Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

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asked February 17th 2014

Baking Fundamentals

I’m completely new to baking. Where do I start. I see a million videos, I don’t know which are the basics or a format to follow. Please help.

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I’m completely new to baking. Where do I start. I see a million videos, I don’t know which are the basics or a format to follow. Please help.

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Hi, I would start by keeping things simple. Try a sponge cake first. For a 8″ round tin you will need; 250g Plain flour, 250g Unsalted butter, 250g caster sugar, teaspoon of vanilla, teaspoon of baking powder. For the eggs, first weigh them and try to get the nearest to 250g of eggs, go under this weight rather than over it.

Cream the butter and sugar together, add vanilla then add eggs slowly, if the mixture curdles add a little flour. When you have added the eggs, mix the baking powder with the flour and fold into the mixture until it is incorporated. Bake Gas 4 for about 40 mins. It is cooked when a skewer comes out clean or if you use a thermometer it should reach a minimum of 90 degrees.

Paul has some good recipes on here, have a good look around the site for the help you need.

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Hello mrso

First thing to do is not to worry. As a beginner you need to get some basic equipment. Start with a pair of 8″round Victoria sandwich tins, one 8″ round deep, one deep cupcake of muffin pan, cupcake cases and a roll of parchment paper. Try and buy the best you can afford, avoid some of the supermarket brands which can be of poor quality and don’t produce very good results. Most can be bought in cake decorating supply stores, good kitchen shop, online and Lakeland. You’ll also need good digital scales for accurate measure. An oven thermometer is a must to help you accurately gauge the internal temperature of the oven to what the external dial reading is. An electric hand mixer is sufficient to get you started, once you progress to bigger cakes perhaps a small stand mixer would be helpful. Some spatulas for scraping down and scooping out cake batter, measuring spoons and two palette knives, one straight and one with crank handle will be useful too.

Most complete novice cake bakers begin by baking a batch of easy cupcakes. These little cakes will give you a good idea how to measure your ingredients accurately which is important if you want to achieve good results.
It’s not a good idea to browse the millions of recipes online. They can be confusing and sometimes over whelming. If you’re UK based, the BBC food site has some lovely easy recipes to follow. You can see some recipes and basics information here http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/cake For accurate measures select recipes which give ingredients in metric weights and volume, avoid cup measures.
Before you start baking select an easy recipe and note down all the ingredients. If you don’t already have them in your store cupboard top up with everything you’ll need to create your cake. Once set up, follow the recipe accurately. Have ingredients like eggs, butter/margarine and milk if using, at room temperature for a half an hour. Butter may need to be standing for longer, it should be soft enough to leave finger indentations when pressed lightly. Pay particular attention to egg size, if recipe asks for large use that size. Some recipes don’t indicate egg size, so an assumption is that medium eggs are being used. Pre heat the oven as indicated for a good 15/20 minutes. If using a fan oven reduce the indicated temperature by approximate 20 degrees or as recommended by the oven handbook, eg a temperature of 160c would be 140c fan oven, gas oven temperatures should be followed as indicated in the appliance instructional manual. As all ovens are very different, indicated temperatures for recipes are only as a guide. You may need to bake a little longer or for less time so it’s a good idea to get acquainted with the speed at which your oven bakes. Avoid opening the oven door for at least two thirds of the way through baking time if you need to check for doneness and only open the door slightly so as not to lose too much heat. Click close the oven door as slamming it shut will create a draught of air resulting cakes to drop. Weigh dry ingredients out accurately and set out all the other ingredients so nothing is omitted. Follow the recipe instructions closely and start baking! Obviously this is just a basic format to follow to get you started. No doubt I’ve missed loads of other relevant points but I’m sure other members will add lots of helpful tips.
Paul has a complete beginners section to get you on the road to decorating here http://www.cakeflix.com/free-online-cake-decorating-courses and you’ll find a some recipes from Mrs Jones in the baking section which you could try once you feel confident. You just need to grasp the basics, progressing to the next level won’t take long but you will have a few disappointments along the way. Far from being disasters, these are good learning curves which will set you up as an informed baker. The site community is here to help with any problems you encounter along your baking journey. Good luck, happy baking and keep posting if you need more information, help or just reassurance. x

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Thank you so much. You guys are awesome. This was helpful, going to buy the tools today and start.

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Great, let us know how you do. x

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