Cake Making Methods There Are Five Main Methods of Cake Making: • Rubbing–In • Melting • Creaming • Whisking • ‘All in One’ - Same Proportions As the Creaming Method

Study Materials for 6th Semester

Paper - DSE-4T

Unit - III

Topic - Processes for Cakes

Prepared by - D. Chakraborty How to Make a Cake

Step 1: Choose a Recipe

The first step to baking a gorgeous, mouth-watering cake is choosing a recipe to get you started. You can keep it simple with a classic vanilla cake recipe or a yellow cake with chocolate frosting, or you can choose a slightly showier recipe, like a chocolaty devil's food cake or a luscious red velvet cake recipe. If you're not a fan of frosting, try a German chocolate cake. We also a have a few birthday cake recipes you can make for a party. The possibilities are almost endless, but avoid angel food, pound cakes, and sponge cakes because they require a different method.

Step 2: Choose the Right Baking Pans

Sturdy, single-wall aluminium pans, with or without non-stick coating, are great cake pans. Here are other points to keep in mind:

• Dark or Shiny? We prefer shiny pans for achieving a golden appearance. If you use a dark or dull-finish pan, reduce the oven temperature by 25°F and check doneness 3 to 5 minutes early to prevent overbrowning.

• Sizes and Shapes. Many recipes call for either 8x1½-inch or 9x1½-inch round pans. they are interchangeable, but cakes baked in 8-inch pans generally require 5 to 10 minutes longer in the oven. Square and round pans could also be used as long as they're the size called for in the recipe.

Prepared by D. Chakraborty Step 3: Allow Ingredients to Reach Room Temperature

Many recipes require some ingredients, such as eggs and butter, to stand at room temperature for a specified time. This is because room-temp butter blends more easily with other ingredients and room-temp eggs result in higher cake volume. (For food safety reasons, don't leave the eggs at room temperature for more time than specified in the recipe.)

Tip: Never use melted butter when softened butter is called for. It will ruin the cake texture.

Step 4: Prep the Pans

Nobody wants their cake to stick to the pan, so it's important to prep your pans before pouring in the batter. With the exception of angel food and chiffon cakes, most recipes call for greasing or lining the pan before baking. Depending on your recipe, here's how to do it:

If your recipe calls for greasing and flouring the pan, use a paper towel or pastry brush to evenly spread shortening or butter on the bottom, corners, and 1 inch up the sides of the pan. (Or spray non-stick cooking spray.) Sprinkle a little flour into the pan; tap the pan so the flour covers all greased surfaces. Tap out any extra flour into the sink. If a recipe calls for lining the pan with waxed or parchment paper, place the pan on the paper and trace around its base with a pencil. Cut just inside the traced line; line the bottom of a lightly greased pan with the paper, smoothing any wrinkles or bubbles. Unless otherwise specified, grease and flour the lined pan, too.

Prepared by D. Chakraborty Tip: For chocolate cakes, use cocoa powder instead of flour to coat the pan. Cocoa powder prevents sticking and enhances the cake's flavor, and traces of it won't be obvious after the cake is turned out of the pan.

Step 5: Preheat the Oven

When a cake bakes too quickly it can develop tunnels and cracks, too slowly and it can be coarse. Let your oven preheat for at least 10 minutes, and use an oven thermometer to make sure it reaches the proper temperature. Remember, if you're using dark cake pans, you'll want to reduce the oven temperature called for in your recipe by 25°F.

Step 6: Stir Together Dry Ingredients

Dry ingredients usually include flour, baking powder and/or baking soda, and salt. Rather than adding each dry ingredient individually to the batter, mix them together in a bowl beforehand. That way you know that the ingredients are equally distributed throughout the batter.

Step 7: Combine the Butter and Sugar

Wondering how to make a cake with light, tender texture? A crucial step is to make sure the butter (or shortening, if specified in the recipe) and the sugar are perfectly combined.

• Using an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat the butter for 30 seconds. Generally, a stand mixer requires a medium speed for this step and a hand mixer requires a higher speed.

Prepared by D. Chakraborty • Add the sugar in small amounts, about ¼ cup at a time, beating on medium. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Adding the sugar little by little incorporates more air into the mixture.

• Beat the mixture on medium speed until it is combined and has a light, fluffy texture. (This will probably take 3 to 5 minutes. Don't cheat on your timing.) Scrape the bowl occasionally while beating. Tiny bubbles will be created as the butter and sugar are combined, which will give your cake that dreamy, light, fluffy texture.

Step 8: Add Eggs One at a Time

Break one egg into a custard cup. (This way if you get shell fragments, you can easily fish them out of the cup rather than try to get them out of the batter.) Add the egg to the butter-sugar mixture and beat well. Repeat with the remaining eggs.

Step 9: Alternate Adding Dry and Wet Ingredients

Alternate between adding some of the flour mixture and some of the milk (or other liquid specified in the recipe) to the butter-egg-sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition until combined. Begin and end with the flour mixture. (This is because when liquid is mixed into flour, gluten begins to form. Too much gluten makes for a tough cake, so be sure to start and finish with flour, and not overmix once you add liquid.)

Prepared by D. Chakraborty Tip: Be careful not to overmix at this stage or else you might get elongated, irregular holes in the finished cake. Step 10: Pour Batter Into Pans and Bake

Divide the batter evenly between the baking pans. Use an offset metal spatula to spread the batter in an even layer. Be sure to spread it to the pan edge. Bake your cake according to your recipe's directions.

Step 11: Check Cake for Doneness

How do you avoid a dry cake? Avoid overbaking it. Start checking the cake for doneness after the recipe's stated minimum baking time. For creamed cakes, insert a wooden toothpick near the center of the cake. If the pick comes out clean, the cake is done.

Step 12: Cool the Cake

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes maximum. To remove from the pans, run a knife around the edges of the cake to loosen it from the sides. Place a wire rack over the top of the cake and flip the pan. Lift the pan off the cake, being careful not to tear the edges of the cake. If you used waxed or parchment paper, gently peel the paper off the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely (about 1 hour). This is a key step to letting the cake firm up, making it less likely to break apart as you frost it. (And it keeps the frosting from melting as soon as you spread it!)

Prepared by D. Chakraborty Step 13: Assemble the Cake

To avoid crumbs in your frosting, brush the cake layers with a pastry brush before assembling. Spread about ½ cup of frosting over the first layer, then carefully top with the next layer. Repeat until the cake is assembled.

Step 14: Add the First Coat of Frosting

Add a crumb coat by spreading a very thin layer of frosting over the sides and top of the cake. This initial coat doesn't need to look perfect; it's another way to keep the crumbs out of the frosting. Let the cake stand for 30 minutes so the frosting sets up.

Step 15: Frost and Decorate

Using an offset spatula or table knife, generously spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake, swirling as you go. Once the cake is completely covered, go back and add more swirls as desired. Serve the cake within 2 hours or refrigerate to store.

Prepared by D. Chakraborty Cake making methods There are five main methods of cake making: • Rubbing–in • Melting • Creaming • Whisking • ‘All in one’ - same proportions as the creaming method

Each method produces products that have a different texture. The different proportion of ingredients used will determine the texture and taste of the cake product. The amount of fat in the cake product will determine how long the cake will stay fresh – without drying out. Cakes cannot be made successfully with low fat spreads; this is because they contain a higher proportion of water.

Method of Example Ratio of fat to flour Raising agent Basic Recipe making 100g SR Flour Creaming Victoria Sandwich 1:1 Self – raising flour 100g fat Fairy Cakes 100g sugar 2eggs 100g SR Flour All in one Victoria Sandwich 1:1 Self raising flour 100g fat Fairy Cakes Baking powder 100g sugar 2eggs 2tsps baking powder

Whisking Swiss roll No added fat Air 50g Plain flour Fruit flan Steam 50g sugar Gateaux 2 eggs Cakes Fruit cake 1:2 in cakes Self-raising flour 200g SR Flour Rubbing in Scones 1:4 in scones 100g fat Welsh cakes 100g sugar 2eggs 50ml milk

Scones 200g SR Flour 50g fat (marg or butter) 125ml milk

Gingerbread Depends on Bicarbonate of soda Varies depending on Melting Parkin individual recipe (in gingerbread) the product Chocolate Brownie 1. Rubbing in Method

* Air is trapped in sieving the flour and by lightly (with finger tips) rubbing the fat in to the flour. * Raising agents in the flour help the cake to rise

Examples of cakes made using the rubbing in method

Fruit Cake Scones Welsh Cakes

2. Melting

• Fat and sugar ingredients are melted in a saucepan • Texture tends to be much heavier than other cakes and wont rise much • Bicarbonate of soda can be used to create a lighter texture

Examples of cakes made with the melting method

Chocolate Brownies Gingerbread/ Parkin

3. Creaming

• Air is trapped by creaming the sugar and fat together • This give a lighter texture

Examples of cakes made using the Creaming method of cake making

Victoria sponge Chocolate Victoria Sponge Fairy Cakes

4. Whisking Method

• Eggs and sugar whisked together to trap air (aerate)

Examples of cakes made using the Whisking method of cake making

Chocolate / Vanilla Swiss Roll Sponge Flan

5. All in one method

Fairy Cakes Victoria Sandwich

Recipe links from British Nutrition Foundation – short video demonstrations …. fruit scones blueberry muffins gingerbread