Understanding Food

Chapter 25:

Cakes and Cookies

Types of Cakes
The majority of cakes are:
Shortened
Unshortened
Chiffon
Shortened cake: A cake made with fat.
Unshortened cake: A cake made without added fat.
Chiffon cake: A cake made by combining the characteristics found in both shortened and unshortened cakes.
Mixing Techniques
“Mixing” is a general term that includes beating, blending, binding, creaming, whipping, and folding.
In mixing, two or more ingredients are evenly dispersed in one another until they become one product.
Mixing Techniques
Beat:
Blend:
Bind:
Cream:
Whip:
Fold:
Mixing Techniques
There are many methods for combining the ingredients of cakes and other baked products, but the most commonly used are the conventional creaming), conventional sponge, single-stage (quick-mix), pastry-blend, biscuit, and muffin methods.
Conventional (Creaming) Method
The most time consuming, and is the method most frequently used for mixing cake ingredients.
It produces a fine-grained, velvety texture.
The three basic steps are:
1.) Creaming
2.) Egg incorporation
3.) Alternate addition of the dry and moist ingredients
Conventional Sponge Method
Identical to the creaming method except that a portion of the sugar is mixed in with the beaten egg or egg white, and the egg foam is folded into the batter in the end.
Single-Stage Method
Also known as the quick-mix, one-bowl, or dump method.
All the dry and liquid ingredients are mixed together at once.
Packaged mixes for cakes, biscuits, and other baked goods rely on this method.
Pastry-Blend Method
Fat is first cut into flour with a pastry blender, or with two knives crisscrossed against each other in a scissor-like fashion, to form a mealy fat-flour mixture.
Half the milk and all of the sugar, baking powder, and salt are then blended into the fat-flour mixture.
Lastly, eggs and more milk may then be blended into the mixture.
Muffin Method
This is a simple, two-stage mixing method.
The dry and moist ingredients are mixed separately and then blended until the dry ingredients just become moist.
Over-mixing will result in a tough baked product riddled with tunnels.
Preparation of Cakes
Ingredients
proportion differ from bread
Flour
Sugar
Fat
Eggs
Milk
Leavening
Preparation of Cakes
Type of pans
Unshortened
Shortened
Preparation of Cakes
The timing of pouring the cake batter and getting it into a properly heated oven is another important factor in cake quality.
When shortened cakes are nearing doneness, they start to “wrinkle” at the pan edges.
When unshortened cakes are done the surface is lightly brown and springs back when touched
Once the shortened cake is done, it should be removed gently from the oven and allowed to cool on a rack for 5 or 10 minutes.
As in bread preparation, cake ingredients must be modified at altitudes higher than 3,000 feet.
Baking adjustments, pre and post
Storage of Cakes
The amount and type of sweetener used in the preparation of a cake affects its ability to be stored.
Cakes stale fairly quickly.
Types of Cookies
Not all fit neatly into one classification.
The fluidity of the batter or dough determines which of the following six categories cookies fall into:
Bar
Dropped
Pressed
Molded
Rolled
Icebox/refrigerator
Types of Cookies
Dropped cookie batter is literally dropped onto the baking sheet.
The batter contains just enough flour so the cookie will not spread out like a pancake when it is dropped on the baking sheet.
Preparation of Cookies
Mixing Methods
The type of cookie to be prepared determines the mixing method, but for most types the conventional cake method is used.
Once the ingredients are chosen based on whether a flat or puffy cookie is desired, they are usually just barely mixed together until moistened.
Preparation of Cookies
Storage of Cookies
Airtight containers are best for maintaining cookie freshness.
As soon as the cookies are cooled they are transferred to a flat dish or plate and covered with plastic wrap or metal foil.

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