There is more to baking and decorating a cake than meets the eye. From the expert who has been baking for years to the complete novice - mathematics will always play an important role in baking and decorating cakes.
- The amount or size of cakes you are planning to bake will usually be determined by the amount of people you are hoping to serve. The amount of ingredients will need to be increased or decreased to correspond with the size and number of cakes.
- Dry ingredients such as flour and sugar will need to be measured out in grams using a set of kitchen scales or by using cups.
- Wet ingredients such as milk and water will need to be measured out in ml using a measuring jug to get the amounts correct.
- Maths will also play a part when thinking about how long you will need to cook your cake for. The amount of minutes you will need to wait for the cake to rise and be cooked through will usually depend on the size of the cake and the temperature of the oven.
- Cake recipes usually involve adding in an egg or two. By adding in an extra egg when the recipe does not call for it, you could make the cake mixture very heavy and sticky which may make it very difficult to handle. There is also a chance it may not rise properly.
- Once the cake is cooked and decorated, fractions will play a part in how you divide it. For instance if there are five people you will properly cut the cake into five parts, giving each person a fifth.