B. Reagents:
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
5 egg whites
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups room temperature butter
C. Procedure:
1. Combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water into a heavy sauce pan, and heat until the mixture reaches 240 degrees.
2. While the syrup is boiling, begin to whisk the egg whites until foamy. Add the 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating.
3. When the syrup reaches 240 degrees, slowly pour it into the whipped egg whites.
Continue whipping until the meringue has cooled to room temperature.
4. Add the butter a tablespoon at a time to the meringue until it is all incorporated.
Continue beating frosting until is smooth.
D. Actual Procedure and Observations:
As this recipe was completed by demonstration it was difficult to watch all of the steps that went into it. The first step of forming a syrup by boiling the water and sugar together is important as it dissolves the sugar cyrstals forming a smooth and consistent texture. The egg whites are whipped until a structure of white peaks is formed. With the addition of the syrup and the butter the meringue develops.
E. Discussion and Conclusion:
The most important ingredient in this recipe...no for once it isn't butter!...is the egg whites. The whites are whipped to form a foam which is due to the network of albumen proteins. The foam is simply made up of pockets of air surrounded by a thin film of water with protein molecules dissolved in it. The albumen is a thick solution that drains more slowly out of the buble walls allowing a structure to be formed like foam. Once the foam is constructed, one must be careful not to destroy it's integrity by adding all of the ingredients at once. This is the reason for the syrup to be added first and then the butter just one tablespoon at a time. Not following this step will allow the butter to take over the foam of the eggs and reduce the light product that is desired.
Two Methods to Mixing the Cakes:
While we have done a slew of recipes in this course calling for leavening agents and chemistry wonders to provide the moist and fluffy textures that we all crave especially when walking past a bakery or pastry shop, the important lesson to be learned today is not about the ingredients but technique. I find this very fitting of a lesson to be learned after learning the science behind our reagents. If we are doing a recipe and we have a firm understanding of the chemistry that we are using and our recipe still falters we may then blame our selves for having used a lackluster technique while baking. We then need only blame ourselves! As the following recipes are all based off the two methods described here, I have decided to explain each technique first and then provide a recipe specific guide for each recipe.
Creaming:
1. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
2. Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon flavoring. Mix until smooth.
3. Add flour and baking powder. Mix until blended (about 30 seconds).
4. Pour batter into a 9-inch cake pan that has been greased and floured, and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until done.
5. Cool and decorate as desired.
Discussion:
The creaming method is what I am most familiar with and the method that makes the most sense to me. The most important step is to cream the butter and the sugars together first before adding any additional ingredients. The recommended time to blend these two main playing ingredients together is 8-10 minutes. Mixing is immportaint as tiny air bubbles are incorporated, giving the cake a framework to rise in the oven and be light in texture. The eggs are added gradually in stages, one at a time, which ensures that the batter doesn’t curdle. The yolks help emulsify and hold moisture within the formed air cells and create a water-in-fat emulsion. Next the milk and other liquids are added in thouroughly incorporated and you finish with the dry ingredients.
One of the most common mistakes is to either over or under-cream the fat and sugar together, cream too quickly or to use fat that is too warm or too cold. When the mixture is over-creamed, creamed too fast or the fat is too warm, the fat starts to break down and release the previously creamed-in air bubbles. With butter, the milk solids separate, causing it to lose air and/or not be able to form air bubbles when the sugar crystals cut into it. And, if the fat is too cold, the sugar cannot cut into it because it's too hard preventing creaming from occuring. This results in a whole host of problems, such as dense, flat and flavorless recipes which no one wants!
When butter and sugar are creamed together, the rough sugar crystals cut into the fat. This creats air bubbles that are held in place by the cream. These small air bubbles serve as a nuclei for leavening gases and steam. If the fat and crystalline sugar is adequately creamed, the entraped air is more evenly dispersed among the fat leading to a better and more even rising cakes.
Two-stage method:
1. Add the sugar, butter, flour, baking powder, and salt to a mixing bowl. Cream together for about 5 minutes.
2. Add eggs, vanilla, and lemon flavoring. Continue mixing for about 3 minutes.
3. Pour batter into a 9-inch cake pan that has been greased and floured, and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until done.
4. Cool and decorate as desired.
Discussion:
As this method is my least favorite to use, I know less about it. I have not had the desired results the times that I have used it so I tend to always use the creaming method. I must say however that when in a pinch for time or if I am just feeling a bit lazy I would use this method just to save a few. This allows you to add all of the ingredients at once with the exception typically of the eggs and vanilla or additional flavors. I assume (I have to assume as there is not much information confirming why these are added late in the game) that the eggs are added at a later point to allow the emulsion to take place and for the eggs not to be over whipped which would cause the cake to fall in the oven as it would not be able to support the air that is incorporated into the batter due to the over beating. (A bit of a run-on sentence but I think you get the point!) The vanilla and additional flavors are added at the end to preserve their intensity as the mixing may cause dilution.
The reason why I think I may not prefer this method is due to the lack of creaming of the sugar and the butter. I find that this step provides the most rich and moist of cake textures. You are expecting the Romeo and Juliet love story without the love. Too sad of a story to tell.
The two-step method does provide the same chemistry as the ingredients mimic each other in both forms of technique which provide a great base for the cake. It all comes down to a matter of....well for lack of a better word and no pun intended...TASTE!
A. Basic Yellow Cake Experiment #1 (Creaming Method)
B. Reagents:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cups + 2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp butter or shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk
C. Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour one 9-inch cake pan.
2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt; whisk together with a wire whisk.
3. Cream butter and sugar for about 3 minutes with a mixer on medium high.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5. Add vanilla and mix until completely combined.
6. Slowly add flour alternately with milk. At end of addition, batter should be smooth.
7. Pour the batter into a 9-inch cake pan that has been greased and floured, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
8. Cool 5 minutes in pan; then, invert onto a rack and cool completely before frosting.
D. Actual Procedure and Observations:
This recipe uses the "true" creaming method technique which is my favorite...as if you didn't already read that. Everything else in the recipe worked exactly as described above with no alterations. The butter and the sugar were creamed together first. The dry ingredients were blended seperately until well incorporated. After the creaming occurred with the butter and sugar (which we did for about 4 minutes) there was a nice fluffy consistency that developed. The dry ingredients were added and then the eggs one at a time.
E. Discussion and Conclusion:
The description that was used above for the creaming method is definitley applicable to this recipe. To offer a bit more sciene there is a difference between butter and shortening. We have learned that shortening is best use use with baking as it provides the ideal creaming properties. The smaller the average crystal size in a given mixture of lipids, the more it that can be incorporated because there are more and smaller air spaces in between the crystals. While the shortening provides the best structure, we used the butter as I love (I know you are getting sick of hearing it) butter!
Unfortunately our cake looked great in the oven and the second we removed it, it collapsed into a sunken volcano. What happened?!? It was the saddest thing to witness. It may have been due to the fact that we did not use the high ratio shortening. This would have provided a stronger network for the cake so that when the heat was removed it could have better supported the structure of the cake. It may have also been due to every one consistently opening and closing the oven door...which I am going to put my money on. Although we did end up having to put the butter in the microwave to soften it and we may have taken it too far making it too soft which would have caused the cake to fall as well.
A. Basic Yellow Cake Experiment #2
(with high ratio shortening method)
B. Reagents:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp high ration shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk
C. Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour one 9-inch cake pan.
2. In bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, shortening, and egg. Mix together with a mixer on medium high for about 8 minutes.
3. Add milk and vanilla. Mix for an additional 3 minutes.
4. Pour the batter into a 9-inch cake pan that has been greased and floured, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Cool 5 minutes in pan; then, invert onto a rack and cool completely before frosting.
D. Actual Procedure and Observations:
Talk about a fast recipe. Everything was added all at once (including the egg). We did use the high ration shortening as well so the recipe was followed to a T so that we could accurately perform the experiments and compare the two cakes to see which one was better.
E. Discussion and Conclusion:
The cake looked great in the oven and we were worried about it falling but it was perfect. It was gorgeous. I assume it was the shortening that provided the structure of the cake. The flavor however, was not as great nor was the texture. It was very waxy and left a film of wax on the roof of my mouth. The cake was also dry and difficult to swallow. Wow. I guess I really don't like shortening in my recipes or using the two-step method. I have chosen sides!
A. Basic Lemon Cake Experiment #3
(choose mixing method)
B. Reagents:
1 cup sugar
1 cup softened butter
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tablespoon lemon extract
3/4 cup +2 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
C. Procedure:
Choose mixing method: Creaming or Two-step
D. Actual Procedure and Observations:
There was not lemon extract available so we used lemon zest which provided a fresh lemon flavor but not as strong as I would have liked. We also chose to use butter in the recipe and to use the creaming method. We hoped that we would be able to do a much better job than with the first cake...but read on to find out what happened! Butter and sugar were creamed together first. The dry ingredients were mixed sepertately and then added to the creamed ingredients. Eggs and flavorings were then added and headed to the oven.
E. Discussion and Conclusion:
Although we were extra cautious to perform our duties in expert control we were unable to successfully execute a perfect cake. I loved the lemon flavor (although wishing it were more intense) and the flavor that the butter offered, but once again the cake fell and executed a look alike of Barbie's swimming pool. So sad. I must assume that this occurred due to the fact that we should have added more flour to make up for the altitude at which we live here in Utah or blame our classmates for constantly opening the oven door to check their cakes. While I truly adore my classmates I must say it is a tie between the two. I know it wasn't due to the temperature of the butter because we were very cautious to make sure it was at exactly the right temperature.
Overall, I walked away from this experiment day with a vast knowledge on understanding why certain instructions show up in the recipes. Rather than wondering why I am doing one step with exact detail, I now understand and am happy to do it...as long as it tastes great!
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