Everyone who at least once tried to make a biscuit with their own hands, it is well known that the dough is a product with a very capricious and unstable disposition. Sometimes it seems that it decides when the cake will turn out to be really tall and magnificent, and when, on the contrary, it’s rubber and flat. In addition, often such pastries fail the hostess at the most crucial moment. But is it really possible to correct the situation and make a biscuit tasty and magnificent? In fact, there are several rules, following which you will learn how to cook cake layers perfectly.
A few words about the treat
Biscuit is deservedly considered among pastry chefs universal baking. Indeed, almost no cake is complete without it. In addition, various culinary masterpieces in the form of all kinds of cakes and rolls are often created on the basis of a biscuit. It really is able to become the basis for almost any dessert.
Lush, like a cloud, and quite dense, with cream or butter, with apples and raisins - biscuits are completely different, but they are always united by manufacturing technology. Whatever the dough, for it is necessary to thoroughly beat the eggs and most carefully introduce the rest of the ingredients. It is thanks to the air added during the processing that the biscuit will rise in the oven.
General principles of cooking
During heat treatment, two phenomena occur in such baking. First of all, the air inside heats up and expands, which actually makes the dough rise, increasing in volume. In addition, if the temperature is enough, the walls of the growing pores are baked, covered with a beautiful crust. In other words, the main secret of a magnificent sponge cake lies in thoroughly beating eggs. It is very important to add a maximum of air to the dough and prevent its loss.
Product Preparation
A biscuit to a greater extent than any other baking needs careful selection of components, observing the order of their mixing and choosing the temperature regime. That is why it is so important to know the features of the manufacture of this delicacy and some rules.
In order to cook a lush, soft biscuit with excellent taste, you need to stock up exclusively with fresh ingredients. In addition, it is very important to choose them correctly. Knowing the secrets of a magnificent biscuit, you can easily prepare a delicious dessert with your own hands.
- Flour. Biscuits are covered with a golden crust due to the craterization of starch - during the heat treatment, its structure changes, becoming more viscous and thicker. That is why its presence is very important for this baking, so you can cook crust from almost any flour - wheat, buckwheat, rice, corn. If you partially replace it with starch, the biscuit will turn out to be porous, crumbly and durable. You can do without flour at all. But in nut powder, there is no starch, therefore, biscuits based on it come out less durable and strongly settle. But despite this, culinary experts often add ground nuts to their products, unable to refuse such a treat. It is best to prefer flour with 28-35% gluten. If this indicator is higher, the biscuit will turn out to be too dense, and if less, it will be too crumbly.
- The eggs. Without which it is simply unrealistic to cook a biscuit, it is without them. It is eggs that complement baking with splendor and strength. A thoroughly whipped mixture is deservedly considered the key to success in the preparation of a delicious, high biscuit.
- Sugar. Of course, refined may be the most common, but still it is desirable to choose a product with the smallest crystals. They dissolve much faster and, therefore, they are easier to beat with eggs.
How to make a magnificent cake biscuit
Flour, sugar and eggs - it is on the basis of these components that you can prepare delicious pastries. The biscuit dough has a rather unpretentious taste, the composition and time for its preparation will require very little. However, to prepare a quality cake, which will keep its shape perfectly and not fall off after baking, it will require certain skills and knowledge of basic secrets. A magnificent sponge cake will surely turn out the first time, if you follow all the recommendations described.
- All prepared foods should have the same temperature. Moreover, the lower it is, the better. This, incidentally, applies to dishes, which will be used in the process.
- Flour should be sifted, preferably even several times. Only in this way can it be saturated with oxygen and rid of all kinds of impurities.
- Be sure to separate the yolks from the proteins. And you need to do this very carefully so that not a single drop gets into another dish. Squirrels beat beautifully only in a clean, chilled form. The yolks during processing should become lighter and several times increase in volume. And correctly whipped proteins are converted into a snow-white dense mass. If you turn the dishes with such contents upside down, it will not fall out or leak.
- Another secret of the magnificent biscuit lies in the cleanliness of the dishes used. The containers in which you will whip the ingredients must be completely dry and fat free. To do this, you can wipe the dishes with a towel, grease a piece of lemon or vinegar.
- Some confectioners advise replacing part of the flour with starch, especially when it comes to heated biscuit. True, not everyone will like this solution, because a product prepared in this way is very porous and crumbles a lot.
- Do not forget that making a biscuit is a quick process, so the dough should not be left unattended for a long time. As soon as you pour it into the mold, immediately send the workpiece to the oven. And one more thing: do not open the oven for the first 20 minutes, otherwise the biscuit may fall.
Features of the dough
Consistency - this nuance is extremely important in the preparation of any biscuit. Proteins are added to the yolks first, followed by sugar. And already in the last turn prepared flour is poured out.
If you are unable to turn the eggs into lush foam, add some hot water or honey to them. By the way, the bee product in this case acts as a baking powder and makes the crust of the cake elastic and soft.
The quality of baking also largely depends on the correct mixing of the dough. Do not make it false, it is better to use a whisk. The mixer for this process is also not suitable - because of its use, the dough may settle. In addition, it is very important to mix the flour thoroughly so that there are no lumps left. Do not pour it at one point, carefully distribute the powder over the entire surface of the dough.
If at least a little fat, for example, cocoa, is added to the dough, then it is definitely worth introducing a baking powder into it. True, it is very important not to overdo it - from too much mass will become too heavy, and the cake itself will resemble a cake. For every 6 eggs, it is enough to take a teaspoon of baking powder.
Baking Features
It is very important to turn on the oven in advance so that it warms up well. The dough does not need to be defended, immediately after whipping it should be poured into a cold mold and sent to the oven. By the way, if you do not have suitable dishes, use an ordinary pan.
Bake a biscuit for 20-50 minutes, depending on its thickness. So, cakes with a thickness of up to 40 mm need to languish in the oven for about 40 minutes at 180 degrees. If the product has a thickness of only 10 mm, 20 minutes is enough.
How to bake a magnificent sponge cake at home? You just need to adhere to the recommendations described. Keep in mind that if the temperature is too low, the cake will come out brittle and dry, and if it is too high, on the contrary, it will be burnt and not baked. So do not deviate from the directions in the recipe. If you use a convection oven in the process, set the power 20 degrees below the one suggested.
Ingredients for a classic biscuit
There are many options for making this baking. However, starting your acquaintance with a biscuit is worth a simple basic recipe, which, by the way, is not worse than the most complex culinary masterpieces.
So, for cooking you will need:
- 120 g of sugar;
- as much flour;
- 4 eggs.
As you can see, the set of products in the classic recipe is minimal. In addition, it completely eliminates the addition of baking powder.
The classic recipe for biscuit in the oven
First, sift the flour by passing it through a sieve several times in a row. Separate the yolks from the proteins, add half the sugar to them and beat thoroughly with a mixer. Gradually, they should turn into a thick white mass. At this point, you can already turn on the oven.
Now whisk the separated squirrels without forgetting to wash the beaters first. When the mass becomes thick, pour the remaining sugar into it. As a result, you should get a snow-white dense mixture.
Now add the whites to the yolks and mix gently to make the mass homogeneous. Finally, send the flour into the bowl and knead the dough. Just do not need to stir the mass for a long time so that it does not become dense. Once you get rid of the lumps, stop.
Transfer the prepared dough into a suitable shape, smooth its surface and immediately send it to the oven. According to the classic recipe, biscuit should be baked for only 20 minutes at 180 degrees. In this case, never open the oven door.
Conclusion
The finished product is covered with a uniform golden crust, and when you press it with your palm it springs. The magnificent sponge cake on the eggs always turns out to be very durable, soft and elastic.
In conclusion, it remains only to cool the product on a wire rack and cut into several short cakes. To do this, use a special string. Now you know how to cook a tall, magnificent sponge cake for your own cake.