Annie's Cakeville

BAKING SODA/POWDER These are classified as leavening agents. They are also very important ingredients in cake making as these serve as rising agents. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate and it begins to act immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so recipes that call for baking soda needs to be baked immediately as failure to do this will result in a flat cake. Baking powder comprises of sodium bicarbonate, the acidifying agent, and also a drying agent (usually starch e-g corn-starch). It is readily available as single-acting baking powder  and double-acting baking powder.  The single-acting powders are activated by moisture, so recipes which include this product must be baked immediately after mixing. Double-acting powders on the other hand  react in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. In double-acting powders, gases are released at room temperature when the powder is added to the cake mixture, but most of the gas is released after the tempe...

FLOUR (contd): Kelly Stewart a Portland based food writer said in her kitchen chemistry article of 2009, that "the protein in flour, lends structure to baked goods". She went on to ask a baking instructor Peter Reinhart on the basics behind dough construction and he told her that two proteins are present in flour called - glutenin and gliadin. When the water  is added to the flour, the proteins are drawn to each other thereby forming gluten. The flour used in cakes creates a less rigid gluten network and a finer crumb hence the reason for cakes being lighter than bread. In choosing the right flour to use, Kelly contacted a former Vanderbilt University biochemist, Shirley Corriher, an expert in the science of baking. She shared some tricks as to how to determine the right flour. "Measure 2 cups into a bowl and stir it with a scant cup of water. If you have a high protein flour, its going to suck in water like crazy and form a dough" she said. But a lesser prot...

                   Cooking and baking have been the traditional methods of food preparation since time immemorial before modern tools for measurements were invented. Grandmothers, great grand-mothers and the mothers before them have cooked and baked just by using their eyes, tongues and noses to feel for when the dough is well kneaded and the right time to get it out. They know when the dough feels and looks right.                    Which brings us to question whether there is really a need for precision and accuracy in measurements during baking as today we have to follow a recipe just as it is, with the right amount of this and that in order to get a good result.                                 In the home kitchen, there ar...

For people like me who happen to live in a country where power supply is epileptic, one has not to solely rely on electricity for one's daily activities.   This is especially essential for cake makers like me. So in a case where there is no electricity and one cannot afford to use a gas oven, we are made to find a way out - IMPROVISATION.  This baking without an oven technique came in handy many times as a cake maker while studying in the University and still does when I want to be very economical. You can still try it out if you have a cooker that has a non-functional oven or if you find yourself in a situation where  an oven is not readily available Here is how to bake a cake without an oven.  Things you'll need; 1. A kerosene stove or cooker 2. Aluminum Pot - it can vary in size depending on the size of cake. Cupcakes don't require large pots but larger cakes do. 3. Baking Pans ( Aluminum foil pans or cupcake tins or aluminu...

I thought to myself " how will I post one of my best baking experiences and not talk about my worst", that would be like telling the world that there is no worry in life. This is one of the worst cake making experiences I have had.. read on      It is said that in life one must go through good times and bad in other to be well grounded. The beauty of Gold is usually hidden in a thick black mass not until it has gone through fierce fire.   My cake making journey has been fun with disappointments and happy moments to grease it. I have made good cakes, great cakes and not so good cakes that most times whenever I am baking I say a silent prayer inside me. Its funny right, but its true.  The day started out beautiful as the sky was blue and  the day bright and sunny. I remember it so well as i was in a wonderful mood that morning, I was approached by a girl who was planning her birthday celebration later that day, she wanted it t...

       I decided to share this story as a sequel to how my journey to cake making started. I remember vividly like it was yesterday. It was a sunny day, bright and promising, as it was going to be the first day of the beginning of my cake making journey.       My first cake was a chocolate fudge cake( though I found out it was called this later in my baking career, LOL) it was made with crude tools but it was moist, crumbly and delicious to taste, it was PERFECT.         I was  in  my second year in the university at the time when  a friend (now a certified nurse) wanted to mark her birthday and whose love for cake was beyond this world.  She was in dire need of a cake and most of the cake makers in my hostel then had been booked. I can't remember how I got talking to her about her birthday cake, but I think I happened to bump into her on my way to the common room (this is where we bu...

       I believe everyone has got a hidden talent within and it takes a journey of self discovery to be able to  tap into it. As a girl growing up in a house where you are mostly alone, I read a lot and loved to draw, paint or decorate things. At a point I thought I was going to end up as an Architect or a Fashion designer, so it wasn't a huge surprise to me when I fell in love with baking cakes and decorating them.  My cake journey began when I was in my second year in the University about 5years ago,( check out my later post for my first cake making experience ) although I wasn't too serious with it until after graduating because one needed full concentration to one's academic work and much more when you are studying to be a Pharmacologist, you need all the concentration you can muster LOL,  and  I never thought I had it in me until it happened. I started out baking for friends and family and I improvised a lot especially ...