CAKES
Perform various methods of scaling, baking and testing cakes. Understanding of the difference between Creaming, One Stage, 2 Stage, and Foam Base mixing methods. Understanding of recipe conversions and order of operations. Demonstrate different decorating, covering, and assembling techniques with standard buttercreams, italian and french. Display plating skills.
Most cakes are created from liquid batters with high fat and sugar content. The bakers job is to combine all of the ingredients to create a structure that will support these rich ingredients while keeping the cake as light and delicate as possible. What provides and builds structure in cakes? Eggs Flour
Great cakes begin with quality ingredients and balance in a recipe. Cake ingredients can be generally classified by function into these categories: Tougheners Tenderizers Moisturizers Driers Leaveners Flavorings
Tougheners provide protein structure and strength to cake batters. Too little protein in a cake and your cake may collapse, while too much may toughen and transform the cake into a dense undesirable product. Tougheners Include: Flour Milk Egg
Tenderizers interfere with the development of gluten structure when the cakes are mixed. They shorten the gluten strands, making the cake tender and soft. These ingredients also improve the products shelf life. Tenderizers Include: Sugar Fats Egg Yolks
Moisteners bring moisture to the batter. Moisture is necessary for gluten formation and starch gelatinization, as well as for a products shelf life qualities. Moisteners Include: Water Milk Juice Eggs
Driers absorb moisture in a batter, giving structure and body to cakes. Driers Include: Flour Starches Milk Powder
Leaveners can be chemical or natural, chemically leavened products are those that use baking powder or soda, while naturally leavened products use steam/air or yeast. Leaveners regardless of chemical or natural give rise to a product by gases in the batter (or dough) expanding when heated. Cakes are leavened by steam, when fat and sugar are creamed together; and by carbon dioxide released from baking powder or soda; and by air trapped in whipped or beaten eggs.
Flavorings provide cakes with the desired flavors that you want the cake to impart. Acidic flavoring such as sour cream, chocolate, and fruit can also provide acid to activate baking soda. Flavorings Include: Extracts Chocolate Spices Salt Butter Sugar
When mixing any cake batter, it is the goal to combine the ingredients uniformly, incorporate air cells, and develop proper texture. All cake mixing methods are combined into two categories: High Fat Egg Foam/Meringue
High fat cakes rely primarily on creamed fat to give structure to cake batters. These cakes are creaming method cakes and high ratio cakes.
Creaming method cakes include softened butter or shortening creamed to incorporate air cells, these cakes typically include a chemical leavener to achieve proper rise. Method: Cream butter or shortening until it is light and fluffy. Add in sugar until the mixture is fluffy and smooth. Scraping down the bowl often to ensure all ingredients are being incorporated. Add in eggs slowly one at a time, scrape down after each addition. Add in dry and liquid ingredients alternately, until all of the ingredients have been utilized.
Two stage mixing methods are used for cakes that contain high ratios of sugar and liquid to flour. Use of high ratio shortening is essential to absorb high amounts of sugar and liquid properly. Method: Place all of the dry ingredients and emulsified shortening to a mixing bowl. Blend on low speed for several minutes. Add approximately half of the liquid ingredients and blend. Scrape down the bowl thoroughly. Add remaining liquid ingredients, blend into a smooth batter, scraping down bowl as necessary.
Egg foam meringue cakes contain little to no fat. Some formulas can contain chemical leaveners, but the air whipped into the eggs is the primary leavening agent. Cakes that we will explore that use egg foam mixing methods include sponge cakes, angel food cakes, and chiffon cakes.
Sponge cake method uses separated eggs. A batter is prepared with egg yolks and other ingredients, and then the whites are whipped with a portion of the sugar to firm peaks and folded into the egg yolk batter. Method: Separate the eggs. Whip the yolks with the sugar until they are are light, pale, and fluffy and fall from the whip in thick ribbons. Whip in any flavorings. In a separate bowl with a clean whip attachment, whip the egg whites with a portion of the sugar until they are glossy and stiff. Carefully fold the whipped egg whites into the egg yolk batter. Gently fold the sifted dry ingredients into the egg foam in two or three additions.
Angel Food Cake Method produces tall light cakes without fat and leavened with a large quantity of egg whites. Egg whites will not whip properly if any fat is present. These cakes need to be baked in ungreased pans so the batter can cling to the sides as it rises. The cakes should be inverted as soon as they come out of the oven and left in the pan to cool. Method: Combine dry ingredients, including a portion of the sugar into a bowl, set aside. Whip the egg whites with a portion of the sugar until glossy and stiff. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites. Spoon batter into ungreased pans and bake immediately.
Chiffon cakes are similar to angel food cakes in appearance and texture, the addition of egg yolks and vegetable oil makes them more moist and rich. May contain baking powder, but primarily leavened with whipped egg whites. Chiffon cakes are also baked in an ungreased pan to allow the batter to cling while it rises. Method: Combine dry ingredients, add the liquid ingredients including oil. Whip the egg whites with a portion of the sugar until almost stiff. Fold the whipped egg whites into the batter. Spoon the batter into an ungreased pan and bake immediately. Allow the cake to cool inverted in its pan.
Icings, also known as my least favorite F word, frosting; is a sweet decorative coating used as a filling between the layers of a cake or as a coating over the top and sides. It is used to add flavor, moisture, texture, attractive appearance, and to extend the shelf life of cakes. Icings that we will explore include american standard buttercream, italian meringue buttercream, and french meringue buttercream.
American Standard Buttercream is rich and sweet but light, smooth, and fluffy mixture of fat and sugar. A good buttercream will be sweet, but not gross, and buttery, but not greasy. American buttercream consists of softened butter, powdered sugar, and flavoring agents, lightened at the end with heavy cream. Method: Cream softened butter until light and fluffy, beat in sifted powdered sugar, scraping bowl down as needed. Beat in flavoring agents. Adjust if broken with shortening. Add in heavy cream to finish.
Based off of an Italian Meringue, which is whipped egg whites cooked with a hot syrup, this buttercream whips softened butter into the cooled meringue, and flavored as desired. Very light and fluffy type of buttercream. Method: Whip egg whites until soft peaks form, beat granulated sugar into the egg whites and whip until firm and gloddy. Meanwhile, combine additional sugar with water and cook until soft ball stage (240) With the mixer on low speed, pour the sugar into the whipped egg whites. Carefully so no splatters occur! Continue whipping until completely cooled, whip softened butter into the cooled egg white and sugar mixture. Add flavoring ingredients as desired.
Similar to Italian Meringue Buttercream, French buttercream whips a hot sugar syrup into whipped egg yolks, not whites. French buttercream lends the richest and smoothest product. Method: Prepare a sugar syrup and cook to soft ball stage (240) Beat egg yolks to a thin ribbon, slowly beat the sugar syrup into the egg yolks. Continue beating until the yolks are pale, stiffy, and cooled to about 80-88F, gradually add in softened butter to the cooled yolks. Stir in italian meringue (if using), add in flavoring ingredients.