Quick Cake Questions & Answers
Hi Cakers,
Michael here, with some answers to the "baking strips, heating cores, & flower nails" questions on our blog after watching the video clip in the "Sneak Peek Chapter."
Latonya asks... I have had problems getting the baking strips to stay up around the pan after wetting them. They always want to slide down no matter how tight I try to pin them. Any suggestions?
A) You could try wrapping the baking strips around the pan before wetting them. Once the pan is wrapped, immerse it in water to completely soak the strip (you may need to hang on to the strip to keep it from slipping off). The strip will swell slightly with water and make for a tighter fit.
Remember to dry your pan well before greasing and flouring!
---------------
Deb asks... If I try the core idea, how high do you need to fill it and will it create a sinkage in the middle of the cake? Can you use this with a rectangular cake as well?
A) You would fill the heating core with enough batter to match the level of the cake batter.
When your cake is done and you remove the heating core, you will have a hole in your cake which you'll 'plug' with the piece of cake from inside the heating core.
As for rectangular cakes, the magic number is 10 inches. If your smallest diameter is more than ten inches, regardless of the shape of the cake, a heating core will help to evenly distribute the heat. A standard 9" X 13" sheet cake does not need a heating core.
--------------------
Pamela asks... Couldn't make out the remark about using water with them.
A) The 'water' instructions refer to the fact that baking strips need to be wet to work. One side of the strips is an aluminum material, the other is an absorbent band which needs to be completely wet to cool the sides of the pan while the cake bakes.
--------------------
Just Ducky asks... I never baked without the strips. BUT is there a way to use them or a trick for doing something else whith specialty pans. I use the open book shape and t-shirt pan quite a bit.
A) Baking strips really don't work very well with odd-shaped pans. It would be difficult to fit them properly to the odd-angled sides of specialty pans and keep them from slipping off. (But, you could always try!)
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Susan asks... I was wondering if you are going to have any glutin free cake recipes in your new book. I have celiac disease and on a glutin free diet and I'm finding it hard to find recipes that taste good. My father has Celiac Disease as well and I would love to surprise him with a cake he can eat on my parents 50th wedding anniversary at the end of March.
A) Yes! The new books contain recipes for several allergy-sensitive and restricted diets. There will be recipes for dairy-free, gluten-free, and diabetic-friendly cakes, fillings and icings. We want everyone to be able to have their cake and eat it too!
(P.S. Susan, I emailed a recipe for a gluten-free version of the Butter Cake in Sam's ebook for your parents' 50th, did you get it?)
------------------
Gizzema asks... ...not too sure how the wet towel idea would work though? would it not burn?
A) Real live baking strips, aluminum material on one side and an absorbant band on the other, are the ideal choice, of course, but in a pinch, a wet clean thick cotton towel (emphasis on the 'wet'), will work just as well. It won't be in the oven long enough to totally dry out or even think about burning.
-----------------
Anonymous said... The middle of my cakes get done but the outsides still seem to get a little crispy. Will the flower nail or heating core still help me even if the middle of my cakes are getting done?
A) The heating core or flower nail will help to evenly bake your cake if the diameter of your pan is 10 inches or more. Smaller cakes don't need help to heat their middles. As for crisp or burnt edges, you could try the following tips as outlined in one of Samantha's recent articles.
Sam writes ...
Why do cakes sometimes burn around the outside edges?
If your oven is too hot, or heats unevenly, edges can get burned. Also, make sure you prepare the cake pan by polishing it liberally with solid vegetable shortening.
Never use butter, margarine or a liquid based vegetable oil as those can cause the edges of your cake to crisp and burn.
Oils and butters can also cause your cake to stick to the pan.
I know folks that put a small pan of water (1/4 cup) on the bottom rack below the cake rack while baking. (Some people like it, some don't. I've done it and it worked for me!)
Cakes with crisp or burnt edges are key candidates for baking strips! Try them, you'll like the results!
--------------------
More soon!
- Michael
Michael here, with some answers to the "baking strips, heating cores, & flower nails" questions on our blog after watching the video clip in the "Sneak Peek Chapter."
Latonya asks... I have had problems getting the baking strips to stay up around the pan after wetting them. They always want to slide down no matter how tight I try to pin them. Any suggestions?
A) You could try wrapping the baking strips around the pan before wetting them. Once the pan is wrapped, immerse it in water to completely soak the strip (you may need to hang on to the strip to keep it from slipping off). The strip will swell slightly with water and make for a tighter fit.
Remember to dry your pan well before greasing and flouring!
---------------
Deb asks... If I try the core idea, how high do you need to fill it and will it create a sinkage in the middle of the cake? Can you use this with a rectangular cake as well?
A) You would fill the heating core with enough batter to match the level of the cake batter.
When your cake is done and you remove the heating core, you will have a hole in your cake which you'll 'plug' with the piece of cake from inside the heating core.
As for rectangular cakes, the magic number is 10 inches. If your smallest diameter is more than ten inches, regardless of the shape of the cake, a heating core will help to evenly distribute the heat. A standard 9" X 13" sheet cake does not need a heating core.
--------------------
Pamela asks... Couldn't make out the remark about using water with them.
A) The 'water' instructions refer to the fact that baking strips need to be wet to work. One side of the strips is an aluminum material, the other is an absorbent band which needs to be completely wet to cool the sides of the pan while the cake bakes.
--------------------
Just Ducky asks... I never baked without the strips. BUT is there a way to use them or a trick for doing something else whith specialty pans. I use the open book shape and t-shirt pan quite a bit.
A) Baking strips really don't work very well with odd-shaped pans. It would be difficult to fit them properly to the odd-angled sides of specialty pans and keep them from slipping off. (But, you could always try!)
-------------------
Susan asks... I was wondering if you are going to have any glutin free cake recipes in your new book. I have celiac disease and on a glutin free diet and I'm finding it hard to find recipes that taste good. My father has Celiac Disease as well and I would love to surprise him with a cake he can eat on my parents 50th wedding anniversary at the end of March.
A) Yes! The new books contain recipes for several allergy-sensitive and restricted diets. There will be recipes for dairy-free, gluten-free, and diabetic-friendly cakes, fillings and icings. We want everyone to be able to have their cake and eat it too!
(P.S. Susan, I emailed a recipe for a gluten-free version of the Butter Cake in Sam's ebook for your parents' 50th, did you get it?)
------------------
Gizzema asks... ...not too sure how the wet towel idea would work though? would it not burn?
A) Real live baking strips, aluminum material on one side and an absorbant band on the other, are the ideal choice, of course, but in a pinch, a wet clean thick cotton towel (emphasis on the 'wet'), will work just as well. It won't be in the oven long enough to totally dry out or even think about burning.
-----------------
Anonymous said... The middle of my cakes get done but the outsides still seem to get a little crispy. Will the flower nail or heating core still help me even if the middle of my cakes are getting done?
A) The heating core or flower nail will help to evenly bake your cake if the diameter of your pan is 10 inches or more. Smaller cakes don't need help to heat their middles. As for crisp or burnt edges, you could try the following tips as outlined in one of Samantha's recent articles.
Sam writes ...
Why do cakes sometimes burn around the outside edges?
If your oven is too hot, or heats unevenly, edges can get burned. Also, make sure you prepare the cake pan by polishing it liberally with solid vegetable shortening.
Never use butter, margarine or a liquid based vegetable oil as those can cause the edges of your cake to crisp and burn.
Oils and butters can also cause your cake to stick to the pan.
I know folks that put a small pan of water (1/4 cup) on the bottom rack below the cake rack while baking. (Some people like it, some don't. I've done it and it worked for me!)
Cakes with crisp or burnt edges are key candidates for baking strips! Try them, you'll like the results!
--------------------
More soon!
- Michael
posted by Michael at 6:14 PM
17 Comments:
Great idea Dianne!
Thanks for posting,
Michael
Thank you Dianne for the tip to try with the Character pans.
Michael would the flower nail trick also work somewhat to even the cake out. - With these pans it is almost always a given that I have to trim off a large area of the middle to get it flat when I turn the cake out.
** do you put the flower nail in first then pour the batter around? or do you insert it into the pan after the batter is in?
Thanks everyone for your help.
I'll let you know what happens after I try the suggestions.
Hey Just Ducky, thanks for posting...
Using a flower nail might help your cake to evenly bake but for any cakes under 10" in diameter, you would need to reduce the baking time as the extra 'heat conductor' will speed up the baking process.
The most effective way of levelling off that big bump that likes to form on cakes is to use the baking strips. They do the best job of regulating the distribution of heat so that the whole cake bakes at the same temperature in the same amount of time.
Happy Baking!
Michael
What makes my buttercream icing get hard and breal when I touch it?
For larger sheet cakes I use the flower nail trick and to prevent burnt edges, I cover the corners of the cake pan with a bit of aluminum foil, this seems to work for me. Also try cooking at a lower heat for a longer period of time. :)
I was in a baking/kitchen supply store yesterday and asked if he had any baking strips.
He said he doesn't sell them but suggested putting a pizza stone in the oven when baking to distribute the heat evenly throughout the oven.
Any ideas about this???
I love your site! Question: would the flower nail work as well as the heating core in larger cakes (14")?? Or am I just asking for trouble!
HJ
Flower nails work as well as heating cores in cakes with a diameter between 10 and 14 inches.
For cakes larger than 14 inches, use either the heating core or a series of three flower nails placed in the pan to form a triangle around the center of the pan with each nail sitting about halfway between the center and the side(s) of the pan.
I signed up for volume 1 and 2. I love the preview videos where I learned a lot already by watching. The complete version will shortly teach me. I am EXCITED now! I can not wait!!!
Hi I am De. I would like to know what can you do for the buttercream icing to stop the cracking once it set for couple hours. Especially on full sheet or 1/2 sheet cakes. Open for suggestion.
thia is actualy more of a question,see im going to make a cake for my nephews first birthday and i wanted to know if you knew how to make that thick layer of froting that they spread over the cake and then mold? if anyone has an answer please email me back at dotsygirl7@yahoo.com
Hi,
I just received the recipe for the Pure White Icing.
Is the 20-minute beating correct? I was not surprised, but I thought I better check before I try it.
Thank you
hi sam,
i want to know how to mix how to fondant very because my fondant use be melting after covering it with cake. please let me know the why? and how do flowers with fondant icing.
tinuke
GG is asking "What is a flower nail and why do you use it?
Do you have any ideas on how to dress up the tasty but plain-looking bunt cake?
Looking for recipes that don't include dairy.
Also would like to know the difference between "cake flour" and "regular flour" can these two be interchanged?
Really looking for some help.
Thanx much appreciated
I am having a difficult time with the frosting consistancy for roses....they turn to smush ....anyone have the exact recipe for rose flowers frosting?
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