Finally, I’m writing a basic topic on cakes after a few casual articles on how to bake cakes. This topic is strictly for beginners who don’t know how to bake cakes. The following list below will explore all the ingredients that are frequently used in any cake baking process. By reading this article, baking beginners will be able to identify commonly used ingredients. Of course, these ingredients can be easily found in supermarkets.
Ingredient 1- Flour
Flour is the main ingredient of a cake. There are a variety of flours used during the making of cakes. Most cake recipes recommend the use of all-purpose flour. Sometimes using all-purpose flour may not allow the cake to rise properly. That is why certain cake recipes suggest the use of baking powder or baking soda, which allows the formation of bubbles in the cake batter and therefore allows the cake to rise easily. There are also other types of flours on the market, such as cake flour, cake flour, self raising flour, etc., each with their own purpose.
Ingredient 2- Eggs
Eggs are normally separated between egg yolks and egg whites, and then beaten separately along with the sugar. The egg whites will need to be beaten until they are fluffy. Always use farm fresh eggs to ensure that the egg whites become fluffy easily when beaten.
Ingredient 3- Sugar
Sugar itself has different varieties. We mainly use powdered sugar which is widely found in supermarkets. Icing sugar, on the other hand, is used to make buttercream frosting for cake fillings. For those who are more health conscious, we can choose to use raw sugar or brown sugar.
Ingredient 4- Butter
You may also know that there are generally two types of butter, salted and unsalted. You may need to make sure you use the correct type.
Ingredient 5- Vanilla essence
Vanilla essence is usually sold in bottles. We can also use the real vanilla wand to give a natural vanilla flavor. The typical amount used is around 1 teaspoon.
Ingredient 6- Chocolate
There are many types of chocolate. The typical chocolate used is dark chocolate or cooking chocolate. There is also white chocolate which is normally used to create color contrast on the cake. Chocolate is also used to decorate the cake and make the cake more appetizing.
Ingredient 7- Fresh Cream
Fresh cream is used to make the filling for pies. The crème fraiche will need to be whipped with a mixer until fluffy before mixing with your preferred flavoring ingredients, such as chocolate or coffee.
Ingredient 8- Cream Cheese
Cream cheese is the main ingredient used to make most cheesecakes out there. Cream cheese is usually beaten together with powdered sugar until the mixture is light before adding it to the egg mass.
Ingredient 9- Milk
Milk is also widely used in the cake baking process, giving off a strong milky aroma when the cake comes out of the oven.
Ingredient 10- Vegetable oil
Vegetable oil is normally added to the cake batter to add some moisture to the texture of the cake so it isn’t too dry. It is added in small quantities, otherwise the cake will turn out too wet and oily.
