Cake Recipe Archives
Hi, and welcome to the home of all things cake!
I've compiled some information about making cakes, types of cakes on the site, and equipment recommendations.
If that interests you, please read on.
If you'd like to jump straight down to the recipes, please click the link below.
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Here you'll mostly find layer cakes--I have a whole category just for pound cake, which is one of my favorite kind of cakes to make. If you're a pound cake fan, head over there now.
For layer cake deliciousness, I have traditional cake recipes like this Red Velvet Cake, inventive new cakes such as my very fun (if I do say so myself) Cow Tales Caramel Cake and traditional recipes I've put my own spin on, like this Fudgy Black Forest Cake--my rich take on a classic.
Best Way to Make a Cake
There are several mixing methods used to make cake batter.
By far, the most ubiquitous one for American style butter cakes is The Creaming Method.
You probably will recognize it as the one that starts "cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy."
Another excellent cake mixing method, popularized by Rose Levy Beranbaum in her classic The Cake Bible, is the two-stage mixing method.
This mixing method yields a cake that doesn't rise quite as high as a creaming method cake, but it has the most velvety and tender crumb.
To find all my discussions and explanations of the different mixing methods, please check out my mixing methods page.
Cake Equipment Recommendations
Do I Need a Stand Mixer?
For the occasional baker--making cakes a few times a year--I don't think you necessarily need a stand mixer. Unless you're also baking a lot of cookies and breads.
You will probably be just fine with a high quality hand mixer.
If you are interested in purchasing a stand mixer, KitchenAid is definitely an excellent choice, but there are also other stand mixers that are a bit more affordable, if slightly less rugged.
What Kind of Cake Pans Should I Get?
I am a huge fan of Fat Daddio pans. They come in brushed aluminum, are lightweight, don't warp, and are a good value.
One of the best things about them is that they have straight sides that are at least 2" deep (although they have specialty pans even deeper).
Lots of cake pans you can get at the grocery store have slightly sloped sides which I have never understood.
And most are 1 1/2" deep, which can sometimes result in some spill-over, and that's no fun at all.
If you're going to make layer cakes, consider a set of 2 8" x 2" and/or 9" x 2" round cake pans.
For tall cakes with a smaller diameter, I love the look of a 3-layer cake baked in 6" x 2" pans like my Day of the Dead Cake.
If you have any questions or are looking for a recipe you don't see, please email me. I'm happy to help!