Label
All
0
Clear all filters

Understanding Raising Agents

Appears in
A Whisper of Cardamom

By Eleanor Ford

Published 2024

  • About

Anything fluffy, from cake to mousse, needs a raising agent. This might be chemical, e.g. bicarbonate of soda, or purely air whipped into eggs. Bicarbonate of soda (also known as baking soda) works by reacting with acid to create carbon dioxide, causing existing air bubbles to expand and your bake to rise. It needs an acid in the mix such as buttermilk, yoghurt or cocoa to help it work and neutralise its soapy taste. Baking powder is bicarb with an acid already mixed in - cream of tartar. I like to use baking powder rather than self-raising flour so I can control the amounts (add 1 teaspoon baking powder to 100g/β…” cup plain flour to make it self-raising). The key is to ensure it is fresh. If you have a tough bake, the most likely reasons are overmixing or out-of-date baking powder that has lost its oomph.

Become a Premium Member to access this page

  • Unlimited, ad-free access to hundreds of the world’s best cookbooks

  • Over 160,000 recipes with thousands more added every month

  • Recommended by leading chefs and food writers

  • Powerful search filters to match your tastes

  • Create collections and add reviews or private notes to any recipe

  • Swipe to browse each cookbook from cover-to-cover

  • Manage your subscription via the My Membership page

Download on the App Store
Pre-register on Google Play
Best value

Part of

The licensor does not allow printing of this title