Steem greetings all the way from the motherland-Cameroon to all the amazing chefs on the platform. It is another week for us to showcase our baking talents to you all via the guided questions as provided by the teacher. ![IMG_4243.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmcaFK5aNcoZRYz35KKhm39mYsTh6JRBry55wozgu9dVQq/IMG_4243.jpeg)^{**Image designed on Canva.**} After reading through the course, I will be presenting my knowledge following the guided steps as seen below. |Have you ever made any of these classic pastries at home? Tell us about your experience.| |-| Before I go into details, permit me to say I did self-learning by reading online content about baking. I learn to bake online and I bake only for my kid's snacks for school. I usually make classic vanilla cake for my kid's snacks as I earlier mentioned. My first experience of baking a vanilla cake was funny because I had to watch a video on YouTube several times before I was able to manage and come out with something that looked like a cake 😆. This was because I did not have any clue about the estimated measurements of the ingredients. I had to imagine my own measurements without considering that they would be any effect on the final cake. The excitement of baking for the first time made me to frequently open the pot to check if it was actually baking well. The frequently opening without respecting the baking time caused the cake to sink in the middle. Also, at that moment, we did not have an oven to bake, my mom refused I should not used her cooker because I will waste her gas. I had to use our local fireside with a pot. I placed sand inside the pot and heated it for a while before placing the cake. I could not test to know if the temperature was enough or more for baking. The sand overheated and the cake got burnt. In a nutshell, my first experience baking was funny 😄 and I did not give up. I continued trying and now, I bake without any issues. Now I have most of the baking utensils. |Make one of the two cakes presented (detail ingredients and step by step) and indicate whether you followed the recipe we provided or prepared your traditional cake recipe.| |-|

![IMG_0462.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUVHYLM2g1ufjpZ4BDo1YWZ8RKThhwpEKaVLyk2RVRrvL/IMG_0462.jpeg)

For this assignment, I will share my vanilla cake recipe I did some time ago but will use some copyright-free images to demonstrate because I did not document the process with pictures. I will also share details of the ingredients used and the various steps I used to bake the cake. ##### The Ingredients Used.

- 250g of all-purpose flour. - 150g of Jadida butter. - 3 large eggs (white and yolk) - 1 teaspoon of baking powder. - Half-nut milk to be grated. - 250g sugar. - 1 tsp of vanilla - 250 ml liquid milk. For the utensils used, I used a whisk, a sieve, a bowl, a wooden spatula, a mould, an oven, and a measuring cup. ##### Step-by-step Process

![IMG_4244.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmRE6qstBGevuZacPcAGaLkJg3rWk64iWJA3DhsFJUqw2Q/IMG_4244.jpeg)^Source

First, I start by measuring all the required ingredients to be used. This will make the mixing process easy for me. After measuring, I sieve my 250g of all-purpose flour and keep it aside.

![IMG_4245.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVPZn7pnRKDm99eee2fxB1HhtBhSkpzV9tAKFZuLMWfnF/IMG_4245.jpeg)^Source

I proceeded with my butter and sugar mixing. I do not have a mixer machine at home. I have to use a wooden spatula to mix the butter and sugar until it incorporates well.

![IMG_4248.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmRBSL6LmP9eUGYtsusz8vhqnKZdbLNM8DGuo2sERsacH8/IMG_4248.jpeg)^Source

Then I added the egg yolk into the butter and sugar and continued mixing. Later on, I added the vanilla flavour and mixed it until it integrates well with the other ingredients. I added my 250ml of liquid milk and mixed well until I got the desired mixture. I added the sifted all purposed flour and also sieved the baking powder to ensure that no dirt particles were left inside. Continue mixing with the other ingredients to incorporate well.

![IMG_4251.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmTVcLBBcZrFmEAXB4w3bxPLFTSX2GH5fYG1DmZe1DYHyG/IMG_4251.jpeg)^Source

I used my whisk to beat the egg white until soft peaks formed. Add the whisked egg white bit by bit into the other mixed ingredients and mix in a circular direction. The batter is ready to be put into the moulds.

![IMG_4253.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfQw1f5woXEFBmUSK89dwkz68NddpPWzwVgKnV72Yc9hP/IMG_4253.jpeg)^Source

I grease my baking pan with flour to avoid the cake sticks during baking. Then pour the batter into the greased baking pan. For the cupcakes, I used parchment paper.

![IMG_4254.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZcJG5kFhqmWN8saGEsHu2RSA9WicDy1DnaXQHPvc35MD/IMG_4254.jpeg)^Source

I preheated the oven and placed it in the oven at 180°C. I allowed it for 35 minutes before opening to check if it was ready. My oven is transparent and I can see through but I needed to test if the cake was dry and not still sticking. I used a toothpick to insert it inside the cake and at 40th minutes, it was dry and ready to be consumed.

![IMG_7932.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXHoGmojMghoZw7qxKdjCAQxLNTRHSx3mmCNY6wKfW4z7/IMG_7932.jpeg)^{**My final vanilla cake for my kid’s snacks.**}

![IMG_7931.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmfDSjR7iEyrJjDaSyfkn6vYckAeDPEnun59P2XE7m5LG4/IMG_7931.jpeg)^{**😄The end product of vanilla cake.**}

I allowed it for about 10 minutes to cold off before I removed it and put it in a pan to kept it to be consumed later. |What was the most difficult thing for you when preparing the cake?| |-| The most difficult thing I experienced making this vanilla cake was whisking the egg white to form soft peaks🫣. I do not have a mixer at home to ease my work and save my energy. I had to whisk for long and taking breaks to rest my arms for a while. It took me time and energy coupled with perseverance to continue whisking until I got the desired mixture. The process also taught me resilience because at one point I thought I could leave it and used it to see the outcome. But, I kept on whisking. |Do you have any special tips for making perfect cakes? Share them.| |-| - My first general tip is that as a baker, you need to be passionate. Without passion especially as a beginner, you will easily give up when the process is complicated. - Always preheat your oven before placing the batter in the moulds into the oven to get even cooking. - Beat your butter and sugar together until smooth and the colour changes. - Use the right measurements in order to get a perfect result. - Ensure to sieve all the dry ingredients. - Fill in your batter halfway into the moulds because it will rise during baking. - Open the oven after 35 minutes of baking to avoid the cake falling in the middle. - Use a toothpick to insert into the cake to check if the cake is ready before removing it from the oven. - Allow your cake for about 10 minutes after baking before unmoulding it and placing the surface down on the stand to give it a good decoration. In sum, it was a nice learning process of making a vanilla cake, I will try to make the chocolate cake after learning from the course. I will invite @pelon53, @goodybest, @anailuj1992, and @max-pro to share their ideas with regard to the topic for the week 2 pastry class.