Can you bake cakes with a Bread Machine?

Is it possible to bake a traditional cake using your bread machine?

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You may have noticed the cake setting on your bread machine and just wondered if you could actually bake a cake in a bread machine. Some of you might have ignored it or been too afraid to try it.

Can you bake a traditional cake with your bread machine? The answer is, “absolutely YES”. You can bake cakes in bread machine, but you first need to know a few tips and tricks.

If you have a pre-programmed setting that says cake, it is sometimes referred to as a batter bread setting. The batter bread setting only prepares the batter which you will later have to pour into a baking dish and slide into the oven. You can opt for this and then bake it in the oven, but mixing batter isn’t that difficult.

Whereas, the “cake setting” does that and as well as bakes the cake for you. We will be focusing on recipes that involve the cake setting on your bread machine. Secondly, you have to see what flour you are using. Sometimes the recipes ask you to use cake flour or a cake mix or all-purpose flour.

Cake Baking Tips and Tricks

If you are trying to bake a chocolate chip cake for your daughter’s birthday and you don’t know when to incorporate those chocolate chips. With some bread machines, it is quite easy.

High-end machines like the Breville BBM800XL are equipped with a fruit and nut dispenser so you can add chocolate chips in the compartment.

Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker BBM800XL, Brushed Stainless Steel
  • Automatic fruit and nut dispenser releases ingredients at the right moment during the knead phase so they are evenly incorporated within the dough. Voltage : 110–120 Volts
  • Unique collapsible kneading paddle thoroughly mixes ingredients then collapses before bake phase to minimize the hole at the base of the baked loaf
  • Smart lcd screen with progress indicator displaying 13 automatic settings, 3 crust colors, and 4 loaf sizes
  • Loaf sizes include 1.0-pound, 1-1/2-pound, 2.0 ln and 2-1/2-pound (Family size)
  • 46 step by step recipes (basic, whole wheat, gluten free, crusty loaf, sweet, yeast free, dough, jam as well custom recipe charts). Power : 830 Watts

Last update on 2024-03-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Most bread machines do not come with a viewing window, so you shouldn’t just open the lid to check what your cake looks like. Patience is the key here because if you do that, it will mess up with the temperature of the bread machine and even a vibration at the wrong time can make your cake fall apart.

Once it beeps, you are supposed to shift the cake on a cooling rack and then serve it as it is or decorate it with icing, sprinkles, chocolate chips, fruits, or whatever you desire.

Don’t be too surprised if your cake is vertical because it is how it bakes in a bread machine. If you don’t like the way it looks, we would suggest slicing it up and creating layers. It will also allow you to add filling between each layer.

Cakes baked in an oven or bread machine tend to be tricky. It is a possibility that they aren’t cooked thoroughly, so it’s wise to carry the wooden skewer test. Insert a wooden skewer in the cake from the top and see if it comes out clean. If it doesn’t, then that means you need to pop it in for another 10-20 minutes. If you can’t find a wooden skewer, a dried piece of spaghetti works well too.

Now we have our basics covered; we can move onto the actual bit, which is learning how to bake different flavors of cake.

Before you keep reading, check out our top choice for a home bread machine 

Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker BBM800XL, Brushed Stainless Steel
  • Automatic fruit and nut dispenser releases ingredients at the right moment during the knead phase so they are evenly incorporated within the dough. Voltage : 110–120 Volts
  • Unique collapsible kneading paddle thoroughly mixes ingredients then collapses before bake phase to minimize the hole at the base of the baked loaf
  • Smart lcd screen with progress indicator displaying 13 automatic settings, 3 crust colors, and 4 loaf sizes
  • Loaf sizes include 1.0-pound, 1-1/2-pound, 2.0 ln and 2-1/2-pound (Family size)
  • 46 step by step recipes (basic, whole wheat, gluten free, crusty loaf, sweet, yeast free, dough, jam as well custom recipe charts). Power : 830 Watts

Last update on 2024-03-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Quick cake recipes for your bread machine

Red Velvet Cake Bread Machine Recipe

Red velvet looks fancy and dramatic. The red sponge is usually complemented with white icing to bring out the red. You will be using a red velvet cake mix. The frosting is often buttercream or cream cheese.

Ingredients:

  • One box of Red Velvet cake mix
  • 1 cup of water/250 ml
  • Three eggs lightly beaten
  • ⅓ cup of vegetable oil/75 ml

Strawberry filling

  • Take one cup of crushed strawberries and mix them with ½ a cup of sugar.
  • Set it aside until the sugar dissolves and turns into a thick paste-like mixture. You will be using this between the cake layers.

Directions

  1. Take a measuring cup and add the right quantity of each ingredient in the baking pan in the same order of the recipe.
  2. Place the pan into the bread machine and choose Cake Cycle or batter Cycle: 1 pound and light crust.
  3. Once between the mixing, use a spatula to sweep off the batter from the sides of the baking pan and the kneading paddles.
  4. When it indicates that the cake has been baked, carry out the wooden skewer test. If it’s ready, let it cool and start decorating otherwise bake it for another 10-20 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of softened cream cheese (8 ounces/225 grams)
  • 1 lb confectioners’ sugar, sifted (4 cups/455 grams)
  • ½ a cup of unsalted butter, softened (1 stick/4 ounces/115 gram) or Mascarpone cheese at room temperature (65 to 67 degree Fahrenheit)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Grab a medium bowl to beat the cream cheese in it and butter until smooth.
  2. Slowly pour in sugar while mixing until it has fluffy peaks.
  3. Add vanilla extract
  4. If you want to change the shape of the cake, cut it the way you want and add frosting. If you want to make it more delicious, then add the filling as well and top it off with another layer of frosting.

Pound Cake Recipe

A classic dessert that you can’t go wrong with. Best enjoyed over tea/coffee time.

Ingredients:

  • Three large eggs, beaten
  • ⅓ cup of milk
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tsp. baking powder
  • ½ cup melted butter
  • 1 rounded cup of sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

  1. Add all the ingredients in the same order as directed in the recipe into the baking pan of the bread machine.
  2. Choose the cake setting, 1 pound, light crust setting.

Cake Bread Recipe

This is a combination of both cake and bread ingredients. It works great for breakfast or tea time. You can serve it with jam, jellies, butter or even plain!

Ingredients:

  • 1 ¼ cup of water 110 degrees F/43 degree C
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
  • 2 ½ cup of bread flour
  • 1 cup of yellow cake mix
  • 1 tsp rapid rise yeast

Directions:

  1. Add the ingredients to a bowl in the same order as given in this recipe or by your manufacturer.
  2. This time select the white bread cycle instead of the cake cycle.
  3. 1.5 loaf and crust should be medium.
  4. You can ditch the wooden skewer for this recipe, but if you are still unsure, you can carry out the test.
  5. When it is baked thoroughly, set it aside on a cooling rack, slice it with a bread knife and serve with jam, jellies, butter or plain.

Chocolate Cake Recipe

Good old chocolate cake that everyone loves and enjoys!

Ingredients:

  • ½ a cup of water
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • ¼ cup of vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tsp of baking powder
  • 1 rounded cup of sugar
  • 7 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
  • ½ cup of chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Add ingredients as specified by your bread maker.
  2. If you have a fruit and nut dispenser or an audible beep that allows you to add chocolate chips in the middle, add those when your bread machine indicates otherwise, mix them with the other ingredients as well.
  3. We suggest you pick a light crust setting, so the cake isn’t too dry.
  4. You can serve it warm with fruits of your liking or even ice cream.

Conclusion

Yes, you can bake a cake in a bread maker! There are a few extra things to know but it’s possible to become a pro cake baker using your bread maker.