Cakes

Shortened Cakes Contain fat (butter, margarine, or hydrogenated vegetable shortening) Leavened by baking powder or baking soda and sour milk. Pound cakes are a type of shortened cake that are leavened by air or steam. They are tender, moist, and velvety.

Unshortened Cakes Sometimes called foam cakes, contain no fat. Leavened by air, which is beaten into eggs, and by steam ,which forms during baking. Angel food and sponge cakes are unshortened cakes. Angel food contains just the egg whites Sponge cakes contain the whole egg. Unshortened cakes are light and fluffy

Chiffon Cakes A cross between shortened and unshortened cakes. They contain fat like shortened cakes and beaten egg whites like unshortened cakes.

Cake Ingredients Flour: gives structure Cake flour: makes a more delicate and tender cake because cake flour has a lower protein content and is more finely granulated than all- purpose flour. Sugar: gives sweetness to cakes. It also tenderizes the gluten and improves the texture of cakes.

Cake Ingredients Cont… Eggs: improve both the flavor and color of cakes. Also, give cake structure. In angel food and sponge cakes, eggs are used as a leavening agent. Liquid: provides moisture and helps blend ingredients together. Salt: provides flavoring

Cake Ingredients Cont… Fat: Tenderizes the gluten. Leavening gases: causes cakes to rise and become porous and light. Shortened: baking soda, baking powder, sour milk Angel food and sponge cakes: air and steam.

Cake Ingredients Cont… Cream of Tartar: Used in angel food and sponge cakes. It is an acid makes egg white appear whiter. It also helps increase the volume of the baked cake. Flavorings: You can add fruits, nuts, spices, extracts, poppy seeds, and coconut to cake batter for variety.

Measuring Ingredients Flour: A cake made with too much flour is compact and dry. A cake make with too little flour is coarse, and it may fall. Fat & Sugar: Too much over-tenderizes the gluten and weakens it. Cake will be heavy and coarse, and it may fall. Too little of either ingredient will make the cake tough.

Measuring Ingredients Cont… Liquid: Too much will make the cake soggy and heavy. Too little will make the cake dry and heavy. Eggs: Too many: will make the cake rubbery.

Mixing Cakes Overmixing cakes will cause the gluten to overdevelop, which will cause the cake to be tough. Overmixing angel food and sponge cakes will cause air to be lost from the beaten egg whites, therefore the volume of the cake will be smaller.

Mixing Methods for Cakes For shortened cakes, use the conventional method. Cream the fat and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat the eggs into the created fat and sugar. Then add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the liquid. Quick mix method (one-bowl method): Sift the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl. Beat the fat and part of the liquid with the dry ingredients. Add the remaining liquid and unbeaten eggs last.

Mixing Methods for Cakes For an angel food cake: Beat the egg whites with some of the sugar until stiff. Carefully fold the flour and remaining sugar into the beaten egg whites. For a sponge cake: Beat the dry ingredients into the egg yolks. Then fold the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

Baking Cakes If cake is baked in too small of a pan the batter will overflow. If the pan is too large, the cake will be flat and may be dry. The correct pan size will produce a cake with a gently rounded top.

Baking Cakes Cont… You should grease the pans for most shortened cakes and flour them lightly. You should do this to the bottom and the sides. You should not grease the pans for unshortened cakes. These batters need to cling to the sides of the pan during baking.

Baking Cakes Cont… Place cakes in a preheated oven set at the correct temperature and bake them just until they test done. Cakes baked at too high a temperature may burn. Cakes baked too long may be dry.

Baking a Shortened Cake When placing pans in oven, arrange them so that the heat circulates freely around the cake. The pans should not touch each other or any part of the oven. If they do, hot spots may form, and the cake may bake unevenly.

Is it done yet??? Testing for doneness: Lightly touch the center with your fingertip. If the cake springs back, it is baked. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is baked.

Removing Cake from Pan When finished, cake should cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, to make it easier to remove cake from pan. To remove cake from the pan, run the tip of a spatula around the sides of the cake to loosen it. Invert the cooking rack over the top of the pan and gently flip the cooking rack and the pan. The cake should slide out of the pan. Use 2nd cooling rack to flip cake right side up.

Characteristics of a Shortened Cake A high-quality shortened cake is velvety and light. The interior has small, fine cells with thin walls. The crusts are thin and evenly browned. The top crust is smooth or slightly pebbly and gently rounded. The flavor is mild and pleasing.

Microwaving Cakes Shortened cakes made in a microwave come out moist and tasty. Unshortened cakes require a long cooking period and do not microwave well.

Preparing an Unshortened Cake Angel food (most commonly prepared): All ingredients should be at room temperature. Egg whites that are cold will not achieve maximum volume when beaten. When you remove an angel food cake from the oven, immediately suspend the pan upside down over the neck of a bottle. Hanging the cake upside down prevents loss of volume during cooling. Cool completely before removing from pan.

Characteristics of an Unshortened Cake A high quality angel food cake has a large volume. The interior is spongy and porous and has thin cell walls. The cake is tender and moist, but it is not gummy.

Preparing a Chiffon Cake A high-quality chiffon cake has a large volume, although not quite as large as that of an angel food cake. The interior is moist and has cells with thin walls. The cake is tender and has a pleasing flavor.

Frostings and Fillings You can spread fillings between layers of cake or roll them into the center of a jelly roll. You can also spoon them into a cavity dug into the middle of the cake.

Tips for Frosting Frosting should be soft enough to spread without running down the sides. Add powdered sugar, a couple of tablespoons at a time to thicken. If frosting is too stiff, it will pull and tear the cake surface, adding crumbs to the frosting. Add a few drops of water or milk to thin.

Tips for Frosting Use a flexible metal spatula. Use a light touch when frosting a cake. The best way to transfer color to frosting is with a toothpick. Another name for powdered sugar: confectioner’s sugar

Decorating Cakes Decorators’ tube: a cloth, plastic, or paper bag that you fill with frosting. Coupler: holds various plastic or metal decorating tips onto the tube. Decorating tips: the frosting squeezes through this and creates various designs.