Showing posts with label Mixing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mixing. Show all posts

Cake Mixing Like the Pros with the Two-Stage Method is from other source and this blog just to republish with same information about Cake Mixing Like the Pros with the Two-Stage Method , if you are the owner from this article feel free to cantact me



Cake mixing techniques are always more important than cake baking temperatures. I demonstrated this in an earlier blog by using a butter cake recipe to demonstrate the creaming method. This method combines butter and sugar to trap air, then uses egg yolks to form an emulsification.


 


The limiting factor of the creaming method is that butter is not 100 percent fat. Butter is composed of 85 percent fat, about 10 percent water and 5 percent milk solids. With less fat, butter will hold less liquid during an emulsification. This means a drier, tougher cake.


 


To make a very moist cake, a greater amount of liquid is needed, and shortening will hold more liquid in a cake batter than butter will.  Regular shortening is 100 percent fats. In the professional bake shop, we use an ingredient called "high-ratio" shortening. This special type of fat creates an even better emulsification in cake formulas with a greater amount of liquid.


 


The "Two-Stage" cake mixing method uses this high ratio shortening to create a very moist, soft texture, but firm structure cake.

The "White Whisper Cake" that I create in the accompanying video uses this method.

 


The two stage method differs from the creaming method because shortening and flour are combined, rather than butter and sugar, in the first step. The purpose in the creaming method was to trap air. However, the purpose in the two stage method is to simply combine the ingredients because the great amount of liquid is what will leaven the cake, not trapped air.


 


Sugar, vanilla and milk are added to the fat and flour mixture, which is where the two stages of the two-stage method begin.

This cake mixing method gets its name from alternating flour, liquid, and then flour and liquid in two stages to get as much liquid into the formula as possible.

 


If you've been disappointed with dry cakes and recipes that "didn't come out", examine the cake mixing methods that you're using. When you switch from butter and sugar in a creaming method, to the two-stage method that professionals use with shortening and flour, you'll never be subject to a disappointing recipe again. You'll be smarter than the recipe because you know the methods behind them.


 



Author Box:

See the Christmas cake recipe video  to by clicking here.  Chef Todd Mohr has freed thousands of people from the frustration of written recipes with his online cooking classes. The Chef's cooking DVD series "Burn Your Recipes" empowers people to cook with basic methods and the ingredients they desire.

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Mixing is More Important Than Baking in Christmas Cake Recipes is from other source and this blog just to republish with same information about Mixing is More Important Than Baking in Christmas Cake Recipes , if you are the owner from this article feel free to cantact me



Have you ever taken the results of your family's Christmas cake recipe out of the oven and been disappointed?  How can the same recipe created year after year always come out differently?  "Why didn't my cake BAKE correctly?"


 


I'm here to tell you that the problem with most home baking mistakes isn't in the BAKING, it's in the MIXING of your cakes that most mistakes are made.


 


There are three goals in cake mixing, whether it's a Christmas cake recipe, or any other baked good at any time of the year.


 


The first goal in cake mixing is to combine all the ingredients into a uniform batter.  This may seem obvious, but when you don't scrape the mixing bowl during the process you can have streaks of dry flour in your batter.  If you haven't incorporated eggs in the precise way to get the best emulsification, then how you BAKE the item really won't matter.


 


The second goal is to trap as much air as possible.  This is most often overlooked by the home cake baker.  When creaming fat and sugar together, or whipping egg whites, the idea is to gather as much trapped air to give the cake a light texture and even crumb.  This is accomplished through concerted MIXING, not BAKING.


 


Lastly, ingredients for your birthday cake or Christmas cake recipe are mixed properly to develop the structure of the cake.  How wet and dry ingredients are added during mixing are the building blocks of a cake that is either sunken or bursting from the pan.


 


With those universal cake mixing goals in mind, now you can have ultimate power over any written cake instructions.  However, while all mixing methods have the same goal, they have different procedures depending on the ratio of ingredients.  This yields five basic types of cake.


 


All cakes are defined by their mixing methods, and broken into two categories; high-fat cakes and low-fat cakes.


 


High fat cakes are almost always mixed using the "creaming method".

The best

cookies made from scratch


are also made with a creaming method.  This is the procedure where butter and sugar are creamed together to incorporate air.  Remember?  Trap Air?  Here's where it happens, and why it's important to use room-temperature ingredients.


 


A "Two-Stage Method" cake uses egg whites that have been whipped to soft peaks.  If you notice how the volume of egg whites increases dramatically when you whip them, you're witnessing the incorporation of AIR into your batter.  A batter of egg yolks, oil, water, and seasonings are added to the whites, along with two stages of alternating flour and liquid, thus the two-stage method.


 


Low-Fat cakes most often use an egg foam for structure and texture of the cakes. The first type of low-fat cake mixing method is a Sponge Cake.  Whipped yolks and whites give solid structure and flavor to a sponge cake, again proving that the mixing methods are most important if you want your Christmas cake recipe to be the best it can be.


 


Angel food cakes are absolutely fat-free because they're made entirely of egg whites, sugar, flour, and flavorings.  But again, HOW you whip the egg whites for an angel food method will mean the difference between a dense, chewy cake, or light, fluffy Angel Food cake.


 


Chiffon Cakes are lower fat cakes that use the same method as angel food, but also include some egg yolks to give better structure, and use chemical leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda for extra rise.


 


Grandma's Christmas cake recipe might make a comeback this year when you apply the basic mixing methods outlined here.  Once you identify HOW Grandma was mixing her cakes, you can assure that you're meeting the general goals of cake mixing; combine ingredients, trap air, and develop structure.


 


Stop blaming your oven for those cakes not BAKING correctly.  You have no control over what happens to the cake once you shut the oven door.  However, you have a tremendous amount of control over the MIXING of your cakes, and it is the most important skill to have when creating your own Christmas cake recipe.


 


 



Author Box:

See the Christmas cake recipe video  to by clicking here.  Chef Todd Mohr has freed thousands of people from the frustration of written recipes with his online cooking classes. The Chef's cooking DVD series "Burn Your Recipes" empowers people to cook with basic methods and the ingredients they desire.

 

Read More...