdered sugar or nothing at all after baking. Classic layer cakes-white cake, chocolate cake, vanilla cake, etc.-can be constructed of two layers or as many tiers as you feel like taking on, but need to be frosted. Foam cakes like angel food, chiffon and sponge are best loved for their light, airy textures while flourless cakes deliver divine richness in exchange for the sometimes fussy process.

Classic Layer Cakes
Most layer cakes are made with flour, sugar, eggs, milk, butter (or shortening), salt and baking powder. Specific recipe ingredients and amounts may vary, but the basic recipe will contain these ingredients.

Also known as butter cakes, the key to a great layer cake is to cream the butter and sugar together until the mixture becomes light and fluffy. For best results, use an electric mixer set to medium.

After the butter and sugar are creamed together, you'll beat in the eggs. The texture of the mixture may change and appear uneven or curdled, but it will combine nicely with the dry ingredients.

Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl so all ingredients are distributed evenly. You don't want a pocket of baking powder to find its way into the wet ingredients-the cake won't rise uniformly if it does.

Butter cakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake's center springs back when gently pressed. Dust them with powdered sugar, whipped cream or buttercream icing. If you've made several layers, frost in between them to give the cake stability. You can also try your hand at decorating your cake with cake decorating supplies and other embellishments.

Foam Cakes
Foam cakes like angel food and chiffon get their airy texture and height from whipped eggs or egg whites. Making foam cakes takes some patience and you'll do best to have your electric mixer at the ready. You can expect to beat eggs for these cakes from three to ten minutes.

Beat the eggs or egg whites until they stiffen enough to hold peaks when you remove the beaters from the mixture. Rather than mixing your wet and dry ingredients together with a mixer, you'll use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together so you don't overwork the batter.

Cheesecakes
Cheesecakes get their rich texture from cream cheese or cheese curd. The cakes themselves are dense and are typically baked on top of a crust made from graham cracker or cookie crumbs.

The secret to making a great cheesecake is to allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature before you start mixing. Cheesecakes have a tendency to develop surface cracks when too much moisture is lost during the baking process. Cheescake centers should still appear wobbly, even when done. Remember that and you won't be tempted to bake longer and dry them out.

Basic Yellow Layer Cake Recipe

Ingredients Needed:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup vegetable shortening
• 1 ¼ cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour two 8"round cake pans or line with parchment paper.

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until well incorporated and the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat the eggs in with the butter and sugar, then the vanilla. Slowly add the milk and dry ingredients, reducing the mixer speed to low. Continue to beat the batter until it is smooth and all ingredients are fully incorporated. Scrape the edge of the bowl often.

Divide and pour the batter equally into both pans. Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cake cool for ten minutes, then invert the pans and allow the cakes to completely cool on a wire rack. Cake should be completely cool before frosting.