A Sweet Habit
The science behind baking has always astonished me. The way the dough rises beautifully inside the oven seems like magic. Not to mention that it brings people together, and the best part is you get to create that magic and a moment to remember of; be it a birthday, or a wedding, or any celebration.
I started to experiment and try to bake different kind of recipes ever since I was in college. It started out as an idea to kill time, but then it turned into a habit. Moreover, back then my friends and I craved all types of cake that can be easily find back in Indonesia but not in the Netherlands. The most common cakes sold there would only be apple pie (appeltaart) or a basic cake (slagroomtaart). As a result, we have to bake the cakes we crave. Yes, there are one or two bakeries who sell various types of cakes like red velvet, carrot cake - but they don't sell everything. Thus, we have the time to bake a cake back then, so why not?
It was common for us to have cakes in our gatherings, from red velvet, green tea cake, lava cake, cheesecake, tiramisu (surprisingly we are able to make them) - there is always a cake. Ever since then, I've always find happiness from baking; seeing my friends waiting for the cake in front of the oven, making sure the cake is cut equally, those were the little things that bring joy for me.
Naturally, as I graduated and return home I would like to keep baking as my habit. However, it was not the case in the beginning. The first thing I noticed is how expensive the ingredients I used to buy. A stick of butter here costs much more (2x) and butter was my key to bake delicious cakes! Hence. I tried to bake with all my favorite recipes with margarine as a substitute - and the result is disappointing.
Fortunately, there is a science behind baking delicious cakes. I get to understand that butter is the one that makes a cake moist due to its perfect combination of water and fat content. On the other hand, margarine has more water content compared to its fat. As I familiarize myself with other recipes, it turns out that you can make a perfectly delicious cake without butter by substituting it with a combination of oil for the fat content and water (I usually use milk/add flavoring here). The water is crucial to help the cake expand as it will turn into steam in the oven.
An interesting post to read; about the science of baking.
I started to experiment and try to bake different kind of recipes ever since I was in college. It started out as an idea to kill time, but then it turned into a habit. Moreover, back then my friends and I craved all types of cake that can be easily find back in Indonesia but not in the Netherlands. The most common cakes sold there would only be apple pie (appeltaart) or a basic cake (slagroomtaart). As a result, we have to bake the cakes we crave. Yes, there are one or two bakeries who sell various types of cakes like red velvet, carrot cake - but they don't sell everything. Thus, we have the time to bake a cake back then, so why not?
It was common for us to have cakes in our gatherings, from red velvet, green tea cake, lava cake, cheesecake, tiramisu (surprisingly we are able to make them) - there is always a cake. Ever since then, I've always find happiness from baking; seeing my friends waiting for the cake in front of the oven, making sure the cake is cut equally, those were the little things that bring joy for me.
Naturally, as I graduated and return home I would like to keep baking as my habit. However, it was not the case in the beginning. The first thing I noticed is how expensive the ingredients I used to buy. A stick of butter here costs much more (2x) and butter was my key to bake delicious cakes! Hence. I tried to bake with all my favorite recipes with margarine as a substitute - and the result is disappointing.
Fortunately, there is a science behind baking delicious cakes. I get to understand that butter is the one that makes a cake moist due to its perfect combination of water and fat content. On the other hand, margarine has more water content compared to its fat. As I familiarize myself with other recipes, it turns out that you can make a perfectly delicious cake without butter by substituting it with a combination of oil for the fat content and water (I usually use milk/add flavoring here). The water is crucial to help the cake expand as it will turn into steam in the oven.
An interesting post to read; about the science of baking.
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