Baking Cakes
The ingredients you use in baking cakes and the length of time you spend mixing determines the type of cake that results. Cakes can be rich and moist or dense, buttery or airy. There are five main categories:
- Butter cakes are so named because creamed butter is one of the main ingredients. This creaming helps to trap the air in the batter and this expands during the baking to give the cake its height. These cakes have a fine moist texture.
- Foam cakes have a high proportion of eggs or egg whites added to the flour. The beaten eggs give these cakes a light, fluffy texture.
- Angel food cakes are made with whipped egg whites. They do not contain any fat and have a delicate crumb.
- Sponge cakes contain both egg whites and egg yolks and have a richer texture than angel food cakes.
- Chiffon cakes have the richest texture of all. They are made with fat and both egg whites and yolks.
The best type of butter to use when baking cakes is a stick of margarine. It should be softened at room temperature, which will make it easy to cream. To cream butter, you use the back of a spoon to smooth out the butter as you add flour or other ingredient. You can also use an electric mixer to beat the butter to a light consistency.
Measure the ingredients accurately using measuring tools. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before you add them to a mixture. You can also lay them in a bowl of warm water while you are gathering the rest of the ingredients. Sift the dry ingredients together before you add any liquids. This will ensure that the leavening agents are distributed throughout the flour. When you are using an electric mixer, stop occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber or plastic spatula.
Preheat the oven before you place any baking pans inside. You should also have the pans well greased because the mixture will stick to the sides and the bottom. Using aluminum pans will give you a golden crust and if you use glass bakeware, reduce the temperature by about 25º. When you take the cake out of the oven, allow it to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before removing it to a wire rack.