Foam cakes can be easily found in various bakery shops in
Malaysia. This type of cake is aptly named due to the large quantity of foam produced
when making it which results in a light, airy batter. When talking about foam cakes,
it can be divided into three categories, namely the angel cake, sponge cake and
chiffon cake. Some people may be wondering, what is the difference between
these three cakes? Let’s find out.
Angel cake
An angel cake basically contains egg white foam, sugar and
cake flour. These basic ingredients are enough to make a cake with tender
texture but very delicate in its structure. The color of this cake is white due
to the absence of egg yolks. It is leavened only by air and steam, which makes
the process of optimally foaming the egg whites very important to determine the
volume of the cake. Some people may substitute the cake flour with all-purpose
flour which results in a denser texture. However, adding more sugar may resolve
this problem.
The proportion of flour to egg whites may greatly affect its
texture. With a larger amount of flour compared to egg whites, the cake will
become much drier and less tender. In addition, the amount of sugar also can
alter the overall texture. More sugar will result in a crisp and shiny crust.
The freshness and temperature of the egg whites used in foaming affects the
volume of the cake. Fresher and warmer eggs tend to result in cake with greater
volume. However, the most important factor in determining the cake volume is
optimally beating the egg whites to form the perfect peaks which bend over.
Sponge cake
The sponge cake is different from the angel cake in that it
has the extra ingredient of the egg yolk foam. With the addition of the egg
yolk foam, it gives the cake a slight yellowish color. The texture of the sponge
cake is a little bit tougher than the angel cake because the yolk toughens it
slightly.
The foaming stage is especially important for foam cakes
because it determines the volume of the cake. To make the best egg foam, the eggs used
should preferably be at room temperature or more. The egg yolk requires more
beating than the whites.
Chiffon cake
Chiffon cakes have the additional ingredients of oil and
baking powder when compared to the ingredients for a sponge cake. These
ingredients will result in a more tender and volumuous cake compared to the
other foam cakes.
The main difference between the chiffon cakes and the other
foam cakes is that the egg whites should be beaten longer to form a straight
peak because the cake mixture has more liquid. Thus, for chiffon cakes, it is
extremely important to beat both the egg whites and yolks optimally to prevent
bad texture quality.