Delicate, light and fluffy sponge cake can be considered one of the perfect desserts. It is just right for a home celebration. Biscuit cake is appropriate to treat friends and acquaintances.
But bad luck! Often, as a result of considerable effort, the appearance of a biscuit resembles a burnt and scorched pancake. Isn't it a shame that after more than one hour of cooking, you have to throw away the failed dessert or hide it away from the eyes of your relatives or friends? Obviously, the cooking process has some peculiarities or even secrets. If you familiarize yourself with them, then after baking the biscuit will not lose its shape and will not settle.
Why cooked biscuit settles: possible causes
The reasons for the deposition of biscuit lie in the mistakes made in the process of cooking:
- Egg whites are not whipped well enough. Experts believe this misstep the most common slip and the main cause of the deposition of biscuit. Everything is explained simply. The dough is almost half air. Protein molecules are able to keep it, because when whisking they combine with oxygen and coagulate with it. Such a structure, they can save a long time. If you add an insufficiently whipped ingredient to the dough, then when heated, it will certainly activate and rise. But the protein structure is not strong enough to hold the air after a sharp decrease in temperature. Therefore, a biscuit, inside of which contains not squirrels, when moving from a hot oven to the kitchen table, quickly settles.
- Too intense mixing of ingredients. Whipped whites and yolks should be very carefully and portion-wise mixed with the dry ingredients of the dough (flour, starch, sugar, baking powder). If you do it too actively, the air from the dough will disappear, and it may fall off before plunging into the oven.
- Incorrectly selected temperature condition. Do not load the dough into an overheated oven. Even the right whipping and mixing will not save the cake from settling, if you bake it at a temperature exceeding 180 degrees. Such a "foul" will not allow protein molecules to firmly connect with air and keep it when moving the biscuit out of the oven.
- The presence of intervals in the cooking process. Do not be distracted by a phone call or viewing a piece of the transfer, while leaving the already whipped squirrels, prepared dough or preheated oven in the standby mode. Such pauses can spoil the work already done.
- Untimely opening of the oven door. This harmless movement in an instant will reduce all efforts to nothing. The temperature difference will do its bad thing, and the biscuit will be more like a pancake, and not a cake.
How to bake a lush biscuit
There are several secrets (or rules) of making a biscuit that does not lose its pomp after being unloaded from the oven:
- Pay due attention to preparing the baking mold. This procedure needs to be done like this:
- lubricate the bottom of the form with butter;
- lay the parchment on top;
- also cover the paper with a thin layer of butter;
- send the form to the fridge for 15-20 minutes;
- Pour the prepared dough on chilled dishes and send it to the oven.
- Starch is added to a biscuit dough to save a sumptuous dessert form (a teaspoon per cup of flour). It is mixed with all other dry ingredients.
- It is important to bring down proteins to the desired state - strong and stable foam. To achieve this, you must:
- ensure the quality of the eggs and use only fresh ones;
- choose eggs larger, because they contain more protein;
- very carefully separate the whites from the yolks;
- use completely dry and clean dishes for beating. The presence of residues of fat or other products on the walls will lead to the fact that labor will be wasted;
- Squirrels must be cooled before beating. Whipping time is from 5 to 10 minutes. It depends on the power of the kitchen assistant (mixer).
- It is important to add ready-made proteins to the dough gradually - 3-4 spoons each. They are very carefully mixed with flour with the mixer turned off. Used wooden or silicone spatula.
- Proteins, yolks and dry ingredients should not be mixed in a circular motion, but from top to bottom. This technique will keep the air bubbles inside the dough and prevent the finished biscuit from settling.
- Bake the biscuit for the first 15 minutes at 180 degrees, and then reduce to 150.
- In no case can not open the oven door for 15-20 minutes after loading the form. Better yet, do not touch it until the process is complete. But this can be done when all the abilities of the oven are fully studied, and the baking time is tested in practice.
- To avoid a metamorphosis at the very last moment with a biscuit, you need to check its readiness correctly. You can not do this with a wooden skewer or toothpick. Through a small hole left by such devices, the air quickly flies out, and the biscuit settles instantly. Therefore, you need to take the spatula and slightly press the surface of the biscuit. If she springs, the fragrant product is ready.
- It is advisable to put the form with the finished biscuit on a wet towel for 3-5 minutes - baking is easily separated from the walls and will not be damaged.
- You can not lose time and expect complete cooling. So that the biscuit does not fall down and does not lose its shape, it must be shifted onto a hot dish.
- Only dry flour is used for making biscuit. You can check its status as follows:
- pour a little flour on the palm;
- make a fist;
- open the palm. If the flour remains loose, it is dry. When there are lumps on the hand - the ingredient for making biscuit is not suitable.
And there is no need to be distracted while cooking. It is necessary to organize your work so that the oven is heated in time, and the prepared dough does not lose oxygen, while the baking dish is coated with butter and covered with parchment paper.
If you do not make the mistakes described above and follow the tips, the biscuit will always be fluffy and airy. Without a doubt, such a treat is able to decorate the gatherings and cheer up.
