Even Though It Saves Time, Don't Jam Too Many Cakes Into Your Oven

Making a massive cake (or cakes) for an occasion or baking cakes for a living can be overwhelming. While it might be tempting, don't jam too many cakes into your oven at once — and be careful about how you slam the oven door. If you don't have an industrial range or two ovens, the rule of thumb is one large cake per rack and, max, two small cakes per rack.

The reason behind not crowding your oven space is simple. Air can't flow evenly if there are too many things in an oven at once, resulting in cakes that may not bake (or one that may be too brown and one that may be raw). 

Even though it can save time to bake multiple layers of cake at once, it's best to take your time when baking and schedule accordingly. Not stuffing an oven with cakes will also prevent redoing any cake that doesn't cook, which can be very frustrating.

Cake orders stacking up can cause panic and may tempt you to add as many cakes as possible to your oven at once ignoring a lack of space. But there's a foolproof way to avoid this anxiety — plan ahead. Don't take more orders than you can produce (even if it's tempting), and always build a "bake day" into your schedule. (You may even need two bake days for a particularly packed week or month.)

Planning your baking and decorating days will allow you to add the correct number of cakes to your oven immediately and prevent a cake from over- or under-baking. 

In the event that you do mess up a few cakes, it's best to redo the recipe. If you are pressed for bake time, it's best to push a pick-up time later in the day (you can always offer a discount).

Some bakers swear by the turning method of rotating cakes halfway through baking for evenly baked cakes. If you use this tactic, stacking your oven with too many cakes will make it hard to turn each one. But there's something to be said about not turning a cake, too.

Opening the oven door while baking cakes will cause cold air to rush into the oven and might cause your cake to collapse or prevent it from rising. To avoid this, ensure your cake is at least three-quarters of the way baked before opening the door, and don't open the door for 10 minutes after the first check.

It's much safer to leave cakes to bake without checking on them and level them out later. Air is essential when baking cakes — each one must have enough air to circulate, and cold air can't come in contact with a baking cake.