Defining Cakes and Fat Functionality

CAKES

There are 100’s and 100’s of variations of cakes.  They can be divided; sub-divided and further sub-divided by ingredients (fat, no fat, high-ratio, low-ratio), shapes (bunt, layer, sheet, cupcakes), purpose etc… a lot of time could be wasted trying to categorize these sweet treats that often are the center of attention at big events such as birthdays, weddings and anniversaries.  Bakery geeks like me even get entertainment from watching t.v. shows dedicated to cakes such as Cake Wars, Ace of Cakes, Ultimate Cake Off or Cake Boss.

Definitions of cakes range from

“A sweet baked mixture of flour, eggs, liquids, and other ingredients in a loaf or rounded layer form.” (The American Heritage Dictionary)

To

“…a semidry foam resulting from the setting of a medium that has been expanded by gas produced from chemicals dissolved therein.” (Yamazaki and Kissell, 1978)

Or Wikipedia tries to be all encompassing with a definition of:

“Cake is a form of food, typically a sweet, baked dessert. Cakes normally contain a combination of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter or oil, with some varieties also requiring liquid (typically milk or water) and leavening agents (such as yeast or baking powder). Flavorful ingredients like fruit purées, nuts or extracts are often added, and numerous substitutions for the primary ingredients are possible. Cakes are often filled with fruit preserves or dessert sauces (like pastry cream), iced with buttercream or other icings, and decorated with marzipan, piped borders or candied fruit”

In fact if you look up the word ‘Cake’ in the American Institute of Baking (AIB) Glossary of Baking Terms there are 25 different definitions to define the many cake variations.  Even though the word ‘Cake’ requires 25 definitions in their glossary, AIB does a good job of classifying these cakes into 3 categories.

1. Batters

Shortening gives aerating properties (oil in water emulsion

• Pound cakes – air leavened (or chemically leavened)
• Layer cakes – chemically leavened

2.Foams

Eggs give aerating properties

• Angel food cake- leavened by egg whites
• Sponge cake- leavened by whole eggs and/or yolks

3. Chiffons

A combination of batters and foams aerated by egg whites and chemical leaveners

SHORTENINGS IN CAKES

There are many types of shortenings that can be used in cakes including

• Butter
• Margarine
• Hydrogenated shortening
• Emulsified shortening – generally referred to as ‘cake shortening’
• Fluid shortenings- hard fats blended with emulsifiers

Butter and margarine have poor emulsifying properties in cakes, though provide familiar and often preferred taste profile

The function of shortening in cakes can be many, hence why specific shortenings are chosen for specific cakes.  Those functions include:

1. Tenderizer- lubrication
2. Aeration- the beginning stages of cell structure
3. Emulsifies liquids- holds water
4. Flavoring- butter or margarine
5. Flavor carrier

As mentioned earlier batter cakes rely on shortening for structure.  In batter systems during mixing an oil in water emulsion is formed, and the shortening/emulsifiers encapsulate air bubbles.   During baking the fat crystals melt, the air cells go to the oil-water interface, carbon dioxide migrates to the air cells and expands with assistance from moisture vapor pressure.

Coasun’s Shortening Alternative has shown to have great functionality in batter cakes.  It incorporates air well, supports cell structure during baking, and give cakes a nice even grain with a soft tender mouthfeel.  More posts to come on strategies for using Coasun’s ‘healthier’ fat to decrease saturated fat levels in cakes by 20% compared to zero trans emulsified cake shortenings, to produce a nearly identical cake!