Woman's Institute Library of Cookery. Volume 4: Salads and Sandwiches; Cold and Frozen Desserts; Cakes, Cookies and Puddings; Pastries and Pies

by Woman's Institute of Domestic Arts and Sciences

INGREDIENTS USED IN CAKES

NECESSARY INGREDIENTS

7. QUALITY OF INGREDIENTS.--The materials used in the making of cakes should be of as good quality as possible, and when put into the cake they should be in the best condition. In this phase of cookery, as in all others, better results are obtained when good materials are used. Besides possessing this general characteristic, certain of the ingredients require special attention.

8. FAT FOR CAKES.--The fat used for cakes must necessarily be of an agreeable flavor, and for this reason butter is the kind in general use. There are, of course, other fats that may be used to advantage either as part or all of the fat required. However, when another fat is to take the place of butter, one that is practically flavorless should be chosen. Oleomargarine of various kinds, Crisco, and even some of the liquid fats are very satisfactory, especially in the making of cookies.

9. SWEETENING FOR CAKES.--Numerous varieties of sugar may be employed in the making of cakes. Probably granulated sugar is used more frequently than any other, but brown sugar, soft sugar, and confectioner's sugar all have a place in cake making. Any of these may be used in the preparation of icing as well as for an ingredient of the cake itself.

10. LEAVENING FOR CAKES.--An important source of leavening in cakes is eggs. For cakes to be most satisfactory, the eggs employed should be strictly fresh. During the season when they are scarce and consequently high in price, recipes that require only a few eggs should be prepared.

Baking powder, which is also an important leavening in cakes, should be of an approved brand that can be relied on to do the work expected of it. Soda and cream of tartar are sometimes used together, and, again, soda is used alone with molasses or sour milk. For every 3 eggs in a cake mixture, 1 teaspoonful of the baking powder called for in the recipe may be omitted. Altitude affects the amount of baking powder required in cakes. The quantity given in the recipes is correct for altitudes varying from sea level to 1/2 mile high, but it should be reduced one-fifth at an elevation of 1 mile, and three-tenths at an elevation of 7,000 feet.

11. LIQUID FOR CAKES.--Milk, as a rule, is the liquid used in cake making. It may be skim milk or whole milk, it may consist of part water and part milk, or it may be entirely water, depending on the kind of cake. When a large number of eggs are used in a cake, very little liquid is employed. Sometimes the liquid consists of molasses and sour milk used together, separately, or with some other liquid.

12. FLOUR FOR CAKES.--The flour used in the preparation of cakes may be bread, pastry, or blend flour, depending on the kind of cake desired. While a blend, or an all-purpose, flour makes a satisfactory cake, pastry flour, which is milled from soft winter wheat, or better still, cake flour, is more nearly ideal as the excess gluten is removed, and it is much finer milled; hence it produces a lighter, finer, more delicate cake. Wheat flour is the kind that is generally used, but other flours, such as white corn meal, rice flour, and potato flour, though producing a drying effect, are sometimes combined with wheat. A tablespoonful of corn starch sifted with the bread or hard wheat flour is an improvement over straight bread flour, but as it has a drying effect, it is not to be recommended.

MISCELLANEOUS INGREDIENTS

13. In addition to the ingredients that have just been mentioned, there are numerous other ingredients that are often used in cakes. Some of them are used for the purpose of adding flavor and variety to otherwise plain cakes, while many of them are used entirely for the purpose of flavoring. These ingredients, like the necessary ones, should be of excellent quality. It is essential that their use and value be understood, for by means of them pleasing variety may often be secured with just a plain-cake recipe. For instance, a plain cake as a foundation may be varied by using with it raisins, nuts, spices, coconut, preserved fruits of various kinds, or flavoring of some sort. To be able to use these ingredients properly, it is well for the housewife to be familiar with their nature and the treatment that must be given to them before they can be used.

14. CURRANTS AND RAISINS.--As has already been learned, currants and raisins are varieties of dried grapes. Currants do not contain seeds, but raisins come in both seeded and seedless varieties, and either of these are satisfactory for cake making. Currants are often dry and hard, and as they are usually very dirty they require considerable cleaning to prevent them from being gritty when the cake is eaten. Because of these facts, currants are not very satisfactory and consequently are usually replaced by raisins, which may be used, either chopped or whole, for any of the purposes currants are used. If small raisins are desired, sultanas, which are a small, light-colored, and mild-flavored variety, are the best to purchase. These two fruits increase the food value of the mixtures to which they are added. Raisins, being extremely high in carbohydrate, are especially valuable as an ingredient.

Before currants and raisins are used in cake mixtures, they should be thoroughly cleaned. To clean them, place them in a colander, and then turn a stream of cold water over them and rub them between the fingers until all dirt or other foreign material is removed. When clean, allow them to dry as thoroughly as possible before using them.

15. MISCELLANEOUS FRUITS.--Fruits other than currants and raisins are often used in the preparation of cakes and puddings. These, which may be dried, canned, or preserved, include dates, figs, citron, apricots, prunes, cherries, plums, pears, peaches, and pineapple. Candied orange and lemon peel are generally used in the preparation of fruit cake. All of these fruits add food value and flavor.

A certain amount of preparation must be given to fruits before they can be used in cakes. All of them except the canned fruits must be thoroughly washed, and some of them, such as dates, must have the stones removed. Those which are very hard, as, for instance, figs and citron, may be steamed to make them soft. The steaming may be done by placing the fruit in a colander over a vessel of boiling water and covering the colander to retain the steam. When treated in this manner, these fruits will cut more easily and will be softer and more moist in the finished cake.

16. NUTS.--In the making of cakes, nuts of almost any variety may be utilized. Not only do they add a large amount of food value in the form of fat, but they increase the richness of the cake and provide a very delightful flavor. The nut meats are generally too large in size to be used whole, and so they must be made smaller before they are added to the mixture. They may be put through a chopper, but usually it is preferable to chop them with a chopping knife in a bowl or cut them into pieces with a paring knife.

It should be remembered, however, that the use of nuts in a cake adds greatly to the cost, for, with the exception of peanuts, they are rather expensive, particularly when they are bought shelled. As can readily be understood, both the nuts themselves and the labor involved in removing the shells must be paid for. The cost, of course, may be reduced by buying the nuts in the shells and shelling them at home.

17. COCONUT.--The flesh of the coconut when shredded is much used in the preparation of cakes, being put in the cake mixture or used in connection with icing between the layers and over the top layer. Coconut may be purchased already shredded in boxes or cans, or it may be obtained in the shells and then shredded at home. That which is prepared commercially either is dried, when it will be found to be somewhat hard, or is mixed with the milk of the coconut or with glycerine, which keeps it soft. Much more satisfactory coconut can be secured by procuring a coconut, cracking open the shell, removing the flesh, and then grating or grinding it. Coconut of this kind will be found to be very delicious and will make excellent cake. In case coconut becomes dry and hard before it is used, it can be softened by steaming it in the manner in which dried fruits are steamed.

18. CHOCOLATE AND COCOA.--Materials that are much used for flavoring cake mixtures and icings are chocolate and cocoa. Chocolate is sold in pound and half-pound cakes in both the bitter and the sweetened form, while cocoa is sold in packages or bottles in powder form. The bitter chocolate gives the greatest amount of food value and flavor and is therefore used the most. Cocoa is neither so strong in flavor nor so high in food value as chocolate, but it can be substituted for chocolate when this is not in supply.

19. SPICES.--In many kinds of cake, spices are needed to give the desired flavor. When they are to be used for this purpose, they should be obtained in the ground form and then mixed with the dry ingredients. The principal varieties used in cakes are cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. Sometimes a combination of all these is added to the mixture, but very often just a little cinnamon or a mild flavoring of nutmeg is all that is required. When spices are purchased, the best possible brands should be selected, because these things are very easily adulterated with other materials and adulterated spices have not so much strength as the better kinds.

20. FLAVORING EXTRACTS.--In cake preparation, almost more than in any other part of cookery, flavoring extracts have a place. They are used in plain cakes that do not contain any of the other miscellaneous ingredients, and some of them are also added to many cake mixtures and icings that contain fruits, nuts, spices, chocolate, etc. Vanilla, which is an alcoholic extract of the vanilla bean, is probably used more frequently than any other flavoring. The alcoholic extracts of orange, lemon, almond, pistachio, and various other flavors are also valuable in cake making. When any of these flavorings are used in cakes, it should be remembered that much of their strength is lost through the baking. Therefore, in order that the cake may be well flavored after it is baked, a comparatively large quantity of flavoring must be used.