How to make a cake

Pollyperkins - I was taught the basic cake recipe in oz by my mum, '4 - 4 - 4 and two eggs' and I have no idea what the metric equivalent is!

If you have a bakery local to you, of course

Why do you need to impress others and believe making a cake is the answer.? I am no Delia in the kitchen
so rely on my local bakery when wanting to' impress'. Must work as they still come back for more.

I made a Victoria Sponge, for the first time, the other day, and used a Mary Berry recipe. it was perfect though I say it myself!! Love MB - her recipes very reliable. Good luck!
We can't all be wrong re her recipes!!

I've never been very good at making cakes but I found this recipe and it never fails
www.saga.co.uk/magazine/food/recipes/baking/cakes/prue-leith-chocolate-fudge-cake
I use butter not Marge though and I don't use the icing suggested and instead make a very rich one of Nadyia's : melt a 100g bar of plain chocolate with 100g butter and leave until cool. Whisk until light & creamy then coat the cake. Deliciously tasty & rather sinful...!

paddyann are there any specialist sugarcraft shops in your neck of the woods? If so you could ring and ask them if they have anything like that, or a CRM cake topper or similar. We have one near here and if you like I would ring and ask them for you, just to get an idea.

Mary Berry, Delia Smith, Hairy Bikers (Mum knows Best) are all good. Until you get the hang of baking do ensure you follow the recipe very accurately. Read any introduction in the book you choose as sometimes there are notes about size of eggs to use, and other useful tips.

Try a "Hummingbird" Cake. You mix all the ingredients in a bowl and then you pour the batter into a mold and bake.

You can find very good recipes for this cake on line. Very easy to make and sure to impress your most discerning guests.

Don't recall quantities, but basic ingredients are flour, sugar, beaten eggs, vegetable oil, baking powder, salt, crushed pineapple, mashed banana, cinnamon and chopped roasted pecans (mix and bake)
Cake is topped with a luscious vanilla flavored cream cheese icing (powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract).

I left school nearly 50 years ago..so its still lbs and ounces here too.

I wonder if any of you who are bakers can help me out? I'm looking for icing moulds of Charles Rennie Mackintosh designs .My daughter will be 40 soon and wants a Mack design cake ,since I broke my wrist I cant do intricate icing so a mould would make it simpler ...its my thumb that doesn't work ,they missed the fracture on it so it never healed properly
Any advice about icing these designs would be very welcome if moulds aren't available .Thank you .

Some great tips here but can I add one more - if like me you store your eggs in the fridge (due to very small kitchen and lack of space), take the eggs out prior to cooking and allow them to reach room temperature. It definitely helps, and yes I still use lbs and ozs!

I can't believe you are a still using oz and lbs! Do none of you weigh in grams?. In a word, pollyperkins, no!☺️

Should say following in the last paragraph above

Also and very important is tp preheat the oven up first. Put the cooker on full for 5 minutes, then turn it down to its actual temputure for at least another 10 minutes.

Make sure your oven shelf is in the right place too. If a recipe isn't clear in which shelf is the right place, to bake it, Google it to see where that type of cake should be in the oven.

This is as equally important as flowing the recipe to a tee

If YOU CAN READ YOU CAN COOK/BAKE. DELIA SMITH'S BOOK "COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED COOKERY COURSE"- illustrated- is just the job .

Is this a trick question?
The kind of question that used to be asked in interviews (not for jobs in the food industry)

YouTube
You can see millions of step by step videos of every recipe under the sun.
If you follow the instructions, it cannot go wrong.
If you choose to follow a recipe in a book, it can't go wrong if you follow the method exactly and have your oven at the correct temperature when putting the cake in.
Alternatively, buy a good cake mix. Betty Crocker do a wonderful Devil's Food cake. Sandwich the two halves with vanilla buttercream and top with more of the same, then swirl it around with a knife for a nice effect and sprinkle some grated orange zest over the top.
I won a Surrey baking competition with that cake.

Learn how to disguise and cover up mistakes ! If a cake sinks, fill the centre with an impressive pile of soft fruits and cream .... if bland, cover in Nutella etc ... if it’s crumbly, smash it all up, mix with nuts etc and make some truffles ! I’ve done it all over the years to save face !! But have had lots of success too, practice makes perfect.

Peppermint If they are dry it could be that they are slightly overcooked. Either set the oven temp a bit lower or take the cake out of the over a bit sooner.

Bt diagonal tops, do you mean that they rise more in the middle, making a rounded top instead of a nice flat one ready for icing? That is because the sides rise and cook faster in the heat than the middle, pushing in the softer mixture left in the centre which then keeps rising and swells up higher than the edges. You can cure that by spreading more of the mixture at the sides than in in the middle - in the time it takes that extra to all push into the middle, the middle of the mix has had a chance to rise and firm up more so it resists. At least, that is my theory of how it happens.

Perhaps a simple (small) "traybake" recipe is worth trying? Easier than a Victoria sponge. And because it's cut into slices, it usually looks palatable when served!

Some very good advice here - thanks all!

It's more that they're dry or end up having a diagonal top JackyB

I shall take all your tips on board and resume my baking efforts. Who knows - next year you could see me on GBBO

Another Mary Berry fan here her all in one method cakes have never failed my mum swore by these recipes and I've used them for many years. My dd in her early 20s uses the same recipes and turns out yummy cakes everytime. Really fresh ingredients help with baking xx

I use a mix of both pollyperkins, but for some reason my cakes don’t come out so well in grams !. I was taught metric and imperial at school, being there when it was switching over, so I suppose I’m bilingual

Personally I find using a cake mix works well! especially Betty Crocker..

I follow a very simple recipe my Gran used and it gives a lovely light sponge cake. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 Take three large free range eggs and weigh them in their shells. Make a note of the weight then weigh the same amount in self raising flour, caster sugar and margarine. Add all ingredients into a bowl together and beat until smooth and blended. Turn into two cake tins that have been greased and lined and bake until a cocktail stick can be pushed into the cake and come out clean. I usually use 2 x 18cm/7in cake tins Leave to cool in tins then turn out on to a cooling tray. Sandwich together with the filling of your choice and enjoy!

I can't believe you are a still using oz and lbs! Do none of you weigh in grams? I used to use imperial measures of course but times have moved on and metric has been taught in schools for over 40 years.