Why "Real" Baking: Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

why i believe in real baking, i.e. baking from scratch as opposed to a mix

i suspect that the two main reasons people bake from a mix is 1) that they think it’s faster and easier and 2) it’s practically foolproof. there may even be some who grew up with the flavor of a mix and actually prefer it.

i grew up without a cake baking tradition, in fact, my grandmother used the oven only to store pots and pans. there was NEVER anything baked in that oven until I went to the university of vermont, took a course in basic food, and came home thanksgiving vacation with the intention of making my father’s favorite—a cherry pie. it was a disaster of melting bubbling soap that I hadn’t realized was stored in the broiler beneath. in short, i learned scratch cake baking on my own—from scratch.

it’s o.k. to prefer cake mixes if you really do prefer them. my take on the mixes is that since they contain emulsifiers which give them what is known in the industry as tolerance, i.e., the ability to keep their texture despite additions of various extra ingredients, these emulsifiers result in an unpleasantly metallic after-taste. to my palate, the flavor of a cake baked from scratch is incomparably superior. and making a cake from scratch takes maybe 10 minutes more prep time than one from a mix. but as far as the foolproof aspect, let me tell you how to achieve that in a scratch cake.

there are only two important things to know:

1) use cake flour or bleached all-purpose flour. if you use a scale, the weight is the same. if you are using cup measures, and you have all-purpose bleached flour, for every cup of cake flour use 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose. if you want the cake to be as tender as one with cake flour, use 3/4 cup of all-purpose and 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. the all-purpose flour i use is gold medal, but if you happen to have a southern or regional brand the protein content may be as low as cake flour so you will not want to add the cornstarch as it may weaken the cake’s structure and cause it to collapse.

the reason that it is essential to use bleached flour is that unbleached has particles that are smooth and round and the butter slips right through them and lands in a gummy layer at the bottom, causing the cake to fall in the center while cooling. the bleaching process, however, roughens these flour particles enabling them to hold the butter in even suspension.

if you measure the flour instead of weighing it, use a measuring cup with unbroken rim. place it on a counter and use a sifter or strainer to fill it with flour, allowing it to mound over the top. use a long metal spatula or knife to run it over the rim, thus removing any excess flour. never lift the cup or shake it during measuring as this packs more flour into the cup which would result in a denser drier cake.

that’s all you need to know about flour for cakes and it’s really quite simple.

2) have the butter softened but cool, i.e. it feels cool to the touch but when you press it with your finger it will flatten. this is a wide range of temperature, between 65 and 75 degrees. most kitchens are warmer than 75 degrees so to be on the safe side you can let the butter soften in a cooler room. if the butter is too cold or too warm the cake’s texture (crumb) will not be even.

here is my favorite of all my yellow cake recipes. it’s the right amount for a standard 9 inch by 2 1/2 inch springform pan but if you have only a 9 x 2 inch pan, just be sure to fill it only half full and bake the remaining batter as 2 cup cakes. (15 to 20 minutes)

if you still prefer your favorite mix, you have my full permission to use it, but not if the only reason is that you don’t trust a "real" cake!

From the kitchen of Rose on 10.31.05 at 2:51 PM in Ingredients

Comments

I am trying to purchase Swans Cake Flour in bulk. Can someone direct me to the website. Thanks

Reply to this Posted by: Trena Justice-Cruz | July 5, 2009 3:13 PM #

you know matthew, i've heard that the one good mix made by jiff is cornbread!i've been meaning to try it. but i know what you mean about cake mixes--very hard to go back after tasting the buttery purity of scratch. thanks!!!

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | December 1, 2008 10:28 PM #

Once you go Rose, you never go back! I'm making the kugelhopf today, which calls for a cup of cakes crumbs. I really should have know better, but I thought I would make it "easy" and cheap on myself, and I bought a box of Jiffy yellow cake mix. I figured it would be okay, and masked by the other ingredients in the schmear.

I haven't made or tasted a cake mix in years, and I guess this one is pretty much the bottom of the barrel for mixes anyway. I took one bite of the finished cupcake, and, I'm embarrassed to say that I literally spit it out. It was the most horrible, chemically tasting, yet otherwise flavorless baked item I think I have ever tasted.

I have a batch of Rose's yellow cake cupcakes in the oven now--which is what I should have done in the first place! It really was just about as easy as putting together that awful mix, and I can actually enjoy any leftovers!

Reply to this Posted by: Matthew | November 30, 2008 11:39 AM #

Where can i find swans down cake flour in bulk form with reasonable shipping?

Reply to this Posted by: modicue | November 27, 2008 10:21 PM #

I'M with you Hector. I printed it out and taped to my reefer door. Thanks

Reply to this Posted by: Roseanna | June 22, 2008 11:27 AM #

Thanks for that, Hector. I have been aware of all these additives for a long time and it is one of the reasons I like to bake my own cakes apart from the cost of buying anything as good! I now bake all my bread as well and although it might not stay 'fresh' as long as the commercial brands at least I know what it consists of!

Reply to this Posted by: Jeannette | June 21, 2008 3:54 AM #

When my brother and his family were staying with me during Thanksgiving 2007, we got into a HUGE fight because I threw away a pie he had bought and sat in my fridge for 1 week. It was his family daily snack.

Little we knew at that time, that his son (my 4 year old nephew) had Asperger's Autism Disease. We my nephew diagnosed in Spring 2008. My nephew now attends 10 therapy sessions a week (yes, per week).

My nephew gets worse whenever high levels of toxins are detected in his blood and perhaps from digestive system imbalance; toxins that normal people digest and discard naturally. I BELIEVE and BEG for parents to read food labels.

THE YELLOW KITCHEN never uses the stuff that is highlighted in yellow below.

I took this picture from a Strawberry Cream pie from a well known local bakery. It won't be good business ethics for me to mention the name of the bakery, just read the labels when you buy pie anywhere.

There is NO need to use food ingredients that are not naturally occurring. Do you think our bodies know how to digest things that are unnatural?

THE "real" YELLOW KITCHEN.

http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/ThisIsWhatYouGetForYourMoney.htm

Reply to this Posted by: Hector | June 20, 2008 6:37 PM #

I wonder if your oven temperature is running on the low side. I was having a problem with things taking too long to bake and that turned out to be the reason.

Happy baking!

Reply to this Posted by: Barbara A. | February 12, 2008 12:46 PM #

I love the Cake Bible and am asking for it as a Valentine gift (he gets to eat the cakes). Having said that, I made the brownie recipe found here on the website and found the recipe didn't bake in the 9x9x2 pan for 30-31 minutes except around the edges.
Is it possible that the pan size is too small? Thanks Gail

Reply to this Posted by: gail kernius | February 11, 2008 11:41 AM #

Reply to this Posted by: gail kernius | February 11, 2008 11:40 AM #

Annette - sounds like you need to use cake strips to insulate the sides of your baking pans. There are several types available. Do a search for "cake strips" and you'll get a lot of hits on the subject.

Reply to this Posted by: Patrincia | January 16, 2008 7:06 PM #

I started decorating cakes as a hobby, but over the past couple of years it has turned into a side business. I have several yellow cake recipes; the first cake tastes great, but is not as moist as i would like it to be. What can I do about that, the second recipe has great texture and is moist but when it comes out of the oven, the part of the cake closest to the side is discolored and brown.

Reply to this Posted by: Annette | January 16, 2008 6:56 PM #

I recently bought a Viking range...figured if I bought an oven that cost that much...all my problems would be over. My cakes were a disaster. I put in a thermometer and I was about 75 degrees too cool. There were two gas jets under the floor of the oven...only one was lighting. It was a simple adjustment...but it also sounds to me like there is a problem with your oven temperature. Good luck!

Reply to this Posted by: Bill | December 26, 2007 5:56 PM #

Toni, have you tried checking your oven temp. using an oven thermometer? If you are using the same recipe, same brand of ingredients, weighing / measuring accurately etc., then it must be your oven temp.

Reply to this Posted by: Rozanne | December 26, 2007 9:55 AM #

I have a jenn-air double oven stove. Everytime i bake a pound cake it falls. My cooking time is always set according to the recipe. I have never had this problem until i purchase this oven.

Reply to this Posted by: Toni Smith | December 25, 2007 11:47 PM #

the more you raise the baking powder the more it will fall bc you're weakening the structure!

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | November 29, 2007 12:29 PM #

I'm having a little struggle with adjusting the Almond Paste Cake recipe found in the book 'The Well Decorated Cake'. Works great for cake diameters 7 inches to 13 inches. But cakes with smaller diameters (4 to 5 inches) fall. I tried increasing the baking powder to 3 3/4 t, per the butter cake baking powder table in 'The Cake Bible', but the smaller cakes still fell. Any ideas??

Reply to this Posted by: Lisa | November 29, 2007 12:09 PM #

Marcus:
Good for you...and enjoy your baking journey. I'd like to put in my two cents: You'll notice in the cake bible that all the ingredients are given both volumetrically and by weight. I really recommend that you buy a digital kitchen scale and weigh your flour (or all the ingredients for that matter)...it is really tough to accurately measure flour in cups and your cakes will be MUCH better if you measure accurately. I bought one recently for about $40.00...not too bad...and I use it all the time.

Reply to this Posted by: Bill | November 21, 2007 12:41 PM #

Marcus - you should check a copy of The Cake Bible out of the library and give any one of the butter cakes a try. Be sure to start with room temperature ingredients, use the correct size pans called for in the recipe, and don't forget to check out the "understanding" and "pointers for success" that accompany most recipes. And please don't hesitate to ask questions - there are many people on this blog (and the new forum) that are happy to help!

Reply to this Posted by: Patrincia | November 21, 2007 12:15 PM #

I'm one of the few guys who are not chef's or cooks, who enjoys baking. I've almost always used box cakes, now I want to broaden my horizons and move up to scratch cakes. I have been experimenting for about 4-5 months, but my cakes are still not quite the quality of where I would like for them to be. I've seen lots of scratch recipes. My question is, can you give me a basic simple can't miss scratch recipe that I can start with? Give me some things that I should avoid when cooking from scratch and then I can use my own creativity from their after.

Reply to this Posted by: MARCUS | November 21, 2007 9:45 AM #

thanks tammy. you're right--no one ever addresses storing cocoa butter but in fact it is much like storing chocolate. it can stay at cool room temperature, low humidity, but if you're planning to keep it for several years, it's best to refrigerate it or freeze it--airtight to avoid moisture. using a vacuum device is idea.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | November 11, 2007 7:56 PM #

Can anyone tell me how to store Cocoa Butter? When it was delivered to my house yesterday, it was packed in an ice-chest with a lot of ice packs around it. Do I need to refrigerate it? btw..I bought TCB a couple of months ago and I can't stop baking! I love TCB!(and so does my Sunday school class... they tell me to keep on practicing...because they love Rose's cakes and the Mousseline buttercreams. It's a win-win relationship...I get to bake, they get to eat) I'm also getting braver with my baking thanks to Rose... I made my first Genoise yesterday.... all I can say is YUM! Thanks Rose!

Reply to this Posted by: Tammy Bartley | November 11, 2007 7:50 PM #

Hi Shuang - I'm from M'sia and all the above-mentioned flours found here are bleached. Unbleached flours can only be found in organic shops or corners in specialty supermarkets.

Plain is all-purpose, cake flour is superfine (low-protein) without baking powder, and bread flour is high-protein flour. Unfortunately actual protein contents are not given. I've used the local cake flour for cakes with success though. Hope this helps.

Reply to this Posted by: Elicia | September 10, 2007 11:58 AM #

Hi Abbu - my half sheet pans (13x18 inches) will hold 24 cupcakes. So a full sheet pan should hold about 48 cupcakes. I hope that helps.

Reply to this Posted by: Patrincia | September 9, 2007 3:26 PM #

how many cupcakes would I need to make to serve as many as one sheet cake?

Reply to this Posted by: Abbu | September 9, 2007 2:19 PM #

there has been a great deal of discussion on the blog regarding flour. just do a search and you will find it. hopefully someone from singapore will respond (if they haven't already posted and i think they have) to tell you their experience with the available flour.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | August 15, 2007 8:34 AM #

Here in Singapore, the flour is only labeled as "plain flour", "bread flour", "cake flour", etc. They don't say bleached or unbleached or give a protein content. I wonder what I should use to produce a proper cake. Can I just use plain flour, and sift it myself to get the volume called for? Thanks.

Reply to this Posted by: Shuang | August 15, 2007 4:14 AM #

agreed! i've always loved raspberry vinegar so this sounds even better.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | June 17, 2007 2:36 PM #

Wanda - Sounds great (kind of like spinache/strawberry salad). I have strawberry puree in the fridge - I think I'll give it a try.

Please post the butter cake spread sheet if/when you come up with it - lots of us would be greatful :)

Reply to this Posted by: Patrincia | June 17, 2007 1:53 PM #

Rose, Your Raspberry Puree is great; but I've discovered a new application. Try it drizzled over a salad of baby spinach leaves with parmeasean cheese and a few dried cranberries. I know it sounds weird, but the taste is absolutely amazing!

Hecter, I love the spreadsheet. I'm going to try something similar for the buttercake recipes, unless you've already created one I could 'borrow'?

Thanks.

Wanda

Reply to this Posted by: Wanda LaLoggia | June 17, 2007 12:11 PM #

the recipe is in the cake bible.it's available for purchase in all book stores and also is in most libraries.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 16, 2007 10:18 PM #

I'd love to have the recipe for the Golden Butter Cream Cake. Can you post it??

Reply to this Posted by: sally | March 16, 2007 6:52 PM #

sounds like your oven is baking REALLY low and slow. cakes don't fall if they are baking at the right temperature or even at too high a temperature. either have a professional calibrate your oven or try a cake in someone elses just to prove to yourself that's what's happening.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 9, 2007 11:07 PM #

I need to know why my cakes always fall in the oven? Ive tried raising the temp. 5 or 10 degrees. It doesnt matter what kind of cake I bake. I just made an angel food(box)pineapple & it fell.The recipe has a mix,a can of p.apple & a teaspoon of vanilla. I rarely use a mix. Mine are all from scratch. & they all fall. It must be my oven but what??? HELP

Reply to this Posted by: Rosie Lewis | March 9, 2007 2:41 PM #

I need to know why my cakes

Reply to this Posted by: Rosie Lewis | March 9, 2007 2:36 PM #

well that's GREAT news--the roses are the most difficult achievement. whew!
now that's odd about the smaller cakes bc normally they would need more leavening not less. maybe they need to bake a little longer.
i like to use 3/4 cup sifted bleached all purpose and 2 tablespoons cornstarch for 1 cup of cake flour. but as you know, substitutions are never quite the same. try to find cake flour or order it from king arthur just one time as a cross check.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 7, 2007 9:26 PM #

Rose, I'm having a hard time finding cake flour. I use bleached all purpose flour (sifted and weighed) instead, do I need to make any other adjustments? i.e. adding cornstarch? My cakes taste good, but for the smaller layers, they fall in the middle about 5 minutes after I take them out of the oven. The larger cakes, 8" or larger are ok. The next time I make a smaller cake, I'm going to reduce the baking powder by 1/4 tsp, unless you have another suggestion? Thanks as always.

BTW, I tried the Chocolate Roses again and this time they came out beautifully. I think I kneaded the chocolate too long before trying to form into roses.

Reply to this Posted by: Wanda LaLoggia | March 7, 2007 9:19 PM #

i've found that when stored airtight so in a non-humid environment it can keep even for several years.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 4, 2007 10:50 PM #

Does Swans Down Cake flour have a shelf life?

Reply to this Posted by: Lorraine | March 4, 2007 10:11 PM #

i heard eli zabar's carries them.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | March 2, 2007 5:38 PM #

Are there any other stores in NYC, other than the Garden of Eden, that carry your Heavenly Cake Mixes? Thanks, Jennie Molinas

Reply to this Posted by: Jennie Molinas | March 2, 2007 3:32 PM #

night before is too hair raising should something go wrong. wrap it well and refrigerate it.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | February 27, 2007 12:24 PM #

I have to do an aniversary cake and want to know when do I start baking the cake the night before or can I do it earlier in the week and refrigerate until I need to frost? The cake is going to be 18,14,10 and 6.

Reply to this Posted by: Aminta Banks | February 27, 2007 12:11 PM #

rumford is calcium based not sodium based and so has a better flavor.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | February 19, 2007 11:38 PM #

Why do you prefer Rumford brand of baking powder? How is this different from other brands?

Reply to this Posted by: Jennie Molinas | February 19, 2007 10:45 PM #

I'm baking a chocolate cake and I was wondering what kind of syrup I should glaze over the top to make it extra moist. Thanks.

Reply to this Posted by: Tyler | February 3, 2007 8:18 PM #

i find the sourcream cake more dense and buttery.
you're right about the syrups--they help keep the center moister by preventing evapporation but don't actcually penetrate to the center unless it's a genoise or biscuit.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | December 14, 2006 10:56 AM #

Hello Rose. The Cake Bible has become just that for me in the kitchen. Thank you for such a well written comrehensive baking resource.

Will you guide me through a couple of issues dealing with pan sizes and the use of sugar syrups?

First, I am looking for a dense, buttery cake suitable to a sheet pan as well as for cupcakes, both regular and jumbo size. The All Occasion Downy Cake is delicious but a bit too light. I loved the denser buttery taste of the Golden Butter Cream Cake but don't know how to convert the recipe to the above lised pan sizes.

Second, will you offer some advice on the proper technique for use of sugar syrups? The cakes are quite moist and delicious right after baking, but seem to stale and lose moistness by the following day, even when wrapped airtight. Do bakeries bake and decorate every cake daily to prevent this? For me, I would love to use a sugar syrup to help moisture retention. I have tried brushing the top of the cake, poking holes with a skewer and brushing, using a syringe for soaking but the result is always the same; the 1/4" top of the cake is saturated and the rest is bone dry, even after waiting 24 hours for it to "seep in." Is it versatile enough to use on any butter cake, or do you recommend one in particular? Second, what is the proper technique for using one? i.e. temperature of the syrup versus the cake, proper amount of syrup for cupcakes versus sheet cakes, and any other factors you think pertinent.

Thank you again for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you soon.
Nicole

Reply to this Posted by: Anonymous | December 14, 2006 10:35 AM #

when i revised the book for mcmillan (UK) i discovered that harrods carries american cake flour. not sure if it still does. the book is no longer in print but check books for cooks and out of print book stores for a copy of the revised UK version as i did different combinations of plain flour and self raising and it worked well for almost all the cakes. there is no rule of thumb but i can tell you that plain flour will work for sponge cakes, génoise, etc. and any cake that uses butter in a solid (unmelted form) requires bleached cake flour (and the right amount of leavening--not self-raising).

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | May 18, 2006 12:18 PM #

Hello Again!

I was wondering if you knew of any flour here in the UK that would approximate US cake flour. I can't seem to find any, except in bulk form...which i don't have the storage room for! Otherwise, what could i use?

Thanks
Ruth

Reply to this Posted by: Ruth Bloch | May 18, 2006 11:49 AM #

I have good news for you. I always bring home flour when I travel to different countries and the only flour that has worked happens to be the Italian 00 flour. I suspect that by refined they must mean bleached.the 0 may work also but I haven't tried it.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | February 7, 2006 12:45 PM #

Hi Rose,

I don't know if the flour in Italy (0 or 00) is bleached or unbleached, but I can find flour that is around 7,5g protein per 100g. Does that "protect" me in any case, regardless of the bleached/non-bleached factor? Here (in Italy) they say 00 is more refined, 0 is less refined, and and whole wheat is even less refined. But is it bleached?

Thanks for any insight!
3LC

Reply to this Posted by: Three Layer Cake | February 5, 2006 12:51 PM #

Alison: when solid butter as opposed to melted butter is used in a layer cake it needs the roughened surface produced by the bleaching of the flour to hold it in suspension. when unbleached flour is used in this type of cake it rises normally and right at the end of baking sinks right in the middle. this is caused by the butter dropping out of suspension.

Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | November 20, 2005 5:28 PM #

I have always read that unbleached all purpose flour should be used over bleached all purpose flour. Why is this? And why do you prefer bleached for cake making?

Reply to this Posted by: Alison Carosone | November 16, 2005 7:42 PM #

Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

This scratch baking blog, featuring baker and cookbook author Rose Levy Beranbaum, is an online journal of Rose’s baking adventures, cooking tips, and scratch recipes. Her cookbooks include Bread Bible, Pie and Pastry Bible, Rose’s Christmas Cookies, Passion for Chocolate and The Cake Bible.

Why "Real" Baking

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