For the last chapters in the textbook, Chef reviewed chapters 32 to 25 ~ Cakes and Icings, Cookies, Pies and Pastries, Creams, Custards, Puddings, Frozen Desserts, and Sauces. I like to bake and am looking forward to making some of these goodies to perfection. I'm sure that the creativity in me will bring my baking to a higher level. There are so many things that you can do with food to make it taste and look good.
I have limited experience/experimentation with icings. I've really only done two types ~ whipped cream (which I don't think is really an icing) and a cream cheese icing. I use the whipped cream for berry cakes as part of the filling and topping. The cream cheese icing is used for a carrot cake that I make. While going through review of this chapter with Chef, I have begun to think about infusing a number of different tastes into icings for various baked goods.
There are many methods for making cakes. High-fat cakes or shortened cakes use the creaming method (conventional method) or the two-stage method (also known as the blending method). The creaming method as you likely have guessed is the process of creaming all ingredients by starting with the butter, sugar, eggs and then the dry ingredients (flour, salt, cocoa, spices). The two-stage method involves adding the liquids in two stages. This method creates a very smooth batter that bakes up into a fine-grained, moist cake.
The foaming or sponge method, angel food method, or chiffon method is used for low-fat or foam-type cakes. The foaming or sponge method involves warming the egg-sugar mixture over a hot water bath or warming the sugar on a sheet pan in the oven then gradually beating it into the eggs. The next step involves beating the sugar egg mixture at high speed until it is light and thick. The foam is what gives the cake its volume. You must be fairly quick when combining the ingredients because the foam will begin to deflate. The dry ingredients are folded into the foam mixture carefully to not deflate the foam. Once all ingredients have been mixed together, you need to immediately pan and bake the batter. Delays will cause loss of volume in the cake.
The angel food method uses egg whites instead of whole eggs as is used in the foaming or sponge method. Angel food cakes are based on egg-white foams and contain no fat. The chiffon method also uses egg-white foam. However, in a chiffon cake, a batter containing flour, egg yolk, vegetable oil and water is folded into the egg-white foam. The chiffon cake also contains baking soda and is on dependant on the egg-foam for its leavening.
There are many types of icing used for cakes: fondant, butter cream, foam-type icing, fudge-type icing, flat-type icing and royal or decorator's icing. Butter cream is the most commonly used icing for cakes. The little hard candied flowers (rosettes) that you see on some cakes is made using royal or decorator's icing. This type of icing is made with egg whites (which when dry makes it hard and brittle) and is used exclusively for decorative work.
Thirty-five chapters (1,053 pages) in twenty days. Theory completed! Now for the fun stuff ~ turning theory in to practice.
During my first week in the kitchen I will be using the sponge cake method to make a Genoise cake. I will be sure to take a picture of the end result for my portfolio. I have confidence that the cake will turn out the way it should. Stay tuned for many pictures to be posted of my food results.
Homework? Complete my recipe bible and put time aside to work on my business plan for a food establishment.
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