Classic Cup Cakes
Recipe from http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/7678/classic+cupcakes
Makes 12 muffin sized cup cakes
Ingredients:
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
3/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup milk
125g butter, melted, cooled
2 x 59g eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon Queen Natural Vanilla Essence
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line muffin tin with paper cases.
2. Sift flour in to large mixing bowl. Add caster sugar and stir to combine. Make a well
in the centre.
3. Melt butter in microwave (in ceramic dish, covered with paper towel). Cool slightly
before adding.
4. Add milk, butter, eggs and vanilla to flour mixture. Using a large metal spoon, stir
gently to combine.
5. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until a
skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes before
transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Lemon/Lime Curd
Recipe from http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/17755/lemon+curd
Makes 1 ½ cups (Lemon curd keeps, covered, in the fridge for 2 weeks)
Ingredients:
2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
1/3 cup (80g) chilled unsalted butter
125ml lemon/lime juice (alternatively substitute the zest and juice of two medium lemons)
Method:
1. Whisk whole eggs, yolks and sugar in a saucepan until smooth, then place pan over a
low heat.
2. Add the butter, juice and zest and whisk continuously until thickened. Don’t let it
boil! Pour into a sterilised jar or used for other desserts!
… for Butterfly Cakes
1. Make the curd while the cup cakes are cooking and whip the cream (carefully so you
don’t get butter!)
2. When the cakes are cooled, cut circles out of the cup cake tops, cut these in half and
make butterfly wings.
3. Fill hole with curd and cream before adding the wings.
4. Dust with icing sugar and serve!
How do cooking, storage, or processing affect protein?
Eggs are multifunctional ingredients. They provide coagulation, foaming and emulsifying functions in many prepared foods has been
reviewed by Baldwin (1986). In lemon curd, the eggs provide coagulation and emulsification* properties. The egg proteins coagulate and
form a weak gel due to the action of heat and acid to give the final consistency of the product and the egg yolk emulsifies the butter into
the product.
*(Emulsifying ingredients allow two substances that, without an emulsifying agent, would separate after mixing, to be mixed successfully
and permanently, eg. oil and water in salad dressing do not emulsify without additional emulsifying ingredients.)
When cooked or agitated (as occurs when egg whites are beaten), proteins undergo physical changes called denaturation and coagulation.
Denaturation changes the shape of the protein, thereby decreasing the solubility (ability to dissolve) of the protein molecule.
Coagulation causes protein molecules to clump together (as occurs when making scrambled eggs).
In the lemon curd recipe, coagulation can be seen as the change in structure of the egg protein molecules resulting in the thickening (the
change of a fluid to a solid or semi-solid state) that occurs as the eggs are cooked. Coagulation may be initiated by heat, mechanical
means, salt, acid or alkali.
Egg albumen (white) is comprised of various proteins each of which coagulate (solidify) in slightly different conditions;
Temperature: Albumen (egg white) coagulates at a temperature of 62oC while yolk coagulates at 65oC. For every 1oC rise in temperature,
the speed of coagulation increases by 191 times or for a 10oC rise the speed increases by 635 times.
Sugar: The presence of sugar increases the coagulation temperatures.
Acid: Acid conditions lower the temperature of coagulation as acidity by itself produces some coagulation.
The firmness of the gel increases with time and temperature of heating, if it is overcooked, curdling (which causes clumping) and syneresis
(or weeping) can occur. When egg mixtures such as custards or sauces are cooked too rapidly, the protein becomes over-coagulated and
separates from the liquid leaving a mixture resembling fine curds and whey. If curdling has not progressed too far, it may sometimes be
reversed by removing the mixture from the heat and stirring or beating vigorously.
To prevent syneresis or curdling, use a low temperature, stir, if appropriate for the recipe, and cool quickly by setting the pan in a bowl of
ice or cold water and stirring for a few minutes.
The term curdling is usually used in connection with a stirred mixture such as custard sauce, while weeping or syneresis are more often
used with reference to pie meringues or baked custards.
Info from:
http://www.georgiaeggs.org/pages/curdling.html, http://class.fst.ohio-state.edu/fst696/Problems/lemoncurd-fina-%20report.html,
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=92
Prac Questions
Answer in SENTENCES!
1. What functional properties of carbohydrates are at work in the cup cake recipe?
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2. What are the three main nutrients that are represented in the curd recipe?
a) _______________________
b) _______________________
c) _______________________
3. What important functional properties does the protein in the eggs in this recipe
perform?
a) __________________________________________________________________
b) __________________________________________________________________
4. Describe the desirable sensory changes that occur as a result of cooking these
ingredients?
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5. Why is it important that the eggs are not overcooked? What undesirable changes
might occur if they are?
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