How to: Bake the perfect cake

To get every recipe perfect the first time around, try these tips from Andrea Chesman and Fran Raboff’s 250 Treasured Country Desserts.

•    If you have them, use nonstick pans except for angel food and sponge cakes. With those cakes you want the batter to cling to the sides of the pan and rise as high as possible.

•    Milk, yogurt, and sour cream combine best at room temperature.

•    Pieces of fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips are less likely to sink in a batter if they are tossed with flour.

•    If a recipe calls for cake flour and you have only all-purpose flour, don’t despair. Substitute 1 cup of all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons plus 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for every cup of cake flour.

•    To allow enough room for the cake to rise, do not fill baking pans more than two-thirds to three-quarters full.

•    Don’t open the oven door during the first 15 minutes of baking or your cake may not rise properly.

•    Oven temperatures can vary. Start testing a cake for doneness 5 to 15 minutes before the recipe says it should be done.

•    To prevent a wire rack from leaving an imprint on the cake surface, cover the rack with a double thickness of paper towel. Place the covered rack over the top of the cake, then invert the cake and rack. Remove the pan.

•    Cool the cake out of the pan for at least 1 hour before decorating. Then brush loose crumbs off the cake.

•    Apply a thin layer of frosting to the cake, then refrigerate until it is set before applying the final, heavier layer of frosting. This will seal in the crumbs, ensuring a clean final appearance.