There is a lot of quality equipment that makes baking easier and more fun, but I’m listing here the equipment I find the most indispensable.The oven is getting the most attention because it is the common denominator of success in cake-baking.OVENS: No two ovens bake exactly the same.

All ovens, except for those with circulating trays, will have some hot spots.Convection ovens tend to bake more evenly but still have hot spots.I rotate my cakes halfway around after two-thirds of the estimated baking time—except if they are sponge-type cakes such as génoise or chiffon, which will fall if moved before they finish baking.

When you get a new oven, try baking a familiar cake to see how it turns out.I use my All-Occasion Downy Yellow Cake from The Cake Bible.Get to know your oven and you can adjust accordingly.

I find the Square Dot (a dual oven and probe thermometer) by ThermoWorks invaluable to test the range of fluctuation and, if necessary, lower or raise the temperature.From my experience, gas ovens fluctuate less than electric, but I find both work well for cake-baking.Don’t be afraid to try things out.

Although most cake recipes conventionally say to bake in the center of the oven, I recently realized a mind-blowing fact and wonder why it took me so long to think of it: My Gaggenau, which is considered to be the Rolls Royce of ovens, has a

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