I know I should have asked before now, but I just felt silly asking. When you turn cakes out to cool on the cooling rack, does it matter which side is down on the rack? Thanks for your help!
Don't feel silly, there are no bad questions! I usually place a piece of parchment paper on top of th layer then the rack and turn it out that way. The top of the cake is what will be doen when you decorate it anyway. The parchment paper saves on mess especially when you freeze the layer.
Since cooling racks are a pain in the rear to wash and rinse, I always place paper towels between the cake and the rack. No crumbs in the wire mesh corners to dig out.
I always put a piece of Reynolds on my cake (the humped up side!) before I flip it over onto a cooling grid. If it's something I made ahead of time, I then just fold in the edges, slip it in a freezer bag (once cooled), freeze and leave it there until I'm ready to use! The under side will be a a little wet once it is thawed, but that gets leveled off anyway.....works perfect for me!
I always place the hump side up (if I have one) because if you let it cool hump side down, your cake will fall apart (learned this one from experience)
That certainly makes sense but I've never had that happen. Perhaps I don't get a big enough hump for that to happen?! Now you watch....my next cake with a hump will fall apart!!!
I know when I cool cakes I prefer to have double the cooling racks, one to flip the cake out of the pan with and one to flip the cake from the cooling rack to the other cooling rack so that that pan side (smooth side) is down.
Ok... here's a stupid question?
Why use cooling racks? My mom got me some for Christmas. I never used them before then. I have used them a few times but I'm still not used to having them so I forget to use them. Why do we use cooling racks? I always just let my cake cool on the stove top. Then I get them level & put them on a cake board. I started using CaliDawn's leveling tip today & it works perfectly!! Thanks CaliDawn. Ya'll let me know about the cooling racks~
It stops the baking process when it's cooling all around. But, as you know, you don't use one when leveling "my way." But I do turn it out onto a cooling rack when I remove the cutting board from over the cake.
I always use them when baking cookies.
I always thought they were just for cookies, eventhough I never used them for cookies either...~ It's not important to use them so I won't unless I remember that I have them, LOL
By the way, what is CaliDawn's leveling tip? I've been searching and haven't found it? Thanks!
Here it is. I made the tutorial for cupcakes, but it works just as well for cakes.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/105830324/241289315hiVPJD
Here's my two cents' worth of experience:
If my cake has a very visible dome, I take a clean dish cloth and gently press on it while it's still in the pan and right from the oven. It's amazing how level you can get it by doing this; and it doesn't harm the cake at all.
After 10-15 minutes, I turn the cakes out onto cooling racks (I have the kind with folding "legs") lined with a double thickness of paper towels so that air circulates all around them ensuring even cooling. I turn the dome side down. I can't even imagine not using a cooling rack! Goes to show you how many ways there are to skin a cat...so to speak. And like I said in another post, I wait approximately 24 hours before leveling (actually cutting off the dome) if the cake needs it.
LOL- cookieman- your method and mine are exactly the same... I'm just to lazy to use my hands. I use the board and walk away.....
I get bored to easily. I'd last 2 seconds holding down with my hands.
Thanks for the link Cali4Dawn. I would have never thought to put something on top of my cakes--I would have been too afraid to "hurt" them! I am learning so much from you and this website! Thanks!!!
Skylar- the first time I tried it I was terrified. I made the cake early enough that I had time to make another if i completely smooched that one.
It's crazy what we're afraid of at times.
cali4dawn
LOL- cookieman- your method and mine are exactly the same... I'm just to lazy to use my hands. I use the board and walk away.....
It really takes not time at all...actually less than a minute. My attention span is not all that either; believe me! I actually like the feel of pressing out the air that's trapped in the cake and causing it to dome. I'm a very tactile person!
I have only ever once cooled a cake dome side down. Now I know a lot of you use the waxed paper or parchment or paper towel levelling method and having that paper on top of the cooling rack probably makes a difference. But when the cake sits directly on the cooling rack as actually they were designed to do, well then what can happen is this. Your cake automatically wants to level out itself. So it tries to do so, so the cake basically tries to level and because it has that open space to go through, well this is how you can end up with a lump in the centre of your cake or a bulge. This is why the normal method of cooling a cake is to turn it out and then flip it over crown side up.
Incidentally the wax paper method of cooling goes back to the old Wilton encyclopedias.
Does cooling a cake on a rack alone make a difference? Yes it does. You end up with a cake that does not stick to your cake board, which I guess has plus and minuses. The big plus is that when you cut the cake, the outer part doesn't stick as readily to the board because the extra moisture isn't stuck there. Now some folks may find this a minus.
Flipping your cake directly onto your cake board can cause the board to warp somewhat. I have done that once in a while when I needed my cooling racks for something else, but only for smaller cakes as this can cause board warping issues.
The type of cooling rack you have is also important. Some are only a series of vertical lines and they don't support a cooling cake well, A grid pattern cooling rack like Wilton's it the best type. Most professionals will tell you to raise this rack up so that it has an inch or two underneath to allow for even cooling.
Personally I find a cake that cools on a rack, is a sturdier cake to work with.
I don't have any concerns about the moisture as I immediately level my cakes after they come out of the pan and then I brush on warmed thinned down apricot glaze. I put waxed paper under the cooling rack to catch the drips and yes, end up having to clean the cooling rack, but I think it does a better job this way. I also feel that levelling a cake with a serrated knife and levelling it so that the side is level with the top, not just levelling the top as many do, well this does a better job. And I don't find that any of the other levelling ways work as well, but that is just my opinion. We all have our own ways of doing things and I have tried them all.
I have cooled cookies and cakes directly on plates and such and you still end up with a good product, but you can see a difference when you compare the two and you can also see a slight texture variance.
If you wrap a cake before it is cool it will affect the texture somewhat, giving it a more dense and slightly rubbery consistency. Whatever you do, never wrap and freeze a hot cake as this is very dangerous and can compromise the other things that are in your freezer.
Hugs, Squirrelly Cakes
Squirrely Cakes,
Thanks for your advice. I will have to try all the methods that have been suggested to see which works the best for me! I just love hearing from all of you.
Thanks again!
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