It is also important that you know when to wash your hands.

Here is a list of times when washing hands is essential:

 On arrival at work, before you get started.

 After you've been to the toilet.

 After handling garbage or garbage containers.

 After handling raw foods, before handling cooked foods.

 After you've covered your mouth or nose to sneeze or cough.

 After you've blown your nose.

 After touching or scratching your head or other parts of your body.

 Before resuming work after a break or a change of work area.

 After you've had a cigarette.

 After handling money.

Hygienic Practices
Aside from frequently handwashing, there are also numerous ways to reduce the spread of harmful germs. Hygienic
practices refer to the ways carried out by any food professional to provide safe and quality food to their customer.

Listed below are the hygienic practices one should follow:

 Always wash your hands before preparing food.

 Avoid wearing jewelry, watch, or perfume.

 Make sure that your nails are short, clean, and without nail polish.

 Wear clean clothing.

 Do not wear the uniform while travelling to and from work – change it upon arrival and out of it before you leave.

 Don’t brush or comb your hair when you are near food.

 Do not smoke in the food areas.

 Keep your fingers away from your face, mouth, hair, and skin and other parts of the body.

 Do not come to work if you have a cold or are feeling unwell - you may transmit bacteria to the food and put the
health of others at risk.
Identifying the Ingredients in Baking
In this lesson, the focus will be on the ingredients that can be of use in baking cakes. The major ingredient
used are the flour and starches, fats, sugar, liquid ingredients, eggs, and leavening agents. Minor ingredients are salt,
flavouring and spices
The ingredients used and its role or use in the batter will be well discussed in this lesson.
Flour and Starches
Flour is the major ingredient used in any baked goods. It can be made from different kinds of grains
including beans, legumes, corn, oats, soybeans, buckwheat, rye and more. Among these, wheat flour is most
commonly used in baking.
Flour is considered to be the main ingredient because it contains gluten that provides structure to the cake.
Use the flour prescribed in the recipe. Using flour that has high gluten content makes chewy and crusty cake, lower
gluten content makes finer and soft cake, while little or no gluten development toughens the cake.
 Flour is used to thicken the batter and provide gluten. As mentioned in the first module, gluten is a protein
that gives structure to the cake. The gluten forms when the flour is combined with a liquid. Note that over mixing can
turn the cake tough.
 Bread Flour, also known as hard flour, is high in gluten that contains 12% to 14% protein. This causes the bread
to rise and gives its shape and structure.

 All Purpose Flour is made from the milling of hard wheat or a mixture of hard and soft wheat. This wheat flour is
often enriched with iron and vitamins such as riboflavin, folic acid and niacin. It is commonly used in making
noodles, cookies, cakes, quick breads and pastries.

 Self Rising Flour is a ‘convenience mix’ that when used in a recipe, allows baking powder and salt to be
ignored. This type of flour is usually a combination of 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder and
½ teaspoon salt.

 Cake Flour is low-protein flour that is silky and fine in texture. It is used for pastries, cakes, cookies and certain
breads.

Fats
Fats are added in the mixture to make the cake richer, tender and more moist. This includes butter,
margarine, oil and shortening.
Using fat softens, moistens and tenderizes the texture of the cake, because it shortens and tenderises the
crumb or gluten. It also assists in the primary aeration in the creaming process. Aeration means the air is trapped in
the beating process. Trapping of gases will be further discussed on the topic ‘The Baking Process’.
Make sure the butter and margarine are in room temperature to let the mixture emulsify properly.

 Butter is made up of 80% milk fat, 20% milk solid, and water. It is created by churning the cream until it is semi-
solid, and can be salted or unsalted. This ingredient is used to create crispiness, flaky layers, tenderness and
golden-brown color.

 Margarine was created in the later nineteenth century as an alternative to butter. It is made from 80% partially-
hydrogenated vegetable to make it solid and the remaining 20% is made up of flavouring, coloring, liquid and
other additives.
Sugars
Sugar or sucrose is a carbohydrate in every vegetable or fruit. Sugar is formed during photosynthesis,
when a plant converts energy from the sun into food. The sugar commonly used in every household is mostly from
sugar beets and sugar cane.
Sugar is used to enhance the flavor and give the crust a golden color. This is because the sugar interacts
with different ingredients in a batter. When consumed by yeast or baking powder, sugar can be converted into carbon
dioxide or alcohol.
Sugar also helps soften gluten and egg proteins which result in a soft, moisturized crumb.
In a cake batter, white sugar, brown sugar, honey, corn syrup, and molasses can be used interchangeably
and will not have a direct effect in the yeast development.
The following are the different types of sugar:
 Granulated sugar, also known as ‘white sugar’ is made of fine or extra-fine white sugar crystal.

 Brown sugar is a sugar crystal contained in molasses-based syrup. Its darkness or lightness in color depends
on the amount of molasses used.

 Confectioner’s sugar or Powdered Sugar is a fine powder sugar made from the crushed granulated sugar with
combined cornstarch. The 3% of cornstarch into the final product helps prevent the sugar from clumping.

 Raw Sugar is a coarse sugar made from the evaporation of clarified sugar cane. It is 98% sucrose and is tan or
brown in its color.
Liquid Ingredients
Liquid ingredients that can be used in making cakes are usually milk and water used to bind dry ingredients.

These are used to tenderize, increase volume and affect the symmetry of the cake mixture.
 Water is the cheapest liquid used in baking. It makes the baking ingredients rehydrated. It helps dissolve other
ingredients in the batter for it to form a smooth mixture. It also acts as a binding agent for any baked products.

 Milk and Cream are also used to moisten the batter. They also add slight flavour to the final baked good. They
create fuller, more moist texture and help brown the surface of the cake. Milk that can be used in baking includes
fresh milk or whole milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk, skimmed milk and powder or dry milk.

Eggs
Eggs are added in a recipe for several purposes which include binding, leavening, coating, glazing, moisturizing,
drying or emulsifying. They can also be used to introduce flavor and color into the baked good. Eggs can also be
used in frostings to slow down crystallization.

Eggs are used to make batter rich, as they help provide color and volume to the cake. They are also used to bind the
ingredients together. This happens when the eggs coagulate as they are heated. The lecithin in the egg yolks
emulsify the fats in the batter.
1 kg of eggs aerates 1 kg of flour.
Avoid using cold eggs. Place it in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.

Leavening Agents
Leavening refers to the production of gas in a dough batter. This is produced by leavening agents such as baking
powder, yeast, baking soda, or eggs.

Leaveners are used to produce carbon dioxide bubbles, which are trapped by starch, then expand during baking.This
process causes the cake to rise. Examples of leaveners are baking soda and baking powder.
Baking Powder is a leavening agent that is the mixture of baking soda and either citric or tartaric acid. Either wet,
hot or without acid, this powder will react with other ingredients being baked. It is entirely different from baking soda.

It is an ingredient that produces the gas Carbon Dioxide (CO2) when moistened and heated. The production of gas
leads to the aeration of cakes. The residual salt it forms after the chemical reaction should be tasteless and
without odor.
Baking Soda, is also known as bicarbonate of soda, or sodium bicarbonate. It is a powerful leavener that reacts
easily with the batter or dough.
Cream of Tartar is a by-product of the wine making industry. This is used to stabilize the egg whites while
whipping to reach its maximum volume.

Salt, Flavouring and Spices

Salt, Flavoring and Spices (also referred to as minor ingredients)

 Salt
(or Sodium Chloride/NaCl) is an ingredient used to add flavor and control fermentation to the baked goods. It
regulates the rate of yeast or baking powder activity making the batter rise slowly and steadily. This ingredient is
 also used to strengthen the gluten structure, not allowing the trapped carbon dioxide bubbles to expand too
quickly. Salt usage is 1.5% based on the egg quantity.

 Cocoa Powder
is an unsweetened powder from cacao beans that has been fermented, roasted, dried and cracked.

 Glycerine
is used to increase the shelf life of the cakes and other bakery products. It is also added to increase foam
stability, create finer and more moist crumb. Swiss roll with glycerine has less chance to crack while rolling or
assembling. The usage ratio of glycerine is 2% of total cake batter, 10g to 30g for every 500g sugar and 70g to
every 5kg dried fruit.

 Milk Powder
that can be used is skim or full cream milk powder. It is added to increase the sweetness, water content and
crust color. Cakes with milk powder produce products that have better volume and color. It should be sieved with
the flour and baking powder for even distribution.

 Fruits
such as cherries, mixed peel, dates, figs, apricots, currants, sultanas, raisins, pears and pineapple can be used
as fillings in making cake. The ratio of fruit to batter in fruit cake is as follows: Light fruited cake 25% 1 part fruit,
4 parts batter, Medium fruited cake 50% 1 part fruit, 2 parts batter, Heavily fruited cake 100% 1 part fruit, 1 part
batter.

 Nuts
like almond, hazelnut, walnut, pecan, macadamia and peanut are added to enhance the flavor of the product and
usually toasted prior to use. Its weight should not exceed the weight of the sugar. To achieve best outcome,
reduction of flour by 1/3 of total weight of nuts is required. Replace 30g of flour with 60 to 90g nuts.

 Flavors
Each ingredient contributes greatly to the overall flavor of the cake. Butter has a different flavor than cake
margarine, brown sugar tastes different than caster sugar and milk has different flavor than water. Traditional
baking flavors are lemon and vanilla for Madeira cake; almond, lemon and orange for Genoise cake; rum,
almond, lemon, orange, vanilla and mixed spice for Heavy Fruit cake; almond and vanilla for Sultana cake; and
lemon, orange, almond, cherry, vanilla and maraschino for Dundee.

 Cocoa Powder
is actually a byproduct of extracting cocoa butter from cacao beans. It is added to replace flour in recipes like
chocolate sponge, where 4% of the flour is replaced. Replacement of flour to cocoa powder makes an enormous
change on the balancing on the quantity of ingredients. For example, in a recipe requiring 1,000 grams flour,
substituting will change the recipe to 960g of flour plus 40g of cocoa powder. Since cocoa powder has greater
water absorbing power than flour, an increase of the milk-water is needed. The amount equal to the cocoa
powder will be the gauge in the additional milk, having 40ml milk in 960g flour and 40g cocoa powder. Additional
milk in the recipe would affect the mixture, thus adding 2g of baking powder is appropriate to achieve the same
degree of aeration.

 Chocolate

The types of chocolate that can be used in baking are:

o Unsweetened Chocolate,
also known as baking, plain or bitter chocolate. This is made with cocoa mass and cocoa butter. It needs to
be tempered before using as garnish. Tempering is the process of heating, cooling and warming the
chocolate to its appropriate temperature making the melted chocolate smooth, silky and glossy.

o Bittersweet and Semisweet Chocolate

(can be used interchangeably) contains cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, vanilla, and sometimes lecithin. It has 35%
cacao and less than 12% milk.

o Milk Chocolate is made with milk in the form of milk powder, liquid milk or condensed milk.
 Abbreviation/s Description

C, c Cup

g Gram

kg Kilogram

L, l Liter

lb Pound

mL, ml Milliliter

oz Ounce

pt Pint

t, tsp Teaspoon

T, TB, Tbl, Tbsp tablespoon

correct techniques that can be used in cake making:
 Sifting.
This is done by passing the dry ingredients through a strainer to aerate it (e.g. sifting of flour).

 Beating.
It is a technique where ingredients are moved strenuously in a back and forth, and up and down motion until the
correct consistency is achieved (e.g. beating of eggs).

 Whisking or Whipping.
It is done by mixing the ingredients vigorously until it adheres together (e.g. whisking or whipping the heavy
cream and egg whites). Airy and foamy like texture of angel food, sponge and chiffon cake are formed when
whole eggs or white eggs are whipped until voluminous, then folded into the batter. The air incorporated by
whipping the eggs gives the cake volume, making it springy and elastic.

 Folding.
It is a technique of gently adding one ingredient into another using a large spoon or spatula (e.g. folding whipped
cream and melted chocolate to make mousse).
  Creaming.
This is done by blending several ingredients together until the consistency is smooth, lighter and fluffier (e.g.
creaming the sugar and butter).The soft, fine texture and moistness of butter cakes like pound cake and moist
cakes are from the crumble, or first creaming together the fat and sugar, adding eggs, and slowly incorporating
dry ingredients while alternating it with a liquid such as milk or buttermilk.

 Piping. This technique is used to decorate cakes. To do this, squeeze the piping bag from the top using your
dominant hand, and let the tip of the bag rest on your other hand.
The Correct Oven Settings
Oven Settings for Cakes

Oven should be in ‘solid heat’, with temperature set to 150 to 180 degrees Celsius. Solid heat means that the oven
should have stabilized within this temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before placing the cake.

To prevent premature coloring of cake surface, a baking pan can be covered with sheets of clean paper for
approximately 50% of baking time.

To test the internal temperature and test whether the cake is baked, use an oven thermometer. The baking process is
considered complete when the center of the cake reached gelatinization, having 87 to 90 degrees Celsius in
temperature.

Skewer can also be used to test if the cake is already baked. It should be inserted into the cake and must come out
clean.

Oven Settings for Sponges

Sponge cake and Genoise cake will cook quicker in an oven temperature of 180 to 200 degrees Celsius, because of
its lighter density.

Gelatinization and coagulation happens quickly, having less drying out of product. Sponge sheets can be baked at
220 to 230 degrees Celsius for about 7 minutes.

Tips in Using the Oven

 It is important to know the oven that you will use, as you bake any type of cake. Get oven thermometers to make
sure that the oven is calibrated correctly. Placing the oven thermometer inside the oven will assure that the cake
will not be underdone or overdone.

 Place the cake in the middle of the oven because placing it too close to the top or bottom can cause
overbrowning. Gently close the oven afterwards.

 Rotate the pans during baking. Do this until the two -thirds of the way through baking time to prevent collapse. If
using more than one rack, it is time to swipe the pans.

 Do not remove the cake from the tin pan until it is cold to avoid damage. Cold cake bases must be wrapped
immediately to prevent staling.
Enterprise Requirements and Standards in Cake Making
The characteristic of a desired cake product are the following:

1. Color of the Product

The color of the product, when removed from the oven, is important to stimulate the senses of the customer. Color
can also be a factor that could encourage customer to purchase the product.

2. Appearance
This refers to the shape and form of the cake base. It is important to have consistency in appearance.

3. Mouth Feel and Eating Properties

Another important element considered is the eating properties of the cake. This is achieved if the maintenance in
cake production is achieved.
4. Moisture Content
As discussed on the precious lesson, the more moisture content the cake has, the less chances for it to be stale.
Staling refers to the loss of aroma and freshness of any baked goods. Moisture also adds to the shelf life and
mouth feel of the cake.

5. Consistency
The texture and consistency refers to how it feels in the mouth when the consumer is tasting the product. This also
means that the batter is fully incorporated to achieve consistency.