Cakes and Frostings Unless otherwise noted, all images are available on www.google.com with a Creative Commons 0 License.

Types of Cakes Shortened Unshortened tender, moist, and velvety Light, and fluffy Angel food Sponge Chiffon Shortened – sometimes called butter cakes Unshortened – sometimes called foam

Components of Cakes Flour- Gives structure Sugar- Gives sweetness All-purpose Flour and Cake Flour Sugar- Gives sweetness White or Brown Sugar can be used Eggs- Improve Flavor and Color Coagulated proteins add structure Liquid- Provides moisture and helps bind ingredients Examples- milk, buttermilk, sour milk, fruit juices, or water Salt- Provides flavoring Flour - Cakes made with cake flour are more delicate and tender. Cake flour is ground finer than all-purpose, and has lower protein content (less gluten develops) Sugar - Tenderizes gluten, improves texture of cake Eggs - In angel food and sponge cakes, they act as leaveners

Components of Cakes- Continued Fat- Tenderizes Gluten Examples- butter, margarine, hydrogenated vegetable shortening Leavening Agents- (most shortened cakes)Makes cakes rise Baking powered, baking soda, and sour milk Cream of Tartar-(Angel and Sponge Cakes) An acid that makes egg whites whiter and cake grain finer, stabilizes the egg white proteins, and increases the volume of the cake Flavorings- Not essential Examples- spices, extracts, fruits, nuts, poppy seeds, coconut

Shortened Cakes Shortened cakes-contain fat such as butter, margarine, or shortening. Pound cakes are a type of shortened cake that do not contain a chemical leavening agent. Most are leavened with baking powder or baking soda. Shortened cakes contain fat, hence the name. Pound cake, which originated in Europe in the first half of the 18th century, initially weighed four pounds. That's because it called for a pound of each of four ingredients — flour, butter, eggs, and sugar — hence the name.

Preparing Shortened Cakes There are two methods used to prepare shortened cakes. Conventional or Standard Method One Bowl Method

Conventional/Standard Method Cream the fat and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add the flour mixture and the liquid. Creaming using the conventional method video

One Bowl Method Measure the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Beat the fat and part of the liquid with the dry ingredients. Add the remaining liquid and the unbeaten eggs.

Learn How to Cook – How to Prepare Cake Pans Pan Preparation Baking pans are usually coated with fat and flour or lined with parchment paper. Commercial pan preparations are also available. Pans should be filled one-half to two-thirds full. Spread the batter evenly with an offset spatula. Learn How to Cook – How to Prepare Cake Pans

King Arthur Flour – How to Bake Even Cakes Scaling Cake Batters When making multiple cakes or multi-layer cakes, fill the pans to the same level. Have the pans prepared before mixing the batter. King Arthur Flour – How to Bake Even Cakes Pans should be filled as soon as possible after mixing is complete so that air cells in the batter will not collapse.

Scaling Weights Pan Type and Size Scaling Weight High Fat Cakes Round 8” 14-18 oz Square 9”x9” 24 oz Loaf 16-18 oz Low- Fat Cakes 10 oz Sheet 2 ½ pounds Tube 24-32 oz

Scaling Cake Batters Place pans in the oven so the heat circulates freely around the cake. The pans should not touch each other or any part of the oven—this creates hot spots and the cake will bake unevenly.

Checking for doneness 1. A pick or cake tester comes out clean 2. Top of cake springs back when lightly pressed 3. Cake pulls slightly away from the sides of the pan

Cooling Shortened Cakes Allow the cakes to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove and place on wire rack until completely cooled.

Unshortened Cakes Unshortened Cakes-sometimes called foam cakes, contain no fat. Leavened by air, which is beaten into eggs, and by steam, which forms during baking. Examples are angel food cake and sponge cake. The difference between these two is the egg content. Angel food cake contains just egg white. Sponge cakes contain the whole egg.

Angel Food Cake Recipe Demonstration - Joyofbaking.com - YouTube Angel Food Cakes Beat the egg whites with some of the sugar Gradually add the sugar as you whip the egg whites to create a high volume foam. Carefully fold the flour and remaining sugar into the beaten egg whites. Usually baked in an ungreased tube pan. Angel Food Cake Recipe Demonstration - Joyofbaking.com - YouTube The ingredients should be at room temperature. Egg whites that are cold will not achieve maximum volume when beaten.

Angel Food Cake After removing an angel food cake from the oven, immediately suspend the pan upside down over the neck of a bottle. This prevents the loss of volume during cooling. Cool completely before removing from pan.   Public domain images retrieved from Microsoft, 6/4/2017

Angel Food Cakes A high quality unshortened cake has a large volume, spongy interior. It is tender and moist but not gummy. Public domain images retrieved from Microsoft, 6/4/2017

Sponge Cakes 1. Beat the egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. 2.  Add the liquid, sugar and salt to the yolks. Continue beating until thickened. 3. Gently fold the flour into the yolk mixture. 4. Fold the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Sponge cakes are made with an egg foam that contains yolks. Public domain images retrieved from Microsoft, 6/4/2017

Chiffon Cakes Chiffon Cakes-are a cross between shortened and unshortened cakes. They contain a fat like shortened cakes and beaten egg whites like unshortened cakes. Public domain images retrieved from Microsoft, 6/4/2017

Chiffon Cakes 1.  Combine the egg yolks, oil, liquid and flavoring with the dry ingredients. 2.  Beat the mixture until smooth. 3.  Beat the egg whites with the sugar and cream of tartar. 4.   Fold the egg white mixture into the other mixture.

Fillings and Frostings Filling is anything between the layer or inside of a cake. Frosting is the outer coating.

Frosting a Cake King Arthur Flour – How to Frost Cake Layers and Create a Crumb Coat King Arthur Flour – How to Frost a Cake Remember to brush off any loose crumb.

Frostings Cooked frostings - use the principles of candy making. They include ingredients that interfere with the formation of crystals in a heated sugar syrup. Then beat until fluffy. Uncooked frostings - are made by beating the ingredients together until they reach a smooth, spreadable consistency. Fudge-type icings hold up well on cakes and last longer in storage. Fudge type icings should be used on more dense cakes.

Types of Buttercream Frostings Simple buttercream French Italian German Swiss Simple buttercream - made by combining butter, shortening, confectioner’s sugar, egg whites and vanilla.

French buttercream-made with beaten egg yolks and butter. Beat a boiling syrup into beaten egg yolks and whipping to a light foam. Softened butter is then whipped in. This is a very rich, light icing.

Italian Buttercream Italian buttercream-made with Italian meringue and butter. Italian meringue is made by beating a hot sugar syrup into the egg whites. Italian meringue is made by beating a hot sugar syrup into the egg whites. Makes a very stable meringue.

German Buttercream German buttercream-made with butter, emulsified shortening and fondant-a sugar syrup. Simply cream together equal parts fondant and butter. Fondant is a cooked mixture of sugar, water and glucose or corn syrup added to encourage sugar crystallization. Fondant is a cooked mixture of sugar, water and glucose or corn syrup added to encourage sugar crystallization.

Swiss Buttercream Swiss Buttercream-made with Swiss meringue and butter. Swiss meringue is made from egg whites and sugar that are warmed over a hot water bath while they are beaten. This warming gives the meringue better volume and stability Swiss meringue is made from egg whites and sugar that are warmed over a hot water bath while they are beaten. This warming gives the meringue better volume and stability.

Icing Cakes Be sure that the icing is not too heavy for the cake. Dense cakes pair well with fudge-type icings and simple or German Buttercreams. Lighter buttercreams, such as Swiss and Italian go well with sponge cakes.

Decorating King Arthur Flour - How to use a piping bag King Arthur Flour – How to pipe frosting onto a cake