Who doesn’t love cake? From chocolate to sponge, cheese, carrot, fruit and red velvet – cakes https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/types-of-cake-glossary-article come in so many different forms that there’s always something for everyone. So, if you’re considering turning your love and talent for making cakes into a profitable business, you’ve certainly made a good choice.
However, making cakes on a large scale isn’t exactly a piece of cake. You already know that in order to create a dessert that’s both mouth-watering and attractive on the eye, you need to invest a great deal of effort and time. With that being said, it’s important to invest in equipment that can help your business in terms of quality, productivity and efficiency. Here are some suggestions on the kind of equipment to get.
A Powerful Cake Dough Mixer
The process of making cakes starts with mixing and mixers, of course. However, for a commercial cake making business, not just any mixer can do. You need to invest in a powerful commercial-grade cake dough mixer that can speed up the process and create large batches of dough. And when it comes to commercial dough mixers, the choice usually comes down to either a spiral or a planetary mixer.
Spiral mixers have a mechanism that rotates the whole bowl around the agitator. This means that the mixing is gentler, and the dough isn’t overworked. These mixers are most commonly used in pizzerias and bakeries.
A planetary mixer (also called vertical) also consists of an agitator and a bowl. However, the bowl remains static while the agitator rapidly turns inside the bowl to mix the contents. Planetary mixers can be used to whip and blend, whereas spiral mixers cannot. They also can mix a variety of ingredients and are more versatile than spiral mixers. As a result, planetary is the kind of cake dough mixer you should be looking for.
When choosing a planetary cake dough mixer, consider its bowl capacity. Most planetary mixers offer a capacity between 10 and 60 litres. In addition to mixing dough, a cake dough mixer can also be used to whip mousse and creams.
A Convection Oven
After the dough is properly mixed, it needs to be cooked straight away at the right temperature. If you fail to do so, the cake can fail to bake properly, which is called “falling”. However, picking a good oven can reduce the risk of failure. Of all the types of ovens used in the confectionery industry, convection ovens are the most common and often least expensive. They can bake quickly and evenly a variety of cakes as well as other products such as cookies, brownies and pies.
Convection ovens have internal fans that provide air circulation for even browning. Whether the oven is gas or electric, it doesn’t make much difference in the final product. However, it can make a difference in your energy costs, as gas ovens tend to be more energy-efficient than electric ones.
Decorating Tools
But everything is not finished once the cake is baked. There’s also the decorating to consider. Especially if you’re producing speciality cakes for birthdays, weddings and similar events where the cake’s look has a prominent role. For the more complex cake decorating, you need to invest in some special tools, such as icing combs and smoothers, piping bags and tips, syringes, embossing mats and even butane cooking torches.
A cooking torch is an essential item for cake making due to its versatility. It can be used to melt cheese, to singe meringues, caramelise sugar and similar tasks. If you’re creating tiered cakes, you will also need cake plates, rods, levellers and pillars. It’s incredibly important to craft cakes that are not only delicious but also unique and eye-catching. By doing so, you’ll be able to encourage impulse sales of the ones featured in your display case and also grab the attention of the people attending the events where your cakes are served.
Display Cases
Once your creations are finished, you need to display them in your store. Depending on the ingredients, you’ll be needing several types of display cases. For cakes that don’t need to be refrigerated, a dry case is ideal. On the other hand, for cakes with ingredients that can easily spoil such as fresh fruit, cream or cheese, you need a refrigerated display case. To make sure that your cakes are properly refrigerated at the right temperature, pick display cases that offer a wide range of working temperatures that you can use for different types of products.
It’s important to separate cakes with different ingredients so that their smells don’t mix. Also, keep your speciality cakes separately from the rest to draw attention to their uniqueness. To encourage purchases on certain types of cakes, try placing them at a prominent spot, like for instance on the counter. What’s more, display cases with built-in LED lighting can make the products in them seem even more appealing.
