Chapter 13

Cakes and Icings

Cakes
• Are created from liquid batters with high fat and sugar contents.
• Ingredients are classified by function:
– Tougheners
– Tenderizers
– Moisteners
– Driers
– Leaveners
– Flavorings

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Cake Mixing Methods
• The goal of mixing cake batter is:
– to combine ingredients uniformly
– incorporate air cells
– develop proper texture
• Cake Mixing Methods are divided into two categories:
– High fat, whose structure relies on creamed fat and includes
butter cakes and high-ratio cakes
– Egg foam, whose structure relies on whipped eggs and includes
genoise, spongecakes, angel food and chiffon cakes

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Types of Cakes

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Specific Gravity
• The amount of air incorporated into a batter relates to the quality,
volume and appearance of the finished cake.
– Too little air make a cake with tight grain and low volume. Too
much air and the grain may be coarse.
• Specific gravity will indicate if a cake batter is properly mixed.
• It is a measurement of the weight of a mixture in relation to the
weight of water.
– Weight of ingredient / weight of water = specific gravity

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Panning Cake Batter
• Most pans must be greased or lined to prevent cakes from sticking.
• Fill pans no more than one half to two thirds full.

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Baking and Cooling
• Always preheat the oven before preparing the batter.
• Test for doneness:
– Appearance – light golden brown; edges pull away from sides of the pan.
– Touch – Springs back when lightly pressed
– Cake tester – Comes out clean when inserted in center of cake.
• Generally allow a cake 10 to 15 minutes in its pan set on a cooling
rack after taking it out of the oven.
• All cakes should be left to cool away from drafts or air currents that
might cause them to collapse.

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Icings
• Or frostings, are sweet decorative coatings used as filling
between layers or, as coating over the top and sides of the
cake.
• There are several types:
– Buttercream
– Foam
– Fudge
– Fondant
– Glaze
– Royal icing
– Ganache

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Types of Icing

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Troubleshooting Icing

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Assembling and Decorating Cakes

• Before a cake can be decorated it must be assembled and coated

with icing or frosting.
• The goal is to fill and stack the cake layers evenly and apply an
even coating of icing that is smooth and free of crumbs.
• Consider the flavor, texture and color of the components used as
well as the number of guests served when designing a cake and
selecting the filling and icing.

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Cake Decorating Techniques
• Side masking with nuts, crumbs or crushed cookies
• Stencils – creating a design on top of a cake with confectioner’s
sugar or cocoa powder.
• Piping on icing in decorative patterns
– Learning how to make a disposable icing cone from parchment-
paper is a great time saver.
• Covering cake with rolled fondant

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Storing Cakes

• Plain cake layers or sheets can be stored for 2 or 3 days at room

temperature when well wrapped.
• Iced or chilled cakes are usually refrigerated.
• Any cake containing custard filling, mousse or whipped cream
must be refrigerated.
• Although cakes can be frozen with great success, icings and fillings
do not freeze particularly well.

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.
Convenience Products
• Packaged cake mixes are tremendous time savers.
• Results are consistent, although usually softer and more cottony
than scratch cakes.
• Flavor also tends to be more artificial than scratch cakes.
• Icings, glazing and toppings are available.
• Icings are often exceedingly sweet and overpowered by artificial
flavors and chemical preservatives.
• The products save time and have consistent results but are more
costly than scratch products.

On Baking: A Textbook of Baking and Pastry Fundamentals, Second Edition Copyright ©2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Labensky, Martel, Van Damme Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All rights reserved.