Experimental cookery

No very definite information was available as to what temperatures were preferable for baking cakes when using one of the three common types of baking powder. Theoretically, it seemed possible that a powder that released its gas rapidly at room temperature should be baked at a higher temperature than a powder that gave off its gas more slowly. Stone investi- gated the effect of varying the baking temperature on the volume and scores for plain cake. She used Formula I, with flour reduced to 284 grams and the amount of baking powder found to be optimum by McLean, or BAKING CAKES 475 8, 10, and 12 grams of sulfate-phosphate (combination), tartrate, and phosphate, respectively. The cakes for any one series were always mixed together and the batter divided into five equal parts by weight. Hence, any variation in the volume, texture, velvetiness, and eating quality for a set of five cakes was caused by the baking temperature. The time of baking was necessarily shorter as the oven temperature increased. The cakes were 155° 195° 165° 175° 185° Oven Temperature -°C. Fig. 52. — The effect of baking temperature on the average cake scores for plain cake when three types of baking powder were used. (Stone) baked in loaf pans, one-fourth the recipe being used for each cake. The volume was determined by seed displacement. The effect of baking tempera- ture on cake volume is shown in Fig. 51. For the particular formula and amount of baking powder used the optimum baking temperature for all three types of baking powder was 185°C. (365°F.). The total scores, which were the sum of scores for texture, tenderness, velvetiness, and eating quality, were affected by the baking temperature. These results are shown in Fig. 52. The texture and velvetiness of the cakes varied with the different baking temperatures. Heat penetration of the cake batter is of course slower at the lower temperatures. The cakes baked at the lower temperature had thicker cell walls, coarser, more harsh, less velvety texture, and were alto- 476 BATTERS AND DOUGHS gether less desirable. The small volume and poor texture at the lower temperature are undoubtedly caused by the cake batter's not coagulating quickly enough in relation to the rate of gas formation. In other words, as the gas formed the temperature was not high enough to coagulate the 600 580 560 c «540 > ^520 u 500 480 460 1-'-'" / / / / :ipeB \ / / / / / ) J p ,.'^ c.'-' / / r > y /Recii 3eA / J ^ / r^^ 165° 215"* 175° 185° 195° 205° Oven Temperature - C. Fig. 53, — The effect of baking temperature upon the volume of a rich (Recipe A) and a less rich (Recipe B) chocolate cake. With exception of lowest and highest temperatures for Recipe B, each point on the graph is an average of scores of 5 judges for 12 cakes. (Rogosheski and Bernds) egg and flour proteins, with the result that more than the optimum amount of gas escaped and more than the optimum amount of agitation occurred within the cake before coagulation started. For, as gas is produced its expansion agitates to a greater or less degree the cake batter. And if this agitation is continued too long before the crumb is coagulated, coarse textures result. With increase in the baking temperature the eating quality improved, the texture became finer and softer, the volume greater. Above BAKING CAKES 477