The Magic In Baking Cakes

Some people seem to think that you either have a gift for Baking Cakes or you don’t.  Confidence is the key and nothing can shake one’s confidence like having a failure with a cake into which so much care has gone.  The first thing we need to do is to try to understand what is actually happening when a cake is being baked, because any interference with this process could end in the failure we all want to avoid. 

When fat and sugar are mixed together, the process is called creaming; little bubbles of air are being trapped in the mixture, each one surrounded by a film of fat (which is why the mixture changes colour during creaming as the trapped air creates a foam). 

It is this air which produces the lightness in the finished cake, but unless the beaten egg is added to the mixture the fat would collapse and the air escape during cooking.  The egg white conveniently forms a layer around each air bubble, and as the temperature of the cake rises in the heat of the oven this layer coagulates and forms a rigid wall round each bubble, preventing it from bursting and ruining the texture of the cake.  

During the baking the bubbles of air will expand and the cake will ‘rise.’  At the same time the stretchy gluten in the flour, which has formed an elastic network round the air bubbles, will stretch until, at a higher temperature, it loses its elasticity and the shape of the cake becomes fixed.  Now that you know what is going on during you cake baking episodes, here are a few other good reasons for Baking Cakes.  

Baking evokes strong emotional feelings and satisfaction which are not as evident for cooking.  It’s a way to show love for family or friends.  Learning To Bake from parent/grandparent creates emotional ties; desire to pass on and/or remember.  It gives you an important outlet for creative impulses, a talent, in itself.  Pride is a powerful motivator, and baking a perfect cake can boost your pride.

It is a fact that Baking is like chemistry.  All the ingredients need to be measured and each ingredient plays an important part in the baking process.  The great news is you don’t have to be a chemist to know how to bake cakes.  Some people are naturals and some need a little more understanding of the process.  

As a cake decorator you will benefit to know How To Bake Cakes.  You have to start with strong and delicious cake then have the right tools to decorate it.