SHOPPING & COOKING GUIDES

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Cake Baking Guide

How to make a delicious, healthy cake from scratch.

Let Them Bake Cake

Whatever the occasion, everybody loves cake. If you’re searching for more substance than store-bought mixes, why not make a delicious, healthy cake from scratch? Here are some tips to make you a cake-baking master:

Eggs

• To bring cold eggs to room temperature quickly, place in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes; they will beat to a greater volume.

• To separate eggs safely, use an egg separator, an inexpensive gadget found in cookware stores; separating eggs the traditional way, by passing the yolk back and forth between pieces of eggshell or your hands, can expose eggs to bacteria.

Flour

• Whole-wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat. It contains less gluten than regular whole-wheat flour and helps ensure a tender result in delicate baked goods while providing the nutritional benefits of whole grains. Store in the freezer.

Buttermilk

• You can use buttermilk powder in place of fresh buttermilk. Or make "sour milk": mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.

Measuring

• Dry ingredients: As in all baking, careful measuring is critical to the success of a recipe. To measure flour, first stir it in the canister to lighten it. Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup until heaping, then level off with the straight edge of a knife. Do not pack or tap.

• Liquid ingredients: Place a clear measuring cup on a level surface. Pour in the liquid, then verify the measure by looking at it from eye level, not above.

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