Baking Ingredients

There are so many baking ingredients in the market. You need not have all of them. Sometimes it’s even difficult to know which cake ingredients can allow for substitution and on the other hand, which cake ingredients that don’t allow any derivative as a substitute.

In this article, Essential ingredients for baking a cake, we will show you the basic 8 simple baking ingredients every baker is expected to have in his/her pantry. You will also learn the respective functions of cake ingredients and what roles they play in whipping up your delicious cakes, cookies, pies, and pancakes. We will also show you cake ingredients and their pictures and where you can buy cake ingredients in Nigeria.

Whether it is sponge cake ingredients, vanilla cake ingredients, or pound cake ingredients, all cakes use 8 essential ingredients that easily don’t call for any substitute unless it’s a vegan cake.

1. Flour

Wheat flour is the backbone of the composition. Flour is the basic ingredient of all your cake desires. It establishes the crumb structure in cakes and is used to bind all of the other ingredients together during the cake-making process. Wheat flour contains two very important proteins, glutenin, and gliadin, when mixed with liquid and stirred or beaten, create its structural network. The gluten, or protein, in flour, combines to form a web that traps air bubbles and sets. If we want little gluten formation as in the case of cookies or biscuits which we want the dough to be tough, we apply more fats and sugar.

Cake flour is best stored in a dry place. Storing in a Freezer or Fridge in a closed container will help extend its shelf life. You can buy cake flour from Naija Fresh. You can initiate a WhatsApp communication with them.

2. Eggs

Eggs perform a multitude of important functions in a cake recipe, depending on the part used. Foamed eggs provide leavening, especially separated and beaten whites. Whole eggs and whites contribute to the structure of the cake.. Egg yolk is also a rich source of emulsifying agents and, thus, is a tenderizer; it facilitates the incorporation of air and reduces gelatinization. Egg yolks also add color, nutrition, and flavor and help to retain moisture in the finished cake. Eggs are simply binding agents in cake-making.

Eggs are perishable and should be stored in a container inside the fridge. Raw eggs that have been removed from their shells should be refrigerated in a tightly covered container. With proper storage, eggs can last up to 4 to 5 weeks in a fridge.

3. Milk

Milk is usually the mail dairy liquid used in a cake recipe. It hydrates the dry ingredients, dissolves the sugar and salt, provides steam for leavening, and allows for the baking powder and/or baking soda to react and produce carbon dioxide gas. You may think the only purpose of milk in a cake would be to add moisture, but it does so much more. Milk naturally provides the texture of the cake. Adding too much milk could make a cake super dense, but not adding enough will leave it too dry and it will come out crumbly. Using regular milk will give a cake a subtle flavor, but buttermilk will give even more flavor.

Milk can be refrigerated for up to 7 days; buttermilk, about two weeks. Milk has a ‘use by date’, which refers to its safety. Milk shouldn’t be used after this date.

4. Fats

Fats such as butter adds an important flavor to the cake recipe. Fats hold it all together. Fat also helps to create a light and tender texture in cakes and make them fluffy. Fluffiness means softness. When sugar is creamed with fat, small pockets of air form from the sharp edges of the crystals interacting with the fat. These pockets form a finer grain in the finished product. 

Store butter in an airtight container. Keep it away from direct sunlight, the stove, or other sources of heat that may change its state. Store butter out of the fridge only if the room temperature stays below 70–77°F (21–25°C).

5. Sweeteners

Sugar adds sweetness, as well as contributes to the product’s browning. Sugar tenderizes a cake by preventing gluten from forming. Sugar also holds moisture in the finished product. Sugar also helps in creaming. When sugar is creamed with butter, the sugar crystals help drive air into the mixture. As the cake bakes, these air pockets expand causing leavening. A moist cake is always a good cake any day. Water molecules are attracted to sugar so the presence of significant sugar in a cake will help capture and hold on to liquid. This results in a moister cake.

Always store granulated sugar in a covered container in a cool, dry area.
Store sugar in a cool, dry location (not the refrigerator). Moisture makes granulated sugar hard and lumpy. Once this happens, it creates problems in usage and there is no easy method to restore lumpy sugar. Always store all sugars in an odor-free area.

6. Flavourings

Flavoring like vanilla extract is an invisible essential in cake baking. It supports, balances, and gives depth to a recipe with an enhanced flavor. Alcohol adds sugar and counts as a liquid ingredient when used as a flavour.

Flavours like vanilla are stored in the kitchen cupboard.

7. Leaveners

Leavener causes chemical reactions that fill batters and mixtures with the minor gas bubbles that make baked cakes rise. Baking soda, baking powder, and yeast will do the job for you. Without leavening, it’s not possible to bake a good yummy cake.

Baking powder has an indefinite shelf life when kept free of moisture and contamination. They can still be good for years. It is sensitive to moisture, so any unexpected humidity could ruin your baking powder.

8. Salt

The main function of salt in cake recipes is to enhance the flavor of the other ingredients. Its presence perks up the depth and complexity of other flavors as the ingredients meld. Salt also provides a balance to the sweetness of cake batters.

Salt should be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark location. The best way to store salt is to keep it away from moisture.

All the ingredients I listed above I have considered as essential. Nevertheless, as you start to bake more cakes, there are more baking ingredients that would help tweak your craft. All these ingredients can be bought in NaijahFresh.