If you love baking at home, you probably already know that there are various tips and tricks to elevate boxed cake mix, like swapping out the milk for a more flavorful upgrade or adding in a moist ingredient for a decadent result. And while we love these variations, we wanted to dive deeper into some of the simpler ways to make sure your boxed cake turns out fluffy every time. To get the best insight, we spoke to Laura Kanya, research and development chef at Ann Clark Ltd., for her expertise. And according to Kanya, there’s one baking technique you should follow every time you make a cake: Bring each of your ingredients to room temperature.
In fact, ensuring your ingredients aren’t too cold is a surefire way to guarantee that they combine properly. “Having all ingredients [at] room temperature helps [with incorporation] and reduces clumping of ingredients[,] and creates a smoother batter [as well as] lighter and more tender finished baked goods,” Kanya said. “Ingredients that don’t normally go together … mix better when [at] room temperature by trapping air during the baking process,” she explained, “which gives the final product a lighter texture.”
How to bring your ingredients to room temperature
Now that you know how crucial it is to use room-temperature ingredients, you may be wondering how to do it. While letting your milk sit on the counter for about an hour will do the trick, getting your eggs and butter just right may need a little more TLC. Remember, you don’t want to bake with butter that’s too soft.
One method to soften butter is to use your oven, but Laura Kanya suggests another trick. “The best technique for butter I’ve found is to fill a heat-safe glass bowl with very hot water. Wait for [one to two] minutes, until the bowl itself is hot,” Kanya recommended. “Dump the water, and overturn the hot bowl over your ingredients. This allows them to warm up in the ambient [heat].”
When using this method, let the butter sit under the glass for 15 minutes. Avoid the microwave, as this can cause the outside to melt while the inside remains cold. “If this is the only way, I would place the stick of butter in the microwave still in the wrapper and set the [timer for 30 seconds] at a time on 50%, turning the stick every 30 seconds until it’s at the desired temperature,” Kanya said.
If you forget to take your eggs out on time, use Kanya’s recommendation. “For eggs, you can place the eggs in warm water for [10 to 15] minutes to bring to room temperature quickly,” she suggested.
