FUNDAMENTAL OF BAKING

Production steps - Mixing

1 Sift the flour into a mound on a cool work
2 surface and make a well in the center. Add the
salt, sugar, water, lemon juice and butter to
the well.

3 Mix with four fingers until the salt dissolves.

Use a plastic pastry scraper to pull the flour
into the well and mix until blended, adding
the remaining water if the pastry is dry.

fundamental of baking 51

4

Work the pastry into a sticky ball with the
pastry scraper

5

Make an X-shaped incision on top of the 6
dough, wrap in lightly floured baking
parchment or tea towel, then refrigerate
for about 30 minutes. This is called
détrempe.

Sandwich the pastry margarine between 2
sheets of baking parchment or greaseproof
paper and tap with a rolling pin. Form the
butter into a square about 2 cm (3/4 inch)
thick

52 fundamental of baking

Enclosing Fat and Folding/turn

Before proceeding with the next step in the process, there are
several methods of enclosing fat and folding laminated dough that
worth noting. Diagrams are shown as below:

Enclosing fat Folding

French method/ Envelope

Three fold

Scottish method Four fold

fundamental of baking 53

Continuing with the step in making a puff pastry, noted below the fat are
enclosed in with envelop fold which is also known as the French method.

Place the ball of pastry dough on a lightly 7
floured work surface and flatten slightly 8
with the palm of your hand. Press the
rolling pin into the top edge of the pastry
and roll out an “arm”. Give the dough a
quarter turn and roll out another “arm”.
Continue to turn and roll twice more until
the dough is in the shape of a cross. It
should be mounded in the center, tapering
out the 4 arms.

Place the square of pastry margarine on
the mounded center of the dough and fold
in the arms, stretching the pastry slightly to
seal it in. (The 4 thicknesses of dough on
the top should be approximately the same
thickness as the mound of dough under
the pastry margarine.)

54 fundamental of baking

9

Lightly tap the top of the pastry dough with a
rolling pin to seal the edges and to enlarge and
flatten the square a little. (This is the pâton.
Then roll out the pastry to a long rectangle
about 17.5 cm (7 inches) wide and 52.5 (21
inches) long.

10

The edges of the rectangle should be even
and straight.

11

Brush off any excess flour

fundamental of baking 55

12

Fold the top third down to make a neat
square and brush off any flour

13

You will have a neat square of pastry with
the fold on the bottom.

14

Give the square a quarter turn to the left.
for maximum rising it is important that
you always rotate the pastry in the same
direction so the seam is always on the
same side

56 fundamental of baking

15 The fold should then be at the side.
16

Roll out the pastry into a long rectangle

17

Again fold into thirds. Gently press 2
fingertips into the pastry to indicate that 2
turns have been completed

18

Wrap the pastry and refrigerate for 30
minutes

fundamental of baking 57

Production steps - Shaping & Baking

The following shows some ways of shaping puff pastry:

Pinwheel Turn over

Vol-au-vent Cream horn

58 fundamental of baking

Production steps - Baking Puff Pastry

1. Always bake puff pastry in a very hot oven (220°C/425°F).

A hot oven ensures the moisture in the dough turns into
steam, which is what makes puff pastry rise.

2. Puff pastry should only be baked for a short time. 15 to

20 minutes usually suffices. This is dependent on the oven
and recipe used.

3. Open the oven door during baking to allow steam to

escape and the pastry to dry, or open the oven door near
the end of the baking

Troubleshooting
1. When rolling, do not roll to sides and even out layers.

Apply even pressure so that butter will be distributed
evenly

2. Rest dough 5-10 minutes before each rolling.
3. When cutting dough, hold knife at 90º angle. This way

the layers will not press down, and dough will rise straight
up.

4. When applying egg wash, do not let it drip to the

sides. This can seal the layers and prevent it from rising

5. Bake in a preheated oven. If the oven is not hot

enough, it will lose effect of steam and butter will run out
of the dough instead.

fundamental of baking 59

More puff pastry faults:

Uneven lift

• Incorrect rolling technique
• Uneven fat distribution
• Insufficient rest before baking
• Uneven oven heat distribution
• Incorrect cutting/shaping
• Poor sealing
• Insufficient turns/folding given

Poor volume
• Incorrect rolling technique
• Fat used is too soft
• Temperature when baking is too high
• Too much fat employed
• Insufficient fat employed

Shrinkage
• Insufficient rest before baking
• Flour used too strong
• Dough made too tight
• Dough made too slack

Loss of fat during baking

• Uneven fat distribution
• Fat too soft during making process
• Too much fat used
• Oven temperature too low
• Insufficient turns

Filling spilling out

• Insufficient rest before baking
• Incorrect shaping
• Poor sealing

60 fundamental of baking

1. Sift the flour and mixed Methods Puff
fat and salt together using Pastry
rubbing method. Then Dough
make a well in the centre
. Add the water and egg 25 - 30 gm/ portion
(optional) to the well). 15 pax
2000C
2. Mix with four fingers 20 minutes
until the salt dissolves.
BREAD FLOUR 500 gm
3. Use a plastic pastry SALT 10 gm
scrapper to pull the flour BUTTER MELTED 75 gm
into the well and mix until WATER (COLD) 250 gm
the mixture form a dough. PASTRY MARGARINE 300 gm

4. Work the pastry into a Ingredients
sticky ball with the pastry
scraper.

5. Make an X –shaped
incision on the top of the
dough, cover with tea
towel and refrigerate for 30
minutes.

fundamental of baking 61

2. Short Crust & Sugar Crust

(Pies and Tarts)

Introduction to Short Crust and Sugar Crust

Generally, the resulting products for a sugar or short crust are either
pies or tarts. Pies are defined as a crust top. Tarts in other hand are just
pies without a top crust with savory or sweet filling. (Note: short paste
is suitable for both sweet and savory filling. Sugar paste should only
have sweet filling). The shape of tart has more variations than for pies
with the tart pans being geometric shaped or shaped like a heart or
flower. Tarts may also be prepared free form without a pan.

The first step in learning how to work with fats in preparing pies and
tarts is to understand the difference between tenderness and flakiness.
As pies and tart crusts traditionally contain a great deal of fat which
makes the crust tender, light and flaky.

Tenderness and Flakiness in a Pastry Crust

The amount of mixing determines how flaky the dough is. Flakiness
results when pieces of fat, acting as spacers within the dough, melt
in the oven and leave spaces of air in their place. These spaces of air
expand and any moisture in the dough turns to steam, pushing up
against each layer of dough. This expansion separates the layers of
dough, producing flakiness in a similar manner to laminated doughs.

Tender dough results when the fat is more evenly distributed in smaller,
finer pieces. The fat melts into the pastry dough creating tenderness by
coating gluten strands but producing little flakiness.

62 fundamental of baking

Three Different Types of Pastry Dough

Pâte Brisée

It is rich flaky dough used for sweet or savory crust for dishes such as
quiche and pies. Pâte Brisée means broken pastry in French as it refers
to the tender flakes that break off as one cuts into this rich crust. There
are two types of Pâte Brisée, Flaky pie dough and Mealy pie dough
which are made from the same ingredients. The difference is in how
the fat is blended into the dry ingredients. In flaky pie dough, the fat
is blended in only until it breaks up into pea sized pieces; in mealy pie
dough the fat is blended more thoroughly into finer pieces resembling
corn meal (refer 4.11 on tenderness and flakiness in pastry crust).

Pâte Sucrée and Pâte Sablée

Are referred to as short dough and produce the most tender crusts.
This is because the fat is softened and creamed with sugar. The fat is
blended so thoroughly making the gluten strands shortened and not
able to form strong structure, producing a very tender, but not flaky
crust. Because they are quite soft after mixing, they need to be chilled
until firm enough to work with. In general, Pâte Sucrée and Pâte Sablée
are baked with no filling (blind baking) and filled once they have cooled.

fundamental of baking 63

Pâte Brisée Pâte Sucrée Pâte Sablée

Translation Broken pastry Sweet or sugar Sandy dough
dough

Texture Flaky pie dough: Sweet, rich, crisp, Sweet (contains
tender, very flaky not flaky, can be the most sugar),

Mealy pie dough: rolled out rich, crumbly,
tender, not as tender
flaky

Best used Flaky pie dough: Tarts and small, Tarts and small,
Method top crusts of pies individual tarts individual tarts;

Mealy pie dough: cookies
bottom crust of
pies, especially
those with wet
fillings such as
fruits and cus-

tards

Rub-in Creaming Creaming

Production of short crust / sugar crust

Mixing

• Hand mixing is best for small quantities of dough, especially flaky
dough, because it gives more control over the mixing.
• Quantities up to 10 pounds (5 kg) can be mixed almost as quickly by
hand by a machine. For machine mixing, use a pastry knife or paddle
attachment and blend at low speed

64 fundamental of baking

Six ways to ensure a Tender, Flaky Crust.

The first step contributes to flakiness; the remaining five steps are
directed at decreasing gluten from forming to create the most tender
crust. They include:

1 Use a solid cold This prevents the fat from melting into the dough
fat too quickly in the oven and increase flakiness.

2 Use a low protein Less gluten development. Mostly use pastry or
flour all-purpose flour

3 Add an acid A very small amount of orange juice, lemon juice
or vinegar helps breaks down the protein in flour.
Prevent gluten forming. Dough also can be rolled
easily with less shrinkage.

4 Avoid using too Less water, the more tender crust. Sprinkle, instead
much water of pouring. Use ice water.

Mixing encourage gluten development. Never

5 Do not over mix knead dough. Push dough gently until it comes to-
gether into a ball. Over handling also warms up the

fat, reducing flakiness

6 Allow the dough Relax the gluten strands. Allow dough to be easily
to rest rolled out and shape with less shrinkage. Allows the

fat to firm up.

fundamental of baking 65

Terms in Production of Short/Sugar Crust

Glazing

Thin coating brush on top of
pastry product, to give shine
and better appearance. E.g. egg
wash, melted butter, deco gel,
apricot gel

Docking

Pricking paste with small holes
at the base of mould to release
trapped air. If not release, the
base will rise and appear bloated.

Blind baking

To bake pastry without filling

Fluting

Meant to be decorative and
made at edges of pies or tarts by
making indentation, pinching or
twisting.

Pie tape

Covering edges of pies and tarts
so that it would not darken too
rapidly while baking. Halfway
through baking, it should be
removed to get even color of
crust.

66 fundamental of baking

Assembly and Baking

Pies and Tarts

May be classified into two groups based on method of assembling and
baking.

1. BAKED

Raw pie shells are filled and then baked. Fruit pies contain fruit fillings
and usually have a top crust. Soft pies are those with custard-type
fillings or, in other words, liquid fillings that become firm when their
egg content coagulates. They are usually baked as single-crust pies.

2. UNBAKED

Baked pie shells are filled with a prepared filling, chilled and served
when the filling is firm enough to slice. Cream pies are made with
pudding or boiled custard type fillings. Chiffon pies are made with fillings
that are lightened by the addition of beaten egg whites and sometimes,
whipped cream. Gelatin or starch gives them a firm consistency.

Baking/ Blind baking

We used the term paste before product is baked and crust after baked.
Blind baking refer is an English term for baking a pastry shell before
it is filled. The shell is usually pricked all over with a fork to prevent it
from blistering and rising. Sometimes it’s lined with foil or parchment
paper, and then filled with dried beans or rice, or metal or ceramic pie
weight. The weights and foil or parchment paper should be removed a
few minutes before the baking time is over to allow the crust to brown
evenly.

fundamental of baking 67

Troubleshooting

Preventing a soggy bottom crust:

1. Use mealy pie dough for bottom crust, especially for fruits and

custard pies

2. Bake the dough for long enough time. It should not look doughy
3. For blind baking; just before baking complete, brush bottom of

crust with egg white or egg wash and return to oven to cook and
sets the egg. This forms a barrier or coating against filling

4. After baking, brush bottom of crust with melted chocolate and

chill before filling.

Other pastry faults

Tough pastry/ poor texture
• Insuffient fat/egg/sugar used
• Use of too strong flour
• Excessive/Insufficient moistening agent
• overmixing
Shrinkage
• Insuffient fat/egg/sugar used
• Use of too strong flour
• Excessive/Insufficient moistening agent
• overmixing
Too much or insufficient oven color
• Oven temperature too high
• Excessive sugar
• Oven temperature too low
• Insufficient sugar

68 fundamental of baking

Brown spot on crust
• Undissolved sugar
Filling in tart boiling over
• Oven temperature too high
• Filling too thin
Filling spilling out
• Too much filling
• Excessive shrinkage of pastry
Lids of pies detached
• Seal insufficiently dampened
• Too much filling

fundamental of baking 69

Mealy Pie Methods 1. For Mealy pie, rub the
Crust (bottom) flour with margarine, water,
salt and sugar by using
75 gm/ portion hand. The sized for mealy is
12 pax within pea sized pieces.
1800C
25 minutes 2. Add on water, little
at once. Do not knead
SOFT FLOUR 500 gm the dough hardly, wrap it
MARGARINE 260 gm and chill in chiller for 30
WATER 150 gm minutes. Let the dough rest
SALT 10 gm and roll it.
SUGAR 10 gm
3. Spread shortening into
Ingredients pie casing, roll the mealy
dough and put on the pie
casing. And pinhole by
using fork.

4. Blind baked the mealy
crust first for 15 minutes.

5. Next add on apple pie
filling and cover with flaky
dough.

6. Bake at 180°C for 25
minutes.

70 fundamental of baking

Methods Flaky Pie
Crust (cover)
1. For flaky dough, rub the
flour with margarine, water, 75 gm/ portion
salt and sugar by using 12 pax
hand. The sized for flaky 1800C
pie is within cornmeal sized 25 minutes
pieces
SOFT FLOUR 500 gm
2. Add on water, little MARGARINE 260 gm
at once. Do not knead WATER 150 gm
the dough hardly, wrap it SALT 10 gm
and chill in chiller for 30 SUGAR 10 gm
minutes. Let the dough rest
and roll it.

3. Roll the flaky dough,
then cover on top apple pie
casing.

4. Cut slits in top crust.
5. Egg wash and bake at
180° C for 25 minutes.

Ingredients

fundamental of baking 71

3. Choux Pastry

Éclair or choux paste also known as “pate a choux”, a French term
means “cabbage paste” because of its appearance can be formed
into numbers of various shapes and filled with whipped cream, fruits,
mousse, ice cream and even savory fillings.

Steam leavening

Steam is the exclusive leavening agent in certain specialty baked goods
such as popovers, puff pastry and éclair paste or choux paste in which
within it contains some form of water (juices, eggs, creams and milk).
When heated in the oven, the water content becomes a gas (100⁰c)
known as steam. Steam is a powerful force that can expand over 1000
times its original volumes. The results in which the steam expand under
pressure within batters and dough causes them to expand and rise. This
leavens the baked goods and in this case, our choux.

72 fundamental of baking

Production of choux

Choux pastes are very easy to make. The dough itself can be prepared
in a just few minutes. The steps are as follows.

Mixing

Bring liquid, fat, sugar to a boil. The liquid must be boil-

1 ing rapidly so the fat dispersed in the liquid, not just
floating on top. If this is not done, the fat will not be
well incorporated into the paste and some may run out
during baking
Add the flour all at once and stir vigorously until the

2 paste forms a ball and pulls away from sides of pan
(takes probably less than a minute). It should leave a
thin film on the bottom of pan.

Remove from heat and let it cool. Beat in the eggs one

3 by one. Completely mix in each addition of egg before
adding more. Beat until paste appears smooth and
glossy.

Baking

4 Lightly grease a baking sheet and piped the paste on to
the baking sheet. The choux paste must be firm enough
to hold its shape when piped from a pastry bag.

Proper baking temperatures are important. For the first

5 15 minutes, start at a high temperature of 220⁰c for the
steam to developed. Then reduce to 190⁰c to finish bak-
ing and to set the structure for another 15 minutes.

6 The choux can now be filled with either sweet filling
(pastry cream, whipped cream, etc) or savory filling
(tuna mayonnaise, egg mayonnaise, chicken filling, etc).

fundamental of baking 73

Troubleshooting
1. The products must be firm and dry before being removed

from the oven. Remove too soon, it will collapse. Hint: leave
them with the oven turned off and the door ajar.

2. Choux paste should look smooth and moist, not dry and

rough. If you may find a formula that produces too slack
dough, correct such formula by reducing the amount of
water or milk slightly.

74 fundamental of baking

1. Bring the water, Methods Choux
margarine and sugar to a Pastry
boiling stage.
30 gm/ portion
2. Slow the heat, then add 25 pax
in flour. Stir the mixture 2200C (15 minutes first)
quickly with a wooden 1900C (15 minutes later)
spoon until it forms a ball.
WATER 250 gm
3. After that place away MARGARINE 125 gm
from the heat FLOUR 187.5 gm
EGG 300 gm
4. Cool the mixture for 15
minutes. Ingredients

5. Add in the eggs one by
one until it binds together.

6. Filled the batter into
piping bag with nozzle and
piped it into three different
shape called Cream Puff,
Éclair, Paris Brest and Swan.

7. Bake for 15 minutes
at 220° C and reduce the
temperature to 190 °C for
another 15 minutes.

8. Make a hole at the
bottom of choux, filled with
pastry cream. Finally dust
with snow powder.

fundamental of baking 75

Pastry Methods 1. Warm the milk and sugar
Cream until scalding temperature.

600 gm 2. In another bowl, mix
20 pax egg, egg yolk, cornflour,
vanilla essence and custard
FRESH MILK 500 ml together.
EGG 1 nos
EGG YOLK 1 nos 3. Tempered boiled milk
CORNFLOUR 30 gm with the mixed ingredients
CASTOR SUGAR 100 gm (2). Next mixed together all
VANILLA ESSENCE 1/2 tsp the ingredients and cook for
CUSTARD 25 gm a few minutes.

Ingredients 4. Keep stirring the mixture
until the liquid becomes
thick

5. Remove it from heat and
let it cool

6. Put some butter to
make the surface shinny
and wrapped it with plastic
wrap

76 fundamental of baking





Basic Cakes

Basic Cakes

Categories of Cakes

Cakes are defined as a sweet, tender, moist baked pastry, are high in
both fat and sugar that is sometimes filled frosted. Cakes are prepared
using a few of basic mixing methods.
There are really only two categories of cakes and each category is
having different types of method.

1. Cakes high in fat or shortened cakes.
a. Creaming method
b. Two-stage method
c. One-stage method / flour-batter method

2. Cakes low in fat or foam-type cakes

.a Sponge method
.b. Angle food method

c Chiffon method

80 fundamental of baking

Cake Batters as Emulsions

A uniform mixture of two unmixable substances is called an emulsion.
Part of the purpose of mixing is to form such an emulsion. A properly
prepared cake batter is smooth. When we add an emulsifying agent,
it is very important to gradually incorporate it into the fat mixture. If
the batter appears to be curdled, it is a sign that the emulsion may
not have been prepared properly. The following factors can cause
curdling:

1. Using a wrong type of fat.
2. Having the ingredients too cold.
3. Mixing the first stage of the procedure too quickly.
4. Adding the liquids too quickly.
5. Adding to much liquid.

Forming Air Cells

Air cells are very important in cakes because it is for texture and for
leavening agent. The chemical leavener agents such as baking powder
and soda bicarbonate are used, these air cells provide places to hold
the gases released by these chemical leavener. Usually, in the cakes
making, the air cells are formed by whipping eggs and sugar.

Developing Texture

Both the uniform mixing of ingredients and the formation of air cells
are important to a cake’s texture. Another factor of mixing that affects
texture is gluten development. In the cake making, we want a very
little gluten development, so in this case we use cake flour or soft
flour.

fundamental of baking 81

Testing Cake Doneness

Three ways to tell when the cake is done:

1. The cake springs back when you gently press it with

your finger.

2. The cake pulls away from the sides of pan.
3. A cake tester, wooden skewer, or thin knife inserted

gently into the center of the cakes out free of crumbs and
looks clean.

Production of Cakes

Cake Pans

It is important when baking cakes to have the right equipment.
Choosing the right cake pans will make baking easier. Your cakes will
bake more evenly and more moist with the right pans.

Always use the shiny aluminum pans when baking. Use heavy
weight pans, not the flimsy aluminum or disposable pans. I do not
recommend using nonstick pans, dark pans, or glass baking dishes for
cakes. These types of pans and dishes do not bake evenly and can dry
your cake out.

Cooling Racks

Always use cooling racks to cool cake layers. Cooling racks allow air
to circulate around the cake layers. This helps cakes cool thoroughly
and evenly. Be sure to spray your cooling racks with nonstick spray to
prevent cakes from sticking.

Follow the Directions

Pay close attention to your cake recipe. It is important to follow a cake
recipe exactly as it is written. Always use the mixer speeds and mixing
times stated in the recipe. Be careful about substituting ingredients.
Here is some information on substituting. Know when and how to
substitute ingredients in a cake recipe.

82 fundamental of baking

Preheat the Oven

Always preheat your oven for 15-20 minutes when baking cakes.
Using an oven thermometer helps ensure accurate oven temperature.
Having the right oven temperature will help prevent a lot of common
baking problems. Oven thermometers can be purchased fairly
inexpensively from any major grocery stores.

Cake Ingredients

It is best to have all of your ingredients at room temperature before
mixing your cake batter. Cold ingredients can clump and cause the
batter to not mix well.

Be careful of over mixing. One of the most common mistakes when
baking a cake is over beating while adding the flour. Mix the flour just
long enough so it is incorporated. Over beating can cause your cake
to be dry!

Preparing Cake Pans

Always grease and flour your pans well to keep your cakes from
sticking. Pan grease is a premixed pan coating that works the best to
avoid sticking.

Filling Cake Pans

Fill your cake pans no more than half full. After filling, remove any
air bubbles by dropping your pan on the counter several times. This
helps your cake bake more evenly. If you are baking a cake with other
ingredients such as nuts or candies, do not drop your pans on the
counter. This will cause your ingredients to sink to the bottom

Baking

Always bake your cake immediately after mixing and filling the pans.
Not doing so can cause your cake to not rise like it should. Place your
pans as near to the center of the oven as you can. Do not open your
oven door during the first 30 minutes of baking. Doing so can cause
your cake to fall.

fundamental of baking 83

Cooling Cakes

Once your cake is baked and removed from the oven, allow it to cool
for 10 minutes in the pan. Then, flip your cake onto a cooling rack
to finish cooling. The easiest way to transfer your cake to the rack
without breaking it is by placing the cooling rack on top of the cake/
cake pan. Place each hand on one side of the cake, also gripping the
cooling rack. Flip the rack and the cake pan quickly. Then gently shake
or tap the pan to remove cake. Cool your cakes for at least an hour
before frosting or freezing.

Trouble shooting- Common Cake Problems and Cures
External Cake Appearance

Symptom Causes

Crust too dark - Oven too hot.
- Excessive top heat.

Cake too small - Scaling weight too low.
Cake burned on top - Oven temperature too high.
- Batter temperature too high.
- Batter temperature too low.
- Incorrect amount of water.

- Oven temperature too hot.
- Incorrect amount of water.

Crust is shiny and sticky - Oven temperature too cool.
- Not baked long enough
- Too much sugar in recipe.

84 fundamental of baking

Crust too thick - Excessive baking time.

Cake falls during baking - Excessive jarring or moving of the cake
during
baking.
- Oven temperature too low. Excessive mix-
ing of
the batter.

Top of cake peaks and - Oven temperature was too hot. (the out-
cracks side of the
cake baked to form a crust too quickly. As

mixture in center of the cake continued
to cook
and rise, it burst up through the top of the
cake.)
- Cake wasn’t baked on the center rack of
the oven.

Cake shrinks - Excessive liquid.
- Batter too cold.
- Oven too hot.
- Improper mixing procedure.
- Baked too long.

Cake rose unevenly - Flour was not blended sufficiently into the
main

mixture.
- Temperature inside the oven was uneven.
- Oven temperature too high.

Cake stuck to the pan - Improper greasing/flouring of pan.
- Layers were cooled too long before trying
to remove
them.

fundamental of baking 85

Internal Cake Appearance

Symptom Causes

Coarse and irregular - Improper mixing procedures.
grain - Stiff batter.
- Careless or poor depositing in the pans.
Dense grain - Oven too cool, (baked too slowly).

- Excessive liquid in the batter.
- Improper mixing procedure.

Off-color cakes - Improper mixing procedure.
- Oven too cool, (baked too slowly).
- Unclean equipment.

If raisins, nuts or dried fruit - Pieces of fruit were too large and too
sunk to the bottom heavy.
- Sugary syrup on the outside of the fruit
was not

washed off- causing the pieces of fruit
to slide
through the mixture as it heated.
- Washed and dried fruit was not dusted
with flour
before being added to the mixture.
- Cake mixture was over beaten or was
too wet so it
could not hold the fruit in place.
- Oven temperature was too low, causing
the

mixture to melt before it set to hold the
fruit in

place.

86 fundamental of baking

General Cake Faults

Symptom Causes

Batter over-flowed the - Wrong adjustments to recipes (too much
pans liquid,

flour etc.)
- Wrong size pan used. Mixture should fill
2/3 of

pan.

Poor flavor - Improper mixing procedure.
Cakes too tough - Improper cleaning and greasing of the
Lacks body/structure pans.
- Faulty baking conditions.
- Improper cleaning of the equipment.

- Excessive mixing.
- Batter too stiff (insufficient water).
- Batter too thin (excessive water).

- Excessive mixing
- Insufficient liquid.

Dries out too soon - Excessive baking time.
- Insufficient liquid.
- Improper mixing procedures.
- Cooled in a drafty location.

fundamental of baking 87

Assembling and Decorating a Cake

Icings

A cake must be assembled and iced before it can be decorated. We
assemble the cakes using an icings. Icings, also called frostings are
sweet coatings for cakes and other baked goods. Icing have three
main functions:

1. Contribute flavor and richness.
2. Improve appearance.
3. Improve keeping qualities by foaming protective coatings

around cakes.

Many types of cake, cookie, cupcake and dessert are covered with
icing. Icing can be used to decorate a variety of pastries and baked
goods. Icing adds flavor and texture, as well as enabling a chef to
decorate her creation so that it is a treat for the eyes as well as the
palate. There are seven basic types of icing:

1. buttercream,
2. flat icings,
3. foam icings,
4. fondant,
5. fudge icings,
6. royal icing,
7. glazes

88 fundamental of baking

Buttercream icing is one of the most popular icings for cakes. It is easy
to spread, has a sweet flavor and a soft, smooth texture and is simple
to make. Buttercream icing is made with a type of fat, often butter,
and sugar. It can also contain eggs or milk to change the texture and
thickness. Most icing found in the supermarket in the cake mix section
is basic buttercream icing.

There are many variations of buttercream formulas, for example are:

1. Simple buttercream
2. Meringue-type buttercream
3. French buttercream
4. Pastry cream-type buttercream
5. Fondant-type buttercream

Flat icing also called water icings is one of the simplest icings. The
basic ingredients of flat icing are powdered sugar and water. Simple
flat icings form the glaze on rolls, danishes and other pastries and can
be flavored with fruit or spices to add a new taste to the pastry.

Foam-type icing, sometimes called boiled icings are comes in a variety
of flavors and has a soft, fluffy appearance. A meringue is made of
whipped egg whites with a flavored syrup added. Marshmallow
foam is a common foam icing, but other flavors such as chocolate or
vanilla can also be added to the meringue. These icings are not stable.
Regular boiled icing should be used the day it is prepared. Type of
foam-type icings:

1. Plain boiled icing
2. Marshmallow icing
3. Chocolate foam icing

fundamental of baking 89

Fondant icing gives a cake or pastry an elegant appearance and is
popular for wedding cakes and other show pieces. Fondant icing is
simply sugar and water, with either glucose or cream of tartar used
to produce the proper crystallization to give it a smooth, almost
porcelain look.

Fudge-type icing is thick and rich with a strong chocolate flavor. Other
flavors, such as almond, peanut butter or mint, are often added. Using
both butter and shortening, corn syrup, sugar and a variety of other
ingredients, fudge icing can be somewhat time consuming to prepare,
but the finished product is stable and can be refrigerated and used at
a later time.

Royal icing is similar to flat icing, but adds egg whites to produce a
thicker icing which hardens to a brittle texture. Royal icing can be used
to make beautiful, artistic decorations because it hardens when dried,
but the same property makes it less enjoyable to eat. Royal icing is
used primarily for decorative additions to cakes and for show work
such as sugar sculptures.

Glazes are thin, watery icings which form a hard, crisp shell when
poured or brushed over cakes and pastries. Glazes are usually made
with a fruit flavor, although other flavors, such as chocolate or coffee,
are sometimes popular as well. Like flat icing, glazes can be used on
sweet breakfast pastries like coffee cakes. They add flavor, and also
help keep the pastry moist and improve its shelf life.

90 fundamental of baking

Leveling, Layering, Filling, Coating and Decorating

Procedure for assembling layer cakes

Preparing a perfectly smooth cake, while keeping crumbs out of the
icing can seem like a tricky thing– but over the years we’ve developed
some methods to make it easier. Start by positioning the cake on its
serving board on the turntable. Remember to thin the icing with 3-4
Tablespoons of corn syrup so it spreads easier. The trick to keeping
crumbs out of your icing is to glide your spatula over the icing, never
allowing the spatula to touch the cake surface or to pull already spread
icing from the cake surface. Some decorators prefer to “crumb coat”
layers by lightly icing the cake first, allowing a light crust to form, then
adding a top icing cover.

fundamental of baking 91

1

Large Amount in Center. With a large
angled spatula, place a large amount of thin
consistency icing on the center of the cake
top.

2

Spread Across. Top Spread across the top,
pushing excess icing down over edges on the
sides of your cake

3

Cover Sides. Cover sides of the cake with the
excess icing, using more if needed.

92 fundamental of baking

Procedure for icing sheet cakes

1. Turn out the cake onto the bottom of another sheet pan or tray.

Cool the cake thoroughly.

2. Trim the edges evenly with a serrated knife.

3. Brush all crumbs from the cake.

4. Place a quantity of icing in the center of the cake. With a spatula,

push the icing to the edges. Smooth the top with the spatula, giving
the entire cake an even layer of icing.

5. With a long knife or spatula, mark the entire cake off into portions,

as in Figure below - Cake-cutting guides, by pressing the back of the
knife lightly into the icing. Do not cut the cake.

6. Using a paper cone or pastry bag fitted with a star tube, pipe a

rosette or swirl of icing onto the center of each marked-off portion,
or select another decoration, as desired. Whatever decorations you
use, keep them simple, and make them the same for every portion.
The finished sheet cake will resemble that in Figure below - A finished
sheet cake marked off into portions and decorated so each portion is
identical.

7. Hold for service. Cut as close as possible to service time to keep

the cake from drying.

fundamental of baking 93

Cake-cutting guides for sheet cakes and round layer cakes. For sheets
measuring 13 x 18 in. (33 x 46 cm), simply divide the above diagrams
for full-sized sheet cakes in half.

6 x 8 = 48 portions

8 x 12 = 96 portions
8 x 8 = 64 portions

94 fundamental of baking

8 - 10 inch layers
12 portions

10 - 12 inch layers
12 portions

Method for icing cupcakes
1. Dip the tops of the cupcakes in the icing.
2. Spread the icing with the spatula.
3. With a pastry bag fitted with a star tube, apply a swirl of icing to

each cake.

fundamental of baking 95

Ganache Methods

5 kg 1. Firstly, bind both heavy
6 pax cream and butter together
Double boiler/ 800C using a double boiler.

COOKING CHOCOLATE 3 kg 2. Remove cream mixture
from the heat, add cooking
HEAVY CREAM 1.5 kg chocolate and stir until the
chocolate melt.

3. Continue melting the
chocolate on the stove. Let
it cool before ready to serve

MARGARINE 500 gm

Ingredients

96 fundamental of baking

1. Beat the butter and Methods Marble
sugar until fluffy. In other Cake
side sieve flour and baking
powder together. 900 gm
7 -8 pax
2. Then add in egg one by 1800C
one and stirred it until the 35 - 45 minutes
mixture pool. Lastly add in
flour. SOFT FLOUR 250 gm Ingredients
EGGS 5 nos
3. Then add milk and BUTTER 250 gm
cocoa powder and mixed it COCOA POWDER 20 gm
together. CASTOR SUGAR 250 gm
VANILLA ESSENCE 1 tsp
4. Divide the batter into BAKING POWDER 1 tsp
two portion and add the FRESH MILK 125 ml
cocoa mixture in one of the
portion.

5. Pour the plain batter at
the bottom mould casing
and followed by cocoa
batter. Repeat the step until
it fill ¾ of the mould casing.

6. Then use a skewer, mark
the batter X and + before
bake.

7. Bake it at 180° C for 35
-45 minutes.

fundamental of baking 97

Brownies Methods 1. Firstly melt butter and
cooking chocolate using
1 kg double boiler cooking
7 - 8 pax method.
1600C
30 minutes 2. Whisk the eggs and
sugar together until pale,
BUTTER 180 gm light and frothy

COOKING CHOCOLATE 280 gm 3. Pour in the cooled
chocolate mixture and stir
EGGS 3 nos well.

CASTOR SUGAR 185 gm 4. Add in the flour and
any extras you’re adding.
SELF-RISING FLOUR 185 gm Stir briefly until the flour
disappears
WALNUT 200 gm
5. Lastly add walnut.

6. Baked about 30 minutes
at 160°C.

Ingredients

98 fundamental of baking

Methods Chocolate

Sauce

1. On direct heat, melt the 650 gm
cooking chocolate. 20 pax
800C
2. After the chocolate
completely melts, add in COOKING CHOCOLATE 227.5 gm
water, sugar and cocoa
powder. WATER 240 ml

3. Stir until it mixed well.

CASTOR SUGAR 142.5 gm

COCOA POWDER 57.5 gm

Ingredients

fundamental of baking 99

Vanilla Methods
Sponge
Cake 1. Add the ingredients
inside mixer bowl except for
1 kg or, the melted margarine.
2 x 500 gm
2. Beat the ingredients
1800C until the mixture is stiff and
fluffy.
30 - 35 minutes
3. Lastly add in the melted
EGGS 8 nos margarine and fold with
CASTOR SUGAR 250 gm hand to make sure the
SOFT FLOUR 250 gm mixture is evenly mixed.
WATER 100 ml
OVELETTE 25 gm 4. Pour the mixture inside
BAKING POWDER 1 tsp the round mould and bake
MELTED MARGARINE 125 gm at 180°C for about 30 -35
VANILLA ESSENCE 1 tsp minutes.

Ingredients

100 fundamental of baking