Drummond recently dished out a few tricks to remove roadblocks from your cake-baking adventures. “Baked goods aren’t my strong suit,” she shared on the Pioneer Woman site. This is why she tends to rely on boxed cake mixes, but we can all agree that there are certain occasions when it’s necessary to perform a labor of love in the kitchen — and she’s here to help.
The Pioneer Woman host shared three stellar tips for baking homemade cakes with that coveted fluffy texture.
While many cake recipes call for milk, Drummond recommends replacing it with buttermilk. “I wind up with the fluffiest cakes when the recipe calls for buttermilk,” she says. The fridge staple activates the baking soda, causing your batter to rise successfully while in the oven, which helps create that ultra-fluffy texture we all love.
If you find yourself in a cake-baking mood but don’t have buttermilk available, you can easily create your own at home. “If you don’t have buttermilk on hand,” Drummond explains, “use half a cup minus two tablespoons of whole milk and mix with two tablespoons white vinegar.”
2. Swap the all-purpose for cake flour.
Instead of traditional all-purpose, you’ll want to mix in cake flour for a tender slice of cake. Drummond points out, “Cake flour can also help keep cakes light; it has less protein (therefore less gluten) than all-purpose flour, so doesn’t easily develop that ‘chew’ that makes a cake tough.” You’ll want to be careful when practicing this hack; you can’t implement a direct swap for all-purpose flour in cake recipes. Instead, the Pioneer Woman recommends looking out for recipes that already call for cake flour — like this lemon supreme cake or this mahogany chocolate cake. Additionally, if you don’t have cake flour on hand, you can make a version of it yourself. She advises measuring one cup of all-purpose flour, scooping out two tablespoons, and then adding two tablespoons of cornstarch.
3. Don’t overmix your batter.
While you may be tempted to voraciously mix your batter to smooth out all of the small clumps remaining, Drummond advises not to. “I also try not to overmix my batter once I add the dry ingredients. The more you beat the batter, the more the gluten will develop, and the tougher the cake will be,” she says. Instead, you’ll want to gently stir the batter just a few times until it’s subtly incorporated (despite what you’ve been told, it’s OK if it’s not a silken texture!) That way, you can do all you can to achieve a deliciously fluffy and airy cake.
