Sensory Evaluations

SENSORY EVALUATIONS

Appearance-wise, the plain flour variation is obviously lighter and the wholemeal variation obtained a darker appearance.

The plain flour variation looks more cake-y and softer with its orangey-yellow colour compared to the chocolate-coloured wholemeal-variation.

This variation that uses plain flour have a very soft texture. It is very smooth to the touch and tends to be crumbly.
It has a very sweet rich moist taste which melts easily in the mouth and a very soft mouthfeel. It also has a distinct sweet smell.



This rich cake which is bases on wholemeal flour has a very gritty texture to it. It has a rough surface and does not crumble easily.
It has a very grainy and nutty taste and a gritty mouthfeel.
Smell-wise, it has it own very cake-y aroma.

Let's Get Started.

Rich cakes can be made using different types of flour.

As seen on the right picture, the darker rich cake is made from wholemeal flour.
The lighter rich cake on the left is made from plain white flour.

To start everything off, firstly ensure that all ingredients and most materials are available and dry.

Butter and sugar are being creamed with a wooden spoon. It is however preferred to use a hand-held electric beater for more beating consistency. However wooden spoon makes a good alternative too.

Butter and sugar are creamed till light and creamy mixture is achieved.

Two beaten eggs were gradually added into the mixture. (Note. Careful not to put too much amount of egg at one time as this will allow the eggs to curdle and a consistent batter will not be achieved.)

Eggs were fully beaten into the butter-sugar mixture, creating a fluffy, smooth batter.

100g of plain white flour was weighed.

The weighed flour was then sifted.

The sifted flour was added into the creamed mixture.

The flour has been carefully folded into the mixture to avoid knocking out the air incorporated into the creamed mixture. A dropping consistency should be achieved.

(Note. A metal spoon should be used instead of a wooden spoon)

1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla essence was then added into the mixture.

Cake tin was then greased to prevent the cake from sticking to the tin and to allow easy removal after baking. The cake mixture was then poured into the tin cake and left to bake in the oven for 20-25minutes at 180C.

(Note. The middle shelf of the oven has the best temperature for a well-risen and evenly brown cake)

Standard Recipe Of Basic Rich Cake

100g butter/margarine
75g castor sugar
2 eggs, beaten
100g plain flour
1 level teaspoon vanilla essence
1/4 cup raisins (optional)

Methods

1) Preheat the oven to 180C.

2) Cream the butter (or margarine) and sugar with a wooden spoon
or a hand-held electric beater until mixture is light and creamy.

3) Add the egg gradually to the creamed mixture, beating with each
addition until all eggs are added.

4) Sift the flour and baking powder together into a clean and dry bowl.

5) Fold in the flour mixture with a metal spoon until the cake
mixture achieves a dropping consistency.

6) Add the vanilla essence and raisins to the mixture and mix well.

7) Pour the cake mixture into a greased cake tin.

8) Bake for 20-25 minutes.


Quote of the post :
When baking, follow directions. When cooking, go by your own taste - Laiko Bahrs

What is a basic rich cake?

A basic rich cake is known as one of the most common type of cake consumed.
It is a flour-based food which uses a large amount of butter fats, sugar and eggs.
These ingredients are also the basic ingredients found in most baked product.
The methods used in baking rich cakes are creaming method, melting method and rubbing -in method, although we will focus on the usage of creaming method here.
Types of rich cakes includes banana cakes, fruit cakes, lemon rich cake etc...


Quote of the post:

Food is so primal, so essential a part of our lives, often the mere sharing of recipes with strangers turns them into good friends. - Jasmine Heiler


Sources cited:
http://www.recipezaar.com/Rich-Lemon-Cake-1647.
http://www.finestquotes.com/select_quote-category-Eating-page-2.htm