William Penn Life, 2004 (39. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2004-02-01 / 2. szám
The Hungarian Kitchen with Főszakács Béla _ Cakes & tortes FARADJON BE A MAGYAR KONYHÁBA. I hope your New Year got off to a great start and you're enjoying prosperous and healthy times. I hope everyone tried all the recipes and enjoyed them. Here in New England, the weather has been very cold and snowy with more of the same weather coming again this month. In my house, it was plenty of stuffed cabbage and football to keep everyone warm. When the weather gets bad, there is only one thing to do: get into the kitchen and stay warm by cooking up a storm. Chef Vilmos and I have come up with some recipes for February you will surely enjoy. Valentine's Day is first with Presidents Day coming a week later. What better way to celebrate these days than with a cake? Not just any cake I might add, but this month we will look at three types you can make and enjoy: loaf cake, layer cake and a törte. Without further hesitation let us get our aprons on and bake a cake.... Let us start with the loaf cake, commonly known as the pound cake. A pound cake consists of one pound of the following: sugar, eggs, flour and butter with a flavoring like vanilla or lemon. You could put less than a pound of the ingredients in the mix (e.g., four ounces), just make sure it is the same for all the ingredients. One or two tablespoons of the flavoring you choose should do the trick. From one large loaf, we go to the next type, which is a layer cake. This is a sweet baked confection made up of two layers usually containing flour, sugar, flavoring ingredients and eggs or other leavening agent, such as baking powder or baking soda. The cake can be chocolate, white, yellow or spiced. It can also be a spongecake if beaten egg whites are folded into the mixture before baking. Layer cakes are usually topped or coated with buttercream or frosting. The last type of cake, the törte, is a rich cake made with little or no flour, but instead with groundnuts or breadcrumbs, eggs, sugar and flavorings. Tortes are multi-layered and filled with buttercream, jams or preserves. Let me give you some information about ingredients that make up cake recipes. The flour can be cake flour, which is low-gluten, fine-textured soft wheat flour. All-purpose flour is a blend of high-gluten hard wheat and low-gluten soft wheat. Gluten is a protein found in wheat that gives dough elasticity to trap air bubbles formed by a leavening agent, which makes the dough rise. Cakes and pastries do not need as much gluten so soft wheat is milled. Breads and batters need more gluten to hold together so hard wheat is milled. A third wheat very high in gluten is called durum, and is used primarily in pasta making. If you ever want to try eating gluten just go to your super market and get a package of seitan, which is a protein rich food made from wheat gluten. Leavening agents come in two forms. Baking soda is an alkali that needs to react with an acid ingredient like buttermilk, yogurt or any milk product that will create an acid. When the reaction occurs, tiny gas bubbles form and make the cake rise. Baking powder contains both alkali and acid reacting the same way baking soda does when a liquid is added. The eggs in a recipe are usually fresh and extra large. Pasteurized liquid eggs will not have the same effect as fresh eggs, so beware if you choose to use them. Sugar should be granulated unless otherwise specified. Whole butter unsalted should be used. If you use sweet butter or any whipped butter you will not get the desired effect in your recipe. The last thing you do to a cake is finish it with an icing. If you have made a pound cake, then you would usually sprinkle powdered sugar on top, slice and serve. There are two types of icings you can use to complete your cake. Buttercream is a light creamy frosting made with softened butter, confectioners (powdered) sugar, egg yolks and milk or cream. This type of frosting is a cold blend or uncooked. Frosting has the same ingredients as buttercream but can be cooked or uncooked. The main requirement for frosting is it must stick to the product and not run off. Now you know a little bit more about cake and why they are so good! After you have finished baking, make a fresh pot of coffee, relax and enjoy. Here's your chance to have your cake and eat it too! (Jé 8 Willi» Peil Life, February 2004
