Home Tips-10 ways to Improve Your Cake Baking Recipe

When your cake baking recipe calls for the cake pan to be dusted with flour after greasing, sprinkle the pan generously with wheat germ instead. It keeps the cake from sticking and adds nutrients. Here are 9 other ways to improve your cake recipe:

• Use salted butter for baking. It will make all of your cakes and biscuits taste much professional.
• To add an interesting flavor to a chocolate cake, beat four tablespoons or more of smooth or crunchy peanut butter into the butter-sugar mixture. Beat in the eggs, then proceed with the recipe and bake as directed.
• To melt chocolate squares, place in a plastic bag, tie and set the bag in boiling water. When melted, let the chocolate cool for a moment, cut off a corner of the bag and squeeze. If you prefer to use a microwave, break the chocolate into squares and place in bowl. Microwave for 4-6 minutes until soft.
• When melting chocolate take care not to over-heat or it'll go grainy. Also, take care not to get any drops of water in the chocolate, always dry bottom of bowl.
• If a cake recipe calls for vanilla essence, it will taste better if you double the amount of essence.
• Here's an easy chocolate sauce that makes a tasty dessert topping for a chocolate or sponge cake. in a small saucepan, melt 4 tablespoon butter or margarine. Add plain dark chocolate chopped, and 2 tablespoons water. stir over low heat until melted. Pour in 5 or 6 tablespoons strong black coffee and 2 tablespoons brandy. Sweeten with 1-3 tablespoons icing sugar. Place 4 slices of cake on individual serving plates and pour the sauce over each.
• To test whether cake is cooked, press center gently with fingers. If cooked, cake will spring back.
• To make jam easier to brush on cake, heat in a small bowl in the microwave with 1 teaspoon water for a few seconds, then sieve.
• When a cake is cooked in a tin lined paper, remove paper when cake is turned out to cool unless storing cake for several days, when it can be left on.