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Don't Fear Baking - Making Cakes is Easy!

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by: gwydion
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Word Count: 763

For many, the very thought of baking sends shivers down the spine. Yet a sponge cake is one of the easiest and most enjoyable recipes you can make. Whether you're making a very simple classic Victoria sponge or something more elaborate, you could go from making the cake to eating it in under 90 minutes!

I'm not really certain why cakes have a reputation for being daunting. In fact, cakes are what recipes were invented for. Follow the recipe and the cake will turn out perfect every time! There's no playing around, no adding your own 'little touches'. You read the recipe, buy the ingredients then prepare the cake according to the recipe and hey presto, you have a cake ready to eat.

Perhaps part of the problem lies in the variability of ovens. Everything else in a cake recipe follows a set pattern but ovens can differ from house to house and type to type. Many of the basic recipes we have today were written in the 1960s and 1970s and 1980s where fan-assisited ovens were rare. As a result, those trying those recipes in the new ovens found that no matter what they did, the cakes would almost always burn.

If you are following an old recipe and you do have a fan-assisted oven then turn the temperature of the oven down by 10°C lower than the temperature in the oven. Bake for the same amount of time as given in the recipe, but cover the top of the cake with kitchen foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking to prevent the cake from burning. Then you will get perfect results.

Remember also that when you can smell the cake cooking it's almost done. Even if the recipe says you have another 20 minutes to go always check the cake when you can smell it, as it may have cooked much faster than you thought.

Below you will find recipes for a classic, simple Victoria sponge and a slightly more elaborate cake:

Victoria Sponge

Ingredients:
60g butter
60g caster sugar
1 medium egg
60g self raising flour

Method:
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy then beat-in the egg. Sift the flour over the mixture and fold in using a metal spoon. You are aiming for a batter of dropping consistency. If it's a little too thick add just a little milk.

Tip the batter into an 18cm cake tin that's been well buttered and lined with baking parchment. Flatten the surface with a spatula then place the cake in an oven pre-heated to 180°C and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges cleanly.

Take out of the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Dust the surface of the cake with icing sugar and serve.

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Ingredients:
3 large eggs, lightly whisked
 3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
 210g plain flour, sifted
 150g granulated sugar
 3/4 tsp baking powder
 1/4 tsp salt
 200g butter (softened)
 1 tbsp finely-grated lemon zest
 3 tbsp poppy seeds

 For the Lemon Syrup:
 50g sugar
60ml lemon juice

Method:
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time and beat into the butter mix very well after each addition. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl then add to the butter and egg mix and combine well. Add the milk, vanilla extract, lemon zest and poppy seeds and mix well to combine.

Tip the batter into a greased and buttered loaf tin and place in an oven pre-heated to 180�C. Bake for about 30 minutes, then cover the top of the cake with a piece of buttered foil (to prevent the top from browning too much) then return to the oven and bake for a further 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges cleanly.

Whilst the cake is still baking, add the lemon juice and sugar to a small pan and heat until the sugar dissolves. As soon as the cake emerges from the oven and whilst it's still in the tin poke all over with a skewer and brush the top of the cake with half the lemon juice glaze. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then invert onto a wire rack. Poke the bottom and sides of the cake with the skewer and apply the glaze with a brush. Allow the cake to cool completely before serving.

I hope these recipes have shown you how easy cakes really are to make and how you can take a basic recipe and make something more elaborate out of it.

About the Author

As part of his Celtnet Recipes Archive Dyfed Lloyd Evans presents a large selection of Cake and Baking Recipes. Why not fetch some recipes and try your hand at baking today! And if you're afraid of baking, why not search the Cooking Tips and Tricks article database for some help with your problems.

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