Christmas is the perfect time for baking cakes. Nothing smells or feels better than the aromas that come from a tray of freshly baked goods. From large multi-tier cakes right through to cupcakes, it is the perfect excuse to dig out all of your baking equipment. When it comes to baking the perfect cakes for the Christmas period, what should you be thinking about?
Planning and Preparation
No matter how many people you are expecting over at Christmas time, you should always ensure that you bake extra. Planning and preparation are crucial at this busy time of the year. When you can plan what you will need for a certain number of large cakes (or cupcakes), you can then begin your preparations and make sure you have sufficient ingredients at home. If you are not putting any effort into planning and preparation, you will end up forgetting a key ingredient.
Flavors and Fillings
You may have a lot of people to cater for at Christmas time, and they may all have different likes and preferences. When it comes to flavors and fillings at Christmas, are you going to keep it traditional and stick to the trusted vanilla flavor? Or are you going to add a bit of cinnamon to your baking? Or, perhaps even a bit of ginger? You may want to experiment with different flavors and also with different fillings to ensure you get the consistency just right. For example, adding nuts or dried fruit to your baked goods can affect how long you bake for or how much mix you put in each case or tin.
The All-Important Decoration
You want your cakes to always look as good as they taste. If they do not look good, it may put people off eating them (or even trying them). When it comes to decorating, you want to look at using frosting as well as using Christmas cake decorating stencils, as these two combined will give you professional-looking results. Having a theme for your cake decoration is important. You ideally want there to be some consistency in how your cakes look – especially if there are lots on display at once.
Giving Yourself Enough Time
Baking and decorating cakes for Christmas will take you a good amount of time. Most likely, it will take you much longer than you had originally planned. Giving yourself enough time to bake and decorate cakes is essential. You don’t want to rush any part of the process. Baked cakes need time to cool before they are decorated and frosted, so remember to take this into consideration.
Try Out Recipes in Advance
The perfect red velvet cakes may be in sight. Or, you may have the recipe for vanilla cupcakes memorized. Whichever option you choose to go for, always remember to try out recipes in advance. Practice what you will prepare before the big day rolls around. When you practice, you give yourself time to see where improvements or substitutions need to be made with the recipe.
