Delicious Cousine

How to Prepare Your Cake Pans to Ensure Successful Baking Every Time

Baking cakes seems like a simple endeavor. You get some cake mix, throw all the ingredients together and pour your concoction into a cake pan. It all seems pretty straight forward, but experienced bakers know that there's a little more to it than that. What you need to know is that properly preparing your cake pans is one of the (if not the) most important key to successful baking.Most novice bakers take some things for granted. An example is preparation. This is such an important step that you can't afford to skimp on any part of it if you want your cakes to come out the best they can. You shouldn't hurry the preparation process. Just take your time to do it right the first time, and you can ensure that all your cakes will come out delicious every time.In this article, I'm going to pay particular attention to preparing your cake pans. What you should understand right off the bat is that preparation of your cake pans may vary from recipe to recipe. For example, some recipes may call for the use of grease. Some recipes may call for no preparation of the cake pan at all. Then there's the use of parchment paper.I know that's a lot of stuff to consider, but I will clarify each method to give you a clear and concise understand of which to use, and when.Before I begin, here's quick tip--for any recipe that calls for the cake pan to be prepared, make sure to do so before you start mixing the batter. Set the cake pan aside and start mixing.First, I'll start with grease preparation. This includes butter, shortening, and cooking spray. Butter imparts a great flavor to your cakes. You can melt it (or use a softer butter), and then "paint" it on with a brush, or you can apply it with wax paper. Shortening does not impart any flavor, and is preferred by most bakers. This is probably due to the fact that it doesn't burn easily. Cooking spray is quick and easy to apply, and great for low calorie baking. There's no messy melting, and the application process is as easy as spraying it onto the cake pan.One thing to be careful with cooking spray is to never spray it onto non-stick cake pans. That's because some of the residue from when the oils in the spray tend to polymerize as a result of high heat cooking, and it's extremely difficult to clean.If a recipe calls for a grease preparation, then preparing your cake pans with baker's grease may be an option. This is the stuff most used by professionals and you can either buy it already made, or you can make it yourself. It's basically equal parts Crisco shortening, oil, and flower. You mix the ingredients together in a mixer with a beater attachment until it's light and fluffy.You can then apply it to your cake pans with a pastry brush. You won't have to follow up with flour, because it already has some in it. You can seal up the remainder of the baker's grease and store in your refrigerator for later use.Some recipes will call for no cake pan preparation at all. This includes foam type cakes such as Angel Food or Sponge Cakes. The reason why you don't prepare your cake pans with these types of cakes is because their batter needs to literally "climb" up the pan's surface to rise. If you use any kind of grease on the pans, it will make it too slippery for them to do so. Another reason is that fat tends to deflate the fragile foams.Another option for preparing your cake pans is the use of parchment paper. Why use it? Some of the less experienced bakers, and even some of the more advanced, may have problems with their cakes sticking to the pan. Parchment paper will help. Also, you may want to use it if you don't want to spend too much time cleaning up. If you want to make a good fit, try placing the pan on top of the paper and then trace it before cutting it out. Place the paper into a greased cake pan and then apply more grease on top of that.The important thing to remember for properly preparing your cake pans is to always read the recipe beforehand. If the recipe calls for grease, then you have the option of butter if you want added flavor, shortening if you do not, and cooking spray if want less of a mess and you're watching your weight. You can also try using parchment paper, especially if you've been having problems with your cakes sticking to the pan, or if you want to make the clean up easier. And don't forget that not all recipes require preparation.