Lesson Ten CAKE BAKING | Correspondence Course APPLIED BAKING TECHNOLOGY TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .... The Basic Ingredient Flour Sugar Shortening/Fat .. Eggs Milk Solids Salt Programmed Exercis Leavening ... Flavoring, Water Starch Cocoa and Chocolate Programmed Exercises Summary Glossary of Terms Self-Check Quiz... ©Copyright, American Insite of Baking, 1997 All ighs reservedLesson Ten CAKE BAKING | Introduction 10.01 The family of cakes which includes batter-, foam- and chiffon-types is a continual favorite with consumers, growing annually in both poundage pro- duced and in dollar sales volume. Because of eating, habits and dietary trends, the popularity of specific cake types has undergone some changes over the years. ‘Thus, layer-type cakes, normally served on special ‘occasions or as a main family dessert, are slowly losing und to the more popular snack cakes, usually served in individual portions for convenience and to meet the needs of newer, more mobile eating trends. An exten- sive understanding on the part of the baker of basic ingredient functionality will be helpful to hinv/her in problem-solving and formula development in relation to cake products, The Basic Ingredients 10.02 Basic ingredients are those that are commonly found in all three cake types, though not always in the same relative proportions. Some of them may even be withheld altogether in some cake types. Generally, basic ingredients serve the functions of tougheners, tenderizers, leaveners, colorizers and flavoring agents. Flour 10.03 Flour acts as a toughener and thus helps to build the structure of the cake. Because of the gelatinization of its starch it also is able to maintain this structure, The starch granules of flour absorb moisture during the early stages of baking and swell to several times their original size. Once the cake is baked, the swollen starch granules contribute to the grain and texture of| the finished cake. Cake flour is normally milled from soft red winter ‘wheat and has a protein content in the range of 7 to 9%, ‘The protein is extremely weak compared to bread flour proteins and, because of the bleach treatment cake flour receives, itis weakened still ‘more, while the gelatinization temperature of starch is lowered. Generally, the best performance is obtained when the flour pH is hetween 4.610 5.1 Flour is also used as the basis on which the levels of all other ingredients are calculated. This calculation is, referred to as “baker's percent” in which flour always represents 100%. The terms “high ratio” and “low ratio” are used when discussing cake formulations that use either high or low levels of sugar and basically refer to the ratio of sugar to flour in the formula, A cake batter with 120 Ib (kg) sugar and 100 Ib (kg) flour would be considered “high-ratio.” Cakes with sugar levels lower than 100% of the flour are consid- ered “low-ratio.” Sugar 10.04 Sugar is used primarily for its sweetness in cake products. But it also contributes to product tendemess, crust color, uniformity of both grain and. texture, a moist eating property and extends shelf life. ‘When lower percentages of sugar (below 100%) are used, the cakes tend to exhibit a more open grain, increased toughness and possibly tunneling Lesson Ten —