Baking Cake in the Bread Maker - Light, Simple and Without an Oven

Your bread maker can do more than bread. Nearly every machine has a cake program, and yet that button stays unused for many home bakers. That is a shame, because a homemade cake from the bread maker is surprisingly easy: you do not have to preheat an oven, you do not have to grease and watch a cake tin, and the machine does all the baking itself.

Still, we often hear the same frustrations in practice. "My cake does not rise higher than halfway up the tin." "One time it is hard, the next time it is soggy." "The bottom is much browner than the top." Almost all of those problems come down to the same thing: a cake is not a bread, and a bread maker simply bakes differently than an oven.

In this article we explain how baking cake in the bread maker really works, we give a proven basic recipe, we show which program to choose per brand, and we fix the most common mistakes. So that you pull a light cake out of the pan the very first time.

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Cake in the bread maker: how does that actually work?

The biggest difference between bread and cake lies in the raising agent. Bread rises through yeast: a living organism that needs time, warmth and moisture to form carbon dioxide. Cake rises through baking powder, a chemical raising agent that reacts immediately as soon as it comes into contact with moisture and heat.

That difference has two consequences. First, cake does not need a long rising time like bread: the cake program skips the rising phase and starts baking almost right away. Second, you must not work a cake batter too long. Where you knead bread dough firmly to develop gluten, with cake you want to stir as little as possible once the flour goes in, otherwise the cake turns tough.

Baking powder, by the way, is something different from baking soda. Baking powder already contains an acid and works in almost any recipe. Baking soda needs an acidic ingredient, such as yogurt or buttermilk, to work. For an ordinary cake you use baking powder, or self-raising flour that already has the baking powder in it. Baking specialist Rutger van den Broek explains the difference between baking powder and baking soda.

Why a bread maker bakes differently

A bread maker heats mainly from below and along the sides of the baking pan, in a small, enclosed space. An oven heats from all sides at once. That is why the bottom and the sides of your cake can turn darker than the top. That is not a mistake on your part, but a characteristic of the machine, and there is something you can do about it (see the section on common mistakes).

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What you need

This is a classic butter cake recipe, based on the age-old ratio of equal parts butter, sugar, eggs and flour (the so-called quatre-quarts or pound cake). That ratio gives a full, light cake that almost always turns out well.

Ingredients (for 1 cake of approx. 900 grams)

Would you rather have a quicker version without a mixer? Replace the butter with 100 ml sunflower oil, use 250 grams flour with 2 teaspoons baking powder, 150 grams sugar, 3 eggs and 60 ml milk. You just whisk this version loose with a whisk and it works perfectly.

Equipment

• Bread maker with a cake program (see the program table below)
• Kitchen scale that weighs whole grams
• Hand mixer or whisk and a large bowl
• Spatula

Accurate weighing is even more important with cake than with bread. A few grams too much flour or too little baking powder is often the difference between a light and a dense cake. So use a scale, not a measuring cup.

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Step by step: baking cake in the bread maker

The most reliable way is the bowl method: you make the batter in a bowl first and then let the machine only bake. That way you control the lightness yourself and prevent the machine from working the batter too long.

1. Bring everything to room temperature

Soft butter, eggs at room temperature and milk from the fridge that you let warm up a bit: this is the most important step. Cold ingredients do not mix well and give a dense, low-lying cake. So set out your butter and eggs half an hour beforehand.

2. Cream the butter and sugar

Put the soft butter with the sugar and the vanilla sugar in a bowl and beat with the mixer until light and almost white. This takes at least three to four minutes. While beating you work air into the butter, and it is precisely those air bubbles that make your cake light later on. So do not skip this step.

3. Eggs one at a time

Add the eggs one at a time and beat each egg fully through the batter before adding the next. That keeps the batter nice and smooth and stops it from curdling. Does the batter curdle a little anyway? A spoonful of the flour stirred through usually fixes it.

4. Fold in the flour and baking powder briefly

Sift the flour, the baking powder and the pinch of salt together over the bowl and fold this in with a few strokes. Now the rule is: the shorter, the better. If you keep stirring too long, gluten forms and the cake turns tough instead of light. If the batter is very stiff, stir in a spoonful of milk.

5. Grease and fill the baking pan

Take the kneading paddle out of the baking pan (with the bowl method you do not need it, and this way you avoid a hole in your cake). Grease the pan generously with some soft butter. Pour in the batter and fill the pan no more than halfway, because the cake rises considerably. Smooth the top with the spatula.

6. Choose the cake program and start

Put the pan back, close the lid and choose the cake program (see the table below for your machine). If a crust color is adjustable, choose light to medium, because cake contains a lot of sugar and browns quickly. Start the program.

7. Keep the lid closed

This is crucial: do not open the lid during baking. Every time you look, heat escapes, and then your cake can collapse. Only near the end, when the baking time is almost up, may you carefully do a skewer test.

8. Test for doneness and let it cool

Insert a satay skewer or a knitting needle into the center of the cake. If it comes out dry, the cake is done. If wet batter is still stuck to it, keep baking a bit longer (on many machines you can use the separate bake program for this). Then let the cake cool for at least 20 minutes before you take it out of the pan, otherwise it breaks.

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Choosing the program per machine

Nearly every bread maker has a cake program. On most brands it is around program 10 to 12. The cake program mixes briefly and then bakes for a long time, without a rising phase.

Program numbers differ per model variant. Always check your own manual.

On the Fornello, Program 10 (Cake) takes about two and a half hours: the machine mixes briefly and then bakes for a long time at an even temperature. If your cake has a slightly too soft center afterward, bake it for another ten to twenty minutes with Program 14 (Bake).

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Two methods: bowl or everything in the machine

There are two ways to make cake in the bread maker, and the difference often determines whether your cake turns out well.

Method 1 - the bowl method (recommended). You make the batter in a bowl and let the machine only bake. Advantage: you beat air into the butter yourself and fold the flour in briefly, exactly the way cake should be made. This gives the lightest and most reliable result. Method 2 - everything in the machine. You put all the ingredients in the baking pan and let the machine mix and bake. Advantage: less washing up and quicker done. Downside: the mixing phase of the cake program lasts quite long on some machines, and that can make the batter tough. In practice this turns out to be the most common reason cakes from the bread maker come out hard or uneven.

Still going for method 2? Then make sure your butter is really soft (or use oil) and that all the ingredients are at room temperature, so the batter becomes homogeneous quickly and does not need to be mixed for long. In that case you just leave the kneading paddle in; you get a small hole at the bottom, just like with bread.

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Common mistakes (and how to fix them)

1. The cake stays low and does not rise above halfway

This is the most common complaint. The cause is almost always one of these: too little baking powder, cold ingredients, too much flour, or mixing too long so the air is knocked out.

Solution: weigh your flour and baking powder accurately, use ingredients at room temperature, and cream the butter and sugar until nice and light. When in doubt, use the bowl method.

2. The cake sinks in the middle

A cake that rises nicely and then sinks has usually lost too much heat or had too much raising agent. The biggest culprit is opening the lid during baking. Too much baking powder or a batter that is too wet can also make the cake sink.

Solution: keep the lid shut until the end, stick to the specified amount of baking powder, and only take the cake out of the pan after it has cooled for 20 minutes.

3. The bottom is darker than the top

Because the bread maker heats from below and along the sides, those parts brown faster than the top.

Solution: choose a light crust color if your machine can set that. Take the cake out of the keep-warm setting immediately after it finishes, so the bottom does not keep baking. Want a more evenly browned top? Put the cake under the oven grill for a few minutes after baking.

4. The cake is hard or tough

A tough cake has almost always been mixed too long, forming gluten, or has too much flour in it.

Solution: fold the flour in with as few strokes as possible and use the bowl method, so the machine does not work the batter for minutes on end.

5. Boxed cake mix does not turn out well

A ready-made cake mix is made for the oven, not for the bread maker. The baking time and the way of heating are different, so following the box does not always give the same result.

Solution: mix the mix according to the package, but count on a different baking time. Test with a skewer and bake extra with the separate bake program if needed. Here too, fill the pan no more than halfway.

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Variations on the basic recipe

Once the basic recipe works, it is a rewarding starting point to play with.

Chocolate cake

Replace 30 grams of flour with 30 grams of cocoa powder and mix that in with the flour. For extra chocolate, stir a handful of dark chocolate chips through the batter at the last moment.

Lemon cake

Add the zest of a whole lemon and a tablespoon of lemon juice to the batter. Fresh and light, ideal for summer.

Apple cake

Peel an apple, cut it into small pieces and mix them with a teaspoon of cinnamon. Fold the pieces in gently at the very end. Dust them lightly with flour first, then they sink to the bottom less quickly.

Raisin or nut cake

Add a handful of raisins or coarsely chopped nuts. Toss them in a little flour first, so they stay nicely distributed instead of sinking to the bottom.

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Storing cake

Thanks to the butter and sugar, cake stays fresh longer than ordinary bread. Store it in an airtight tin at room temperature, then it keeps for three to four days. In the fridge, cake actually dries out faster, so we advise against that.

Want to keep it longer? Cut the cake into slices, wrap each slice separately and freeze it. That way you take out exactly what you need. Read more about storing and freezing baked goods in our article Storing Bread - How to Keep Homemade Bread Fresh Longer.

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Frequently asked questions

Do I have to take the kneading paddle out?

With the bowl method, yes: then you do not need it and you avoid a hole in your cake. If you put all the ingredients in the machine, you leave the paddle in; you get a small hole at the bottom, just like with bread.

Can cake be made with yeast instead of baking powder?

No. Yeast makes bread, baking powder makes cake. They work in completely different ways: yeast needs rising time, baking powder reacts immediately. For a cake structure you always use baking powder or self-raising flour. Laura's Bakery has a handy overview of when to use yeast, baking powder or baking soda.

Why is my cake so dark on the bottom?

Because the machine heats from below. Choose a light crust color, take the cake out of the machine right after it finishes and do not let it keep baking on the keep-warm setting.

Can I use a boxed cake mix?

Yes, but it is meant for the oven. Follow the package, but test with a skewer and count on a slightly different baking time.

How do I know for sure the cake is done?

Insert a satay skewer into the center. If it comes out dry and clean, the cake is ready. If batter sticks to it, keep baking a bit longer.

How much baking powder do I need?

As a rule of thumb, about one teaspoon of baking powder per 100 grams of flour. If you use self-raising flour, the raising agent is already in it and you add nothing extra.

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Read also

• Baking Banana Bread in the Bread Maker - Soft, Sweet and Surprisingly Easy
• Bread Maker Tips for Beginners - 8 Golden Rules
• Which Flour for Your Bread Maker? The Complete Guide
• Storing Bread - How to Keep Homemade Bread Fresh Longer

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Do you have questions about this recipe, or want to share your result? We are happy to help.

Or email support@fornello.eu - we respond within 24 hours.

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Ready to get started? Take a look at the Fornello Supremo bread maker.