1. Chapter 13
Cakes and Icings

2. Cakes
Are created from liquid batters with high fat and sugar contents.
Ingredients are classified by function:
Tougheners
Tenderizers
Moisteners
Driers
Leaveners
Flavorings

3. Cake Mixing Methods The goal of mixing cake batter is:
to combine ingredients uniformly
incorporate air cells
develop proper texture
Cake Mixing Methods are divided into two categories:
High fat, whose structure relies on creamed fat and includes butter cakes and high-ratio cakes
Egg foam, whose structure relies on whipped eggs and includes genoise, spongecakes, angel food and chiffon cakes

4. Types of Cakes
Insert Table 13.1 p. 444

5. Specific Gravity
The amount of air incorporated into a batter relates to the quality, volume and appearance of the finished cake.
Too little air make a cake with tight grain and low volume. Too much air and the grain may be coarse.
Specific gravity will indicate if a cake batter is properly mixed.
It is a measurement of the weight of a mixture in relation to the weight of water.
Weight of ingredient / weight of water = specific gravity

6. Panning Cake Batter
Most pans must be greased or lined to prevent cakes from sticking.
Fill pans no more than one half to two thirds full.
Insert Table 13.2 p. 457 under the bullet point

7. Baking and Cooling
Always preheat the oven before preparing the batter.
Test for doneness:
Appearance – light golden brown; edges pull away from sides of the pan.
Touch – Springs back when lightly pressed
Cake tester – Comes out clean when inserted in center of cake.
Generally allow a cake 10 to 15 minutes in its pan set on a cooling rack after taking it out of the oven.
All cakes should be left to cool away from drafts or air currents that might cause them to collapse.

8. Insert Table 13.4 p. 459

9. Icings
Or frostings, are sweet decorative coatings used as filling between layers or, as coating over the top and sides of the cake.
There are several types:
Buttercream
Foam
Fudge
Fondant
Glaze
Royal icing
Ganache

10. Types of Icing
Insert Table 13.5 p. 460

11. Troubleshooting Icing
Insert Table 13.6 p. 460

12. Assembling and Decorating Cakes
Before a cake can be decorated it must be assembled and coated with icing or frosting.
The goal is to fill and stack the cake layers evenly and apply an even coating of icing that is smooth and free of crumbs.
Consider the flavor, texture and color of the components used as well as the number of guests served when designing a cake and selecting the filling and icing.

13. Cake Decorating Techniques
Side masking with nuts, crumbs or crushed cookies
Stencils – creating a design on top of a cake with confectioner’s sugar or cocoa powder.
Piping on icing in decorative patterns
Learning how to make a disposable icing cone from parchment-paper is a great time saver.
Covering cake with rolled fondant

14. Storing Cakes
Plain cake layers or sheets can be stored for 2 or 3 days at room temperature when well wrapped.
Iced or chilled cakes are usually refrigerated.
Any cake containing custard filling, mousse or whipped cream must be refrigerated.
Although cakes can be frozen with great success, icings and fillings do not freeze particularly well.

15. Convenience Products Packaged cake mixes are tremendous time savers.
Results are consistent, although usually softer and more cottony than scratch cakes.
Flavor also tends to be more artificial than scratch cakes.
Icings, glazing and toppings are available.
Icings are often exceedingly sweet and overpowered by artificial flavors and chemical preservatives.
The products save time and have consistent results but are more costly than scratch products.