Want to Make a Tasty Cake at Home? Learn How to Make a Cake with Our Step by Step Guide for Success Every Time You Bake, With or Without an Oven!

Cakes are the forever guest at any celebration. Weddings, anniversaries, or birthdays; no celebration is complete without a piece of delicious cake. It brings in friendship, sharing, and celebration. From the simple cakes of the middle ages, this piece of treat has evolved to chocolate cakes, butter cakes, coffee cakes, sponge cakes, chiffon cakes, carrot cakes, fruit cakes and whatnot.

Store-bought cakes are usually blamed for being unhealthy and loaded with artificial sweeteners and calories. So, let's start making cakes at home for a delicious treat that is healthy as well. No, don't think it is a herculean task. Baking cake at home is as simple as any other cooking. Here is a set of instruction to simplify the cake making exercise and also two yummy recipes that are easy for beginners.

If you do not have an oven we have a special recipe and tips to help you make equally good cakes using a pressure cooker.

Do not run away from cakes because they are loaded with sugars and fats. You might be missing out on some of the health benefits of this delicious dessert if baked at home using the choicest ingredients.

Cakes are a good source of protein and helps to build body strength. Eggs, milk, dry fruit, butter and many other nutritious ingredients are used to make cakes. It is a great snack for growing children to fill their hunger and craving and at the same time provide them with quality protein. It can provide energy to both the brain and body.

Fruit cakes can give you all the benefits of fresh fruit. Additionally, it can also boost your mood and aid in digestion. For kids who are fussy to eat vegetables, a carrot cake might deliver all the richness of beta carotene and vitamin A to them.

Another offbeat advantage might be the happiest quotient that cakes delivered. Chocolate cakes can help you beat depression with serotonin, endorphins, and antioxidants to make you happy.

While cakes do offer all this goodness, you do have to remember to consume in moderation. Too much of anything, of course, causes problems!

The first and most important step to bake the perfect cake is to follow the recipe word to word. When you substitute the ingredients like using egg white alone instead of whole eggs or using baking soda rather than baking powder the cake is not going to turn out as expected. Also, ensure that you are using a pan of the size recommended in the recipe. Do not substitute the pan size as this will also affect the final cake.

Most of the times cake requires the ingredients to be room temperature. Room temperature is required to ensure that the ingredients can be mixed to the right consistency. This way you can avoid over-mixing. Room temperature for butter is 65-degree Fahrenheit where the butter is cool when you touch.

This where most of us usually fail. One wrong measurement can spoil the entire recipe. So stick to the measurements, strictly. Use the right measuring cups or spoons while scooping the ingredients.

Mixing the ingredients to the right consistency requires care and attention. Under mixing gives a cake where the ingredients are not well blended for the taste. Over mixing, on the other hand, can deflate the air and give your cake a tough texture. So till the ingredients are just combined.

Use only quality pans for making cake. Each recipe calls for a different pan. Select the pan of the appropriate size as how much the cake rises and the final finish depends on the choice of pan. Also, pan has to be prepared in the right way. The parchment paper rounds that you place on the bottom of the pan should be cut to the right dimension. Besides the bottom of the pan should be greased to make it non-sticky.

For best results, you can use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour. Cake flour has a soft texture to give the best cakes. But not all recipes might come well with cake flour. Chocolate cake is an example. It already uses cocoa powder which is a fine-textured powder and mixing cake flour and cocoa powder will give you a flimsy cake. Similarly, carrot cake or banana cake that contains a wet, ingredient might not come well with cake flour. At the same time, cake flour might be best for making a fluffy vanilla cake. So, while choosing the flour do it keeping in mind the requirements of the recipe.

Allowing the cake to cool completely is important for the finish. Do not remove the cake from the pan until it is cool. Let all the ingredients blend well and the flavour settles nicely. A hot, or even warm cake is constantly emitting steam and if you try to decorate the cake before it is cool, the frosting might melt and leave an unwelcome effect. Keep the cake in the refrigerator for a while to speed the process if you are in a hurry.

Sponge cakes are an absolute delight for tea time. Here is a yellow sponge cake recipe to get you started with baking cakes. It is a simple recipe that requires very few ingredients and is quite easy for a beginner to follow.

The delectable sponge cake comes very soft and spongy with a crumb that is uniform and absorb moisture. This recipe can be used as a cupcake or a basic role. You can make one round cake using this recipe that is eight inches wide and is two inches tall.

Be prepared for a mouth-watering treat in fifty minutes using just five ingredients. It is ideal for the kid's snack box.

You can bake cakes using either the traditional OTGs or a microwave. Both the methods can give you mouth-watering, spongy cakes that are homemade and healthy. There are certain essentials that you should be aware of while baking a cake in microwave.

You cannot bake in a solo microwave. For baking, you need to use the convection microwave that comes with the functionalities suited or both cooking and baking. Convection microwave uses hot air for baking and usually cooks faster than the traditional OTG.

Microwave cooking always requires you to use only microwave-safe utensils. Stoneware is best preferred. Glassware and silicon can also be used. Check the manufacturer's instruction to see if it is labelled as microwave safe.

Whether it is microwave or the traditional oven, the temperature settings do not vary much. Go through the instructions on your appliance and also the settings that the recipe requires and follow as mentioned.

Oven is not mandatory for making a cake. You can make an equally tasty cake with the easily available pressure cooker.

This vanilla sponge cake is soft, delicious, and light-textured that it just melts in the mouth. It is quite easy to make as there is no beating or whipping involved. Vegetarians have a treat here because this recipe is Eggless.

For making cakes, use a five or six litres thick aluminium cooker with a heavy bottom and use it only for baking as this process will weaken the metal. Also, ensure that you always cook on low heat.

This recipe requires a 10 mins preparation time and 50 minutes cooking time and makes a cake for three or four people.

Cakes are certainly everyone's favourite. But many keep away from cakes because of the high calories it carries. Going Eggless might be an option to reduce the calories and health concerns. Though eggs are a good source of protein the unhealthy cholesterol it causes cannot be ignored. Many are also allergic to eggs. Besides vegetarians prefer to have only Eggless cakes. And the best part is that there are many recipes for Eggless cakes where you can enjoy the same taste and sponginess of cakes with eggs by using other ingredients.