Successful cake making means constant care.  In recipes in which milk is used as one ingredient, either sweet or buttermilk may be used but not a mixture of both.  Buttermilk makes a light, spongy cake, and sweet milk makes a cake which cuts like pound cake. In creaming shortening and sugar, when the shortening is too hard to blend easily warm the bowl slightly, but do not heat the shortening, as this will change both the flavor and texture of the cake. For small cakes have a quick oven, so that they set right through, and the inside is baked by the time the outside is browned.  For all large cakes have a quick oven at first, to raise them nicely and prevent the fruit sinking to the bottom.  The oven then should be allowed to become slower to fire the cakes thoroughly.

Cake must not be hurried.  Keep the oven steady though slow, and after putting a large cake into it do not open the door for at least twenty minutes.  During baking, do not open the door unnecessarily, or in fact do anything to jar the cake lest the little bubbles formed by the action of the baking powder burst, causing the gas to escape and the cake to sink.  This produces what is known as a “sad” cake, but refers probably to the state of mind of the cook.  A very light cake put into a quick oven’ rises rapidly round the sides, but leaves a hollow in the middle.

If a cake is made too light with eggs or powder and an insufficient quantity of flour is added it will drop in the center.  Another frequent cause is the moving of cakes while in the oven before the mixture has set properly.  The same defect is produced if the cakes are removed from the oven before being baked sufficiently.  When a cake batter curdles, the texture will not be so even as if the curdling had not taken place.  Sometimes the mixture will curdle through the eggs being added too quickly, or if the shortening contains too much water.  This forms a syrup with the sugar, and after a certain quantity of eggs have been added the batter will slip and slide about, and will not unite with the other ingredients.  Weak, watery eggs are another cause of this happening; and although this may be checked by adding a little flour at the right time, yet the cake would be better if it were unnecessary to add any flour until all the eggs had been beaten in, that is, if the batter had not curdled.  Before turning out a cake allow it to remain in the tin for a few minutes.  It is best to lay it on a wire cake stand, or lay it on a sieve; but if you do not possess these, a loosely made basket turned upside down will do.  If the cake will not turn out of the tin easily, rest it on its side, turning it round in a couple of minutes and it may loosen, if not, pass a knife round the edge, turn the cake over on a clean cloth, and let it stand a few minutes.