On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1053

ingredientforhumanconsumption.
Manufacturersareaddressingsomeof
theseproblemsanduncertainties.For
example,theeffectsofflourchlorinationcan
beapproximatedbyheattreatment,and
vegetableoilscanbehardenedwithoutthe
productionoftransfattyacids.Soit’slikely
thatcookswilleventuallybeabletomake
high-ratiocakeswithlessquestionable
ingredients.
Cake Ingredients Cakes are generally made
with flour, eggs, sugar, and either butter or
shortening. Eggs are 75% water and may
provideallthemoistureinarecipe;orvarious
dairy products — milk, buttermilk, sour
cream—maybeincludedtoprovidemoisture
as well as richness and flavor. Because the
sugar is used to incorporate air into the mix,
the preferred form is finely granulated
(“Extra-Fine,”“Superfine”)soastomaximize
thenumbersofsmallsharpedgesthatwillcut


into the fat or eggs. Because they’re filled
with bubbles in the mixing process, cake
recipes usually call either for no chemical
leavening,orforlessthanotherbatterrecipes
do.
Flours,Starches,CocoaCakebakersuselowprotein pastry or cake flours to minimize the
tougheningthatcomeswithglutenformation.
They’re not really interchangeable; cake

flours are both chlorinated and milled into
verysmallparticlestoproduceafine,velvety
texture. Cooks who prefer not to use cake
flours can approximate their protein content
andincreasefinenessbyaddingstarchtoallpurpose or pastry flours. Corn starch is the
mostcommonlyavailablestarchintheUnited
States; potato and arrowroot starches lack
cornstarch’s cereal flavor and gelate at lower
temperatures,whichcanreducecookingtimes
and produce a moister cake. Some cakes are
made with pure starch or starchy chestnut