Page 65 - Hummingbird Bakery Valentine's Day Cakes and Bake

• Cooking times can really vary depending upon your oven (and also how many
items are baking at the same time). Just because the specified cooking time is

up, it doesn’t automatically mean the cakes are done. For every recipe, we give
a time range, so use this as a rough guide, checking the cakes after the
minimum time, but leaving them for longer if they need more time in the oven,
and checking them regularly.

• Try to avoid opening the oven door until the minimum recommended cooking
time, or you risk your cakes sinking or cheesecakes cracking.

• To tell when cakes, cupcakes or muffins are ready, insert a skewer into the
middle. If it comes out clean, with no mixture stuck to it, the cake is cooked.

You should also look to see if the cakes are well risen, springy on top and
golden brown (though this last bit obviously depends on the flavour or colour
of the cake – for example, chocolate sponge will never be golden!)

• When making frosting, don’t worry if the proportions seem a little odd or if it
takes ages for the butter to incorporate with the icing sugar. It’s correct for the
mixture to be quite fine and ‘sandy’. Once you add the milk, all of a sudden it
will begin to come together to make a nice, soft, fluffy icing. It takes a bit

longer than conventional butter icing, but the result is much more delicious.

• Cakes should be completely cool before you frost them. Otherwise the frosting
might melt or slide off the cake.

• Frosting can be piped or scooped onto cakes (avoid using a spoon as this tends
to get messy) and swirled with a palette knife. For the Hummingbird technique,
see the step-by-step instructions.

• All cakes are best kept in an airtight container. If stored like this, layer cakes
can last up to 5 days and cupcakes will stay incredibly moist for 2 days.