On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1058

the continued swelling and gelation of the
starchgranulesandthecoagulationoftheegg
proteins.
Cakesaregenerallybakedatmoderate
oventemperatures,350to375ºF/175–190ºC.
Belowthisrange,thebattersetsslowly,
expandinggascellscancoalescetoproducea
coarse,heavytexture,andtheuppersurface
sinks.Abovethisrange,theouterportionsof
thebattersetbeforetheinsidehasfinished
expanding,whichproducesapeaked,volcanolikesurface,andthesurfacebrowns
excessively.
Cake Pans By affecting the rate and
distributionofheating,cakepanscanhavean
important influence on their contents. The
idealpansizeisthatwhichmatchesthefinal
volumeofthecake,whichisusually50–100%
greater than the initial batter volume.
Doughnut-shaped tube pans, with the hole at
theircenter,provideagreatersurfaceareaand


speed the penetration of heat into the batter.
Bright surfaces reflect radiant heat, transmit
heatpoorlytothefoodtheycontain,andslow
thebakingprocess.Adullmetalpanoraglass
one (which also transmits radiant heat well)
willcookacakeasmuchas20%fasterthana
shiny pan, while a black surface tends to
absorb heat quickly and cause rapid surface
browning. Recent innovations in nonmetal

baking containers include flexible silicone
moldsandpapermolds,largerandstifferand
more elegant versions of muffin and cupcake
papers.
BakingCakesatHighAltitudes
Cake recipes that work well at sea level
can produce dry, dense disasters in
kitchens at high altitudes. The reason for
this is that the low air pressure in the
mountains allows water to boil at a lower
temperature than the 212ºF/100ºC
characteristic of sea level. The drops in