The Basics

To make any sort of cake you will need basic ingredients and equipment so I'm going to give you the run down of what you need to get started. If you just want a simple list to read I will post one further down so you don't have to read my ramblings!

Ingredients

I'm sure most people will know how to make a simple sponge cake. I use up to 7 ingredients to make my sponge so I need to always make sure I have them in my cupboard/fridge ready to grab when needed. You will always need self raising flour, baking powder, caster sugar, butter and eggs. Although a lot of recipes call for milk, I don't actually add any into my mixes simply because I find my sponge to be much lighter without it. I without fail will use Stork as my butter, although I have been known to use the Aldi substitute when all stores sold out of stock at the start of lockdown. I love how fluffy Stork makes my cakes so if you like light and fluffy sponge I highly recommend you invest in some. For a chocolate sponge you will obviously need some sort of cocoa powder, I use Bournville cocoa powder because it takes a lot richer. Also when I make my chocolate cakes I will also add a touch of oil to make the cake moist (I hate that word). The baking powder I use is actually from Aldi but baking powder is baking powder, the same as self raising flour, although if you're wanting to make a gluten free cake I recommend picking up some Freee by Doves Farm gluten free self raising flour. You can find it in most supermarkets but I got mine from Asda.

Equipment

You do not need top of the range equipment to make a cake (although you can invest in some amazing items if you want to, I have had my eye on a KitchenAid for a while) I actually use a vintage Philips Stand Mixer which was gifted to me from a family member and I LOVE it. For the basics you will need a mixing bowl, stand mixer or electric whisk, digital scales, a sieve, rubber spatula, measuring spoons (you can just wing it with regular spoons though), cake tins, cooling rack and obviously, an oven! I actually get most of my equipment from Amazon, who doesn't love a good Amazon delivery, especially during lockdown. I mainly use my 8inch cake tins as I think they are a good sized cake so if you're only wanting to invest in just one size, definitely go for 8inch! If you're wanting to get into decorating cakes too then you will also need an angled palette knife, a straight palette knife, a cake scraper, a cake leveller, a piping kit and a turntable. I would highly recommend THIS KIT from Amazon if you're just starting out.

For those who scrolled down to just see a list, stop here!

- Self Raising Flour

- Caster Sugar

- Baking Powder

- Eggs

- Stork/ Butter

- Cocoa Powder

- Oil

- Mixing Bowl

- Stand Mixer/ Electric Whisk

- Digital Scales

- Sieve

- Rubber Spatula

- Measuring Spoons

- Cake Tins

- Cooling Rack 

- Angled and Straight Palette Knife

- Cake Scraper

- Cake Leveller

- Piping Kit

- Turntable

I hope this has helped some of you to get yourselves into baking! Once you have all these items you can literally make a cake whenever you want to, for an afternoon tea, desert for your family and even at midnight to satisfy those cravings. 

Thanks for reading!

Bryony x