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

PROCEDURE IN CAKE MAKING

PREPARATION OF INGREDIENTS

27. In cake making, as in the preparation of other dishes, a systematic plan must be followed if good results are desired. A housewife cannot expect to have a successful cake if she has to stop during the mixing to get some of the ingredients or some of the utensils ready. Before the mixing is begun, all the utensils and ingredients should be collected and any of the ingredients that require special preparation should be prepared. Then, if the recipe is correct, if the ingredients are measured accurately and combined correctly, and if the baking is done properly, success in cake making is assured.

28. The first thing to be done, when a cake is to be made, is to read the recipe to determine just what is required and to find out whether all the ingredients called for are in supply. With this done, all the utensils should be placed conveniently on the table and the ingredients collected and measured. Some authorities advise the weighing of the ingredients in cake because weight is always regarded as more accurate than measure. If a recipe calls for weights, it will be found easier to use them than to try to change them to measure; but when a recipe requires measures, and does not state weights, it would be unwise to attempt to use scales for measuring.

29. The measuring of the fat often requires a little attention. For instance, if only 1/4 cupful of butter or some other fat is required, it may perhaps be more convenient to measure it with a tablespoon than with a cup. Otherwise, unless the recipe calls for melted fat, the fat should be measured by pressing it down tight into the cup until it reaches the mark indicating the required amount. If the fat is hard and cold, as is usually the case when it is first taken from the refrigerator or other cold place, it will be difficult to cream. A good plan is to let the fat stand until it is 70 degrees Fahrenheit, or ordinary room temperature, before the mixing is begun.

30. The dry ingredients used in cakes include the sugar, flour, baking powder, spices, etc. Granulated sugar seldom requires any preparation except measuring. However, sugar other than granulated, particularly brown sugar and pulverized sugar, should be rolled with a rolling pin and then sifted in order to free it from any lumps it might contain. Flour should be sifted once before measuring and again with the baking powder, or soda and cream of tartar, and salt in order to mix them. Other dry ingredients, such as spices and occasionally pulverized sugar, may also be sifted with the flour and other dry ingredients. If the dry leavening agent appears to be lumpy when the cover is removed from the can, it should be worked smooth with a spoon and sifted before it is measured. A very small mesh wire sieve may be used for this purpose.

31. The liquid should be measured by pouring it into the measuring cup with the cup stationary and level. The eggs, which are, of course, one of the liquid ingredients, should be neither broken until just before they are to be used, nor beaten until the mixture is brought to the point where the eggs are to be added. If the whites are to be used for the preparation of icing after the cake is baked, they should be kept in a cool place until they are beaten.

32. Fruits, nuts, and other miscellaneous ingredients should be prepared before the mixing of the cake is begun; that is, they should be cleansed, cut, ground, or chopped, as the case may be, so that it will not be necessary to stop the mixing of the cake to do any of this work. If they are to be dredged with flour, this may be done at the time they are prepared.

PREPARATION OF PANS

33. The pan or pans in which the cake is to be baked should also be prepared before the mixing is begun. The treatment to be given to the pans depends to a large extent on the cake that is to be put into them. Butter cake or any of its variations requires greased pans, whereas sponge cake should be put in pans that are not greased.

34. BUTTER-CAKE PANS.--The fat used to grease pans of any kind should be a clean, tasteless fat. Less will be required to cover the surface of the pan if an oil rather than a solid fat is used. In case butter is selected for this purpose, it should first be melted and then allowed to stand until the clear fat that rises to the top can be gathered. However, fats that are less expensive than butter are perfectly satisfactory for greasing pans, and so butter should not be used unless other fats are not available.

35. Muffin pans or individual pans of any kind should first be greased with a brush or a small piece of clean paper dipped into the fat that is to be used, and then dusted with flour. The flour should cover the surface of the pan, but should be shaken out so that no more than just a film remains over the grease. A brush may also be used for the greasing of other pans, but it is not recommended, as the fat is apt to become rancid in the brush, and if it is cleansed as often as is necessary to keep it in good condition, a great deal of fat, which clings to the brush, will be wasted. A small piece of paper dipped in fat will be found much more economical and quite as satisfactory for this work.

36. Loaf-cake pans, that is, pans that make cake in the form of a loaf, should first be greased and then, as shown in Fig. 2, have the bottom covered with a piece of oiled paper or light wrapping paper that may be oiled after being put into the pan. This paper should be the exact width of the bottom of the pan and should be long enough to cover the bottom and extend up to the top of each end. The sides of the pan need not be covered, as it is a simple matter to loosen the cake from them with a knife. When the cake is turned out of the pan, the paper will stick to the cake, but it may be easily removed by merely pulling it off.

37. Layer-cake pans, whether they have false bottoms or not, should be greased and then covered with a light layer of flour, just as is done with individual pans. If such a pan does not have a false bottom and the cake seems to stick to it, the best plan is to turn the pan upside down and place a cold damp towel on it for a few minutes. This will moisten the surface of the bottom sufficiently to permit the pan to be removed without difficulty.

38. SPONGE-CAKE PANS.--The preparation of sponge-cake pans differs from that for butter-cake pans because of the nature of the cake. No grease of any sort should be applied to the surface of sponge-cake pans. If desired, they may be dusted with flour, but even this is not necessary, as very satisfactory results are obtained by putting the cake mixture into the bare pan.