Guide for Making Chocolate Cake
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Delicious and simple, making a chocolate cake can give you new or renewed confidence in the kitchen. Let's go through the steps for baking a cake.
The first step is to grease the pan you're going to use to bake your cake. You've got lots of options for the baking pan you use: round pans, rectangular pans, Bundt pans. Grease the entire pan with, for example, vegetable shortening. You can use a paper towel (folded) or a dedicated paint brush or pastry brush. Add about a teaspoon of flour to the bottom of the pan and shake the pan around carefully to spread the flour out along the bottom of the pan. To flour the sides, tilt the pan and tap it with your hand to get the flour moving. Now turn and continue to tap the flour to the next side. When you're done, tap the leftover flour out of the pan. Prep all your ingredients beforehand. If the recipe asks for melted chocolate, get your chocolate melted in a double-boiler or microwave. Have your wet and dry ingredients measured precisely and ready to go. |
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Start by mixing/whisking the dry ingredients you have prepared, including the flour, with a wire whisk.
Hopefully you have already let your butter soften to room temperature. Once that is done, you'll want to beat the butter in a stand mixer or electric beater until it is creamy. If you are using a stand mixer, add your sugar gradually. If you are using an electric beater, add a bit of sugar and mix fully, then add a bit more sugar, mix that fully, etc.
Now it's time to add the eggs. Add each egg individually to the mixture of butter and sugar and mix until it is fully incorporated, then add the next egg.
It's time to add the melted chocolate to the mixture of eggs, sugar, and butter you've been working on. Keep mixing the chocolate in until it is totally integrated. Now you're going to add your dry ingredient/flour mix and milk to the growing concoction. Add a bit of the dry ingredient mix, then milk, then dry ingredient mix, etc, as you mix everything together. Make sure your entire mixture is really smooth. You have your batter now.
Add the batter to the pan you want (or that the recipe calls for). Use a spoon or spatula to get the batter into the pan. Lightly tap the pan against your counter to help eliminate bubbles. Smooth the top of the batter in the pan with your spatula.
Carefully follow whatever directions your recipe gives for temperature and baking time. Preheat the oven fully and insert the pan which has your nicely prepared batter in it. When baking is complete, take the pan out and place somewhere to cool, preferably on a wire rack. Let it cool for at least ten minutes.
Now you can apply the frosting or topping of your choice, whether it be buttercream, cream cheese based, or simply whipped cream. Don't add your frosting until the cake has cooled.
Now go and enjoy your chocolate cake and all the smiles it brings to the people you share it with.
Hopefully you have already let your butter soften to room temperature. Once that is done, you'll want to beat the butter in a stand mixer or electric beater until it is creamy. If you are using a stand mixer, add your sugar gradually. If you are using an electric beater, add a bit of sugar and mix fully, then add a bit more sugar, mix that fully, etc.
Now it's time to add the eggs. Add each egg individually to the mixture of butter and sugar and mix until it is fully incorporated, then add the next egg.
It's time to add the melted chocolate to the mixture of eggs, sugar, and butter you've been working on. Keep mixing the chocolate in until it is totally integrated. Now you're going to add your dry ingredient/flour mix and milk to the growing concoction. Add a bit of the dry ingredient mix, then milk, then dry ingredient mix, etc, as you mix everything together. Make sure your entire mixture is really smooth. You have your batter now.
Add the batter to the pan you want (or that the recipe calls for). Use a spoon or spatula to get the batter into the pan. Lightly tap the pan against your counter to help eliminate bubbles. Smooth the top of the batter in the pan with your spatula.
Carefully follow whatever directions your recipe gives for temperature and baking time. Preheat the oven fully and insert the pan which has your nicely prepared batter in it. When baking is complete, take the pan out and place somewhere to cool, preferably on a wire rack. Let it cool for at least ten minutes.
Now you can apply the frosting or topping of your choice, whether it be buttercream, cream cheese based, or simply whipped cream. Don't add your frosting until the cake has cooled.
Now go and enjoy your chocolate cake and all the smiles it brings to the people you share it with.