Homemade Cake Recipes
Does an empty store cupboard prevent you from trying out homemade cake recipes? Is there nothing in your store cupboard but an old bottle of ketchup and some salt? Or maybe you have the basics but always seem to lack one important ingredient. Don’t let an empty store-cupboard prevent you from becoming a kitchen goddess. On this page we tell you the basic ingredients you need to perfect your homemade caking baking skills.
Homemade cake recipes and Ingredients
You don’t have to spend a lot on basic cake ingredients and it’s not essential to stick to the absolute letter of the recipe when it comes to brands or high grade ingredients. Most of the time, for example, supermarket brand dark chocolate works just as well as the expensive type.
You can get all the ingredients you need from supermarkets but you can also stock up from the shops found in many high streets where you weigh out your own products from a barrel. Not only are these cheaper, but the staff there can usually speak with knowledge about their products and you can cut down on waste by buying more precise quantities. If you want high fibre ingredients, health food shops have a good range of products.
Here then is a list of the non-perishable products you need for homemade cake recipes:
Flour (both plain and self raising).
Sugar. Homemade cake recipes often ask for caster sugar (in the US called superfine sugar). Caster sugar is finer than granulated sugar but you can use the latter without any noticeable difference.
Baking powder. This is a dry chemical raising agent which works by releasing carbon dioxide into the batter, causing bubbles to expand. You can’t make a homemade cake without baking powder.
Vanilla Essence (or extract). Vanilla is the most widely used flavouring in confectionery. The extract is a pure substance directly removed from the vanilla bean while essence is a synthetic substitute. Essence is stronger than extract.
Plain chocolate/Cocoa powder to use for cake batter. Milk chocolate does not melt well but can be used as chocolate chips.
Dried fruit. Raisins, currants, sultanas and dates are used in rich fruit cakes and are often added as a complementary ingredient to others like banana bread or carrot cake.
Icing sugar. Needed for fillings and icing, or to sprinkle over the top of cakes.
Spices. You should have some cinnamon (a perfect match with apples), nutmeg (for carrot cake) as well as ginger, nutmeg and mixed spice (rich fruit cake), Store spices away from the heat to preserve their shelf life.
Cornflour, or cornstarch as it’s known in the US, is a finely powdered starch extracted from corn kernels, It is often used in homemade cake recipes because it thickens icing and fillings