Cake batters, Pie and Short doughs Flashcards
Do good ingredients guarantee a fine cake?
No
What could happen if you make a minor error in a mixing technique?
Your cake could have poor texture and volume.
What are the three main types of cake that use the foaming method?
- Sponge cakes
- Angel food cakes
- Variety of Chiffon cakes
What ingredient leavens the cake in the foaming method?
Beaten eggs (the air trapped in them)
What kind of texture does a cake made with the foaming method have?
A light springy texture.
How are alot of European style cakes or tortes made?
By cutting sponge cake layers into thinner layers and assembling them with a wide variety of creams, fillings and fruit.
Do sponge cakes have a lot of moisture?
No, they usually need to be moistened with simple syrup to compensate.
What kind of flour should be used when making foamed cakes?
A very weak flour; sometimes cornstarch is added to cake flour so it weakens it further.
What method is used when making a sponge cake?
Foaming method.
How are sponge cakes and swiss rolls made?
By whipping whole eggs (warm or cold) with sugar and then folding in the flour by hand once the volume is reached.
What temperature of eggs gives the best result when making a sponge cake?
Warm eggs.
What kind of cake is melted butter added to at the end of mixing?
“Genoise” Sponge
What is the warm and cold beating method?
- Mix eggs and sugar over simmering water constantly stirring until it reaches 50C
- Place in a mixing bowl and whip at high speed until creamy and light in color
- To stabilize the batter, whip on medium speed for 5 minutes
- Sifted flour is folded in first followed by the melted butter
How do you make emulsified sponge cakes?
- Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whip until foamy
- The volume is produced by whipping the eggs; the addition of an emulsifier (allows to whip all the ingredients together); plus the addition of baking powder
How are angel food cakes made?
A dry flour-sugar mixture is folded into the egg whites.
How do angel food cakes obtain their volume?
By whipping the egg whites to soft peaks and then the heat from the oven allows the moisture in the egg whites to expand.
What will happen to an angel food cake if you overbeat the whites?
It will not expand in the oven.
Should you grease an angel food cake pan?
No, it will hinder the cake to rise.
What is in a chiffon cake batter?
Flour, baking powder, egg yolks, vegetable oil, water are all folded into the egg whites
What stage should you whip the egg whites to for chiffon cakes?
To medium peaks, a little bit firmer than angel food cakes; don’t whip until they are dry.
What do chiffon cakes depend on for leavening?
Baking powder and egg foam.
What is the creaming method for most butter cakes?
- Ingredients should be room temperature
- Fat is beaten until light and fluffy
- Eggs must be added in small portions, only add the next after the first one is incorporated
- Dry and liquid ingredients are alternately added starting and finishing with the dry ingredients to make sure the batter can absorb all the liquid
What is the two stage method used for?
- Sponge cakes
- Sacher torte
- Dobosh torte
What is the two stage method?
- Eggs are separated
- Yolks are shipped with a small amount of sugar, or used to add to the creamed butter and sugar mixture
- Egg whites are whipped separately until stiff peaks. Then add them to the rest of the mixture.
What are meringues?
A mixture of fluffy beaten egg whites and granulated sugar.
To what peak are most egg whites whipped to for meringues?
Stiff peaks, but not dry.
What are the three classical types of meringues?
- French meringue (common)
- Italian meringue
- Swiss meringue
Can french/common meringue be eaten raw?
It should not since it is possible to give you salmonella.
French meringue
- Egg whites beaten with granulated sugar (sometimes icing sugar is folded in at the end)
- Easiest meringue to make and the reasonably stable
- Egg whites should be at room temperature
Swiss meringue
- Egg whites and sugar are heated over a double boiler up to 60C while they are beaten.
- The heat stablizes the product
- Can be eaten raw
Italian meringue
- Made by beating hot syrup (boiled to 116) into the egg whites.
- Most stable meringue because the egg whites are cooked by the heat of the syrup
- Great to use in Baked Alaska since the meringue is either eaten raw or only partially cooked
Japonaise meringue
- Common meringue with ground nuts added in last
- Flavors and colors can be added
- Should be dried out at low oven temperature, but should still be white when done
What does pie dough (short pastry) consist of?
- Flour
- Shortening
- Water
- Salt
What does the success of pie dough depend on?
How the flour and shortening are mixed.
What flour is best for pie dough?
Pastry flour; it has enough gluten to produce the structure and flakiness but will also be tender.
* All purpose can be used if the fat content is high and you don’t handle the dough a lot*
What kinds of shortening can be used in pie dough?
- Lard
- Hydrogenated vegetable shortenings; most preferred since they are neutral in flavor, they have a good consistency at room temperature, they blend well with the flour and they have little or no color,
What temperature of water should be used in pie dough?
Very cold water; about 5-10C
What happens to pie dough if too much water is used?
The crust will become tough because of too much gluten development.
What will happen if not enough water is used?
The crust will fall apart.
Why do we add salt to pie dough?
To bring out the flavor of the rest of the ingredients; salt should be dissolved in water for even distribution.
Can sugar be added to pie dough?
Yes, sometimes it is added to help the browning; but sugar will make the crust soggy over time.
Can baking powder be added to pie dough?
Yes, but only when a non flaky product is needed; can make the bottom of the crust soggy.
Can milk be added to pie dough?
Yes, it helps improve the flavor, color and nutritional value of the crust. If you use dried milk powder it should be dissolved in the water.
What are the two basic kinds of pie dough?
- Flaky pie dough
2. Mealy pie dough
How are pie doughs differentiated?
By the method and degree of mixing; not the ingredients.
Flaky pie dough
- Crisp, delicate and flaky
- Most common
- Used for top shells and pre-baked shells
How do you make flaky pie dough?
- Blend the flour and the shortening until the mixture looks like loose gravel
- Salt is dissolved in cold water and added to the dough
- Blend for a very short time until the bottom of the bowl has no dry clumps
Mealy pie dough
- Used for bottom crusts
- Resists sogginess
- Fine-grained, cake-like texture
How do you make mealy pie dough?
- Blend the flour and the shortening to a fine sandy mix
- Salt is dissolved in water and added to the dough
- Blend until the water is absorbed by the dough
What should you remember when working with pie dough?
- Store in a cool place
- Handle the dough as little as possible
- The correct amount of dough should be used for rolling to have the least trimmings possible
- Don’t stretch the dough to fit it in the pie plate
- Resting pies in the fridge before baking prevents shrinkage
- Pies should be baked at a temperature of 200C for 30-40 minutes
What will happen to the pie if it is baked at too low of a temperature?
The filling will start to cook and boil out before the crust has a chance to bake.
What are a few other names for short dough?
Sweet dough, sweet butter pastes, sablé dough, sugar dough, paté sucré, shortbread dough, linzer dough, etc.
What are the ingredients in short dough?
- Butter
- Sugar
- Flour
- Eggs
What fat is best for short dough?
Butter; margarine can be used.
What sugars are best used in short dough?
Fine crystal sugar or icing sugar.
What flour is best used in short dough?
White wheat flour.
What flavorings are commonly added to short dough?
Lemon, cinnamon, mace, maple, almond extract or any finely ground nuts.
What garnishes can be added to short dough cookies before baking?
Whole nuts, glazed fruits, egg wash with designs.
What garnishes can be added to short dough cookies after baking?
Fondant, chocolate, royal icing, pecan halves.
What temperature should short dough be baked at?
190C (often double panned); should be a light golden brown when done.
What is “burnt dough”?
It is a term that is usually used when a dough has been overworked, has a crumbly texture and won’t hold together when it is rolled out.
Can “burnt dough” be restored?
Yes, just add some milk to the dough and knead it and place it in the fridge for half an hour.
What is short dough used for?
Cookies, flan bottoms, tarts or tartlets, bases for french pastries or linzer tortes.
What kind of flour should be used for strudel dough?
Strong flour such as bread flour ( all purpose if bread isn’t available)
What are the ingredients in strudel dough?
- Hard flour
- Oil
- Salt
- Cold water
- Egg yolks
How do you know when strudel dough is stretched enough?
When you can read a newspaper through it.
