My Most Moist Cake EVER baking tips!

Hello friends and colleagues! My name is Angela Pineda. My tips for the most moist cakes ever was published in Cooking Pleasures magazine in December of 2004.

I want to share this tidbit with you. I developed this method about 15 years ago, but back then the medium I had to use was either foil or regular plastic wrap. Both can be used in this method but only if my preferred medium, Glad Press'n Seal is unavailable to you.

Items needed:

Any cake recipe - scratch or boxed (If boxed use Duncan Hines - they are the best)

Glad Press'n Seal wrap - freezer or regular will work.

Use super cold eggs and super cold water unless your scratch recipe calls for something else (Hershey's scratch chocolate cake requires boiling water in its recipe).

Prep your pans using any flour/oil mixture spray (do NOT use the old fashioned shorting/flour method as this leaves a very tough skin on your cake). Line bottom of pan with parchment paper (very important).

Bake cake at 325 degrees until just done to touch (spring back method) or toothpick test.

While cake is baking place enough Press'n Seal on your counter or table, sticky side up to cover your cake(s).

Once cake is done baking, remove it from oven and IMMEDIATELY dump cake onto Press'n Seal wrap. Wrap the cake to seal in all the steam. Then place cake in freezer. Allow to freeze overnight.

Contrary to popular belief freezing is NOT the enemy to baked goods, in fact it is quite the opposite, but as with anything, you cannot leave it in the freezer forever, 2 weeks tops to keep the product fresh.

Any cake left to cool on a cooling rack on the counter will loose 2 things: flavor and moisture. Steam is the element that contains both these factors. Let the steam escape and there goes your flavor and moisture.

When you are ready to decorate your cake allow it to sit for at least 5 minutes before icing. Cake will be semi frozen. Use a crumb coat first - especially with chocolate cakes, then ice normally or cover with fondant.

Cake will fully defrost within 30 minutes and the cake will be incredibly moist and flavorful!

***Note*** using foil or regular plastic wrap can cause the following issues. Foil will almost always misshape the warm cake, so only use if you have no other option. Be wary of regular plastic wraps, some will melt with the heat of the cake and others will shrink terribly misshaping the cake during the freezing process. Both do not seal in the steam as well as Press'n Seal wrap.

I do the same thing with cup cakes but do this. Lay out enough to dump the cupcakes on. Leave space between cakes. The take another sheet of Press'n Seal much larger to individually shape & seal around each cake. The seal the edges up and place with cup cakes bottom side down into freezer. You can do them top side down if you want a flat surface on your cupcake or if making them into bon bon cakes.

Acutally, it really isn't much more of an expense. I can get about 10 1/4 sheet cakes out of one roll and the roll here is only $2.69 at Walmart. Round 8" cakes I can get 20 or so. To me since the moist cakes is what I am known for (and my icing recipes that complement the cakes without being super sugary or crusty) it is an expense minimal to get the clients by word of mouth.

first of all using foil is a hit or miss proposition to begin with. Also, if the cake isn't fully done, if it is even a minute under fully cooked your cake will fall no matter what. Also if you mixed it for too long it will do the same thing. You must make sure the cake is fully baked and use Press'n Seal. It really will work wonderfully!

Oh, one more thing...this does not do well with angel food cakes due to the nature of the cake. If your cake has only meringue as it's binder this process will not work!