We know you’re eager to get started in baking, but cooling cakes are as crucial as baking them. But what if you don’t have a cooling rack? A cooling rack (or known as a wire rack) is a neat tool that allows air to circulate around baked goodies freely, like cakes, cookies, muffins, and bread. And if you don’t have a store-bought cooling rack, we have DIY tips on how to cool cakes without wire racks.
Why Use Wire Racks?
Cooling is an important step after taking baked pastries out of the oven. We mentioned cooling racks allowing air to circulate freely around your cakes and cookies. By putting cookies and cakes on top of a wire rack, it prevents these from getting soggy from condensation. Knowing how to cool cakes without wire rack has some technical aspects you need to consider.
Plus, if you don’t take your cake out of the pan, it tends to stick to the pan, which makes it more difficult to remove. Remember, your cookies and cakes will continue to bake in the hot pan, tray, or tin, which is why it isn’t a good idea to leave it in the oven, even when the dial is off. It also isn’t a good idea to take it out of the oven while still in its pan, and leave it on top of a countertop. Cooling it after taking it out of the oven, on a wire rack, with or without the pan, is ideal especially if you want to decorate and frost it!
It takes a few minutes to cool your baked goodies!
- It takes three to five minutes to cool cookies.
- It takes five to ten minutes to cool cupcakes.
- It takes ten to fifteen minutes to cool muffins.
- It takes twenty minutes to an hour to cool bread.
- It takes ten to twenty minutes to cool cake or cake layers.
Depending on the thickness and size of your cake, knowing how to cool cakes without a wire rack properly is important, especially if you want to keep the size of your cake intact.
What Can I Use As Substitute Racks?
You may have items at home lying around that you can use as a substitute rack. When searching for that ideal substitute, remember these key technical aspects you need to take note:
- It allows air to move below the goodies.
- It should be dry.
- The grid should not be too wide that the goodies will topple.
- The grid should not be too narrow that it may also cause condensation on the bottom of the goodie.
What substitutes can you use instead of or how to cool cakes without wire racks?
- You can use the rack from your toaster oven, or if your oven has an extra baking rack that you’re not using, you can use that as well.
- You can also use the grill off the barbecue. Make sure it’s clean! You can cover it with a paper towel, so food residue won’t stick to your cookies or cakes.
- How to cool cookies without a wire rack? You can remove the cookies from the baking sheet and let them cool on paper towels on the countertop. The paper towels absorb any moisture. Air doesn’t need to move below the cookies. Because of their size, they cool easily.
Cooling On Flat Surfaces For Cakes
When it comes to cooling cookies and other smaller baked goodies, it is easier to cool because of how thin it is, and the surface covered is smaller. If you don’t have a cooling rack, an alternative is to flip the cookies upside down on a cool tray.
But when it comes to cakes, flat surfaces are not always the best because they allow a small amount of condensation to form. If you’re transferring your cakes to a cooling tray with a mount, you can place a layer of brown paper or a clean towel to absorb the moisture.
Also, if the spaces between the racks are too wide for your cookies, you can cover the rack with parchment or brown paper to prevent them from falling, or bread and cakes from sagging.
DIY: Make Your Own Racks
Maybe you don’t have ready-to-use grills and racks around the home. You can make your own cooling rack on a budget, too! It’s easy to learn how to cool cakes without wire racks with these:
- Make cooling racks out of gas stove-top removable grates. You can use these as mounts for your cooling tray. You can transfer your cake on top.
- You can use your metal cookie cutters as mounts for your trays. Make sure to leave enough space between them so air can flow freely. You can set your baking sheet directly on top of them, too.
- Make aluminum foil rolls. Cut out long strips of foil and roll them. You will use these as mounts for your cooling tray. Place one for each corner and another one in the middle to keep it stable. Make more than five aluminum foil rolls as necessary.
- If you have enough chopsticks, you can cool your cookies on these.
- Bamboo sushi mats also work great for smaller baked goods.
Conclusion
Without you knowing it, sometimes you have the best items at home to make for a great DIY cooling rack. Knowing how to cool cakes without wire racks can save you some problems. Plus, they’re easy to clean. Using warm water and dish soap, you can soak the racks and trays to loosen any food particles.
Find that ideal cooling rack at home because cooling cakes and other baked goodies gives it the chance to finish baking from the inside. A few minutes of waiting is definitely worth it! Happy baking! Find out more about cakes.