10X10 CAKE PAN RECIPES

Steps:

• Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°. Butter a 9x4" loaf pan, fully coating bottom and sides. Line pan lengthwise with parchment paper, leaving about a 2" overhang. Are you reading this and wondering, "Can I use wax paper instead of parchment paper?" The answer is: absolutely NOT. That strip of parchment paper will help you to lift the finished cake out of the loaf pan cleanly. Wax paper, on the other hand, will melt and stick to the cake—it's never meant to go into the oven. Now you know!
• Using a Microplane, finely grate the zest from 2 lemons into a large bowl. Add 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted room temperature butter and 1 cup granulated sugar to bowl. It might be tempting to ignore the part about the butter being "room temperature," but working with butter that's soft and spreadable—but not melted—is essential here.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat until mixture is very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. You know how people talk about "creaming" butter and sugar together? That's what you're doing here. You're basically whipping a bunch of air into the butter and sugar mixture, which will help keep the finished cake light and fluffy. And as we mentioned in the last step, that butter needs to be room temp in order for this to work.
• Beat in 3 eggs one at a time, waiting until each is incorporated before adding the next. Continue to beat until mixture is lighter and even fluffier, about 2 minutes.
• Whisk 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp. baking powder, and ½ tsp. salt in another large bowl. It might seem funny to add salt to a dessert recipe, but a little bit helps to make all of the rich, sweet elements really sing.
• Add one-half of dry ingredients to butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined.
• Beat in 6 Tbsp. milk on low just until smooth, then add remaining dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Now that you've added the flour, you want to mix the batter as little as possible—if you beat it up too much, you'll start to form gluten, which will make the cake tough. Using a spatula, scrape down sides of bowl and give batter a final mix so dry ingredients are fully incorporated.
• Scrape batter into your buttered loaf pan; smooth top with a spatula. Bake cake, turning once halfway through, until a cake tester, toothpick, skewer, or thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes.
• While the cake bakes, make the glaze: First, remove zest from remaining lemon with a vegetable peeler in wide strips. (FWIW, if this part seems overly fussy or annoying, you can feel free to just use a Microplane to zest all of the lemons for the glaze, but we think doing it this way looks cuter.)
• Transfer zest to a cutting board and slice as thinly as possible; set aside.
• Halve 2 lemons (the ones you already zested) and squeeze the juice into a small bowl with a reamer or fork (you should have about ½ cup lemon juice).
• Place 1½ cups powdered sugar in another medium bowl. Slowly whisk in about half of lemon juice until smooth, then add sliced lemon zest; set glaze aside.
• Let cake cool about 10 minutes. (Yeah, it really does need to cool a bit, so set a timer if you're impatient.) Poke 10-15 holes evenly throughout cake with a cake tester or toothpick. Pour the remaining lemon juice—the stuff that didn't end up going into the glaze—over the top of the cake. Let cool completely. (Seriously!)
• Run a butter knife around edges of pan to loosen. Using parchment overhang, lift cake onto a wire rack; remove parchment.
• Now, pour the lemon zest glaze over cake, letting it fall down the sides. Let icing set for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Serve on its own, or with a spoonful of Greek yogurt, a dollop of whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream on top. (You deserve it!)

Steps:

• A little advance planning: Your butter, cream cheese, and eggs must be at room temperature before you make the cake and the frosting. The butter and cream cheese should be soft enough that you can easily squish them with your fingers, but not so soft that they’re greasy or starting to melt. If you have a cool kitchen and plan to bake the cake in the evening, set them out on the counter in the morning; if you plan to bake the cake in the morning, set them out the night before. To speed up the process, cut them into tablespoon-size pieces. And if you need to bring your eggs to room temperature quickly, place them in a medium bowl (a quart container also works) when you go to heat your oven and fill the bowl with hot tap water. They should be good to go by the time you are ready for them.
• Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 350°. Lightly coat two 9"-diameter cake pans with nonstick vegetable oil spray or butter generously. Line bottoms with parchment paper rounds and lightly coat with nonstick spray or butter. Whisk 2¾ cups (316 g) cake flour and 2¼ tsp. baking powder in another medium bowl.
• Cut ½ cup (1 stick) room-temperature unsalted butter into tablespoon-size pieces. Place 2¼ cups (450 g) granulated sugar in a large bowl. Heat ½ cup whole milk in a small saucepan over medium until just about to simmer, about 1 minute. (Or, heat in a microwave-safe bowl in a microwave in 30-second increments.) Pour over sugar and whisk vigorously until sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute. Immediately add butter and whisk vigorously until incorporated, about 1 minute. (Go for a full minute when whisking the sugar and the butter if in doubt.) Whisk in 1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract and 2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt. Arrange a damp kitchen towel underneath bowl in a hollow ring to stabilize it, then gradually stream in ½ cup vegetable oil, whisking constantly until emulsified with no oily spots remaining.
• Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, whisking after each just until no dry spots remain before adding the next. Batter will be thick.
• Working one at a time, crack 5 large eggs into your hand or a mesh sieve set over a small bowl and let eggs whites collect in bowl; add yolks to batter one at a time, whisking until completely incorporated after each addition. (Save eggs whites for another use.) Add remaining 3 large eggs to batter one at a time, whisking until completely incorporated before adding the next. Whisk in ¾ cup sour cream; batter will be smooth and glossy.
• Divide batter between prepared pans. (If you’re a perfectionist, weigh your batter, divide by two, then measure that amount into each pan—you’ll likely want about 750 g in each.)
• Bake cakes, rotating pans top to bottom halfway through, until golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40–50 minutes. Transfer pans to parchment-lined wire racks and let cakes cool in pans 10 minutes. Turn out cakes onto racks, peel away parchment paper rounds, and turn right side up. Let cool completely. (The parchment on the racks will prevent the moist cake from sinking into the racks.)
• Wrap cooled cakes tightly in plastic and chill in the fridge at least 1 hour or in the freezer at least 20 minutes (this will make them easier to frost because the frosting won't pick up as many crumbs).
• Meanwhile, make the frosting. Using a rubber spatula, smash together two 8-oz. packages room-temperature cream cheese and remaining ½ cup (1 stick) room-temperature unsalted butter in a clean large bowl until homogenous, smooth, and fluffy (don’t be afraid to be aggressive). Stir in ¾ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, remaining 2 Tbsp. sour cream, and remaining 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract. Using a fine-mesh sieve, sift in 1½ cups (165 g) powdered sugar. (It is important to sift here, otherwise, you’ll end up with clumps.) Stir until smooth, then taste and add more sour cream or salt if needed. (You should have about 3 cups frosting.)
• If you want to make a fruity filling, scoop about 1 cup frosting into a small bowl. Sift in 2 Tbsp. (10 g) freeze-dried raspberry or strawberry powder and stir until no lumps remain.
• To frost the cakes: Place 4 long strips of parchment paper along edges of plate to make a large, hollow square, then place a cake layer on top. You’ll be able to shimmy these out from under the cake, leaving a clean, frosting-free plate behind. Scoop fruit frosting (or about 1 cup plain frosting) on top of cake and spread into an even layer with rubber spatula. Place second cake layer over. Scoop another 1 cup frosting on top and spread evenly over cake surface. Frost sides of cake, as well as top as needed, with remaining frosting. You can use a thin butter knife to fill in any gaps or bare spots. Run knife along the top of the cake to create a subtle ridge pattern or swirls as desired. Remove parchment strips. → Domed layers? No spatula? Get our stacking and decorating tips here.
• This cake has the best texture at room temperature—tent it with foil or plastic and leave on the counter 1–2 hours before serving. It will also tastes great straight from the fridge if you make it ahead. Do ahead: Cakes can be baked 2 days ahead; keep chilled, or freeze, up to 2 weeks. If frozen, let thaw overnight in the fridge. Frosting can be made 5 days ahead; cover and chill. Bring to room temperature, then whisk or stir with a rubber spatula to lighten before using. Cake can be assembled 5 days ahead; wrap and chill.