National Cake Day
National Cake Day's scrumptious treat for everyone to enjoy on November 26th. This day cake takes center stage as the dessert of choice, with slide over pie. No matter what age, the cake is topped with candles on most birthdays. Cake serves up a slice or two for showers, weddings, retirement, and anniversaries. Now you have America's best desserts in the same dish, with ice cream.
These sweet layered, frosting-covered, or fondant-decorated works of art scream celebration whether it's a shapely bundt cake (celebrated on November 15) or the less curvaceous sheet cake. A cake sends a sweet note whether it be made from scratch, a box, or picked up from the bakery. In addition, they're also available in many combinations and flavors.
No one knows how many people are. There are countless cake recipes out there. Some are even bread-like, some are wealthy and elaborate, and many are still centuries old, while others are more elaborate, and some are even centuries old. The word cake is derived from Old Norse "kaka" and is of Viking origins. Due to the availability of refined ingredients at the time, a cake's texture was more like gingerbread.
Cakes usually contain a mixture of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter or oil. In addition, a batter is made by a mixture of liquids, such as milk or water. The cake rises when a leavening agent such as yeast or baking powder is added. For example, chopped nuts, fresh, candied or dried fruit, fruit purees, or extracts are often added to flavorful ingredients. Although we often think of cake with frosting or icing, many cakes can be enjoyed with only fruit or other toppings.
Cake FAQ
Q. Why does the cake recipe call for using room-temperature eggs?
A. Cold eggs bring down the temperature of the other ingredients in the dish. For example, if you add cold eggs to a butter and sugar mixture, the butter will solidify into clumps. The eggs and butter (or other ingredients) will not disperse evenly throughout the cake batter, affecting the final texture. If cold eggs are used, the cake may also take longer to bake.
Q. I forgot to set my eggs out. What's a fast way to warm them?
A. Place the eggs in a bowl of warm (not hot) water for 2-3 minutes.
Q. How can I tell if my cake is baked in the middle?
A. Nobody likes an underdone or overdone cake. There are several ways to check your cake for doneness.
- Use a cake tester. This is a handy kitchen knife that looks like a long metal skewer. Insert the tester into the center of the cake and remove it from the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If there are better or undercooked crumbs, bake the cake a little longer. A toothpick can also be used in the same manner
- Springiness is determined by a test. When gently pressing on the top, a cake will spring back. It will be soft but not jiggly
- The edges begin to pull away from the sides, and a light crust begins to appear along the sides
