Patent Application
20140120221
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to food production, and more specifically to the preparation of cakes and other baked goods.
2. Description of the Related Art
Preparation techniques for cakes and other baked goods have been known for centuries. Typical baked good preparation in the case of a cake requires mixing a batter, placing the batter in a pan, placing the pan in an oven, removing the cake, applying frosting and possibly other decorations, and serving the finished cake. Multiple cake layers can be combined, such as one layer positioned atop another layer, with frosting provided between layers. Exterior decoration of such cakes can become quite elaborate, such as in the case of wedding cakes, and unusual or novel cakes and baked goods are in great demand.
However, the basic construct of the cake, and the inner portion thereof, has remained virtually unchanged for centuries. Certain cake designs have included elements mixed in with the batter, such as chocolate chips, coconut, and so forth. However, these products are randomly distributed throughout the batter, and while they add flavor and can add some level of novelty, they are fairly limited in what can be accomplished.
Some advances have been made in cake and baked good interior aesthetics. “Marble” cakes are created by randomly stirring one color batter into another before baking, with simply pouring the batters into a cake pan, stirring, and baking. Another cake design is the “checkerboard” design, which requires either special pans or baking layers of cakes and using cutting tools to cut segments out of baked cake layers to create a “checkerboard” effect. An additional cake type is a “Zebra” stripe cake, constructed by pouring alternating colors atop one another in the pan, beginning with a small volume of batter and slowly increasing the volume by pouring successive batter quantities atop the previous quantity. For example, one would pour a small amount of vanilla into the cake pan, then a small amount of chocolate on top of the vanilla, and then a further small amount of vanilla onto the previous chocolate, until the pan is filled. The effect is random striping resembling zebra striping.
Other types of baked goods are also available that employ these techniques, such as cupcakes and muffins. These items have been similarly prepared, with occasional added ingredients mixed in the batter.
There is a great interest in cake production and unique and unusual features in all types of food, including baked goods such as cakes. Any novel or unusual feature in a baked good can be highly sought after, and new creations in food production can be highly valuable.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a novel and unique method for making decorative cakes that improves on previous cake and baked goods designs.
According to one aspect of the present design, there is provided a method for providing a decorative baked good. The method includes mixing a plurality of different color batters to a desired enhanced batter thickness, distributing the plurality of different color batters in multiple layers of different color multiple adjacent color segments, such as concentric circular lines or relatively straight lines, to form a decorative batter arrangement in accordance with a pattern, and baking the decorative batter arrangement. In certain instances, the segments in adjacent layers can be offset, and the pattern may be irregular.
According to another aspect of the present design, there is provided a product made by the method. The product is a decorative baked good that includes a plurality of layers of different color multiple adjacent color segments formed from a plurality of different color batters of a desired enhanced batter thickness in accordance with a pattern.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.
For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following figures, wherein like reference numbers refer to similar items throughout the figures:
The following description and the drawings illustrate specific embodiments sufficiently to enable those skilled in the art to practice the system and method described. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, process and other changes. Examples merely typify possible variations. Individual elements and functions are generally optional unless explicitly required, and the sequence of operations may vary. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of others.
The present design is directed to a method for preparing a decorative cake and a decorative cake produced by the method. In general, the present design requires creation of a desired cake pattern, preparation of a cake batter having a greater level of thickness than a typical cake, but not excessively thick, in varying colors in accordance with the desired cake pattern, and distributing each of the individually colored batters in accordance with the pattern using a cake batter distributing device. Distribution of the individually colored batters can occur in different ways for different types of cakes, but in one instance, a circular cake can be made using a series of concentric circular lines made according to the pattern. In a square cake, the individually colored batters can be distributed in a series of straight lines according to the pattern. The pattern typically consists of multiple layers, and in one embodiment each layer is prepared and successive layers are provided on top of the initial layer. Once the batter has been distributed according to the pattern, the cake is prepared for baking and is baked.
A user or server cutting into the cake will reveal, and each slice of cake will have, a decorative appearance in accordance with the pattern.
The pattern is a series of shapes, such as squares, that form a decorative design. While the pattern may include regular shapes, because of the nature of cake batter, the actual shapes distributed in the cake may vary. As used herein, the term “segments” are intended to broadly represent any distribution of batter in any form, regular or irregular. Patterns may be created in any format, simply depending on the number of layers, the thickness of batter to be distributed, and the desires of the creator. The present design will be described in accordance with a unique “leopard skin” pattern, but it is to be understood that the patterns are not so limited, and numerous designs can be created using the teachings disclosed herein, such as regular and irregular designs, offset designs, and so forth.
Once the pattern 102 has been created, the user can prepare the requisite batters. In the “leopard skin” design of
Commercially available boxed cake mixes may be employed, typically by enhancing, adjusting and/or replacing some or all of the ingredients called for in the directions provided on the box. Certain substitutions of ingredients may also be made. As an example, butter may be used rather than oil, and/or less water may be added to a commercial cake mix than is called for in the directions. Alternately, certain preparation techniques to achieve the enhanced thickness may be employed, such as combining or whisking eggs and separately creaming butter before adding these ingredients to a commercially available mix, which can keep the batter from becoming excessively dense.
Cake batter is generally made with flour, baking powder, sugar, milk or buttermilk, shortening, eggs, and sometimes ingredients such as salt, vanilla extract, and butter. In general, acknowledging that different chefs work in different ways, the main/most voluminous ingredients tend to be flour, sugar, milk, eggs, and shortening, in ratios such as 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of butter, 3 eggs, 3 cups flour, and 1 cup buttermilk Tablespoons or teaspoons of other common ingredients are typically employed. In certain instances, two types of batter can be combined together, such as one using cocoa powder and one not using cocoa powder to achieve a desired color, i.e. a light brown color, while attaining the requisite thickness. Again, variations of this batter composition may be constructed in accordance with the teachings provided herein.
The present design alters the batter recipe to be thicker, typically by adding more flour, adding a not insignificant amount of a thickening component or thickening ingredient, for example as cocoa powder, and adding less sugar depending on taste. This results in an increase in the amount of thickening components in the range of 10 to 25 percent, but these values are approximate. Alternately, rather than using cocoa powder, more flour may be employed, in addition to combinations including more eggs and/or egg whites and/or butter or other thickening components. Ingredients can be mixed at different times to increase or decrease thickness, and techniques such as heating or cooling may be employed. Other solid or thickening ingredients may be added while the liquid or semi-liquid ingredients stay at the same level or are decreased. But again, the goal is to make a cake batter that is thicker than normal, able to be provided alone in a cake pan and hold shape without running, but not a batter that is overly thick. One skilled in the baking arts would be able to produce such a batter with minimal effort and minor experimentation.
Once the batter has been prepared, the batter is distributed in lines in a rectangular cake and in concentric circles or concentric circular lines in a round cake, according to the pattern in both cases. Different layers are distributed on top of lower layers.
Distributing batter may be done by a machine or by hand. If done by hand, a piping bag with an appropriate end should be employed. In one configuration, the cake batter may achieve a consistency sufficient to roll the batter into a “rope” or “bullet” like configuration, and the “rope” or “bullet” may be distributed via a piping bag. In general, the batter should have a consistency such that it does not run out of a standard piping bag. The piping bag may have any appropriate nozzle shape, including but not limited to round, square, and rectangular of different dimensions based on the desired pattern.
Even when care is taken in establishing the concentric circular lines, it is understood that either when the batter is provided in concentric circular lines and layers or during baking, a perfect shape may not be maintained as batter may run together. Thus patterns and designs that have some level of abstraction or non-perfect qualities can produce the best results.
The pan may be prepared in a typical manner consistent with baking a cake, with a desire to maintain the overall shape of the cake with little rising variation, such as the center rising more than the edges. Butter, shortening, or known commercially available products may be applied to the inside of the pan (not shown). A silicone pad may be employed, typically without any grease, butter, shortening, etc. A specially created heat resistant pad, such as a silicone pad, may be employed (not shown). Such a specially made silicone pad may include small ridges formed therein in dimensions similar to the desired blank matrix. The ridges so formed may be linear, circular, or another appropriate shape and represent guides for piping the first layer of batter lines in accordance with the teachings herein. Parchment paper, with or without the concentric circle markings, may be employed at the base of the pan as a guide for distributing batter. Certain absorbent products, such as terry cloth towel strips, or commercially available baking strips, may be moistened and/or provided around the exterior side of the pan to keep the outer edge of the cake from rising slower than the center. Such moistened strips or items may be affixed to the inner edge of the pan using a holding device, such as a clip or clips, for example metal clips.
As noted, the various layers of batter may be provided by hand. Alternately, a machine may be employed that distributes batter made in accordance with the teachings herein. Three views of one example of such a device are shown in
One example of a pattern using this embodiment is illustrated in
It should be noted that while described herein with respect to cakes, many types of baked products may be produced using the teachings provided herein, including but not limited to cupcakes, muffins, and other baked goods, typically of circular or rectangular shape.
One embodiment of the present process is shown in
Thus the present design includes a method for providing a decorative baked good. The method may include mixing a plurality of different color batters to a desired enhanced batter thickness, distributing the plurality of different color batters in multiple layers of different color multiple adjacent color segments to form a decorative batter arrangement in accordance with a pattern, and baking the decorative batter arrangement. The pattern may be regular or irregular. The method may also include preparing a vessel prior to distributing the plurality of different color batters, wherein the plurality of different color batters is distributed in the vessel. The different color multiple adjacent color segments may include a plurality of concentric circular lines of batters of varying colors forming each layer when the vessel is a circular pan, and a plurality of relatively straight batter lines of varying colors forming each layer when the vessel is a rectangular pan. Each layer may be offset from each adjacent layer. Distributing batter may be accomplished using a piping bag or a device configured to distribute the batters. Each batter may be prepared using a greater thickening component to liquid ratio than a generic batter.
According to an alternate embodiment, there is provided a decorative baked good, including a plurality of layers of different color multiple adjacent color segments formed from a plurality of different color batters of a desired enhanced batter thickness in accordance with a pattern. Again, the pattern may be regular or irregular. The baked good may be formed in a circular shape and the different color multiple adjacent color segments formed as concentric circular lines, or the baked good formed in a noncircular shape and the different color multiple adjacent color segments formed as relatively straight lines.
While primarily described herein with respect to an exemplary decorate cake process and method for making same, the invention and disclosure herein are not intended to be so limited. Note that while certain examples are provided herein, these examples are meant to be illustrative and not limiting as to the functionality of the present system and method. Other examples and implementations are possible and this document should not be limited by the examples presented. Other examples of decorative baked goods may be realized using the current design.
The foregoing description of specific embodiments reveals the general nature of the disclosure sufficiently that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt the system and method for various applications without departing from the general concept. Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. The phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
