Cakes make a special treat for every kind of celebration. Delicious,
attractive and easy to make and bring a smile they are available in
various shapes and sizes. If you don't have much time but want to make
an easy and delicious cake recipe, you need to look for certain
ingredients in your house at first. They are flour, baking soda, sugar,
bananas or eggs, butter or vegetable oil and some additions or
flavoring. With these basic ingredients, you can prepare a cake recipe
very easily.
Flour
Flour helps build the structure of a cake. Two of the most widely used kinds of flour in making a cake are whole wheat flour and white flour. White flour is the powdered substance made of inner part of the wheat berry. It is not as fibrous or nutritious as whole wheat flour that is made of hard wheat and is rich in gluten. It is your individual choice that will decide which type will be used in cake recipes. It is always a better idea to use wheat flour and white flour in half-half basis to increase the nutritional value of a cake. For people who can't take gluten, there are many more alternative options for wheat flours like rice, tapioca flour and Chickpea.
Sugar or liquid sweetener
Sugar not only makes cakes sweet but also retains moisture in the cake when it gets baked. White granular sugar is commonly used in cakes. If you have it in your kitchen, then you could make cake recipes without the need of any other kind of sweetener. You can also use part white powdered sugar, brown sugar, honey or agave nectar in a combination instead of using white sugar only.
If you are keen on using a liquid sweetener, then you will have to balance the amount of other ingredients like flour, water and maintain the thickness of the mixture.
Baking Soda/Baking powder
Baking powder or baking soda can be used to make the cake swell and become soft. If you are using baking soda, then a little amount of salt should be added to the cake recipe.
Banana, eggs, and flaxseed can serve as leavening for the cake and give it a light weight and tender touch if they are used in combination with baking soda. They also bind together other ingredients in use.
Liquid
Liquid like plain water, soy milk or milk should be used for keeping the moisture and giving the flavor to a cake after being baked. They also add to the softness of the cake once it's cooked.
In cake recipes you can soy milk or dairy milk interchangeably, but not water in place of milk. They differ in viscosity, and using water may make a thinner batter than required.
Butter or vegetable oil
Butter or vegetable oil is used to keep the cake moist and tender.
If there is margarine or butter in your freezer, or you have vegetable oil in your store cupboard, you don't any other fat items to make a cake.
If you need a low calorie substitute for fat, then applesauce can be used in the cake recipe in order to make it moist.
Flavorings and additions
Common flavors like lemon extract, almond extract or vanilla extract can be used in a little amount to give your cake recipe a wonderful touch. You can also use any other special addition or flavorings like orange, banana, chocolate or mint to make a brilliant recipe.
Flour
Flour helps build the structure of a cake. Two of the most widely used kinds of flour in making a cake are whole wheat flour and white flour. White flour is the powdered substance made of inner part of the wheat berry. It is not as fibrous or nutritious as whole wheat flour that is made of hard wheat and is rich in gluten. It is your individual choice that will decide which type will be used in cake recipes. It is always a better idea to use wheat flour and white flour in half-half basis to increase the nutritional value of a cake. For people who can't take gluten, there are many more alternative options for wheat flours like rice, tapioca flour and Chickpea.
Sugar or liquid sweetener
Sugar not only makes cakes sweet but also retains moisture in the cake when it gets baked. White granular sugar is commonly used in cakes. If you have it in your kitchen, then you could make cake recipes without the need of any other kind of sweetener. You can also use part white powdered sugar, brown sugar, honey or agave nectar in a combination instead of using white sugar only.
If you are keen on using a liquid sweetener, then you will have to balance the amount of other ingredients like flour, water and maintain the thickness of the mixture.
Baking Soda/Baking powder
Baking powder or baking soda can be used to make the cake swell and become soft. If you are using baking soda, then a little amount of salt should be added to the cake recipe.
Banana, eggs, and flaxseed can serve as leavening for the cake and give it a light weight and tender touch if they are used in combination with baking soda. They also bind together other ingredients in use.
Liquid
Liquid like plain water, soy milk or milk should be used for keeping the moisture and giving the flavor to a cake after being baked. They also add to the softness of the cake once it's cooked.
In cake recipes you can soy milk or dairy milk interchangeably, but not water in place of milk. They differ in viscosity, and using water may make a thinner batter than required.
Butter or vegetable oil
Butter or vegetable oil is used to keep the cake moist and tender.
If there is margarine or butter in your freezer, or you have vegetable oil in your store cupboard, you don't any other fat items to make a cake.
If you need a low calorie substitute for fat, then applesauce can be used in the cake recipe in order to make it moist.
Flavorings and additions
Common flavors like lemon extract, almond extract or vanilla extract can be used in a little amount to give your cake recipe a wonderful touch. You can also use any other special addition or flavorings like orange, banana, chocolate or mint to make a brilliant recipe.
