Making a cake at home — from scratch! — can certainly be an anxiety-inducing thought. While your cake might turn out superb, there’s always the chance it could go the other way entirely. Baking a show-stopping, multi-layer cake can feel like biting off more than you can chew — but a loaf cake? That’s much more doable.
While the bakers on “The Great British Bake-Off” may have mastered the loaf cake, Salon reached out to chef-instructors at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) to get their best tips and tricks for making your most delicious loaf cake yet. We spoke with Kierin Baldwin, chef-instructor of Pastry & Baking Arts at ICE's New York City campus (my alma mater!).
Without further ado, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.
What’s a loaf cake, exactly?
Is a loaf cake simply a standard cake batter baked in a smaller, uniquely shaped tin? Baldwin says yes — with a bit more nuance.
"Loaf cakes are cakes that have been baked in a loaf pan,” Baldwin said. “They are more commonly fat-based cakes that do not require an egg foam, which makes them rich, moist and dense. But in reality, you could get away with putting any type of cake in a loaf pan and slapping the name on it. Any cake can be baked in any pan with the right adjustment to the oven temperature and bake time.”
When asked about pan specifics, Baldwin explained, “There are many different sized loaf pans, from small ones to large Pullman pans. But again, any cake can be baked in just about any pan with the right adjustment to bake time and temperature.”
Loaf cake basics
I was curious if there was a typical go-to formula for loaf cakes, and Baldwin confirmed that "fat-based cakes made using mixing methods like creamed butter, high-ratio or liquid-fat” are the most common for loaf cakes. But, she added, “you could get away with putting any type of cake in a loaf pan and slapping the name on it.”
“Any cake can be baked in any pan with the right adjustment to the oven temperature and bake time,” Baldwin continued.
When it comes to ingredients, Baldwin advises not to focus too much on specialty items like grass-fed or organic products, though they can impact flavor. “For instance, swapping out high-fat European butter for regular American butter will not give you a better outcome if the recipe was written for American butter." Good to know! (But if you have European butter on hand, it certainly won’t hurt.)
Avoiding the “dreaded soggy bottom”
Fans of GBBO might be familiar with the term “soggy bottom.” But Baldwin assures that it’s usually not something to stress over in loaf cakes. "I don’t usually worry too much about soggy bottoms on cakes since these are generally moist cakes anyway,” she said. “It’s only when there’s a lot of fresh fruit that the bottom tends to get sopping wet.”
Baldwin continued: “A normal pound cake will likely not have that problem though. If you are worried about it, let your cake cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes and then gently remove it from the pan and let it cool the rest of the way on a cooking rack. This way the steam is able to escape as it cools."
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Troubleshooting common loaf cake issues
For cakes that stick stubbornly to the pan, Baldwin suggests “saddling” the loaf pan to prevent sticking. “Cut a piece of parchment that is as wide as the long sides of the loaf pan, spray the pan with a bit of nonstick spray and then put the parchment paper into the pan, leaving it just long enough to come a bit over the sides of the pan.”
When the cake is ready to come out of the pan, bakers can run a knife along the short sides of the pan and then gently lift it out by holding the parchment..
If you’re dealing with a dry or crumbly cake, Baldwin’s first guess is over-baking. “Lower your bake time the next time you make it,” she said. “To fix one that is already fully baked, soak it with a bit of syrup and then glaze or frost the top. The syrup will add some extra moisture and the glaze or frosting will help to hold it in. "
When it comes to loaf cakes riddled with cracks, should frustrated bakers cover them with icing? "If it’s going to be served in a Michelin-starred restaurant, perhaps not,” Baldwin joked. “But if it’s just a snack cake to enjoy at home and is still moist and delicious, I wouldn’t worry too much about cracks.”
That said, bakers might want to lower the temperature of the oven a bit next time they try the recipe.
“Lots of cracks are a sign that the outer layer may have cooked through too quickly, forcing it to crack in order to make room for the cake to expand as it bakes." she said. “If it seems like the cake is fine otherwise, you may want to try piping a very thin line of soft butter down the center of the cake. This allows it to stay moist there and it will leave you with an even central crack in your cake where all the expansion happened.”
Baking time is a guideline
Baldwin emphasizes that bake times are merely guidelines. "One thing I stress to the students I teach in Pastry & Baking Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education is that the bake times in a recipe are just a guideline and are based on whatever oven the recipe writer was using, not the one you are using,” she said. “If a student asks me how long something bakes, the only answer I give them is, ‘Until it’s done.’”
And how do you know it’s done? "I like to look for signs that a bake is done and not follow a number in a book,” she said. “So no, you probably did not do anything wrong if the end result is baked through but not dry,”
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Favorite flavors and toppers
I also asked Baldwin about her favorite loaf cakes. “You can apply absolutely any flavor profile to a loaf cake, but my favorite is still a plain one with lots of lemon zest and a little lemon juice added for flavor,” she said, before adding, “Also, carrot cake is delicious as a loaf.”
When it comes to toppings, Baldwin shared that “for something like banana bread, just some sugar in the raw or a bit of crumble topping is nice. For a lemon pound cake, I like a tart glaze. I don’t generally like to soak loaf cakes in syrup though. Since they tend to be fat-based cakes that are already quite moist and dense, I don’t tend to think they need it. "
So, with Baldwin’s insights, saddle a loaf pan (or a few!) and dive into a new recipe this weekend for one delicious, perfectly baked loaf cake.
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