History of Cake Baking and Decorating

The document discusses the history and mathematics involved in cake baking and decorating. It explains that cake baking requires calculating proportions of ingredients using ratios and fractions. Cake dimensions must also be determined using geometry, calculus, and progressions. Decorating cakes applies mathematics through calculating surface areas, volumes, and prices using composite indexes.

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History of Cake Baking and Decorating

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Mi Zan

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Introduction

history of cake baking and decorating

Basically, cake is a form of food, typically a sweet, baked dessert. Cake is often the dessert of choice for meals at ceremonial occasions, particularly weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays.There are countless cake recipes; some are bread-like, some rich and elaborate and many arecenturies old. Cake making is no longer a complicated procedure; while at one timeconsiderable labour went into cake making (particularly the whisking of egg foams) ; baking equipment and directions have been simplified that even the most amateur cook may bake a cake. A finished cake is often enhanced by covering it with icing, or frosting, and toppings suchas sprinkles. Sprinkles are small firm pieces of sugar and oils that are coloured with foodcolouring. In the late 20th century, new cake decorating products became available to thepublic. These include several specialized sprinkles and even methods to print pictures andtransfer the image onto a cake. Nonetheless, even though clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise classification has always been elusive. For example, banana bread may be properly considered either a quick bread or a cake. The Greeks invented beer as a leavener,frying fritters in olive oil, and cheesecakes using goat's milk. In ancient Rome, basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which produced a sweet and cake-like baked good. Latin poet Ovid refers to the birthday of him and his brother with party and cake inhis first book of exile , Tristia. Early cakes in England were also essentially bread: the mostobvious differences between a "cake" and "bread" were the round, flat shape of the cakes, andthe cooking method, which turned cakes over once while cooking, while bread was left uprightthroughout the baking process. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during theRenaissance, possibly in Spain.

Part 1
Cakes come in a variety of forms and flavours and are among favourite desserts served duringspecial occasions such as birthday parties, Hari Raya, weddings and etc. Cakes are treasured notonly because of their wonderful taste but also in the art of cake baking and cake decorating.Find out how mathematics is used in cake baking and cake decorating and write about your findings. Answer : Generally, baking a cake offers a tasty way to practice mathematics skills, such as fractions and ratios, in a real-world context. In this regard, we would probably calculate the proportions or the amount of ingredients used. It could involve progressions and geometry where we need to calculate the volume measurements. At first, we would have to determine the size of the cake by calculating its radius and height or its cross-sectional area and height. For instance, afrosting recipe that calls for 2 cups cream cheese, 2 cups confectioners' sugar and 1/2 cupbutter has a cream cheese, sugar and butter ratio of 4:4:1. Identifying ratios can also help you make recipes larger or smaller. Secondly, use as few measuring cups as possible. As such,instead of using a 3/4 cup, use a 1/4 cup three times. Hence, it requires you to work with fractions. Thirdly, calculate the surface area of the part of the cake that needs frosting. For example, a sheet cake in a pan only needs the top frosted, while a sheet cake on a tray needs the top and four sides frosted. In short, all these calculations involve mathematics as it depends on how big the cake is. Furthermore, we can calculate the price index of a cake which involvesthe calculation of composite index and weightage of ingredients used for economical purposes. On the other hand, cake decorating is one of the sugar arts requiring mathematics that usesicing or frosting and other edible decorative elements to make otherwise plain cakes morevisually interesting. Alternatively, cakes can be moulded and sculpted to resemble three-dimensional persons, places and things.

The mathematics skills involve in cake baking and cake decorating are summarised as below:

Geometry- To determine suitable dimensions for the cake, to assist in designing and decoratingcakes that comes in many attractive shapes and designs, to estimate volume of cake to beproduced.

Calculus
a)Differentiation - To determine minimum or maximum amount of ingredients for cake-baking,to estimate minimum or maximum amount of cream needed for decorating, to estimateminimum or maximum size of cake produced. b)Integration - To calculate the volume of cakes with curve (or could be parabolic curves) shapes. c)Progressions - To determine total weight or volume of multi-storey cakes with proportional dimensions, to estimate total ingredients needed for cake-baking, to estimate total amount of cream for decoration. d)Index Number - To determine the price index of the cake which involves the calculation of composite index for economical and commercial purposes.

Part 2
Best Bakery shop received an order from your school to bake a 5 kg of round cake as shown in Diagram 1 for the Teachers Day celebration.

1)If a kilogram of cake has a volume of 3800 cm , and the height of the cake is to be 7.0cm,calculate the diameter of the baking tray to be used to fit the 5 kg cake ordered by your school. [Use = 3.142]

Answer:

2) The cake will be baked in an oven with inner dimensions of 80.0 cm in length, 60.0 cm in width and 45.0 cm in height. a) If the volume of cake remains the same, explore by using different values of heights , h cm,and the corresponding values of diameters of the baking tray to be used , d cm. Tabulate your answers Answer : Given the inner dimensions of the oven is 80.0 cm in length, 60.0 cm in width and 45.0 cm in height. Hence, maximum dimensions of cake : Maximum diameter , d = 60.0 cm Maximum height,h = 45.0 cm First, form a formula for d in terms of h by using the above formula for volume of cake,V = 19000 , that is :

b) Based on the values in your table ,

i) State the range of heights that is NOT suitable for the cakes and explain your answers Answer :

h < 7 cm , h > 45 cm
This is because any heights lower than 7 cm because the resulting diameter produced is too large to fit into the oven. Furthermore, the cake would be too short and too wide, making it less attractive. Any heights higher than 45 cm will cause the cake being too tall to fit into the baking oven. Besides, such heights will cause the cake will collapse if the ingredients used is not suitable for such dimensions.

ii) Suggest the dimension s thst you think most suitable for the cake . Give reasons for your answer. Answer : I would suggest the dimensions of the cake to be 10 cm in height and about 49.1849 cm in diameter. This is because a cake with such dimensions is more symmetrical and easier to decorate. Moreover, it is easy to handle.

c) i) Form an equation to represent the linear relation between h and d. Hence, plot a suitable

graph based on the equation that you have formed. [You may draw your graph with the aid of computer software].

Answer :

ii)

(a) If Best Bakery receive an order to bake a cake where the height of the cake is 10.5 cm, use your graph to determine the diameter of the round cake pan required.

Answer : When h = 10.5 cm , log 10 h = 1.0212 According to the graph , log 10 d = 1.68 when log 10 = 1.0212 Therefore d = 47.86 cm .

(b) If Best Bakery used a 42 cm diameter round cake tray , use your graph to estimate he height of the cake obtained .

Answer : When d = 42 cm , log 10 d = 1.6232 According to the graph , log 10 h = 1.15 when log 10 d= 1.6232 Therefore , h = 15.85 cm

3) Best Bakery has been requested to decorate the cake with fresh cream . The thickness of the cream is normally set to a uniform layer about 1 cm.

(a) Estimate the amount of fresh cream required to decorate the cake using the dimensions that you have suggested in 2(b)(ii).

Answer :

(b) Suggest three other shapesfor cake, that will have the same height and volume as those suggested in 2(b)(ii). Estimate the amount of fresh cream to be used on each of the cakes .

Answer : *All estimations in the values are based on the assumption that the layer of the cream is uniformly thick at 1 cm.

Answer : Based on the values that I have obtained , the triangle shape cake requires the least amount of fresh cream (3308 cm )
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