Cake Making

Cake making

There are 4 different methods ofcake making

1. Whisking2. Rubbing in3. Melting4. Creaming -Traditional

-All in one

Whisking Method

Used for making sponge cakes Contains no fat – so becomes stale quickly Should be eaten within 1-2 days of making Ingredients used are:

FlourSelf raising- gives lightness Plain -needs to be well sievedSugarCaster sugar gives lightnessEggsShould be at room temperature, if colder will take longer to whisk

Rubbing -In

Used for ‘plain’ cakes i.e. cakes with a low ratio of fat to flour Fingertips should be used to rub the fat into

the flour Block margarine is better than soft as it is less sticky when being rubbed into the flour Cakes will keep fresh for 1-2 days due to the

low fat ratio

Melting

Less often used than other methods Plain flour is usually used with bicarbonate of

soda as the raising agent Bicarbonate of soda has a strong taste so

usually used with cakes containing spice e.g. ginger

Cake usually improves with keeping as the flavour develops and the cake becomes more moist

Fat, syrup or treacle are melted in a pan then poured into the flour and dry ingredients

Creaming method

Have equal quantities of fat, sugar and flour These are called ‘rich’ cakes Keep fresh for longer because of higher %of fat Ingredients used:- Self-raising flour- no extra baking powder needed Margarine – soft is easier to cream than block Caster sugar- smaller granules mean it blends more easily into the mixture Eggs- should be at room temperature Variations- add chocolate/cocoa/coffee powder, glaće cherries, chocolate chips,

dried fruit Air is trapped in the mixture during the beating of the margarine and sugar and

acts as a raising agent Eggs should be added a little at a time in order to emulsify with the fat and prevent

curdling (separating). Air is also trapped to act as a raising agent A metal spoon should be used to fold in the flour lightly so as not to lose the

trapped air in the mixture