Methods Of Cake Production

We have all been here for 4 weeks now and have covered the 4 production methods for cake, can you remember what they are?

1. All In


2. Sugar Batter


3. Blend


4. Flour Batter

Can you identify the advantages in each of the methods?

1. In the All In method we are placing all the liquids in a bowl with the dry ingredients on top, we save on washing up, we require less skill because we dont have to correctly identify each stage of the procedure, we save time because it's "all in".

2. The Sugar Batter method requires the we cream the fat and sugar, we then add the pre-condition eggs followed by the dry ingredients and water last. This means we obtain aeration by creaming the fat and sugar, because the flour is added near the end of the mixing process we prevent over development of the gluten in the batter.

3. With the Blend method the dry ingredients are rubbed through with the fat. This coats the flour particles with a layer of fat which slows down the formation of gluten. In other words it prevents the proteins glutenin and gliadinen coming in to contact with the liquid and forming the tough, elastic rubbery mass we call gluten.

4. The Flour batter method developed in World War 2 enables us to produce a good quality cake by using less ingredients. We do however end up with twice as many dishes to wash!!