OK - So I am FASCINATED really by the whole science behind cakery bakery! To the occasional baker, it doesn't occur the roles that flour, sugar, butter, eggs and milk play in baking a cake.
Well - I'm here to tell ya....ALOT! And HERE, in all this science, is where I REALLLY like to play! But - don't tell my secrets, shhhhhhh! Lets' keep them between you and I, ok?
Flour isn't just 'flour'. ALL flours serve a specific purpose and most of it comes down to one tiny little difference, gluten. Yup, that thing that many people are now allergic to eating.
Gluten, as relates to baking, serves to make dough elastic and to extract moisture in batters. So, if you are baking bread, you typically would use bread flour. Cakes, All-purpose or Cake Flour. Pastry Flour has the highest content of gluten and is used to make pastry dough used for tarts, pie crusts and such. The lowest amount of gluten is found in Cake Flour.
Now, think about how dense a tart is compared to a soft piece of cake, Angel Food cake for instance. Dense and chewy vs. Soft and melty-like. THAT my friends is gluten at work!
How sweet the sugar! Not only does it add the sweetness, but the water content in those liiiiitle grains of goodness help the cake brown! As the cake bakes, moisture is released, sugars rise to the top (hence the reason why the very top part of the cake is just a bit sweeter than the rest) and the edges begin to brown. Ahhhhhh - you may say....how very interesting! YES it IS interesting. Here's some MORE fun stuff; Did you know that brown sugar is really just white sugar that has molasses added for taste and color? YUP! It has Noooooooo added health benefits! Sugar in the raw or 'natural' sugar however, is a different story. It is not as produced as white sugar and leaves a bit of the natural molasses from the sugar cane. The granules however are larger than white sugar, so they don't break down in the same manner and that doesn't bode well for a delicious balanced cake.
One of the things that typically happens to dry cakes is....overbeating! However, the more a batter or dough is worked, the more dense and dry it becomes. You would think that a cake batter should be beat for minutes on end to make sure all ot the ingredients are properly incorporated. Alas, no!!! That is actually COMPLETLY WRONG.. So STOP DOIN IT!!! You only want to beat a batter to incorporate the ingredients. On their own, they will become cozy with each other and eventually form one beautiful, fantabulous dessert!
Ahhhh Eggs! THE most versatile ingredient! Eggs are wonderful because the have like a ga-zillion uses! Let's use the tangy delicious Lemon Meringue Pie for an example. To make the Lemon Curd, you use only the yolk portion of the egg and to make the meringue, only the white can be used. How ingenious!!
Everything is better with butter, right? RIGHT??? And, the more fat in the butter, the better. So, having said that, as in many things, store brand ain't the best brand! They contain more water and less fat than competitors. I will say, however that I have noticed Land O' Lakes is a heap bit lighter than it used to be.......hmmmmm. Butter is primarily responsible for the moist texture in cake.
Milk - Mooooooooooo!!!!!! Milk is another producer of fat. But, is it enough to make a masterful, wonderfully moist, highly praised and drempt about cake? NOPE...Not in MY book it ain't. Things just aren't produced the way they used to be...PERIOD. Maaaaaaany years ago, dairy products were delivered FRESH from the farm and full of all that goodness the animals produced. Now, with mass production and economy, EVERYTHING is watered down and pumped full of chemicals.
This is one reason why you see recipes using things like mayonnaise, yogurt, pudding and applesauce ingredients to add moisture. MY solution however is a tad bit different.
So, what DO I do? Well - I play with my flours, milk and butter! I adjust them all to ensure a lower level of gluten development and higher level of moisture content. I also don't overbeat my batter!
Cakery Bakery at it's finest!!!! Don't you feel like a scientist now?? LOL. Or is your head just spinning around going.....uuuummmmm....what did she just say?? LOL. Either way, NOW you know....TRULY what goes into those yummy bites of deliciousness! Well - at least from a scratch baking perspective. I don't believe that box cakes are real, so don't even get me started down THAT path!
Let's make this a discussion, shall we? What are YOUR experiences or questions about Cakery Bakery? Do you have or WANT to have as much fun as do I? Are ya scared of the mixer or oven? Let's talk about it!!
Welcome to my 'sweet' brain!
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