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- Photo: M. MacKenzie / Flickr
Cakes are different to bread in that they are raised by eggs rather than yeast. They also contain larger amounts of fat and sugar, but then what would cake be without its characteristic sweet taste and melt-in-your-mouth texture? Calories aside, the final product will very much depend on the quality of ingredients and how they are treated during the baking process. Read on for some tips on ingredients for cake making including flour, sugar, fat, eggs, milk and raising agents.
Flour
Cake flour will generally keep for several months if it is kept unopened in a cool, dry place. You can store it in its packet in a flour container or a stoneware jar. Once open, use cake flour within three months. Use an older batch before buying a new batch and be sure not to mix old flour with new flour.
A recipe may call for cake flour or self-raising flour. Self-raising flour has been pre-mixed with the required amount of raising agent. Use plain cake flour if a cake recipe states ‘flour’.
Raising agents
Air is the main raising agent in cake. Airing a cake is achieved by creaming the fat and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy and by beating in eggs. Whisking eggs aerates a cake, as does sieving the flour.
When working with cream of tartar and bicarbonate of soda, be sure to use the exact amount called for by a recipe. Sift these ingredients with the flour to allow for a thorough mix. The same rules apply for baking powder.
Use too much baking powder in a large cake and you’ll end up with a flat-tasting cake. Too much in a small cake and you’ll have a dry product. If your cake tastes soapy or is dark in colour, that’s a sign that you’ve added too much bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar.
Eggs
Fresh eggs are a must. To avoid bad eggs, blood spots and shell, break eggs into a saucer or cup before adding them to a mixture. Use eggs at room temperature to avoid the possibility of curdling.
To avoid curdling in a creamed cake mixture, beat each egg with a teaspoon (5 ml) of the weighed flour. To remedy a curdled mixture, stir in one to two teaspoons (5 to 10 ml) of the weighed flour into the cake mixture.
Vinegar or lemon juice were mixed with bicarbonate of soda to replace eggs in cake recipes during World War Two.
Fat, milk and sugar
Use the exact amount of milk required. Too much and you’ll have a heavy cake. If you don’t have enough milk, add water to make up the balance.
Fat and milk should be at room temperature, although soft (not melted) butter makes for easier mixing. Butter gives the best flavour, especially for plain sponges.
Choose castor sugar over granulated sugar as it gives a smoother texture and reduces a ‘spotty’ appearance.
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