You want to know what cake emulsifiers or cake gel do and the purpose of cake gel emulsifier. In today’s article, we discuss the “Types of cake emulsifiers and the functionalities of cake gel emulsifiers.“
Emulsifiers are essential ingredients in the recipe of cakes and other desserts. Most importantly, they help keep the ingredients blended, which prevents any oil or water from separating from the mixture.
What is an emulsifier?
Emulsifiers are necessary for creating the perfect balance of oil and water in foods like mayonnaise, salad dressing, or cake mix.
As a result, these emulsifiers help bring together tiny droplets that would otherwise separate when mixed with an ingredient such as butter to create a homogenous consistency without any separated bits!
Meanwhile, watch the video below to learn more about emulsifiers:
Is it a cake emulsifier or cake gel?
The cake emulsifiers, also known as cake gel, have a unique ability to combine hydrophilic and lipophilic ingredients easily. For this reason, cake gel emulsifier allows two baking ingredients (oil and water) to come together for perfect cake mixes.
Additionally, it is essential to baking because they keep the texture and quality of baked products intact. As such, cake gels help with easy mixing by combining liquids (oil and water) that would not usually mix.
Cake emulsifiers consist of molecules with a non-polar end with no charge and a positively charged polar end. In contrast, the non-polar side is fat-loving (affinity for oil), while the opposite side is water-loving, which means it has more affinity for water.
Functionality and use cases of cake gel emulsifiers
Cake emulsifiers here in the Philippines do not add strange substances to your cake mixes. Instead, they add a function that allows insoluble liquids (water and oil) to mix.
Below are the main functions of emulsifiers in cake baking:
- To enhance the distribution of oil in water dispersion,
- Stabilizing the resultant emulsion or foam, and
- Enhancing shelf life
Some use cases of cake gel or cake emulsifiers
Cake stabilizer and emulsifiers increase the volume of cakes: “In a bread formulation, there is a fair amount of water, but not much fat, so there’s less of a need to bring these two together; however, emulsifiers will still help the water and fat complex with the starch to increase loaf volume and machineability,” Mr. Gennrich said.
You can apply this to cakes as well. In effect, the stability of those bubbles and the even expansion during baking helps produce a significant volume.
Cake gels improve cake batter’s stability: Cake gels are ingredients used to enhance the stability of cake batter. Furthermore, the cake gels are a revolutionary way to stabilize cakes.
As such, bakers add these gels to the cake mixes before baking to form a protective layer that increase batter stability and improve the texture of cakes and muffins.
Cake gel emulsifiers ease water and fat binding: Cake gel emulsifiers are a type of ingredient that you can use in cake production to bind water and fat (oil) together. In other words, they work by emulsifying the two opposing insoluble fluids and stabilizing the cake mixes for a better final product.
Alpha crystalline emulsifiers are outstanding in their aeration potential: Alpha crystalline emulsifiers can significantly reduce mixing times and improve the combination of oxygen and hydrogen (air in water).
Additionally, these emulsifiers are highly stable, and they offer excellent results in a wide range of applications, such as cake mixing and ice cream making.
Also, cakes’ emulsion stability and batter viscosity are improved by adding suitable alpha-stable cake gel emulsifiers.
Now, let’s talk about some different types of cake emulsifiers.
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Types of cake Emulsifiers (Cake Gels)
Here are common types of Cake Emulsifiers: Monoglycerides, Propylene Glycol Monoesters (PGME), Acetylated Mono Glycerides, polyglycerol esters, and lactic acid esters.
Briefly, let’s discuss the first three types of cake emulsifiers listed above.
- Monoglycerides Emulsifier
Glyceryl Mono Stearate is an excellent choice for extending the shelf life of baked goods like cakes. Monoglycerides can exist in 4 crystalline forms: alpha, alpha prime, beta, and beta prime. This means they are polymorphic.
Most importantly, the beta crystalline monoglycerides are very stable and moderately functional; they are the most stable and rigid at low temperatures.
In context, the monoglycerides emulsifier, which comes in alpha crystal form, is more functional, very flexible, and less stable when compared with the beta crystal form.
- Propylene Glycol Monoesters (PGME)
Meanwhile, PGMES or Propylene Glycol Monoesters is the most common emulsifier in the United States. You can use this type to aerate cakes and primarily prolong their shelf life.
- Acetylated Monoglycerides Emulsifier
Likewise, Non-ionic surface-active agents known as acetylated monoglycerides emulsifiers can be added to baked goods and other food products to improve the final product.
Acetylated monoglyceride is a common food additive. In addition, you can use it in:
- Bakery products (cakes)
- Desserts
- Non-dairy creamers
- Toppings
There are many different types of emulsifiers. Some of the others used in cake baking are;
- Soy lecithin,
- Egg yolk,
- Mustard and,
- Glycerin.
These four are some examples of natural emulsifiers for cake baking.
FAQs About Cake Gel Emulsifiers
Now we know what cake emulsifiers are, the types of cake emulsifiers, and the functionality of cake emulsifiers. Lastly, let’s answer some of your questions about Cake Emulsifiers.
Emulsifier cake gel comprises molecules with a non-polar fat-loving end that carries no charge; Cake gels have an affinity for oil and a water-loving polar end that holds a charge and has an affinity for water.
Obviously, an emulsifier cake gel comprises molecules with two sides: a non-polar/fat-loving side and a polar/oil-loving side.
One of the most exciting functions of these emulsifying agents is that they can situate themselves to efficiently mix with water and oil.
Synthetic emulsifiers could be harmful to your health; however, natural Emulsifiers are tested and approved and are safe to use in food products.
Soy lecithin, Egg yolk, Mustard, and glycerin are four examples of natural emulsifiers for cake.
Yes, an egg is a natural emulsifier for cake recipes. Additionally, eggs play a vital role in any cake – for emulsification and structure. Furthermore, egg yolks contain emulsifiers that mix with fats and liquids, which lets you make a smooth, well-structured cake batter.
Sponge cakes contain no baking powder or baking soda, primarily made with three baking ingredients: whipped eggs or egg whites, sugar, and flour. For this purpose, emulsifiers for sponge cakes stabilize cake batters and create air bubbles that will result in a light and airy cake product.
FAQ About Cake Emulsifiers in the Philippines
Ovalette is a brand of emulsifier that improves, softens, and smoothens sponge cakes. Moreover, Ovalette is a baking stabilizer that helps eggs rise/stiffen and prevents the eggs from compromising the airy texture of the cake.
Furthermore, it usually contains ingredients such as Monoglyceride, Polyglycerol, Polysorbate, Sorbitol, Propylene Glycol, Tartrazine, and Water” – Source.
An sp cake emulsifier known as cake gel emulsifier. For this reason, it stabilizes an emulsion: a mixture of two or more fluids that are typically immiscible without an sp cake emulsifier.
Some cake emulsifiers are halal (approved), while some are not. The Halal status of emulsifiers is generally doubtful as they may be made from different substances. Therefore, it is important to look for HALAL logos in the labels.
Summary
There are many types of emulsifiers for a cake recipe and they have unique functionality. That is why you add Emulsifier cake gel to ensure that the oil and water in the cake recipe mix smoothly.
There are a few types of emulsifiers, but they all work to create stable cakes. Moreover, natural and artificial emulsifiers for cake baking are both helpful in making sure your masterpiece turns out perfectly!
Hence, this emulsifier is what makes your cake mixes fluffy and moist. It also helps make your cake recipes lighter, which gives you a nice texture in every bite!
Ordinarily, some people might not know that cake baking includes more than just flour, sugar, and eggs. A critical ingredient for your favorite desserts is emulsifiers which help create the perfect texture in cakes!
Congrats! Now you can see the uses and importance of Cake Emulsifiers in your cake recipe.
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About HICAPS
Over the years, HICAPS has helped bakers and businesses make delicious products by offering cake ingredients like ChiffonAide Cake Oil, Magic Whizk Whipping Cream, Red Velvet Flavor Emulco, and Instabake Brownie Mix.
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- About the Author
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Lynley Mabait is an Industrial Engineering graduate with units in Masters in Industrial Engineering Management from Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She has over 15 years of experience in Production, Product Engineering, Quality Management, Research and Development.
Currently working as a Product Sourcing and Development executive for HICAPS Marketing Corporation for 3 years now, Lynley’s skills have been put to great use in the company. Apart from her main job, she also loves to bake cakes and other pastries during her free time. Her creations are often lauded by her friends and family for their wit and creativity.
