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Bare Bone Baking Essentials for Cake Baking
Years ago, when I had a cooking school, one of my colleagues who took my classes said that she had to question her commitment to baking because when she returned to Japan she didn’t have room in her small apartment for all the equipment that seemed necessary.
More recently, Nicole Martella who works at William Morrow, publishing home of The Cake Bible, expressed the same sentiment. So I decided to list the absolute essentials for baking most cakes. And there really aren’t many nor do they take up a lot of space.
Those of you familiar with this blog and my work know how devoted I am to weighing. And a scale takes up about the same space as the alternative of measuring cups for solid and liquid ingredients.
I didn’t list things like wooden toothpicks for cake testing and parchment to line cake pans which I consider to be staples.
A hand held mixer
A scale (preferably My Weigh: Model number KD7000 www.myweigh.com) or
A set of measuring cups (preferably pourfect www.pourfectbowl.com)
A cup for measuring liquids (preferably pourfect beaker)
A set of measuring spoons (preferably pourfect)
A sifter or strainer
A 9 inch by 2 inch cake pan (preferably Chicago Metallic www.chicagometallic-bakeware.com)
A 10 cup fluted tube pan (preferably Nordicware) www.nordicware.com
Two wire cooling racks, preferably Combrichon
An instant read thermometer such as a Thermapen or CDN
A silicone spatula reserved for baking
A reliable recipe
A baking spray containing flour, preferably Baker’s Joy
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Comments
What a beautifully organized kitchen Hector! And I am drooling at your gleaming knives :)
Reply to this Posted by: Shimi | March 10, 2009 10:33 PM #
thanks u all, and a couple of years down the road when I am more far in with my mortgage, I can start thinking of marble countertops and cabinet resurfacing!
for now, just a lot of patience and repositioning things around as my new kitchen gets itself in place as I restart baking!
Reply to this Posted by: hector | March 9, 2009 2:31 AM #
Impressive Hector! I'm a sucker for organized storage, and I LOVE magnet strips!
Reply to this Posted by: Patrincia | March 6, 2009 5:42 AM #
I love the way you have efficiently organized your kitchen space.
Reply to this Posted by: Rozanne | March 5, 2009 11:10 PM #
my 350 sq ft essential baking kitchen. enjoy,
http://www.hectorwong.com/roselevy/NewKitchenCommanded.html
Reply to this Posted by: hector | March 5, 2009 8:49 PM #
you could use 1 1/3 cups bleached all purpose flour.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | February 22, 2009 9:46 PM #
i have a recipe for cupcakes that calle for 1 1/2 cups cake flour. whats a substitution i can use.
Reply to this Posted by: Jeanean Ashe | February 22, 2009 5:38 PM #
thank you debra. i'll bet you found that information in the cake bible but if not, they got it from the cake bible!!!
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | October 30, 2008 9:20 AM #
Looking to learn how to bake I found this info for you.
All-purpose flour is versatile, well suited for a variety of recipes. We like it in classic cupcakes, pound cakes and chocolate cakes. Cake flour is more delicate and essential for tender cakes. All-purpose flour and cake flour do not perform the same. If you use all-purpose flour for a recipe that calls for cake flour, your cake will be dense and tough. If you can't find cake flour, use this substitution:
1 cup cake flour (3 3/4 ounce) = 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (3 3/8 ounces), plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch (5/8 ounces)
Reply to this Posted by: Debra | October 30, 2008 9:09 AM #
Joe, if a cake is falling then it doesn't have enough structure. This could be for a number of reasons, such as undermixing, too cool oven, too much baking powder, too many heavy ingredients, etc.
As for the flour, if you search this site for "Kate Flour", you will find information on creating your own cake flour for people who live in countries where it is not available. Often, with butter cakes, using AP instead of cake flour will cause the butter to "slide off" the flour particles and pool next the bottom.
In general, sponge-type recipes (genoise) work with flours other than cake flour, but butter cakes do not.
Good luck!
Reply to this Posted by: Julie | October 10, 2008 5:20 PM #
TO WHOMEVER OUT THERE GETS THIS MESSAGE!!!
Please HELP!!
I have a problem with baking cakes that I don't know how to correct. I am guy living on a isolated ranch. And I would really appreciate some help with this problem,.
Where I am located (southern Argentina) it is almost impossible to get cake flour.
I have to use all purpose flour. My cakes keep falling in the center just shortly before they are finished baking>
How do I fix this problem?
I will greatly appreciate any help & advise I receive.
Thanks,
Joe
steelhammer1@yahoo.com
Reply to this Posted by: joe steelhammer | October 9, 2008 8:23 PM #
jennifer a basket is a great idea. as for the tube pan--wait until you see all the great cakes baked in it in the upcoming book! i love that it self-decorates (the fluted tube pan variety) so no buttercream is necessary. of course it has to be the right type of cake--one moist enough to stand on its own.
Reply to this Posted by: Anonymous | September 30, 2008 4:38 PM #
that's a good list, rose, but how to keep it in a small space? FYI i would rather ditch the tube pan and add another 9 incher, but that's just me...
all those things take up space because they are so annoyingly bulky in the drawers. the pans won't nest, the ends of the cups stick up and so on. am i the only one who has pulled open a kitchen drawer and bent the heck out of a measuring cup that got stuck or cowered below a cabinet as cake pains rained down on my head? lol
can i add to the list by suggesting a 10 inch basket? The cake pans will fit in on their sides, facing each other and the rest can snuggle in between. The entire thing can be stuck at the top of the hall closet, above the fridge, the linen closer or even in the oven, as long as its' not forgotten (and if they've read the soap story they won't), and then your baker has everything at hand when she's ready to go.
Reply to this Posted by: jennifer | September 22, 2008 1:52 AM #
Here's another idea: measure the volume of the regular pan that the recipe is designed for (by pouring water into it to the top.) Do the same for the smaller pan. Take the volume of the small pan and divide it by the volume of the large pan. Round up to some convenient fraction like 1/3 (33%), 1/2 (50%) 2/3 (67%) 3/4 (75%). Use that to adjust the amounts in the recipe. Have some extra muffin pans standing by for any extra batter.
Reply to this Posted by: Barbara | September 6, 2008 3:48 PM #
SG- I think the rule of thumb is to fill cake pans half to 2/3 full. Sometimes I fill cupcake pans more full than that, around 3/4, but then I want the batter to overflow slightly and peak in the center.
Good Luck!
Reply to this Posted by: Julie | September 6, 2008 8:20 AM #
Here I am again with my once a year baking extravaganza! I bake things for our church's fund raiser.
I am now trying to convert full size cake recipes to mini cakes. Is there a rule of thumb to know how much to fill a smaller cake pan? For instance I have some that when filled with water hold 1.5, 2 or 3 cups.
I've already experimented and made a mess on a cookie sheet I had very fortunately placed under the pans. I would prefer not to do that again!
Thank you for your help.
Reply to this Posted by: Sister Gloriamarie | September 5, 2008 12:19 PM #
Thank you Rose! I will surely go there and check. I´m looking forward to it. DO they also have other baking things, like decorations and coloring gels etc?
Reply to this Posted by: sofia | September 3, 2008 4:35 PM #
broadway panhandler besns great selection and always nice to chect prices, williams sonoma--several locatiok out the bridge co.
Reply to this Posted by: Rose Levy Beranbaum | September 3, 2008 4:28 PM #
I really enjoy all the bibles, but since I live in Sweden it can sometimes be hard to find all the equipment and ingredients. If not hard, then very expensive. Now, I will be going to N.Y.C in just a few weeks, and if anyone has any suggestions on a good store to go shopping for baking-stuff, I would very much appreciate it!
Reply to this Posted by: Sofia | September 3, 2008 3:37 PM #
Speaking of equipment, I am looking to expand my cake plate collection. After all, presentation is part of the fun! The 'Cake Bible' photos feature some beautiful cake plates and some of them appear to be mostly flat which I think is a nice look and it makes for easy decorating (the black plate under the Art Deco Cake is gorgeous). I would love to find some perfectly flat plates but have been unsuccessful in finding them: suggestions welcome.
Reply to this Posted by: Joi | September 1, 2008 5:55 PM #
I've been using the My Weigh 7001 DX. How does it compare with the KD 7000? I'm just curious?
Reply to this Posted by: Will | August 25, 2008 7:05 PM #
Thanks to your "Bibles", Rose, I'm glad to see I have all the basics covered.
I must admit I do love shopping for baking equipment, and enjoy it way more than shopping for anything else. Like clothes. Ugh!
I have a terrific shop where I happily lose myself among pans, gadgets, and utensils. I think the staff are amused when I reemerge an hour later, somewhat disheveled and glassy-eyed, clutching a spatula or tart pan and grinning like I found lost treasure.
Learning to use and having good equipment has made the process of learning to bake that much more fun. :)
Reply to this Posted by: SarahM | August 25, 2008 12:41 PM #
I was just thinking along these lines last week, when visiting a friend's apartment in the city (they use their oven to store sweaters, hee hee).
I love this list, it reminds me to prioritize the quality of the things I use most, even though I have a little more storage space now that I no longer live in the city.
As for scales, I fell in love with the sleek lines of the My Weigh Uber, and it has been great- long live cooking by grams!
Reply to this Posted by: Julie | August 25, 2008 5:59 AM #
I've been using a Salter 6055 for a few years... love it!
Reply to this Posted by: Patrincia | August 24, 2008 12:40 PM #
Does anyone have any experience with Salter scales?
Reply to this Posted by: Beth | August 23, 2008 10:14 PM #
"A reliable recipe" -- so true! And thank you for providing us with good ones!
Reply to this Posted by: Barbara | August 23, 2008 9:18 PM #