Formulas
Cakes

Mary Antoinette literally lost her head over cake – but that hasn’t stopped generations of dessert-lovers from savoring the endless new taste sensations bakers have managed to create over the long and distinguished history of this delightful confection.

Basic Make-up Cakes Variations Frosting Recipes

    
Basic make-up

  1. Use a high quality cake flour such as GENERAL MILLS Purasnow® CAKE FLOUR
  2. All ingredients should be carefully weighed and the leavening agents (baking powder) be thoroughly blended into the flour.
  3. All utensils used for whipping egg whites should be free from fat and grease.
  4. Scale batter into greased and paper-lined or greased and floured baking pans. For best results, use a solid shortening or commercial pan grease.
  5. Bake layers on sheet pans to insulate against oven hot spots or hot bottom heat to minimize cake crowns. Baking time will increase slightly.
  6. Cakes are fully baked when cake center springs back when lightly touched.
  7. Overbaking and high baking temperatures will result in excessive shrinkage and dryness.
  8. Allow baked layer cakes to stand 10-15 minutes before removing from pans. Cool cakes completely before icing.
  9. Too high an oven temperature can cause tunneling in the cakes, cakes with a cracked top crust, or excessively high peaks.
  10. Too low an oven temperature can cause a pale top crust, a top crust that is sticky, or low volume.
  11. A fallen cake can be caused by underbaking the cake, overmeasurement of liquid, or jarring the cake before sufficiently baked.
  12. Excessive cake shrinkage can be caused by too little batter in the pan, pans greased too heavily, pans too close together in the oven, extreme overmixing, overbaking, or overmeasurement of the liquid.
  13. Adjust water to obtain a batter temperature of 70-75 F.
  14. Use an oven thermometer to check oven temperature.
  15. Store cakes iced, if possible. Ice cakes as soon as they have cooled to help prevent drying. If uniced cakes are to be stored beyond four hours, store in a closed cabinet or freezer. Cover for freshness. To freeze cakes, wrap well or put in poly bags. It is best to freeze cakes uniced.
  16. Variety. Use these formulas for sheet cakes, layers, loaves and cup cakes. There's no limit to the variety.
Cakes Variations
Frosting Recipes

Chocolate Fudge Icing
12 lb.8 ozs. powered sugar
1 lb. 12 ozs. emulsified shortening
1 oz. salt
8 ozs. milk powder
1/2 oz. vanilla
2 lbs. bitter chocolate, melted
2 lbs. 8 ozs. hot water (variable)
12 ozs. glucose
4-8 ozs. standard invert sugar

Procedure:
Cream the shortening, salt, milk powder and vanilla. Add the bitter chocolate and blend until smooth. Mix the water, glucose and invert sugar together. Alternate mixing the liquid mixture and powdered sugar to the chocolate mixture and mix until smooth. If a higher gloss is desired, warm slightly in a hot water bath and use while warm.

Simple Syrup
2 parts sugar
1 part water
flavor to taste

Heat sugar and water in a sauce pan until sugar has dissolved. Do not boil.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing
3 lbs. 8 ozs. powdered sugar
8 ozs. bitter chocolate, melted
8 ozs. sweet cream
8 ozs. melted butter
flavor to taste

Method:
Mix powdered sugar and cream together thoroughly. Add the melted chocolate. Slowly add the melted butter. Mix until smooth.

Buttercream Icing
24 lbs. powdered sugar
3 lbs. 8 ozs. hot water (variable)
5 ozs. salt (variable)
8 ozs. milk powder
Sift the sugar, milk and salt. Add the water and mix to a stiff paste. (If too stiff, add a little more water.)
8 lbs. shortening or butter
8 lbs. emulsified shortening
Add to above paste. Cream well until soft and light. Scrape bowl 2 or 3 times.
2 lbs. egg whites
5 ozs. vanilla (variable)
Add the whites and flavor, and cream well.