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Tougheners: Flour, milk and eggs contain protein. Protein provides structure and strengthens the cake as it bakes. Too little protein and the cake may collapse; too much protein and the cake may be tough and coarse
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Tenderizers: Sugar, fats and egg yolks interfere with the development of the gluten structure and shorten gluten strands, making the cake tender and soft. These tenderizing ingredients also improve the cake’s keeping qualities.
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Liquids such as water, milk, juice and eggs bring moisture to the mixture. Driers: Flour, starches and milk solids absorb moisture, giving body and structure to the cake.
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Tougheners: Flour, milk and eggs contain protein.
Moisteners: Liquids such as water, milk, juice and eggs bring moisture to the mixture.
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Cake ingredients should be at room temperature, approximately 70°F (21°C), before mixing begins. If one ingredient is too cold or too warm, it may affect the batter’s ability to trap and hold the gases necessary for the cake to rise.
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Cake batters and the cakes made from them are divided into two categories: high fat (in which the structure relies primarily on creamed fat) and whipped eggs (in which the structure relies primarily on egg foam).
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Highfat cakes include butter cakes mixed using the creaming method and high-ratio cakes mixed using the two-stage method.
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Fats and liquids, which normally would not blend, are held in an emulsion, ensuring that the batter will hold the additional liquids and flour necessary to produce the proper texture.
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Add eggs slowly to maintain the emulsion formed when the sugar and butter were creamed. A poorly emulsified batter curdles and does not hold the air cells that are required for proper leavening.
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Originally, these formulas included special emulsified shortenings to help give the cake its structure. Today this two-stage method is also used in formulas that use butter (instead of shortening) and additional eggs, yolks or both, which act as emulsifiers in the batter.
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1 Preheat the oven and prepare the pans.
2 Place all the dry ingredients and fat in a mixer bowl. Blend on low speed for several
minutes.
3 Add approximately half of the liquid ingredients and blend.
4 Scrape down the bowl and add the remaining liquid ingredients. Blend into a
smooth batter, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
5 Pour the batter into prepared pans using liquid measurements to portion the
batter evenly
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Specific gravity refers to the weight of an ingredient or a mixture in relation to the weight of water. One pint (16 fluid ounces) of water weighs 1 pound. In other words, the weight and volume of water are the same, so water has a specific gravity of 1.
weight of ingredient/weight of water = specific gravity
12/10=1.2
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For this reason, when developing formulas, bakeshops record the specific gravity for each type of cake and use these figures to monitor each batch of that kind of cake that they make in the future. Each baker then knows what the desired specific gravity of each formula should be, which helps them troubleshoot.
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Genoise is the classic European-style cake, based on whole eggs whipped with sugar until very light and fluffy.
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Combine the whole eggs and sugar in a mixer bowl, and warm over a double
boiler to 105–113°F (40–45°C).
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Spongecakes are made with separated eggs. An egg foam batter is prepared with egg yolks and other ingredients, and then egg whites are whipped with a portion of the sugar to firm but not dry peaks and folded into the whites before the flour is folded into the egg foam.
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Angel food cakes are tall, light cakes made without fat and leavened with a large quantity of whipped egg whites
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Angel food cakes are tall, light cakes made without fat and leavened with a large quantity of whipped egg whites. Cream of tartar is added to stabilize the egg white foam.
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Although chiffon cakes are similar to angel food cakes in appearance and texture, the addition of egg yolks and vegetable oil makes them moister and richer.
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Because gases expand more easily at higher altitudes, breads and cakes may rise so much that their structure cannot support the weight and they collapse. Therefore, the amount of leavening should be decreased at higher altitudes.
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Angel food cakes are traditionally baked in ungreased tube pans, but large loaf pans can also be used. The pans are left ungreased so that the batter can cling to the sides as it rises.
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Angel food and chiffon cakes are baked in ungreased, unlined pans because these fragile cakes need to cling to the sides of the pan as they rise.
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Greased, floured and lined with paper= All cakes containing melted chocolate, fruit chunks or fruit or vegetable purées
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Most butter cakes are baked at temperatures between 325°F and 375°F (160°C and 190°C). The temperature must be high enough to create steam within the batter and cause that steam and other gases in the batter to expand and rise quickly. If the temperature is too high, however, the cake may rise unevenly and the crust may burn before the interior is completely baked. The temperature must also be low enough so that the batter can set completely and evenly without becoming dry. If the temperature is too low, however, the cake will not rise sufficiently and may dry out before baking completely.
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▪ Appearance—The cake’s surface should be light to golden brown. Unless noted otherwise in the formula, the edges should just begin to pull away from the pan. The cake should not jiggle or move beneath its surface.
▪▪ Touch—Touch the cake lightly with your finger. It should spring back quickly
without feeling soggy or leaving an indentation.
▪▪ Cake tester—If appearance and touch indicate that the cake is done, test the interior by inserting a toothpick, bamboo skewer or metal cake tester into the cake’s center. With most cakes, the tester should come out clean. If wet crumbs cling to the tester, the cake probably needs to bake a bit longer.
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Angel food and chiffon cakes should be turned upside down immediately after they are removed from the oven and left to cool completely in their pans to prevent the cake from collapsing or shrinking. The top of the pan should not touch the countertop so that air can circulate under the inverted pan.
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Problem: Butter curdles during mixing
Cause: Ingredients too warm or too cold
Solution: Make sure eggs are room temperature and added slowly.
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Trouble shooting chart
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Frozen high-fat cakes will keep up to 6 months; egg foam cakes begin
to deteriorate after 2 or 3 months in a freezer.
Test your knowledge about the 5 seeing habits discussed in the text 'UPS 5 seeing habits'.