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PAge heAder.....HINTS & TIPS
HINTS AND TIPS FOR CAKE
AND PASTRY MAKING
Flour, such as plain, self raising and
wholemeal, used for cake and pastry making
should be lower in protein (gluten) than
flour used for bread making.
Plain flour has a lower protein (gluten)
content and gives baked products, such
as cakes, muffins, pastries, scones and
pancakes, a softer texture.
Self-raising flour is a blend of plain flour
and raising agents such as baking powder.
Self raising flour can be used in recipes
to replace plain flour and baking powder.
To make 1 cup self-raising flour sift
together 1 cup plain flour and 2 teaspoons
baking powder.
Wholemeal flour contains more parts of the
whole wheat grain – flour, bran and wheat
germ – and can be used in muffins, breads
and pie cases but will have a denser texture.
Corn flour is made from maize (corn) and
is used in some baked products to give a
finer texture and can also be used as a starch
to thicken sauces and desserts. Wheaten
cornflour is recommended when making
sponge cakes.
Rice flour is derived from rice and is used to
give a finer texture in baked products such
as shortbread biscuits.
Baking powder is a mixture of cream of
tartar and bicarbonate of soda and is used as
a raising agent in baking.
Bicarbonate of soda also known as baking
soda is an ingredient in baking powder and
can be used as an additional raising agent or
to darken some baked products.
Butter will give particular flavour and soft
texture to baked products. Margarine can
replace butter to give a similar result. Oil
can be used in some baking to replace butter
but will give texture and flavour differences.
Eggs should be at room temperature to
give better volume when making cakes and
sponges. Standard 60g eggs were used in
the recipes.
Milk should be full cream unless specified.
Light, low fat or skim milk can be used but
will give texture and flavour differences.
Sugar (white crystal sugar) is used to
give flavour, texture and colour to baked
products. Caster sugar is often used in
baking as it is easier to dissolve when
creaming butter and sugar. Brown sugar is
also easy to dissolve and can be used to give
a different flavour and texture. The large
crystals of raw sugar are slower to dissolve
and can be suitable for baked products such
as muffins.