Check out my progress on Where’s the Frosting?
It’s Tuesday, which can mean only one thing here at the B-Hut—another discussion of food lab adventures. This week’s lab session was devoted to cakes. Considering I have a test on Thursday, I’ll take this opportunity to study for said exam, as well as provide you all with some background information.
Basically, cakes can be divided into three categories:
- Shortened (prepared with added fat)
- Unshortened (prepared without added fat; typically leavened with egg foams)
- Chiffon (combined techniques from unshortened and shortened cakes)
It should be noted that while egg yolks contain fat, this fat does not contribute to “added” fat; shortened cakes typically include butter, shortening, lard, or occasionally oil (as in the case of carrot cake).
My lab group was assigned to make a pound cake (shortened, with plenty of butter) and a sponge cake (unshortened, including egg white foam and egg yolk foam). To be honest, I wasn’t all that excited about this lab. While my classmates were rejoicing at the opportunity to eat cake as part of classwork, my enthusiasm was a tad lacking.
As I’ve mentioned on several occasions, I’m not really a “cake person.” To me, cake merely represents a vehicle for frosting. It is for this reason that on cake-eating occasions (e.g., my birthday), my frosting-averse brother-in-law Major always gives me the frosting from his cake, as long as I fork over the cake portion of my slice—consider it as tag-team cake-eating.
Anyway, while today’s cakes were surprisingly simple to make and moderately appetizing, I couldn’t help but wish that we had made a big vat of frosting to slather all over them.
What about you? Are you a “cake person,” or do you prefer frosting? Perhaps both?
Bonus Q: What’s your favorite kind of cake? I will always have a special place in my heart for Mom’s spice cake with maple frosting…mostly because the extra frosting tastes like heaven on graham crackers:)
Despite my frosting-less cake, I did manage to enjoy my eats today…
After my run this morning, I was really hungry for breakfast, meaning a time-intensive meal was out of the question. Nothing says “fast food” like a McMuffin…so I made my own (much healthier) version with a Bagel Thin, egg whites, reduced-fat cheddar, and soy sausage.
For lunch, I packed a colorful salad, plus a tiny jar of homemade orange-cashew dressing. I must admit, I wasn’t too hungry for this after eating cake all afternoon.
Dinner was inspired by an old Rachael Ray Magazine recipe for Roasted Cauliflower Salad. As per usual, I made several tweaks to the recipe. Most notably, I ditched the couscous for baby spinach and spiced up the chickpeas before roasting them.
Before I sign off, I want to direct your attention to Peanut Butter & Company’s All-Star Recipe Blog because my recipe for Tofu with Spicy Pineapple & Peanut Butter Sauce is the featured recipe for this week. Check it out!
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
I am not a huge cake person, unless it is carrot cake
I like cake, frosting, whatever–just pipe it straight into my mouth.
No lie, we just went over this material in class today (though our professor didn’t include chiffon and our lab for this is next week). I’m not looking forward to the lab because it combines yeast breads (we’re all making rolls) and 6 types of cake so I’m going to be evaluating food until I put myself into a sugar coma.
It’s been so long since I’ve had cake, and ever since my ED it’s been hard to try different kinds, but lemon poppyseed cake with a glaze is wonderful. As long as the frosting isn’t that cheap, fluffy junk they put on cakes you get from the grocery store (i.e. something that’s firm and has a bit of crumble and sweetness) I love it.
I love homemade cream cheese icing. But like you– really ANY icing is wonderful to me!
Don’t you wish they would make soy sausage bigger? When I make my healthy “mcmuffins” on flat bread or on bagels, the sausage patty is like half the size of the bread.
Funny, the one thing about cakes is the frosting… I am not a cake person in general, I don’t care about either the cake, much less the frosting.
If I am going to have cake I like the simple ones, usually apple cakes are my favorite, and lately the vegan apple cake I posted recently on my blog is my favorite one.
I also like pumpkin bread … but that doesn’t count as cake, right? I don’t like white flour cakes, so truly cake is out for me. My favorite cakey thing to eat are vegan pumpkin muffins with carob chips, now those I like!
Ana
i’d muuuuch rather have cookies or ice cream then cake! but if i’m gonna have cake it’s gotta be ice cream cakeeeeeee
i’m not a frosting kinda gal
Your dishes are always so well composed. I love reading daily for that reason
I am a proud member of team frosting!
I am a cake person…or a frosting person, as it may be. I will eat any and all wedding cake sat before me. White cake with raspberry filling. Yum. Or champagne cake! Ooh, vegan champagne cake. The wheels are turning…
I feel exactly the same way about cake! I don´t understand the passion for that soft and mushy texture.. I´ll dig in the frosting too, it can become quite emberassing if im at a birthday party and then just eat the frosting…its hard to explain to others my aversion to cake..and it doesnt agree with my stomach either…i do enjoy CHEESECAKE!!! it´s like dipping Graham crackers into you favorite sweet cream…Whitecocolate mousse..mhmmmmm ok, I haven´t had breakfast yet and now i´m thinking cake! Wrong!! ahaha
Mmm…I am *such* a cake girl.
I love cake, but not so much frosting. Makes cake making easier for me
I hate cake but love cupcakes
or maybe I’m just picky about cake, I hate the typical plain store bought stuff at birthday parties, I like fancier stuff. That salad looks yummy! where did you get that cute dip container? It’s so cute and convenient, i love dips and sauces.
How sweet and delicious is cauliflower this time of year? Loving it. What a simple and delicious looking salad!
I honestly don’t like cake or frosting all too much. Weird?
I’m like you. Cake is vehicle for frosting. Don’t get me wrong. I love to bake cakes. But actually never been a big cake eating fan. Love your cake. Beautifully decorated!
Great food!
I’m with you, girl! My cake needs to have plenty of frosting, in which case I am most definitely a cake person. But if it’s a boring cake, I can easily leave it alone in favor of ice cream. Carrot cake, however, that’s a different story. The cream cheese frosting draws me in like a tractor beam!
I’m a frosting girl … although I really can’t recall the last time I had a piece of frosted cake. At least two years. So perhaps I don’t like it all too much, haha. I should remedy that sitch immediately.
Cake is awesome. I’d rather have that than the damn frosting. Especially if it’s a store bought icing. Ick!
Fave cake? Well, can I say cheesecake? If not, then I’ll have to go with a rich, dark chocolate. Mmmm.
I prefer the frosting, but strangely my favourite cake is a new concoction of my mother’s that has no frosting at all (or as we say up here in Canadialand, ‘icing’): rhubarb sour cream coffee cake.