A famous birthday month suggests birthday cakes-and the most famous of them all is the  angel  cake. But, alas, too often the famed  food of the gods  is not food fit for consumption, only food for thought! At the hour of drawing that heavy mass of toughness from the oven, time and feelings do not permit of analysis

Clements, Dorothy

English

A famous birthday month suggests birthday cakes-and the most famous of them all is the "angel" cake. But, alas, too often the famed "food of the gods" is not food fit for consumption, only food for thought! At the hour of drawing that heavy mass of toughness from the oven, time and feelings do not permit of analysis.</p

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)

4 THE IOWA HOMEMAil.ER Did Your Cake Fall? A FAMOUS birthday month sug-gests birthday cakes-and the most famous of them all is the "angel" cake. But, alas, too often the famed "food of the gods" is not food fit for eonsumption, only food for thought! At the hour of drawing that heavy mass of toughness from the oven, time and feelings do not permit of analysis. The logical time for thought is before the mixing bowls are out. But if it takes more than imagination to see each step, bring out the most colorful bowls, the e~g beater and the spatula. Thinking of the finished product, select a bowl for mixing that has a smooth, round inner base, so that in the proeess of folding, the spatula can make a clean turn with-out striking the sharp edges at the base of the bowl. Poor facilities for blending make for increased toughnE>Ss. The handle of the spatula should be one that turns easily in the hand as the folding process is being carried on, for to ob-tain proper blending with a minimum of strokes th e blending agent musrt work quickly and efficiently. The egg beater, grown from the egg-whisk of grandmother's time, also plays an important part. Prefet·ably, the blades of the beater should be thin in order to incorporate the maximum amount of air into the whites, making them fluffy and tender in a short space of time. ~'he basic recipe for angel cake is: 1 cup egg whites 11;1 cup sug:n 1 cup pastry flour 2 tbsp. water l tsp. cr eam of tartar % tsp. salt AN angel cake is made in four definite steps. First, beat the egg whites until they arc frothy, and add the w:ttcr, cream of tartar and salt. Contin ue beating until the mixture will slip slowly ft·om the pa1tially inverted bowl. Sift the once sifted sugar over the top of the whites, slowly in small portions. Fold this in gently with a spatula. Sift the twice sifted flour over this mixture and fold in last. When the sugar in an angel cake is not blended, the resulting product is tharacterized by small volume, dry tough cmmb a11d flat flavor. Over-blending carries the cake from its optimum vol-ume to a small one. The cell walls are fine, close and compact and the flavor is flat. An insufficient amount of mixing of the flour into the batter produces a -cake which is small in volume, tough in both cmmb and crust, and coarse in cell structure. The beating of the egg whites will vary with the individual and with the· egg By Dorothy Clements beater. When whites are under beaten, the cake will come from the oven with a fairly small volume. When egg whites are oven-beaten, the resulting product is tough and dry. :E'reqnently, however, when the average person thinks the egg whites are over-beaten, they are really just beaten to the right stage. The amount of cream of tartar to use and the psychological moment at which it should be added has always perplexed some cake bakers. A cake may be baked without any acid being added, but the product is tough, has large cells and is yellowish in color. 'l'he cream of tartar may be sifted with the flour and incor-Stove Chart End.s Worry "IT'S the oven!" we say sadly as we behold the morning's baking-pa-thetic pie crust which just wouldn't brown, cake which cratered up in the middle ·and chaned at the corners and weepy custard in which curds float in the whey. But then, on second thought, peT-haps pies and cakes and custards shouldn't have been put in the oven at once. But how is one to te11 7 If you arc one of the many who have oven wor-ries, the following chart of cooking t em-peratures, pasted up beside the stove, should aid you. Simmering temperature for water -·············-········--·----·-··180 °F. Boiling temperature for water -----·······----·······-----------2 12 oF. Soft ball stage fo,r fudge ........... . ············----------------·····-233°F., 111 C. Soft ball stage for fondant, sauc-es, frostings ____________ 236°F., ll3 °C. Firm ball stage for divinity, cara-mels -···············--·----- 248 °F., 120°C. Hard ball stage for taffies ___________ _ ---··---·-··----····----··-·····--270 °F ., 130°C. Crack stage for butterscotch ____ ___ _ -----------······-·········-------290 ° c., 145 ° c. Hard crack stage for brittles ------·-········--------------------------3000F., 150°C. Hard crack stage fo,r caramelized sugar ----------------------310 oF., 165 o C. Very slow oven __________ 250 °F. Slow o-ven for meringue pies _______ _ ------------------------------- ---300 oF. Moderately slow oven for egg dishes, custards, omelets _______ _ -------------------------------···325 °F. Moderate oven for cakes, corn-bread, gingerbread 350 F. Moderately hot oven 375 °F. Hot oven for muffins 400°F. Very hot o,ven for biscuits, pie crust -·-------------------------.450 o -455 oF. porated at the last, but the structure of the cake is coarse, volume is only fair and the acid flavor is quite pronounced. Adding the m·eam of tartar to the egg whites is much more satisfactory, as thereby the acid acts upon the proteins of the egg whites, making them more ten-der. Soup and Nuts for All THE woman who goes marketing for viands for a club supper, a church dinner or high school breakfast must be a combined mathematician, economist and high financier. It is easy enough to plan for a family of five, but how about dishing out soup and nuts to 50, 500 or 1,000' Great is the chagrin of the cook and manager when the salad peters out half way around, or a mountain of pota-toes is left from the banquet. Here, then, are a few tips for the next time that you try large quantity cookery. One quart of salad dressing will make from 35 to 50 salads. A quart of salad will make from 8 to 10 servings, using a number 10 disher. One pound of coffee will be enough for 2 to 2% gallons of water. One gallon of coffee will serve 20 people. Five pounds of meat and bone will mal{e one gallon of rich soup stock. One gallon of S01tp will serve 20 people, or 5 gallons are necessary for every 100 portions. In o1·dering meats for standard dining room service allow Va pound per serving. For family service allow lj3 to lh pound of meat per person. Fo1· meat chops-allow lh pound per person-(the chops being about lj2 or % inch in thickness). For g1·ound meat such as hamburger or meat loaf, allow for 5 or 6 servings per pound. For creamed chicken allow Va pound per person. For roasting fowl allow % pound (raw weight) per serving or allow 1f2 pound a person if served with dressing or dump-lings. Cooking by Guesswork She guessed the pepper, the soup was ton hot, She guessed the water, it dried in the pot. She guessed the salt and what do you think~ For the rest of the day, we did nothing but drink. She guessed the sugar, the sauce was too sweet. And by her guessing she spoiled the meat. What of the moral ~ 'Tis easy to see; A good cook measm·es and weighs to a T. (Selected) 

Did Your Cake Fall?

https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2301&amp;context=homemaker

Did Your Cake Fall?

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Digital Repository @ Iowa State University (ISU)