Good taste of Cake

2007/10/17

Cake Making Tips

Baking Tips

1.Bake cakes with the oven rack placed in the center of the oven, unless the recipe states differently. Bake only on one rack.

2.Bake your cakes for the time and temperature stated in your recipe. Remember if you are using glass pan to reduce the temperature by 25 degrees.

3.Do not place the baking pans too close together in the oven as this may lead to uneven browning and under-baking.

Cooling/Frosting Tips

1.Cool cakes completely on wire racks.

2.Allow the cake to cool for at least three minutes before taking the cake out of the pan and putting in on to a cooling rack.

3.When your cake is completely cooled, you will then need to get it ready for frosting, or the frosting will melt or slide off the cake.

4.Level the top of the cake using a butter knife, so the top of the cake is level. This will give it a really good look.

5.Be sure to brush away any crumbs from the top of the cake so the frosting will not look lumpy. Your pastry brush works well for this.

6.Place your cake onto your cake platter before put your cake in the refrigerator for about an hour so it will be totally cool and be easier to frost.

7.Using a plastic spatula, apply a lot of frosting to the top of the cake, spreading evenly. Then spread the frosting from the top down to the sides. Let cake sit until frosting has set.

Storage Tips

1.Store cakes with creamy frostings under a cake saver or large inverted bowl.

2.Store cakes with whipped cream toppings, cream fillings or cream cheese frostings in the refrigerator.

3.Cut butter-type cakes with a sharp, long, thin knife.

4.Cut angel food, chiffon and pound cakes with a long, serrated knife or electric knife.

Decorating

Chocolate decorations truly dress-up any cake or dessert. Decorations are usually made with tempered chocolate, but can be made with just melted, as well, depending on the recipe and size.

There are a lot of little tricks to follow when handling chocolate:

You can work on a marble slab because it is generally cold, which helps the chocolate set. You can also work on a granite or stainless steel countertop.
Work in a cool room because chocolate will easily melt when working in a warm one. Avoid touching the chocolate with your fingertips, as they are the warmest part of your hands and will easily melt it.
I keep my melted chocolate in a glass bowl, which retains heat well and holds the temper longer.

Remember when using any equipment and dipping implements, they must be moisture free; this becomes important if using a paint brush -- it must be air dried at least 48 hours after washing before using again.

Decorating Tubes

1. PLAIN OR ROUND TUBES

2. STAR TUBES

3. LEAF TIPS

4. PETALS TUBES

2007/10/16

Varieties of cake

2 major of groups cake

1. foam cakes (little or no fat) such as sponge, angel food , jelly roll cakes and chiffon cakes and have a larger proportion of egg than butter cakes.

2. shortened (butter) cakes also called creamed cakes, pound cakes, contain butter, margarine or vegetable shortening, which contribute to a finely textured, tender and moist cake.

Foam cakes: High ratio of eggs to flour and fall into 3 categories.
1. No Fat
2. Only Fat is Egg Yolk
3. Oil and Fat in Addition to Egg Yolks

Shortened cakes: Contain fat, frequently in a solid form, and a high ratio of eggs to flour.

Rich Chocolate

Types of Chocolate

White chocolate

Chocolate made with cocoa butter, sugar, milk, emulsifier, vanilla and sometimes other flavorings. It does not contain any non-fat ingredients from the cacao bean and has therefore an off-white color. In some countries white chocolate cannot be called 'chocolate' because of the low content of cocoa solids. It has a mild and pleasant flavor and can be used to make Chocolate Mousse, Panna Cotta and other desserts.

Milk chocolate

Sweet chocolate which normally contains 10-20% cocoa solids (which includes cocoa and cocoa butter) and more than 12% milk solids. It is seldom used for baking, except for cookies.

Dark chocolate

Sweetened chocolate with high content of cocoa solids and no or very little milk, it may contain up to 12% milk solids. Dark chocolate can either be sweet, semi-sweet, bittersweet or unsweetened. If a recipe specifies 'dark chocolate' you should first try semi-sweet dark chocolate.

Sweet dark chocolate

Similar to semi-sweet chocolate, it is not always possible to distinguish between the flavor of sweet and semi-sweet chocolate. If a recipe asks for sweet dark chocolate you may also use semi-sweet chocolate. Contains often 35-45% cocoa solids.

Semi-sweet chocolate

This is the classic dark baking chocolate which can be purchased in most grocery stores. It is frequently used for cakes, cookies and brownies. Can be used instead of sweet dark chocolate. It has a good, sweet flavor. Contains often 40-62% cocoa solids.

Bittersweet chocolate

A dark sweetened chocolate which must contain at least 35% cocoa solids. Good quality bittersweet chocolate usually contains 60% to 85% cocoa solids depending on brand. If the content of cocoa solids is high the content of sugar is low, giving a rich, intense and more or less bitter chocolate flavor. Bittersweet chocolate is often used for baking/cooking. If a recipe specifies bittersweet chocolate do not substitute with semi-sweet or sweet chocolate. Please ensure that you buy the correct type! European types of bittersweet chocolate usually contains very large amounts of cocoa solids, and some of them have quite bitter taste.

Unsweetened chocolate

A bitter chocolate which is only used for baking. The flavor is not good, so it is not suitable for eating. Use it only if a recipe specifies 'unsweetened chocolate'. It contains almost 100% cocoa solids, about half of it might be fat (cocoa butter).