Advanced Baking Hpmgt #135

Key Topic Discussion: CAKES

v What is most important aspect of producing great cakes?

ü What sets a cake apart from other baked goods? The mixing process. A cake always has some kind of leavening, which can be the air beaten into the batter or chemical leavenings like baking soda or baking powder. The goal is to incorporate the tiny bubbles that give the baked cake a perfect texture into the batter. A superior cake is the result of proper mixing.

v Cake Overview

ü “Cakes are high in both fat and sugar. The baker’s job is to create a structure that supports these ingredients and yet to keep it as light and delicate as possible. Producing cakes in quantity is relatively easy if the baker has good, well-balanced formulas, scales ingredients accurately, and understands basic mixing methods well. Cakes owe their popularity not only to their richness and sweetness but also to their versatility. Cakes can be presented in many forms, from simple sheet cakes in cafeterias to elaborately decorated works of art for weddings and other important occasions.”

v Ingredients

Ø Each ingredient performs a specific function and has a specific effect on the final product. Cake ingredients can be classified according to six functions:

1) “Tougheners”

§ Flour, milk and eggs contain protein. Protein provides structure and strengthens the cake once it is baked. Too little protein and the cake may collapse; too much protein and the cake may be tough and coarse.

2) “Tenderizers”

§ Sugar, fats and egg yolks interfere with the development of the gluten structure when cakes are mixed. They shorten the gluten strands; make the cake tender and soft. These ingredients also improve the cake’s keeping qualities.

3) “Moisteners”

§ Liquids such as water, milk, juice and eggs bring moisture to the mixture. Moisture is necessary for gluten formation and starch gelatinization, as well as for improving a cake’s keeping qualities.

4) “Driers”

§ Flour, starches and milk solids absorb moisture, giving body and structure to the cake.

5) “Leaveners”

§ Cakes rise because gases in the batter expand when heated. Cakes are leavened by the air trapped when fat and sugar are creamed together, by carbon dioxide released from baking powder and baking soda and by air trapped in beaten eggs. All cakes rely on natural leaveners – steam and air – to create the proper texture and rise.

6) “Flavorings”

§ Flavorings such as extracts, cocoa, chocolate, spices, salt, sugar and butter provide cakes with the desired flavors. Acidic flavoring ingredients such as sour cream, chocolate, and fruit also provide the acid necessary to activate baking soda.

Ø Some ingredients fulfill more than one of these functions. For example, eggs contain water, so they are moisteners, and they contain protein, so they are Tougheners. By understanding the function of various ingredients, you should be able to understand why cakes are made in particular ways and why a preparation sometimes fails. With additional experience, you should be able to recognize and correct flawed formulas and develop your own cake formulas.

Ø Cake ingredients should be at room temperature, approximately 70˚, 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.

v Mixing Methods

ü When mixing any cake batter, the goals are to combine the ingredients uniformly, incorporate air cells and develop the proper texture. All mixing methods can be divided into two categories:

1) High-fat (those that create a structure that relies primarily on creamed fat)

v Butter cakes

v High-ratio cakes

2) Egg foam (those that create a structure that relies primarily on whipped eggs)

v Genoise cakes

v Sponge cakes

v Angel food cakes.

v CREAMED FAT

Ø Include most of the popular American-style cakes: poundcakes, layer cakes, coffeecakes and even brownies. All are based on high-fat formulas, most containing chemical leaveners. A good high-fat cake has a fine grain, cells of uniform size and a crumb that is moist rather than crumbly. Crusts should be thin and tender.

Ø The first step is creaming the butter and sugar until “light and fluffy,” a common baking technique that more than one baker mistakenly takes for granted. Creaming disperses millions of tiny, fat-covered air bubbles throughout the sugar. In the oven, the liquid in the batter is converted into steam through the air bubbles, expanding and leavening the cake. Chemical leavenings will help this process, but remember that baking soda and baking powder do not create additional structure to leaven a batter – they only expand the air bubbles already present.

Ø Creaming Method:

1. Preheat oven and prepare the pans.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.

3. Cream the butter or shortening until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar and cream until the mixture is fluffy and smooth. Scrape down the bowl frequently to make certain the entire mixture is well creamed.

4. Add the eggs slowly, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl after each addition.

5. Add the dry and liquid ingredients alternately.

6. Divide the batter into prepared pans and bake immediately.

Ø High-Ratio Cakes

o Commercial bakeries often use a special two-stage mixing method to prepare large quantities of a very liquid cake batter with high sugar content. These formulas require special emulsified shortenings to help give the cake its structure. They are known as two-stage cakes because the liquids are added in two stages or portions.

o Because they contain a high ratio of sugar and liquid to flour, these cakes are often known as high-ratio cakes. They have a very fine, moist crumb and relatively high rise.

o Procedure notes:

1. Preheat oven and prepare the pans.

2. Place all of the dry ingredients and emulsified shortening into 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 ensure uniform division.

v WHIPPED EGGS

Ø Some formulas contain chemical leaveners, but the air whipped into the eggs (whether whole or separated) is the primary leavening agent. Egg foam cakes contain little or no fat. Genoise and spongecake are pliable; moisture in the eggs develops the protein in the flour, making these cakes springy and elastic. These cakes are well suited for rolling, as for Swiss Jelly Roll or Yule Log, or for cutting into thin layers, lining a torte ring and so on.

Ø Genoise:

o Is the classic European-style cake. It is based on whole eggs whipped with sugar until very light and fluffy. Chemical leaveners are not used. Slightly warming the egg mixture helps improve the volume of the egg foam. For flavor and moisture a small amount of oil or melted butter is sometimes added to the batter after mixing.

o Because Genoise is rather dry, it is usually soaked with a flavored sugar syrup or liqueur for additional flavor and moisture.

o Basic procedure:

1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pans.

2. Sift the flour with any additional dry ingredients.

3. Combine the whole eggs and sugar in a large bowl and warm over a double boiler to 100˚.

4. Whip the egg-and-sugar mixture until very light and tripled in volume.

5. Fold the sifted flour into the whipped eggs carefully but quickly.

6. Divide into pans and bake immediately.

Ø Spongecakes:

o Are made with separated eggs. A 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 batter. Spongecakes are primarily leavened with air, but baking powder may be included in the formula. As with Genoise, oil or melted butter may be added if desired.

o Spongecakes are extremely versatile. They can be soaked with sugar syrup or a liqueur and assembled with butter cream as a traditional layer cake. Or they can be sliced thinly and layered, like Genoise, with a jam, custard, chocolate or cream filling.

o Basic procedure:

1. Preheat the oven and prepare the pans.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together with a portion of the sugar.

3. Separate the eggs. Whip the egg yolks with some of the sugar to the ribbon stage, that is, until they fall from the beater in thick ribbons that slowly disappear into the surface. Whip in any flavorings.

4. In a separate bowl of a mixer fitted with a clean whip attachment, whip the egg whites with a portion of the sugar, then carefully fold the whipped yolks and whipped whites together with the remaining sugar.

5. Carefully fold the whipped egg whites into the batter. Then gently fold the sifted dry ingredients into the egg foam in two or three additions.

6. Pour the batter into the pans and bake immediately.

Ø Angel Food Cakes:

o Are tall, light cakes made without fat and leavened with a large quantity of whipped egg whites. Remember, egg whites will not foam properly if grease or egg yolk is present in the mixing bowl. Pans are left ungreased so that the batter can cling to the sides as it rises. The cakes should be inverted as soon as they are removed from the oven and left in the pan to cool. This technique allows gravity to keep the cakes from collapsing or sinking as they cool.

o Basic procedure:

1. Preheat the oven.

2. Combine the dry ingredients, including a portion of the sugar, in a bowl and set aside.

3. Whip the egg whites with a portion of the sugar until stiff and glossy.

4. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites.

5. Spoon the batter into an ungreased pan and bake immediately.

6. Allow the cake to cool inverted in its pan.

Ø Chiffon Cakes:

o Batter containing flour, egg yolks, vegetable oil, and water is folded into the whites.

o Whites should be whipped until they are a little firmer than those for angel food, but do not whip until dry. Chiffon cakes contain baking powder, so they do not depend on the egg foam for all their leavening.

v BAKING

Temperatures

Ø Always preheat the oven, and prepare the pans, before preparing the batter. If the finished batter must wail, valuable leavening will be lost and the cake will not rise properly.

Ø Most butter cakes are baked at temperatures between 325˚ and 375˚. 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 drying out. If the temperature is too low, however, the cake will not rise sufficiently and may dry out before baking completely. Delicate egg foam cakes and spongecakes may be baked at slightly higher temperatures when panned in thin layers.

Temperatures

Ø In addition to following the baking time suggested in a formula, several simple tests can be used to determine doneness. Whichever tests are used, avoid opening the oven door to check the cake’s progress. Cold air or a drop in oven temperature can cause the cake to fall. Use a timer to note the minimum suggested baking time. Then, and only then, should you use the following tests to evaluate the cake’s doneness:

o Appearance – the cake’s surface should be a 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.

o Touch – touch the cake lightly with your finger. It should spring back quickly without feeling soggy or leaving an indentation.

o Cake tester – if appearance and touch indicate that the cake is done, test the interior by inserting a toothpick 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.

Ø Note: Sponge cakes do not contract from the pan like butter cakes. The toothpick test is unreliable because it could easily pierce an area with all air bubbles and not batter and still come out clean even if the cake were not yet done.

v Cooling

Ø Generally, a cake is allowed to cool 10 to 15 minutes in its pan set on a cooling rack after taking it out of the oven. This helps prevent the cake from cracking or breaking when it is removed from the pan.

Ø To remove the partially cooled cake from its pan, run a thin knife or spatula blade between the pan and the cake to loosen it. Place a wire rack, cake cardboard or sheet pan over the cake and invert. Then remove the pan. The cake can be left upside down to cool completely or inverted again to cool top side up. Wire racks are preferred for cooling cakes because they allow air to circulate, speeding the cooling process and preventing steam from making the cake soggy.

Ø Angel food and chiffon cakes should be turned upside down immediately after they are removed from the oven. They are left to cool completely in their pans to prevent the cake from collapsing or shrinking.

Ø All cakes should be left to cool away from drafts or air currents that might cause them to collapse. Cakes should not be refrigerated to speed the cooling process, as rapid cooling can cause cracking. Prolonged refrigeration also causes cakes to dry out.