Egg-Free Baking - which egg alternative is the best substitute for cake recipes? A new baking science experiment by our contributor, Summer Stone-Polzel. People choose to make egg-free baked goods for a number of reasons varying from allergic reactivity to dietary necessity to moral conscientiousness. Whatever the reason, many people opt to bake eggless for themselves and others. There are a number of options for egg substitution that are available but which one works best, if at all? ... Continue Reading
Search Results for: baking science
Baking Temperature Comparison
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... Have you ever wondered why most cakes are baked at 350ᵒ F? And why do cookbooks and baking authorities make such a fuss about making sure your oven temperature is accurate? What is it about that mystical number on the oven’s dial that makes it work so well for baking and what happens if, heaven forbid, your oven temperature is off? Let’s take a quick look at the effect of oven ... Continue Reading
How Does Baking Powder Work?
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... The difference between a dense pound cake and a fluffy butter cake is often a factor of leavening. While chemical agents such as baking powder or baking soda play an important role in the leavening process, mechanical mechanisms as well as the physical makeup of the batter also contribute to the final structure of the cake. So what exactly is leavening? Leavening is defined as a ... Continue Reading
Fav Baking Gadgets with My Cake School
This month we're helping you prep for the holidays and all of the major baking headed your way. With numerous baking related giveaways to help you update your tool kit (have you entered to win the Cupcake Stands or the Beau-coup credit yet?). Helpful tips and advice from your favorite bakers and bloggers! Not to mention new recipes, new DIY's and a fabulously new cake series to make you merry (starting next week). Today I'm thrilled to have my friend Melissa from MyCakeSchool.com stop ... Continue Reading
Baked To Perfection
Baked to Perfection - how baking time affects cake moisture and structure. A new baking science experiment by our contributor, Summer Stone-Polzel. Do not over bake! This warning is often found in the instruction section of a cake recipe. But being the skeptic that I am when it comes to conventional baking wisdom, I wanted to know if you could really damage a cake by letting it spend a few extra minutes in the oven. I decided to put this admonishment to the test practically and ... Continue Reading
Does Ingredient Temperature Matter?
Our contributor, Summer Stone-Polzel of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... Most cake recipes prompt the baker to begin with room temperature ingredients. While I generally comply with most of my ingredients, I admit I can often be caught tossing a cold egg or chilly milk into my batter. Typically in a hurry, I would think, “What difference does it really make?” I finally decided to challenge my rebellion and see what happens when you start with cold, ... Continue Reading
Which Flour Is Best?
Our contributor, Summer Stone Polzel of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... Flour is one of the most important ingredients in a cake recipe. It not only is the structural workhorse of a cake but provides important flavor and textural elements. Choosing the best flour for a cake recipe can be tricky. There are many options on the market and depending on where you are in the world, certain flours may or may not be available. Here I will try to clarify some ... Continue Reading
Chocolate vs. Cocoa
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... Creating an ideal chocolate cake is a tall order. You must balance the texture and structure of a cake while maintaining a distinct chocolatey profile. For some time, I have been in search of a cake that boasts undeniable chocolate flavor, the kind of cake where you can close your eyes and tell, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is chocolate cake you are eating. One of the ... Continue Reading
How to Bake with Alcohol
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... The holiday season is upon us and we could all use a little inspiration for our wintry cake flavors. Alcoholic beverages add just the right flavor profile to warm up and dramatize the season’s best cakes. Forget the boozy, insipid fruitcakes that often come to mind this time of year and see how alcohol works as the perfect flavor enhancer you have been looking for. Alcohol ... Continue Reading
Can You Overmix A Cake?
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... A countless number of times I have read baking instructions to only mix a batter briefly to avoid toughening your baked good, but I have often wondered if this quip was fact or fiction when it came to whipping up a butter cake. In my experience, in the scientific lab within my kitchen, American-style butter cakes just don’t tend to toughen up, regardless of mixing time. For this reason, I ... Continue Reading
Do Your Cupcakes Need A Rest?
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... Some of my favorite cupcake recipes call for the batter to rest for a period of time before it is portioned into to tins and baked. In the past, I have dutifully followed these instructions in order to, presumably, garner the best result; but I started to wonder what exactly the benefits were and what the results would be if I baked the batter immediately after mixing. I decided to bake a ... Continue Reading
Oh Sugar, Sugar
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... Sweeteners play a critical role in any cake recipe. They not only impart the sweetness that makes a cake dessert fare but also have a hand in the structure and leavening processes. The most common sweetener in cakes is granulated sugar, but sometimes other choices are fitting for a particular recipe. Here we will take a look at how differing sweeteners affect the properties of a ... Continue Reading
Which Dairy Makes the Best Cake?
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... The liquid portion of a cake recipe can be easily overlooked as an insignificant ingredient but, it plays an important role in the character of the cake. In this segment I will take a look the differences in three different types of dairy products and how varying these will change the resulting cake. The three dairy products are whole milk, buttermilk and sour cream. Let’s delve ... Continue Reading
Mixing Up the Perfect Cake
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment. Join Summer as she challenges a traditional baking concept and shares her results. Classic cake making methods suggest that the first step in making a butter cake involves creaming together butter and sugar. Traditionally this was done with a wooden spoon and brute strength and required the baker to endure arduous sessions of beating. With today’s electric mixers, I wanted take a look ... Continue Reading
Does Sifting Make a Better Cake?
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment. Join Summer as she challenges a traditional baking concept and shares her results. BAKING ASSUMPTION: It is necessary to sift or whisk dry ingredients together. To sift or not to sift, that is the question. Most recipes call for either sifting or whisking together your dry ingredients before combining them with the other ingredients. I wanted to take a look at the necessity of ... Continue Reading
Acidity In Cake
Acidity In Cake - how acidic ingredients like lemon, chocolate and buttermilk affect a cake recipe. A new baking science experiment by our contributor, Summer Stone-Polzel. Acidic ingredients play an important role in cake baking. They add and enhance flavors as well as contribute to leavening and tenderization of cakes. Batter acidity can come from a wide variety of sources including vinegar, lemon juice, chocolate, buttermilk, coffee, brown sugar, fruits and vegetables to name a few. ... Continue Reading
Sugar’s Impact on Cake
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... Sugar plays an important role in any cake recipe. Without the inclusion of sugar, a cake would be bland and uninspired in relation to flavor, but did you know that your cake would also be pale in color, squatty and dense? Sugar’s effects on cake are quite diverse. To really get a feel for the importance of sugar in a recipe, I baked cakes with anywhere from no sugar at all to one and ... Continue Reading
The Reverse Creaming Method
Our contributor, Summer Stone of Cake Paper Party, is back today with a new baking science experiment.... Cakes can be mixed in any number of ways. Most butter cakes are mixed in one of the following two ways: by the creaming method or the reverse-creaming method. The creaming method is the most common. In this classic method, the butter and sugar are mixed together followed by addition of the eggs, dry ingredients and liquids. In the reverse-creaming method, the dry ingredients and ... Continue Reading
Summer Stone : Contributor
Hi! I am Summer Stone Polzel of Cake Paper Party and I love to bake! I developed a love of baking as a young girl. No one in my family really baked from scratch so I would pour over cookbooks late into the night to learn everything I could from print. I could often be found making banana bread or cakes in the wee hours of the morning (I am totally a night owl!). In school, I was a math and science girl and I went on to study biochemistry in college and graduate school. My focus often ... Continue Reading
Fat Chance: Is Butter Really Better?
Our contributor, Summer Stone, is here to share some insight on how fat affects our cake recipes… I fully admit I am a bit of a butter fanatic. I love nothing more than a kitchen filled with the heady aroma of baked goods loaded with the golden richness of sweet cream butter. But the scientist in me demands that I keep an open mind when evaluating which kind of fat leads to the best cake. Fat in cake plays a diverse set roles; it provides moistness, aeration (leavening), flavor, texture ... Continue Reading
Best of 2018 – Reader Favorites
Happy New Year! I know, I know. The new year started weeks ago and here I am, more than a little late to 2019. I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are ready to kick off another new year. Personally I like to start each year with a little reflection and some goal setting. Even though it sounds cliché, this is something I’ve been doing for years now so it seems very natural to me, but I completely get it's not for everyone. I think the start of each new year is a great time to refocus on ... Continue Reading
Bakery Tour : Jenna Rae Cakes
Today is the first post our brand new series : Bakery Tours! We're hanging out with some of our favorite bakers and cake designers, taking an inside peek at bakery life! Bakery Name: Jenna Rae Cakes Location: 580 Academy Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Years in Business: 4 years - storefront opened in 2014 Meet The Team: Jenna : Founder | Co-Owner | Cake Designer | Twin Sister Ashley : Co-Owner | Head Baker | Graphic Designer and Photo Stylist | Twin Sister Chelsea : ... Continue Reading
DIY Monster Eye Cake
How to make a Monster Eye Cake. Make this easy Halloween monster cake at home using cookies and candies. It's Friday and the month of October is in full swing. Which can only mean one thing. It's time for some silly Halloween fun! I have a new DIY for you today and it could not be simpler. Seriously, this little cake project is for anyone and everyone. Bakers of all skill levels and ages can join in on this googly eye fun. I mean it, you really can't mess this cake up. Crooked. ... Continue Reading
Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookie Layer Cake - the ultimate cookie cake for cookie lovers! 12 layers of chocolate chip cookies and buttercream frosting stacked tall, layer cake style. Last month we celebrated a very special birthday in my house... my husband's! Of course my husband likes cake. Or is at least smart enough not to tell me that he doesn't like cake. But I know, deep down, that his true favorite is chocolate chip cookies. It's pretty apparent. And trust me, I've come to terms with ... Continue Reading