questions? we're here for you.
what equipment do I need?
an electric mixer of some sort, preferably an upright/stand mixer; a hand-held one will work in a pinch, it just needs closer monitoring.
measuring scales of some sort to weigh the butter & sour cream. we cannot emphasise the importance of a kitchen scale enough. it will serve you well in your cooking in general, but it is invaluable in baking. seriously.
a bowl in which to place the butter & sour cream for weighing (you can definitely get away with using only one bowl for all the wet ingredients: weigh the butter & the sour cream, then add the eggs on top. less washing up!)
a scraper made from either silicone or food-safe rubber/plastic; very flexible, these are good for scraping down the bowl while working and for scraping the batter into the baking form, ready for the oven.
a strip of parchment/greaseproof paper for the bottom of the baking form.
a timer: in order to follow the instructions accurately, you need to set a timer for the exact number of seconds/minutes; you can use a specialty kitchen timer if you've got one, and all phones have some sort of timer app built in, the important thing is that you beat & bake according to the times set out in the instructions.
an oven thermometer: most ovens do not run accurately, may have hot spots, and frequently do not have a proper thermostat; even a frequently calibrated oven should not be taken at face value. a small, readily available oven thermometer is the best option for knowing what temperature your oven actually is.
what mixer do you recommend?
any strong upright mixer (also known as a stand mixer) is good, and there are many brands out there. choice can be a question of purpose, budget, style, but always go for one that has a good reputation for quality and customer service.
can I use a hand mixer/hand-held mixer?
sure, but it will probably take a bit longer and may result in a less smooth batter; it will also make the 1-minute dry ingredient aeration tricky: choose a very deep bowl and use the lowest possible setting.
can I make the cake by hand?
it may be possible, but we definitely wouldn't recommend it: you'd need a lot of arm power to get the batter to mix properly, the main point being that if the butter and sour cream aren't well mixed with the flour you may get tunnels in your cake once it's baked, evidence of where the larger unblended pieces melted while baking.
what does "scrape down the bowl" mean, and why should I do it?
it means you to take a silicone or food-safe rubber or plastic spatula/scraper and slide it down the inside of the mixing bowl and through the batter; this will make sure that there are no pockets of dry ingredients left unmixed with the wet, and will scrape back into the batter anything stuck to the inside of the bowl that the beater didn't reach.
why do I have to have my wet ingredients at room temperature? whose room?
when we say room temperature, we mean 20-23°C. this is very important for mixing the wet ingredients into the dry properly, and so as to avoid gluten over-development which would result in a tough cake.
my wet ingredients are in the fridge but I want to bake NOW.
we know, we sometimes feel that way too. there are a few tricks that will solve the problem in the time it takes to preheat your oven, but they do need monitoring.
butter: weigh out the amount of butter you need and cut it up into small-medium pieces; put them in a microwave-safe bowl, set the power level to low (usually 3 if full power is 10; check your instruction manual for further information) and heat in 30-second bursts, checking the butter after each one. you will probably need to reset the power level each time you do this. you want your (clean) finger to leave a distinct imprint on the butter, not squish all the way through.
eggs: place your eggs, still in their shells, in a container of water that it feels more than warm but not uncomfortable to your hand; leave the eggs submerged for 5-10 minutes. this will not cook your eggs.
sour cream: create a mock double-boiler by placing the required weight of sour cream in a bowl (stainless steel if you have it, but it's not imperative) and snugly rest the bowl in another container filled with warm water. making sure that the water cannot splash into the sour cream, gently stir it a few times as it's warming to even the temperature in the bowl. remember to wipe the water off the bottom of the bowl before continuing with the preparations.
there's a lot of butter out there, which one should I use?
always choose unsalted butter: if there's salt in the butter, it will skew the balance of the cake. if you can find it, buy cultured (sometimes known as European style) butter, the flavour is far superior.
why do you specify 18% sour cream? / why pure sour cream?
different countries have different fat levels in their dairy products, including sour cream; our recipe is based on using 18% fat sour cream. if one were to use a 35% fat one, it would ruin the structure of the cake.
while pure sour cream is readily available, some manufacturers add thickeners & emulsifiers to their sour cream, which is entirely unnecessary. when we buy a product, we expect that we receive just that. did you ask for a tub of sour cream or a tub of gelatin, vegetable gum, and unidentified numbers? when you can get the former, why would you ever buy the latter?
my cake won't come out of the baking form!
our kits include an Italian-made, oven-safe, recyclable & biodegradable baking form. the form saves time both in prep & washing up, is the right size for the amount of batter created, and makes a beautiful gift cake once baked (without having to worry about getting your favourite metal baking form back). it's not like a metal pan that one would butter & flour and then expect the cake to release, it's like the paper wrapping one gets on a muffin or cupcake. we recommend slicing across the cake, cutting down the front of the form, and then folding the form up over the cut side of the cake to help keep it at its freshest. if there's any cake left.
I've lost the instructions!
not a problem, we've got them right here.
what equipment do I need?
an electric mixer of some sort, preferably an upright/stand mixer; a hand-held one will work in a pinch, it just needs closer monitoring.
measuring scales of some sort to weigh the butter & sour cream. we cannot emphasise the importance of a kitchen scale enough. it will serve you well in your cooking in general, but it is invaluable in baking. seriously.
a bowl in which to place the butter & sour cream for weighing (you can definitely get away with using only one bowl for all the wet ingredients: weigh the butter & the sour cream, then add the eggs on top. less washing up!)
a scraper made from either silicone or food-safe rubber/plastic; very flexible, these are good for scraping down the bowl while working and for scraping the batter into the baking form, ready for the oven.
a strip of parchment/greaseproof paper for the bottom of the baking form.
a timer: in order to follow the instructions accurately, you need to set a timer for the exact number of seconds/minutes; you can use a specialty kitchen timer if you've got one, and all phones have some sort of timer app built in, the important thing is that you beat & bake according to the times set out in the instructions.
an oven thermometer: most ovens do not run accurately, may have hot spots, and frequently do not have a proper thermostat; even a frequently calibrated oven should not be taken at face value. a small, readily available oven thermometer is the best option for knowing what temperature your oven actually is.
what mixer do you recommend?
any strong upright mixer (also known as a stand mixer) is good, and there are many brands out there. choice can be a question of purpose, budget, style, but always go for one that has a good reputation for quality and customer service.
can I use a hand mixer/hand-held mixer?
sure, but it will probably take a bit longer and may result in a less smooth batter; it will also make the 1-minute dry ingredient aeration tricky: choose a very deep bowl and use the lowest possible setting.
can I make the cake by hand?
it may be possible, but we definitely wouldn't recommend it: you'd need a lot of arm power to get the batter to mix properly, the main point being that if the butter and sour cream aren't well mixed with the flour you may get tunnels in your cake once it's baked, evidence of where the larger unblended pieces melted while baking.
what does "scrape down the bowl" mean, and why should I do it?
it means you to take a silicone or food-safe rubber or plastic spatula/scraper and slide it down the inside of the mixing bowl and through the batter; this will make sure that there are no pockets of dry ingredients left unmixed with the wet, and will scrape back into the batter anything stuck to the inside of the bowl that the beater didn't reach.
why do I have to have my wet ingredients at room temperature? whose room?
when we say room temperature, we mean 20-23°C. this is very important for mixing the wet ingredients into the dry properly, and so as to avoid gluten over-development which would result in a tough cake.
my wet ingredients are in the fridge but I want to bake NOW.
we know, we sometimes feel that way too. there are a few tricks that will solve the problem in the time it takes to preheat your oven, but they do need monitoring.
butter: weigh out the amount of butter you need and cut it up into small-medium pieces; put them in a microwave-safe bowl, set the power level to low (usually 3 if full power is 10; check your instruction manual for further information) and heat in 30-second bursts, checking the butter after each one. you will probably need to reset the power level each time you do this. you want your (clean) finger to leave a distinct imprint on the butter, not squish all the way through.
eggs: place your eggs, still in their shells, in a container of water that it feels more than warm but not uncomfortable to your hand; leave the eggs submerged for 5-10 minutes. this will not cook your eggs.
sour cream: create a mock double-boiler by placing the required weight of sour cream in a bowl (stainless steel if you have it, but it's not imperative) and snugly rest the bowl in another container filled with warm water. making sure that the water cannot splash into the sour cream, gently stir it a few times as it's warming to even the temperature in the bowl. remember to wipe the water off the bottom of the bowl before continuing with the preparations.
there's a lot of butter out there, which one should I use?
always choose unsalted butter: if there's salt in the butter, it will skew the balance of the cake. if you can find it, buy cultured (sometimes known as European style) butter, the flavour is far superior.
why do you specify 18% sour cream? / why pure sour cream?
different countries have different fat levels in their dairy products, including sour cream; our recipe is based on using 18% fat sour cream. if one were to use a 35% fat one, it would ruin the structure of the cake.
while pure sour cream is readily available, some manufacturers add thickeners & emulsifiers to their sour cream, which is entirely unnecessary. when we buy a product, we expect that we receive just that. did you ask for a tub of sour cream or a tub of gelatin, vegetable gum, and unidentified numbers? when you can get the former, why would you ever buy the latter?
my cake won't come out of the baking form!
our kits include an Italian-made, oven-safe, recyclable & biodegradable baking form. the form saves time both in prep & washing up, is the right size for the amount of batter created, and makes a beautiful gift cake once baked (without having to worry about getting your favourite metal baking form back). it's not like a metal pan that one would butter & flour and then expect the cake to release, it's like the paper wrapping one gets on a muffin or cupcake. we recommend slicing across the cake, cutting down the front of the form, and then folding the form up over the cut side of the cake to help keep it at its freshest. if there's any cake left.
I've lost the instructions!
not a problem, we've got them right here.