Understanding Food
Chapter 25:
Cakes and Cookies
Types of Cakes
• The majority of
cakes are:
• Shortened
• Unshortened
• Chiffon
Types of Cakes
• Shortened cake: A cake made with fat.
Types of Cakes
• Unshortened cake: A cake made
without added fat.
Types of Cakes
• Chiffon cake: A cake made by
combining the characteristics found
in both shortened and unshortened
cakes.
Mixing Techniques
• “Mixing” is a general term that
includes beating, blending, binding,
creaming, whipping, and folding.
• In mixing, two or more ingredients are
evenly dispersed in one another until
they become one product.
Mixing Techniques
• Beat:
• Blend:
• Bind:
• Cream:
• Whip:
• Fold:
Mixing Techniques
• There are many methods for
combining the ingredients of cakes
and other baked products, but the
most commonly used are the
conventional creaming),
conventional sponge, single-stage
(quick-mix), pastry-blend, biscuit,
and muffin methods.
Mixing Techniques
• Conventional (Creaming)
Method
• The most time consuming, and is the
method most frequently used for
mixing cake ingredients.
• It produces a fine-grained, velvety
texture.
• The three basic steps are:
• 1.) Creaming
• 2.) Egg incorporation
• 3.) Alternate addition of the dry and moist
ingredients
Mixing Techniques
• Conventional Sponge Method
• Identical to the creaming method
except that a portion of the sugar
is mixed in with the beaten egg or
egg white, and the egg foam is
folded into the batter in the end.
• Single-Stage Method
• Also known as the quick-mix, onebowl, or dump method.
• All the dry and liquid ingredients
are mixed together at once.
• Packaged mixes for cakes,
biscuits, and other baked goods
rely on this method.
Mixing Techniques
• Pastry-Blend Method
• Fat is first cut into flour with a pastry blender,
or with two knives crisscrossed against each
other in a scissor-like fashion, to form a mealy
fat-flour mixture.
• Half the milk and all of the sugar, baking
powder, and salt are then blended into the fatflour mixture.
• Lastly, eggs and more milk may then be
blended into the mixture.
Mixing Techniques
• Muffin Method
• This is a simple, two-stage mixing
method.
• The dry and moist ingredients are mixed
separately and then blended until the
dry ingredients just become moist.
• Over-mixing will result in a tough baked
product riddled with tunnels.
Preparation of Cakes
Ingredients
• proportion differ from bread
• Flour
• Sugar
• Fat
• Eggs
• Milk
• Leavening
Type of pans
• Unshortened
•Shortened
Preparation of Cakes
• The timing of
pouring the cake
batter and getting it
into a properly
heated oven is
another important
factor in cake
quality.
Preparation of Cakes
• When
shortened
cakes are
nearing
doneness,
they start to
“wrinkle” at
the pan edges.
Preparation of Cakes
•When
unshortened
cakes are done
the surface is
lightly brown
and springs
back when
touched
Preparation of Cakes
• Once the
shortened cake is
done, it should be
removed gently
from the oven and
allowed to cool on
a rack for 5 or 10
minutes.
Preparation of Cakes
• As in bread preparation, cake ingredients must be modified at
altitudes higher than 3,000 feet.
Baking adjustments, pre and post
Storage of Cakes
• The amount and type of
sweetener used in the
preparation of a cake
affects its ability to be
stored.
• Cakes stale fairly quickly.
Types of Cookies
• Not all fit neatly into
one classification.
• The fluidity of the batter
or dough determines
which of the following
six categories cookies
fall into:
• Bar
• Dropped
• Pressed
• Molded
• Rolled
• Icebox/refrigerator
Types of Cookies
• Dropped cookie batter is literally dropped onto the baking
sheet.
• The batter contains just enough flour so the cookie will not
spread out like a pancake when it is dropped on the baking
sheet.
Preparation of Cookies
Mixing Methods
• The type of cookie to be prepared
determines the mixing method, but for
most types the conventional cake method
is used.
• Once the ingredients are chosen based on
whether a flat or puffy cookie is desired,
they are usually just barely mixed together
until moistened.
Storage of Cookies
• Airtight containers are best
for maintaining cookie
freshness.
• As soon as the cookies are
cooled they are transferred to
a flat dish or plate and
covered with plastic wrap or
metal foil.