I love pastries but let’s face it, baking is a science, and I have never been good at science. Chef Keiko shares which cakes are great for amateur bakers using easy-to-find ingredients some of which you might already have in your pantry.
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Let’s start our cake baking journey with the ingredients. Here are the basics that chef Keiko recommends:
- Eggs (whites, yolk). As mentioned in the Measuring Ingredients lesson, never just count eggs. Egg sizes differ too much around the world. Therefore always measure the weight.
- Sugar. There’s (granulated) sugar and icing sugar. Always use the correct one. When a recipe calls for sugar, it always means granulated sugar.
- Flour. There are different kinds of flour. Always use all-purpose flour (in Germany: Weizenmehl Type 405) unless mentioned otherwise. Some recipes ask for bread flour. This is a flour with higher protein content. It’s for pastries that need more gluten to get the desired texture. Often used in yeast doughs.
- Milk. Use normal milk with 3-3.5% fat. Don’t use low-fat or skim milk for baking.
- Heavy Cream. Use heavy cream (whipping cream) with a fat percentage of 30-35%.
- Almond Powder. Made from finely-grained almonds. Another name for it is almond flour.
- Vanilla Sugar. It’s vanilla-flavored sugar. If you can’t find it, use a few drops of vanilla essence instead.
- Butter. Always use unsalted butter for baking.
Members find additional information about ingredients in the Baking Glossary.
So what are the best cakes for amateur bakers?
Muffins and cupcakes are a perfect start because there’s really nothing that could go wrong. Mix the ingredients well and in the right order and you will get a tasty result.
In the next post Chef Keiko will explain the difference between crumb and crust. Sign up below to make sure you don’t miss it.
Chef Keiko is a professional confectioner and pastry teacher. On her website Keikos-cake.com you can learn to bake like a pro.
The philosophy of Keikos-cake.com is to provide delicious, first-class recipes in a way that enables “normal” people, hobby bakers, and everyone interested in good food to make these cakes and desserts, as well. All recipes are presented with videos and step-by-step instructions in downloadable pdf files.
