Who are the cake makers?  In years past they were the mothers and grannies with all the traditional recipes of the area or country where they lived or grew up.  Recipes were written down in longhand and passed from mother to daughter.  Changes to recipes, additional ingredients, modifications of measurements were also recorded.   Some of these books from centuries past give fascinating information about how the people of the time baked and cooked and the ingredients that were available to them.  Some of these books are now on display in museums worldwide as examples of the folk history of the country.

Nowadays, we have hundreds of different cookery books on offer so we can source recipes from any country in the world.  We have TV chefs who display advice and tips on every aspect of cake making.  We can buy every accoutrement that we need for decorations and for making the cakes.  We have ovens with the highest spec’ temperature gauges so we don’t have to rely on guess work.  We have access to thousands of ingredients and can afford to try different recipes and to adapt others in our efforts to get something new. Cake makers vary in what they like to make, some people make excellent fruit cakes yet they are lost when it comes to sponges, others love to make mini cakes or party cakes and spend hours doing just that.  Wedding cakes may be a speciality of certain bakers with their wonderful decorations whatever it is you like to do there are recipes that will suit your taste.

Pat a cake, Pat a cake, Bakers man

Bake me a cake as fast as you can,

Prick it and pat it and mark it with T

And put it in the oven for Tommy and me.

The old children’s rhyme above refers to ‘baker’s man’ and it seems that traditionally bakers were men it is also apparent in the children’s card game ‘Happy Families’ where we find Mr Bun the baker.

Like the baker in the rhyme there are some who make cake making a way of life, they design and make cakes to every specification using many coloured fondant icings to create wonderful scenes on the cakes. A Patissier is a French pastry chef who is mainly responsible for desserts and baking in a restaurant or bistro and you will find a patisserie in every French town with their sublime selection of cakes, tarts and breads made to the highest possible standards of baking.

Here are eight rules that ensure cake making is a simple and successful process;

1. Cream the shortening/butter or margarine. Soften it in a bowl using a wooden spoon and don’t be tempted to heat it as even melting it a little would make the cake heavy and greasy. Ideally butter should be at room temperature before baking starts.

2. For lightness and a good texture, add the sugar in stages beating well each time. The fat and sugar should be light and fluffy when you have finished.

3. Add the eggs. The eggs may be beaten before adding, but add them one at a time. If the cake calls for stiffly beaten egg whites then only add the yolks at this stage and add the whites at a later stage. Break each egg into a dish or saucer to check that it is fresh before adding it to the mixture. Ensure the eggs are at room temperature before starting to bake.

4. Add the sifted dry ingredients flour, baking powder, spices, salt etc in stages, adding a little milk after each addition. Fold in these rather than beating them in or you will end up with a tough cake.

5. Add the egg whites very gently so as not to knock the air out of them. Use a metal tablespoon and cut through the centre of the mixture and gently turn it over, making sure all of it is completely combined into the final mix.

6. Grease the baking tins, preferably using butter. Only fill the tins 2/3 full.

7. Put the cake in the oven gently and do not slam the door or the cake will not rise. Make sure the cake is completely cooked before removing it from the oven. Gently press the top of the cake if it springs back up it is cooked. Use a skewer or toothpick gently inserted into the cake if it comes out clean it is ready.

8. After taking the cake out of the oven, leave it in the tin for a couple of minutes before turning it onto a wire cooling rack. When it is completely cold, wrap in tin foil or greaseproof paper and put into a tin to keep fresh.

These are the very basics of good cake making and should be adhered to ensuring that you create wonderful cakes successfully every time. Cake makers of the world rejoice that you have everything you need to create the perfect cake.