Ryan Teng

Mrs. Stevens

Life Science

21 February 2020

How Does the Amount You Whip Egg Whites Affect the Height of the Cake?

Introduction

Did you know that chocolate is made from a tree. It’s also made from special beans

called cocoa beans. (Righteously Raw 1)The beans are pulled off of the tree and ground up to

make taste chocolate. As well as being delicious, the cocoa beans are very small. It takes over

400 hundred beans just to make one pound of chocolate. ​I thought that if you whip the egg whites

for two minutes, then the cake will be the tallest.

What is the Difference between Egg Yolks and Egg Whites?

The main difference between the two parts of the egg is that the egg yolk has more nutritional

value than the egg white. Also, the hungry embryo will mostly prefer to eat the egg yolk more

than the egg white. The yolk has more proteins and is much more stable. After all of this, the egg

white is not useless. It is used to protect the egg yolk. The egg yolk also tends to be smaller than

the white, therefore making it more fragile.

Why Do Egg Whites Fluff up When Whipped?

The reason egg white fluff up when they are whipped is because the mixing tools move very fast

creating many air bubbles in the egg whites. The egg whites are essentially the glue that holds all

of the bubbles together. It makes a stable foam when the two components, egg whites, and air,

are put together. The longer you whip the egg whites the more stable it will become, although
you can overwhip them. If you wish to make the foam even more stable you can also add

ingredients to make the foam hold up more. Whipped egg whites can be used to make foods

more airier or lighter.

How Is Chocolate Made?

Chocolate begins from a little cocoa tree. From there the tree produces fruit or pods that contain

the cocoa bean inside. The cocoa beans get pulled out and they are cleaned by hand to make sure

the chocolate is as pure as can be. They let the beans sit out to fermentate. This is where the

chocolate flavor begins to show the most. Once they are fermented and they have their flavor,

they get blended and they start to form chocolate.

What Is the Difference Between Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, and White Chocolate?

The biggest difference is that dark and milk chocolate come from cocoa beans, while white

chocolate is not real chocolate. White chocolate is made without cocoa powder or chocolate

solids. It is usually made with just milk, cocoa butter, and sugar. Dark chocolate and milk

chocolate are basically the same with a few changes. Dark and milk chocolates have different

percentages of cocoa powder in it making one more bitter and one more sweet. The lower

percentages of cocoa is more of milk chocolates. The higher percentages are bittersweet to dark

chocolate.

How Does Oven Temperature Affect How a Cake Bakes?

Oven temperature can often times burn a cake if you are not careful. A lower oven temperature

will result in a lighter and softer cake, but it will take a bit more patience. ​Baking at a lower

temperature also slows the spring in the leavening which prevents a dome to form on your

cake.​ A higher oven temperature will make it denser and darker on the edges of the cake. The
reason for all of this is that the cake batter goes through chemical reactions in the oven when it

hits the right temperature to become a solid. If the temperature is too high there is a chance that it

will react too fast and the cake can burn on the outside but be raw on the inside.

How Does the Type Of Baking Pan You Use Affect the Baking Process?

Using a glass bowl to bake a cake will take longer, but most likely result in an even bake with no

burnt edges. A metal baking ban can be harder to take the cake out if it’s not greased properly,

but it does a good job of baking it fast. Using a metal pan will also distribute the heat evenly and

effectively. Most professional bakers use metal pans because of the good heat distribution. A

stone container takes longer to distribute the heat and the edges often will burn if not careful.

Overall, you want a lighter colored metal pan that will transfer the heat evenly without creating

bubbles.

Conclusion

I thought that if you whip the egg whites for two minutes then they will be the cake will be

the tallest, and I found out that the two-minute egg whites resulted in the tallest cake. ​The

30-second egg whites averaged at one cm, the one-minute egg whites averaged at 1 cm, the

one-minute 30-second egg whites averaged at 2 cm, and the two-minute egg whites averaged at 3

cm. All of the cakes came out of the oven looking similar except for the color of the cake. The

cakes with less whipped egg whites were lighter in color than the others. The whole experiment

was fairly easy and done with minimal issues.

 Works Cited

“How to Make Chocolate.” ​Magento Commerce​,

www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/making-chocolate.

Huff, Tessa. “Baking School Day 1: All About Eggs and Baking.” ​Kitchn,​ Apartment Therapy,

LLC., 1 May 2019,

www.thekitchn.com/baking-school-day-1-all-about-eggs-and-baking-222479​.

“Oven Temperatures and Baking Explained.” ​The Hummingbird Bakery​, 3 June 2016,

hummingbirdbakery.com/blogs/hummingbird-bakery-blog/oven-temperatures-and-bakin

g-explained.

Prabhat S. "Difference Between Egg white and Yolk." DifferenceBetween.net. November 23,

2009

<http://www.differencebetween.net/object/comparisons-of-food-items/difference-betwee

n-egg-white-and-yolk/ >.

Radford, Benjamin. “What's the Difference Between White and Dark Chocolate?” ​LiveScience,​

Purch, 2011,

www.livescience.com/32933-difference-between-white-and-dark-chocolate.html​.

Reid, Susan. “Glass or Metal or Stoneware.” ​King Arthur Flour​, 2018,

 www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2018/03/29/glass-or-metal-or-stoneware​.

Stone, Summer. “Baking Temperature Comparison.” ​The Cake Blog​, The Cake Blog, 30 Apr.

2015, thecakeblog.com/2015/04/baking-temperature-comparison.html.