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Lab Report - Shortened CakesJune SaxtonKaplan UniversityNS415Sara Police DATE \@ "M/d/yyyy" 1/14/2014Lab Report - Shortened CakesIntroductionFor this lab report two shortened cakes were baked to test how different mixing methods affect the quality of cakes.Materials and MethodA. CREAMING METHOD (CONVENTIONAL METHOD)The ingredients that were used for this cake were: 1 cup cake flour, 1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup butter flavored Crisco, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg and 1/3 cup non-fat milk. The materials that were used were waxed paper, 9 inch round cake pan, medium mixing bowl, hand-mixer, flour shifter, cooking spray, spatula and wire rack. The cake was prepared as follows: the oven was preheated to 350 degrees, wax paper was cut to fit the bottom of the cake pan, the bottom of the pan was sprayed with cooking spray after which the wax paper with placed in the cake pan and then sprayed with cooking spray. Then the flour, salt and baking powder were sifted onto another piece of wax paper. The butter flavored Crisco was the placed into the medium-sized mixing bowl and creamed at medium speed for about 2 minutes. Sugar was then added to the beaten fat and creamed another 4 minutes. After which an egg was added the fat sugar mixture and beaten until it was light and fluffy. The flour mixture was then added 1/3 at a time to the egg-fat-sugar mixture. After the first third was beaten in at a slow speed, half of the milk was added and beaten in for about a minute. Then the second portion of flour and the rest of the milk was added and beaten in for about a minute. At this point, the vanilla extract was added. Finally, the last portion of the flour mixture was added and beaten for about a minute. The batter was then pushed into the cake pan and leveled with the spatula and baked at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. After which it was removed from the oven and allowed to cool on the counter for 10 minutes. It was then removed from the pan onto a wire rack to cool thoroughly. B. ONE-BOWL METHOD (QUICK MIX METHOD)The ingredients used for this cake were: 1 cup cake flour, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1? teaspoons double-acting baking powder, 1/4 cup butter flavored Crisco, 1/2 cup non-fat milk, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 large eggs. The materials that were used were waxed paper, 9 inch round cake pan, medium mixing bowl, hand-mixer, flour shifter, cooking spray, spatula and wire rack. The cake was prepared as follows: the oven was preheated to 350 degrees, wax paper was cut to fit the bottom of the cake pan, the bottom of the pan was sprayed with cooking spray after which the wax paper with placed in the cake pan and then sprayed with cooking spray. The flour, sugar, salt and baking powder were then sifted together in the medium-sized bowl. After which the shortening, milk and vanilla were added and mixed with the hand-mixer at low speed to moisten the flour for about 30 seconds. Then at medium speed the mixture was beaten for two minutes. The egg was then added and beaten for another 2 minutes. After which the batter was pushed into the prepared cake pan and leveled out. Finally it was baked for 25 minutes. The cake was then removed from the oven and tested for doneness by poking it in the center with a toothpick and allowed to cool on the counter for 10 minutes. It was then removed from the pan and placed on a wire rack to cool thoroughly.ResultsMixing MethodFatCrust colorGrainMoistnessFlavorCreamedButter flavored CriscoDark Golden BrownCourse and openOn the dry sideNot sweet enoughOne-BowlButter flavored CriscoDark to Golden BrownLight and tenderJust moist enoughJust the right amount of sweetnessThe cake that I made with the creamed method sank in the middle and only rose about an inch on the edges. I looked for causes for this and found several possibilities. They were: The town I live in is at an elevation of 4,914 feet, my baking powder has an expiration date in 1994 and I may have over-mixed. Even though I have never had to adjust anything for high altitude baking that I have made before including cakes made from cake mixes, elevation could have certainly been a factor. Our textbook states that high altitude adjustments should be made for cakes at between 3,000 and 5,000 feet (Bennion & Scheule, 2010). Since it could have also been the old baking powder, I tested my baking powder (Christensen, 2013) and even though there was some fizzing, it is probably on its way out. I tested a can of baking powder that has an expiration date of December 2013 and the reaction was much stronger. Therefore, I came to conclusion that the baking powder was probably at least part of the problemTo test whether or not high altitude was also part of the problem, I adjusted my one-bowl cake using high altitude directions and used the newer baking powder. The one-bowl cake turned out fine.Creamed CakeOne Bowl CakeDiscussionFlour gives body, structure, flavor and texture to cakes and other baked goods. It binds together the other ingredients and supports the batter (Joy of Baking, 2013).?To substitute all-purpose flour for cake flour you would use ? cup all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons corn starch per cup of flour (Joy of Baking, 2013). ?Besides adding sweetness, sugar performs many roles in a cake recipe. When creamed with fat it traps air that expands during cooking which helps create a light, fluffy, tender crumb. It attracts and holds moisture which keeps cakes fresh longer. It inhibits the development of gluten which is important to keep cakes tender (Gremillion, 2013). As mentioned before, fat plays a major role in the aeration processes when creamed with sugar to help produce a batter that is stable enough to retain the air and produce a cake that is tender (The Oil and Fats Specialist Group of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, n.d.). ?Shortening creams better than butter or margarine because shortening has no water and has air incorporated into the fat in processing which helps increase the volume and enhance the aeration in cake batters?and some shortenings have emulsifiers which acts as a barrier between fat and water molecules so that they can blend more uniformly (The Prepared Pantry, n.d.).In order to for shortening to properly cream and incorporate the ideal amount of air it must be at room temperature and eggs must be at room temperature in order for them to properly act as an emulsifier (The Baking Pan, n.d.).?The leavening agents used in cake are baking powder or baking soda and creamed shortening (Bennion & Scheule, 2010).You can test to see if your cake is ready to be removed from the oven by poking it with a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, it is done (The Baking Pan, n.d.).?Positioning the both layer cake pans in the middle of the oven in a conventional oven ensures that both layers are evenly surrounded by heat, but you must be sure that there is at least an inch of space between the pans and the oven walls. If this is not possible, it is best to wait until the cake is set (after about 20 minutes) to move layer pans placed on two racks (Jones, 2011). When baking a cake in a convection oven you would need to lower the oven temperature by at least 25 degrees; but oven position is not as important because the convection oven has a fan which circulates the heat (O’Neil, 2013).I preferred the flavor of the one bowl cake because it was sweet enough but not too sweet. I don’t know if the fact that my creamed cake fell or not, but the one-bowl cake just tasted better even though both recipes had the same amount of sugar in them.Ingredients will be more readily dispersed when they are at room temperature for a one-bowl cake (Bennion & Schuele, 2010) and more completely incorporated into the batter (Conforti, 2008).?One-bowl method cakes contain more baking powder than creamed cakes because they do not have the advantage of the additional air that is incorporated during the creaming processes and must rely on the baking powder alone to produce the volume (Bennion & Scheule, 2010).?Because creamed cake uses baking powder or baking soda and creamed shortening as leavening agents as opposed to just using the baking powder or baking soda, it can produce a cake that is higher in volume and finer in texture because more air is incorporated (Conforti, 2008).ReferencesBennion, M., & Scheule, B. (2010).?Introductory foods. (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.Conforti, F. D. (2008).?Food selection and preparation, a laboratory manual. (2nd ed.). Blackwell Pub.Gremillion, J. (2013). Essential Ingredient – Sugar, Retrieved from , G.S., (2011, September 20). Is Rack Positioning Important?, Retrieved from of Baking, (2013). Flour, Retrieved from Baking Pan, (n.d.). Cake Hints, Retrieved from Oil and Fats Specialist Group of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry. (n.d.).?The role of fats in baking, Retrieved from ’Neil, L., (2013). How to bake in a convection oven, Retrieved from Prepared Pantry. (n.d.).?Butter, shortening and oil, Retrieved from ................
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