Best Easy Cake Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to a perfect cake? ›

To summarize, applesauce is a secret weapon for creating moist and healthier cakes. Its natural sweetness and moisture make it a great substitute for high-fat ingredients like oil or butter. So go ahead, embrace the power of applesauce and elevate your cakes to new levels of deliciousness!

The most crucial tip? Instead of buying an entire box of cake flour, simply incorporate two tablespoons of cornstarch into 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. This blocks the formation of gluten in the flour, which produces a lighter, fluffier cake.

Step 1: Look at the directions on the cake mix. Step 2: Add one more egg (or add 2 if you want it to be very rich). Step 3: Use melted butter instead of oil and double the amount. Step 4: Instead of water, use whole milk.

USE VEGETABLE OIL. While butter undoubtedly imparts excellent flavor, vegetable oil can really elevate a cake when it comes to moisture. Replacing butter with vegetable oil in your cake recipes typically yields moist results.

Flour is perhaps the most important ingredient in a cake mix, as it creates the basic structure of the entire cake. A major component of flour is gluten, which is a protein that provides a way for the cake to bind to itself.

Firstly, you need to mix your baking powder/bicarbonate of soda through your flour before you add this to the mixture. These two ingredients are the most common raising agents in baking, so I've focused on them here (also make sure they are in date!).

More Fat, More Flavor

Replace the oil with an equal amount of melted butter (and a pinch of salt if using unsalted butter), to boost richness. For an extra decadent cake, add two tablespoons of mayonnaise.

Texture and taste combined are what brings out the best in cake. Cakes that are sweet and savoury in flavour are best complemented with a smooth and feathery texture to create a celestial, flavoursome experience. The texture of a cake should typically be soft and velvety, and not rough, compact, or crumbly.

Is it better to bake a cake the day before? ›

Instead, keep your cakes at room temperature. (Though if you're stacking layers, chill them briefly before assembling the final cake — it'll make things easier.) Stay away for one to three days: Flavors will deepen after one day, and only strengthen the longer you wait.

You should never make substitutions for anything unless provided for by the recipe. For example, if the recipe calls for light brown sugar, don't sub it with honey. Some changes might seem small, but they can have a dramatic impact on the final product.

Basically, all you need to know about baking is that the longer you mix a dough or batter, the stronger the gluten, and the more gluten, the better the chew. But you don't want the same chew from a beautiful cake as you would a baguette, so you minimise the development of gluten by not over-working the dough or batter.

In order to bake cake evenly, you have to insulate its edges. Preventing the temperature of batter at the edge from increasing quickly allows the cake to rise longer before it sets. A cake whose edges rise at nearly the same rate as its center will remain flat across the top — no dome, perfect for stacking and icing.

Enhance With Extracts

Pure vanilla extract and pure almond extract are great options, but you could also try lemon extract or orange extract paired with fresh citrus zest. Although more expensive, vanilla bean paste or fresh vanilla beans will provide even richer flavor to a boxed mix.

Similarly to using expired leaveners, letting your batter sit for too long before cooking will result in a heavy and dense cake. Fortunately, the solution is simple — be sure to preheat your oven as you mix up your batter, and pop the cake in to cook as soon as possible.