1/10 Is This a Crazy Cake Preparation Method, Folding in Egg Whites early?

[opinionatedchef]

I am wanting to make a recipe for a bundt pan recipe for Orange Walnut Amaretto Cake that I loved but that I haven't made since 1985!!! Is it just me or does this order of prep make any sense to you?

cream 1 c.butter and 1.5 c.sugar
add 3 egg yolks, grad'ly
fold in 3 beaten egg whites
alternate adding 2c.flour(+leavening) and 1 c.sour cream
add walnuts and or.zest and "stir til smooth"
bake
top w/ OJ Amaretto mixture.

It just seems crazy to me not to add the egg whites AFTER the flour/sr crm. I mean , what is the point of adding the whites when they do?
Thanks much for your help with this.

[visciole]

Could it be that once all that flour and sour cream is added the batter would be too heavy and thick to incorporate the egg whites without completely flattening them? That would be my guess.

[ipsedixit]

Folding in the flour after the egg whites have been incorporated prevents excess gluten formation, which results in a lighter, more airy cake.

[opinionatedchef]

ips, could you plse explain that to me? By adding the flour and the fat after the whites, aren't you deflating the egg whites' airiness and making a heavier cake?

[ipsedixit]

Hi chef,

I'm not food scientist and by no means a professional baker, but as it was explained to me by someone who was a professional baker ...

As you probably know, wheat has significant amounts of gluten-forming potential. Two proteins found in wheat flour, glutenin and gliadin, form an elastic substance known as gluten when stirred with moisture. These two proteins grab water and connect and cross-connect to form elastic strands of gluten.

Flour's strength is determined by its gluten content and mixing -- both work in concert together: if mixed too much, the resulting cake's texture toughens and becomes dry or even dense.

Folding the flour into the wet mixture towards the end iis one way to prevent this -- i.e., overmixing of the flour and the wet ingredients. In your case, this can only happen if the butter, egg whites, etc. have a time to combine and coat each other before the flour (or dry ingredients) are added. Doing it this way, I am told, produces a light and airy texture in your cakes (or cookies for that matter).

As to deflating the egg whites, I don't believe this will be a major issue as you are hand folding in the flour, as opposed to using a much more violent motion from an electric mixer.

Hope that makes sense and happy baking!

[opinionatedchef]

ips and house wolf, thanks so much for that clear explanation. now i will proceed as written!

[bushwickgirl]

When ipsedixit says "hand folding" that's exactly what I would use to fold in the flour, my hand, freshly washed, of course. Your hand will work much better than a spatula or a whisk; it gives you more control and you can "feel" the point when the batter is just combined, for maintaining maximum egg white loft with minimum gluten development. You'll also find you're more gentle when using your hand than a spatula. The minimal warmth from your hand will not affect the batter in any negative way.
Be sure not to whip you egg whites too stiffly. They should be just at a firm peak; too dry and they will not combine well.

[housewolf]

No, it's not crazy, it makes sense. If you add the flour first, the batter would be too thick to incorporate the beaten egg whites in evenly. The recipe should specif "fold in the dry ingredients" because you need to be very gentle with it in order to minimally deflate the egg whites. Follow the normal process of folding flour into an egg white batter using a large spatula, balloon whisk or skimmer. Add half the flour and half the sour cream, fold in then add the remaining flour and sour cream and fold in. Then gently fold in the nuts and zest. The most important thing is to be very gentle so as to maintain as much loft as possible from the egg whites.