Cupcake & Cake Prep for Home Bakers

Once you start baking regularly, you’ll soon figure out that half the work starts before you even begin step 1 in any recipe. It’s important to prepare your work space, equipment, and ingredients properly to ensure a successful bake. Here are the 5 cake prep steps I take before baking cakes or cupcakes.

 

This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission as an Amazon Associate (or other affiliate program) from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products that I use and trust. 

 

Why Does Proper Cake Preparation Matter?

 

If you are in the middle of a recipe and need to stop to prepare a cake pan or you forgot to preheat the oven, you are increasing the chances of a baking blunder. Not only that, I find this style of baking to increase my anxiety!

By taking the proper steps to prepare for baking cakes and cupcakes, you will find your bakes come out consistently well and it’s a more pleasant experience overall. Eventually, these cake prep steps will become a habit you can’t turn off.

 

 

1. Bring ingredients to room temperature

 

Ingredients combine and emulsify much better when they are all at the same temperature. For baking cakes and cupcakes, that means room temperature! You’ll want to take out your eggs and butter (if making a butter based cake) about 1- 2 hours before baking. Ultimately, the butter should give when you gently squeeze it, but it shouldn’t be complete mush.

Milk should not be left on the counter for that long though. I pull my milk out in step 4 and microwave it for about 20- 30 seconds to bring it to room temp. If you forget to pull your eggs out in advance, pop them in a glass and cover them with warm water while you prep the rest of your ingredients.

 

2. Prepare pans

 

Cakes and cupcakes use different pans (uh duh) and therefore have pretty different preparation methods.

 

Cake Pans

 

1. Cut parchment paper rounds to fit into the bottom of each pan. I use one pan to trace circles on my paper before cutting them out, though there are many methods out there.
2. Lightly spray the sides of each cake pan and do one spritz in the center of the pan. Add the parchment round and set aside. I use baking spray which is an oil spray that contains flour for the best result.
3. If using baking strips (I always do), fill a large bowl with cold water and submerge the strips. Let them soak until your pans are filled with cake batter. Then wring out the excess water and place around the pans before going in the oven.

 

 

Cupcake Pans

 

1. Place dried rice in the bottom of each cupcake cavity, about a teaspoon will do. This helps prevent shrinking and allows air flow that will prevent soggy liners. Reuse the rice over and over again! I store mine in a small mason jar between uses.
2. Place cupcake liners in each cavity. My favorites are from Wilton. I do NOT suggest ever using foil cupcake liners. For mini cupcakes, these liners are great.

 

Related Reading: 9 Cake Tools Every Home Baker Needs

 

3. Preheat oven

 

Despite the beeps your oven makes, most conventional ovens need about 20- 30 minutes to fully preheat. You want the oven to be at the right temperature when you put the cakes in so that there is proper rise. Start preheating your oven before you even begin mise en place to ensure there is ample time.

For cupcakes and most of my oil based cakes, I bake at 350℉. This temperature gives a great rise and a nice dome on the cupcakes. For butter based cakes, I generally bake at 325℉. This lower temperature paired with the baking strips produces a nice level cake.

 

4. Mise en place

 

It’s finally time to gather all of the ingredients and tools you will need for the recipe. I like to start by pulling out every ingredient. This makes it less likely that I will forget an ingredient, because if it is left on the counter when I’m done measuring, it’s a visual cue that I missed something.

For mise en place, you can measure every single ingredient into their own bowl, but I find that unnecessary. Instead, I know that all of my dry ingredients will be mixed together, so I’ll measure into a small bowl, then sift that into a larger bowl of dry ingredients. Similarly, I’ll be creaming butter, sugar, and cake enhancer, so those all get measured into the stand mixer right away. Work smarter, not harder.

 

 

5. Bake!

 

Now you get to actually start the recipe! Huzzah! I suggest reading the recipe at least twice before you begin. If you’re very familiar with the recipe, just a quick glance through it can suffice. This will help you move seamlessly through the steps without stopping in the middle to figure out what comes next.

 

Cake Prep Checklist

 

For my visual learners, I highly recommend watching this 5 step cake prep process. You can watch me prepare for making my tiramisu layer cake. If you have any questions after watching the video and reading this post, leave me a comment, send me a message, or shoot me an email. 

I’m a list lover, so I created a downloadable Cake Prep Checklist! It’s one of the many freebies my email subscribers have access to in my Resource Library. If you haven’t subscribed yet and would like access, check out this page to sign up.

 

 

Happy Baking!

 

With this 5 step cake prep method, you’ll find baking cakes and cupcakes to be easier, more successful, and less stressful. That’s a win all around! 

If you’re a beginner home baker looking to learn more about cakes and cupcakes, pop on over to the Bakes & Blunders YouTube channel. There are plenty of recipe videos and tutorials to help you along your own baking journey.