Chemistry of Cake Baking Without Baking Powder

Chemistry of Cake Baking Without Baking Powder

Introduction

It is my friend’s birthday party, and the celebrations cannot be complete without a cake. So I decided to bake and a lemon cake for the birthday and decided to name it Liam, after his name. The main ingredients for the cake will be eggs, milk and flour and no baking powder, no yeast, no flour with yeast. After giving the recipe, I will explain the chemistry below the baking process and the rising of the dough without the use of baking powder. The secret in rising of the dough lays behind the chemical properties of both milk and eggs.

Ingredients

• 225 gms All-purpose Flour
• 225 gms Granulated Sugar
• 225 gms Softened Unsalted Butter
• Four eggs
• 100 ml of milk
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (Only the yellow part)
• One teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract
• Juice of 1.5 lemons
• 85 gm of Granulated Sugar

Procedure

1. The oven was Preheated to about 170 ⁰ C, and baking tin was prepared by greasing it or lining it with greaseproof paper.
2. The Unsalted Butter and sugar were beaten together until a pale and creamy mixture was achieved.

A mixture of butter and sugar: Image source (author)

3. Beaten eggs were then added, and the mixture stirred.

4. In a different bowl, flour was sifted, and finely grated lemon zest, milk, Vanilla Essence was added and mixed until combined.

Flour mixture (author)

5. The mixture from the two bowls was then mixed and put on the baking tin and leveled with the back of the spoon.

Pouring mixture in baking tin: Image source(author)

6. The cake was then baked for 50 minutes until a skewer inserted into the center came out clean.

Cake just out of the oven: Image source( author)

7. While the cake was baking, a mix of lemon juice and sugar was prepared.
8. Once the cake was ready, holes were poked with a skewer, and the lemon juice mixture drizzled into the poked holes.
9. The lemon juice soaked up and allowed to cool
10. The cake was decorated with dusting it with some icing sugar and name happy birthday written on it using icing sugar.

Decorated cake: Image source(author)

Chemistry explanation

Milk naturally contains lactic acid bacteria, and hence the reaction will occur to release some gas d which gets trapped between the dough to cause the rising of the dough. Lactic acid fermentation is a metabolic process whereby glucose and other six-carbon sugars like lactose get converted into cellular energy lactate acid and carbon(iv)oxide gas (Kawai et al. 2019). This happens under anaerobic conditions and hence necessary to cover the dough in an airtight condition and allow the reaction to take place for some hours. This process helps in acidification and maturation of the dough and even introduce flavor in the cake. Lemon added gives the right, citrusy flavor and also creates an acidic condition for maximum activity of the lactobacillus bacteria.

Milk Lactose+ ADP + P_i                                     lactate + CO₂ + ATP

Eggs in this recipe acted as a leavening agent. Eggs have a more complicated ingredient make up as well as a diverse effect on baking. Eggs majorly consist of water, so they help in moisturizing the cake to make it tender and help in gluten development. As explained by Luo et al. (2016), gluten in the floor, in addition to Albumin and ovalbumin, which are proteins in the eggs, make rising in the cake possible.  These proteins, when hydrated with water, form a net of disulfide bonds that holds the cake together and forms a net that traps CO2 gas to bring the rising effect. The egg’s yolk is also rich in fat, which provides lubricates effect.  Egg proteins are softer and less chewy than gluten proteins, so the end result is a loaf with a tenderer texture and golden color.

Gluten formation image source: Jessica Gavin 2019

Conclusion

The lactic acid in bacteria can widely be used in the fermentation process and in the baking process as essential starter cultures. Milk and eggs also increase the nutritional value of the cake in addition to the sweet, tender effect. This Lemon cake baked without the use of baking powder or baking soda or any leavening agent came out very light, spongy, lemony, sweet, and unbelievably refreshing.

References

Gassica Gavin, what is gluten and why it’s so important  retrieved from https://www.jessicagavin.com/what-is-gluten-and-why-its-important/

Kawai, M., Tsuchiya, A., Ishida, J., Yoda, N., Yashiki-Yamasaki, S., & Katakura, Y. (2019). Suppression of lactate production in fed-batch culture of some lactic acid bacteria with sucrose as the carbon source. Journal of Bioscience and Bioengineering.

Luo, Y., Li, M., Zhu, K. X., Guo, X. N., Peng, W., & Zhou, H. M. (2016). Heat-induced interaction between egg white protein and wheat gluten. Food Chemistry, 197, 699-708.