5 Links to Read Before Baking a Cake

Each week, we’ll be sharing a comprehensive list of links to help you master something new in the kitchen. Culinary greatness, here you come.

Today: How to make everyone's favorite celebratory dessert -- cake.

Cake -- like a glass of champagne -- is synonymous with celebration. Birthdays, weddings, graduations -- it isn't officially a party until someone passes around slices of cake. (Or, until someone drinks too much of the aforementioned champagne and initiates karaoke. Whichever comes first.) Whether you're into ice cream cakes, cupcakes, layer cakes, or are just in it for the frosting, be sure to read these links before you get baking.

• Let's start at the beginning: how to measure flour correctly. And, how to hack your own cake flour and self-rising flour. (Food52.)

• To give your cakes varied texture, add a crackling crust. (Ideas in Food.)

• Avoid raw-in-the-middle-syndrome. Here's how to tell when a cake is done. (Food52.)

• Frost cakes like a pro with these tips. (Bon Appétit.)

• If you're making a cake ahead of time (or, in the very unlikely event that you have leftovers), ensure freshness by storing it properly. (The Kitchn.)

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