Gluten-Free Cake Baking Tips

1. Don’t neglect to line your pans with parchment paper. Cakes made with gluten-free flours are even more likely to stick than those made with wheat flour.
2. There is no need in cake baking for xanthan gum if there are eggs.
3. For recipes that require cake flour, sift your flour mix three to five times before use.
4. For recipes that require cake flour, separate the eggs and fold in the egg whites at the end.
5. Consult Fact or Fiction: Gluten-free Cake Baking.

General Cake Baking Tips

1. Let all ingredients warm to room temperature. They will blend together much better than cold ingredients.
2. Preheat your oven for at least 20 minutes. Even though the oven may beep to say it is ready, it really isn’t.
3. Always use hormone and antibiotic-free dairy products, if possible. It will improve the taste of your final product.
4. Mix the butter by itself for 2 minutes before adding the sugar. This will soften the butter enabling the sugar to blend better.
5. Cream the butter and sugar for 5 to 10 minutes. Your recipe probably says 2 minutes, but blending them for a longer time will create more air pockets and produce a fluffier cake.
6. Make sure all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
7. If the recipe calls for folding in egg whites, make sure they are prepared properly. Click here for Egg Whites 101.
8. Only fill pan 2/3 or less. Any more and the batter may spill over and make a mess in your oven.
9. Before placing the pans in the oven, bang them down on the counter a few times. This will even out the batter and remove any air bubbles.
10. It is better to “over” bake than “under” bake. If you are not sure the cake is done, leave it in the oven for a few more minutes. However, this is not true for cupcakes because they continue to bake a bit while cooling in the pan. They should be soft but firm when you take them out of the oven.
11. Do not keep opening the oven to check on your cake. The repeated changes in temperature will cause it to fall.
12. Make sure the cake is completely cool before icing it.
13. If you own a Kitchen Aid stand mixer, you most likely find the ingredients on the bottom of the bowl remain unmixed. Buy metal washers at the hardware store and place one directly on each of the two prongs that hold the bowl. When you attach the bowl, the washers will raise it just enough so all your ingredients will mix but the beater will not scrape the bowl.
14. Consult To Weigh or Not to Weigh?