By Michelle Anderson
Cake Decorating Expert
Many recipes use fat, and the role of fat in the different types of
recipes is usually very diverse. When you use fat when baking a cake, it
is usually in the recipe to add air to the batter rather than moisture
or flavor. You might notice that most cakes require you to cream your
butter with sugar until the mixture is very fluffy and light. Air is
added while you are beating the mixture (this is the reason the batter
changes texture and color) and the volume will increase sometimes
double. The air in the batter at this point will be the pockets where
the moisture and carbon dioxide formed while the cake heats up goes
during the baking process. Your fats in cake recipes need to be very
stable so that these air pockets don’t collapse and your cake texture is
not ruined.
You might on occasion see liquid fats in cakes that do not have to rise such as carrot cake or banana cakes.
These recipes rely on other elements to create structure. Do not
substitute liquid fats for solid fats in recipes or vice versa because
each type of fat has different properties which are not interchangeable.
For example, melted butter might look like an oil
but it has milk solids in it which solidify again eventually when your
cake cools wrecking the texture.
Some common fats used in different cake recipes include:
- Butter: a water in oil emulsion that holds air well, 81% fat content, adds flavor and a very tender texture to cakes
- Shortening: Is 100% fat and adds no flavor to cakes. This fat creates a moderately tender crumb.
- Lard: This fat is 100% fat and creates a tender crumbed cake while adding no flavor.
- Margarine: About 80% fat and there are some concerns with the health aspect of most margarines these days. This fat adds no flavor and does not create a very tender crumbed cake. It is probably the least desirable choice as a fat for your cakes.
- Coconut oil: Can be substituted 1:1 for butter, 100% fat content, to mimic butter, add 1 teaspoon of water per 1 cup of coconut oil, adds a subtle coconut flavor and creates a tender light cake. Melted coconut oil can also be substituted with great success for liquid oils in your cake recipes.
- Vegetable oils: These are 100% fat and there are health concerns with hydrogenated oils of any kind being used in recipes. These oils add no flavor and the cakes are dense. Not a desirable choice for recipes that call for liquid fats.
- Olive oil: This oil is often used in “olive oil” cakes but because it adds flavor not usually associated with sweet recipes, it is ordinarily not the first choice for cake baking. Olive oil is 100% fat.
- Clarified butter: This is different than just melted butter because the milk solids have been removed. Clarified butter is 100% fat and adds some flavor to your dense cakes. It is a good choice for liquid fats in a cake recipe.
source: about.com
