Baby Ethan's celebratory cake is done in pastels
IF YOU are afraid to bake, stay away from the oven, as baking is an art that needs perfection.
But, fear not as Food has sought the expertise of catering bakery production teacher, Stephanie Richards at Myrtle Ferguson Skills Training Centre in Kingston, to solve these cake baking problems.
Mrs. Richards, however, pointed out that before baking it is important to measure ingredients. Measuring, she noted, is the ingredient of producing excellent cakes.
Eliminating a doughy cake
This is a result of too much flour and too little liquid.
Preventing a sunken middle
If too much raising agent is added the ingredients will rise at a very fast rate before the cake is properly baked leaving the middle sunken. Another factor that contributes to a sunken middle is too much sugar. The texture of the cake becomes very heavy so the sugar gets caramelise and falls.
A CRACKING CAKE TOP
The oven was too hot or the cake baked at a temperature that was too high, hence the cake burst on top.
AVOIDING A CRUMBLING CAKE
This is one disadvantage of a quick mix method (that is mixing all the ingredients together in one container instead of separating the dry ingredient from the liquids and then combining). The cake will have a crumbly taste.
WET INSIDE AND DRY OUTER LAYER
This might be as a result of the temperature being too high for the cake. Remember that a cake bakes from outside in.
AVERTING A 'RAW' TASTE
Several elements can contribute to this such as not removing the 'eye' of the egg, however, if lime juice or lime rind is used this can be eliminated. Another factor of this can be the timing of the cake. The cake being removed too soon from the oven.
CORRECT TEMPERATURE FOR BAKING
The best temperature is 180 degree F (for pastries that contain a lot of margarine. These include cream puffs or pop overs), 350 degree F is best for fruit, plain, wedding, anniversary, birthday cakes. "For rich fruitcakes like a wedding cakes, I usually bake at between 200 and 250 degrees F for a nice, moist results. Sometimes, placing a container of water at the bottom shelf of the oven helps. This acts a a humidifier for moisture."
- Shelly-Ann Thompson
