Sneha: The Science of Making Cakes by whisking Method.

The recipe: Victoria Sponge cake

Ingredients:

100g wheat flour (Recipe from "Food Matters" textbook, pg 275)
100g sugar
3 eggs
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
2 rounded tablespoons of red jam
1 tablespoon of icing sugar

Nutritional content of the ingredients:

Wheat flour:

Wheat flour has a starch and protein, the proteins,glutenin and gliadin found in the wheat flour interact with each other when mixed with water which forms gluten.
Gluten gives texture to the cakes. The amount of gluten produced depends on the amount of the protein content in the flour. In cake making soft wheat flour is preferred
with a low protein content of about 7.5%. Because the lower the protein gluten content the cake will have a more tender and crumbly texture.
Gluten is needed to hold structure, it allows the baked product to hold it's volume and shape after baking.
The flour and protein absorbs the oil and water which helps to bind all the ingredients together.

Eggs:

Eggs provide structure to the baked product.
It can help in leavening since they can produce relatively stable foam.
It acts as a emulsifier
It contribute to the overall flavour and colour.

Method for the cake:

Whisking method is used for making the cake for the recipe above. Whisking is the method of cake making where fat is not used at all. Sugar and egg are whisked to incorporate air which turns the mixture white and fluffy. The flour needs to be sifted and folded gently into the mixture to prevent air from being knocked out. As fat is not used, cakes be made by whisking method tend to be hard and dry and do not last for very long.