Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

So

In our chemistry class, we are being assigned a project to investigate a chemical process that we observe in common-day occurrences. As you could probably tell, we decided to look at the science behind cake. Specifically, we'll be looking at how cake rises, and be testing one variable ingredient in different amounts to see how it affects how fluffy the cake is. We will be measuring the density of each cake to find how "fluffy" each one is. We are required to try asking an expert, and this is our question to you: What would you recommend we test? Right now, we are looking at using eggs or flour as our variable, because they are the ingredients with the largest amount of mass in the cake. We haven't done any research as of right now, but we plan to look further into our experiment soon. Thanks!

This sounds like a delicious project! One way to think about which variables to test would be to research different cake recipes and see how they are different. How is pound cake (very dense) different from regular cake and from angel food cake (very light)? You might also want to research what "leavening agents" are and how they work.

Good luck!

Audrey

Hi, NathanielBee!

You should also consider the processes by which you make the cake. The way you mix the batter can also affect the cake's density in addition to its ingredients! Here's a website where you can learn more about how aeration affects the fluffiness of a cake: http://bakerpedia.com/processes/specific-gravity-cakes/.

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much! It helped a lot!