All-in-one? Creamed? Whisked? What does it mean? – The 5 Cake Making Methods

Whether you are an avid cake baker or a complete baking newbie, you´ll definitely come across a lot of different ways in which cake making methods are described. There are all-in-one recipes, and cakes that are made by the creaming method, the melting method, or the melted method! But what do all of these things mean, where are the pitfalls and what are some useful tricks for you to master them all?!

In this baking basics posts I will go through each method in turn, giving you a brief overview of the technique involved as well as some tips and tricks for success. That will be followed up by a list of recipe suggestions so that you can go away and give each of these methods a try!

#1 The All-in-One Method

The all-in-one method is arguably the best cake making method out there! Not only is it super easy to follow, but it is pretty much fail-proof! As the name suggests, in this method all the ingredients are added to the mixing bowl at once and combined to make a thick, smooth, batter.

When using the all-in-one method, make sure the butter is fairly soft (at room temperature) as this will make it a lot easier to mix the ingredients together. Apart from that, there isn´t really much else to look out for! You can immediately weigh all of your ingredients into your baking bowl for minimum washing up and then start mixing!

One important thing to remember with the all-in-one method, is that you do not want to over-mix the batter. Only beat with a wooden spoon or an electric hand-held or free-standing mixer until the ingredients are fully combined and the batter is smooth, then stop mixing. If you are using an electric mixer this shouldn´t take more than a minute.

All-in-one Method Recipe Suggestions:

#2 The Creaming Method

The creaming method is probably one of the trickiest cake making methods to get right! There is a real risk of the cake mixture curdling or splitting, which happens when the egg doesn´t emulsify properly with the butter mix. There are a few tips and tricks though that can help prevent that from happening!

First of all, it is absolutely CRUCIAL that all your ingredients (i.e. butter and eggs) are AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. Most of the air in the cake is achieved by beating the butter until really light and fluffy, so that is the first thing you have to do! The sugar is then added and mixed in thoroughly for a further couple of minutes.

Then for the tricky part: adding the eggs without curdling the mix. It´s important to beat the eggs before adding them, and then to add them very gradually, beating well between each addition. When it comes to the creaming method, my tip would be that you can never beat the mixture too much! Another trick to stop the mixture from curdling, is to add a heaped tablespoon of the dry ingredients (flour and/or cocoa powder) with the last few additions of the egg.

Finally, the remaining dry ingredients are then gently folded in – you don´t want to knock out too much of the air you have worked so hard to incorporate!!! The perfect consistency for a creamed sponge mixture is a batter that is fairly thick, but will drop of a wooden spoon when gently shaken.

Creaming Method Recipe Suggestions:

#3 The Whisked Method

The third cake making method is all about the eggs! Whisked eggs are often the only raising agents in cakes using the whisked method, so incorporating enough air when whisking the eggs is absolutely crucial for a good rise! The whisked method, in my opinion, is a really good method to make light and airy sponges, that can be used in a large range of recipes of varying difficulties (see below).

Sometimes, cake mixtures where the whole eggs are whisked to create the batter, have small amounts of melted butter added to them at the end and are known as “Génoise Sponge”. “Biscuit Sponges” are also made using whisked eggs, however, the yolks and whites are whisked separately. The yolks are whisked with the sugar, vanilla and maybe some melted chocolate, before the stiff egg whites are gently folded in.

When using whole eggs for the whisked method, whisk the eggs and sugar together at high speed for at least 5 minutes. You are looking for the mixture to turn pale and creamy, frothy and it to reach the “ribbon stage”. This means, that when you lift the whisk out of the mixture, the mix dripping down can leave a distinct ribbon-like trail. If this isn´t the case, you need to continue whisking. Lastly, the dry ingredients are carefully folded in until fully incorporated, making sure to knock out as little air as possible! Hold the bowl closely over your prepared baking tins when transferring the mixture, as dropping it from a height will also knock out some of the precious air you have worked so hard to get into the batter!

Whisked Method Recipe Suggestions

Swiss Roll with Strawberries and Cream
Black Forest Gâteau | Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte | German Baking Classic
Mary Berry´s Strawberry Fraisier Cake
Mini Chocolate and Raspberry Sandwich Cakes
German “Baumkuchenspitzen” with Rum for Christmas (includes grilling cake!)

#4 The Melted Method

Everyone who has ever made chocolate brownies will have used this cake making method before! The melted method is often used when the recipe includes some ingredients that are hard to combine, such as chocolate, thick treacle, or fruit juice. Like with the rubbed-in method below, the melted method is not used very often in cake making and is more common for biscuits!

Melted Cake Making Method Bain Marie — Bain-marie set up for melting
chocolate.

When making a cake using the melting method, you will need a small saucepan to warm and melt the butter with the treacle/syrup. Or if you are working with chocolate (e.g. when you make brownies), you will need to set up a bain-marie, i.e. a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (not touching the water). Chocolate is very heat-sensitive, so this ensures it won´t burn.

Once melted, remember to leave the mixture to cool slightly before adding it to the other ingredients, especially the eggs! If the mixture is too hot, the eggs will cook and you will end up with scrambled eggs rather than a nice, smooth cake batter! And while scrambled eggs are great, maybe not in your cake, eh?😉

Melted Method Recipe Suggestions

#5 The Rubbed-In Method

The rubbed-in method is a slightly unusual cake making method and you won´t come across it particularly often. You will, however, find it used a lot in biscuit and pastry making! So mastering “rubbing in” is definitely a skill worth having (I realise that sounds a wee bit off, haha)!

The rubbed-in method refers to butter (i.e. the fat) being combined with the flour to make a bread crumb-like consistency. This makes the final bake lighter and will also result in a more crumbly texture.

Rubbed-in Butter and Flour — *Rub the butter into the flour until*
*you reach a bread crumb-like*
*consistency.*

When using the rubbed-in method, make sure the butter is cold and cut into small cubes. Add in to the flour and toss the butter cubes in the flour to coat. Use your fingertips to pinch the cubes of butter into the flour to create smaller flecks of butter, rubbing these in between your fingers with plenty of flour. You then continue to do so until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, before quickly stirring in any remaining dry ingredients and then mixing in the wet ones (i.e. milk, eggs, etc.). Alternatively, you could also use a food processor rather than your fingertips, if you have one.

As I said, the rubbed-in method is more common in pastry and biscuit making, so I will also include some recipes for those below for you to practice. Shortcrust pastry, for example, also heavily relies on the rubbing-in technique, so make sure you check out the baking basics post on How To Make Shortcrust Pastry, too!

Rubbed-In Method Recipe Suggestions:

I really hope this post has given you a good overview of the 5 main cake making methods and inspired you to get baking! Make sure to give some of the recipes linked above a try to learn how to use the different techniques described! It really is a win-win, you learn something new AND you can have cake to eat, what more could you ask for?

In the meantime, make sure to check out the other baking basics and baking techniques post on my blog! HAPPY BAKING!

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All-in-one? Creamed? Whisked? What does it mean? – The 5 Cake Making Methods | Baking Basics #11