Leaving cake's dry ingredients together for later quicker preparation?
Let's say I want to bake a cake specifically on Monday night, so it can be fresh for Tuesday (no, I don't want to do it on Sunday). But I know that on Monday I am going to be extremely busy. So I thought, why don't I measure all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, spices like cinnamon, and baking soda/salt), beforehand, a few days before, and leave them already mixed in a container/tupperware? In this way I already measured, cleaned everything, and I save up that part of the time.
Is it bad for these common cake ingredients to be together for some time? This is in a few days, but let's say you want to prepare for a day you are lazy but fancy baking a nice cake, but quicker. It would be like "homemade instant cake mix" but needing to add butter, eggs and milk, basically.
Best Answer
There's no issue with doing this, as you are no doubt aware ready-made cake mixes are sold boxed in stores and they aren't much different than you describe. Boxed mixes will often have anti-caking agents to prevent the dry ingredients from clumping up after a few weeks on the shelf, this won't be a concern for you if the mix will only be made a couple of days in advance.
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Can you mix dry ingredients in advance?
For most recipes, you can assemble your dry ingredients in advance \u2013 the leavening agents in baking powder, for example, are not activated till you add your liquids.Can you mix dry ingredients for cookies ahead of time?
Yes you can pre-mix your dry ingredients in advance. You can mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Store your mix in an dry airtight container. It's important the container will be airtight to prevent any moisture from getting in.How long can you leave cake mix before baking?
Yes, the cake batter can be refrigerated overnight or for up to 48 hours to preserve freshness and the ability to rise. Still, it would be best if you remembered that refrigerating the cake batter doesn't stop it from losing its rising ability.Melanie Martinez - Cake (Lyrics)
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Answer 2
There is certainly no problem with doing it in the exact described scenario (mixing for one cake a few days ahead).
I would be wary with mixing in bulk though. Not only is it very difficult to mix the powders perfectly evenly, but there is also a physical effect which makes the mix uneven if the box is moved during storage. So, if you start doing this for multiple cakes, I would suggest bagging each batch separately. It is a bit more work during mixing, but worth it.
Answer 3
No hygiene issues
however, if it's a recipe requiring highly sifted flour or cream-sugar-with-butter or mix-vanilla-paste-with-sugar then quality may be lost.
For a brownie recipe, dry mix can be left in a tupperware with room to add wet ingredients and shake.
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