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Cooking has always been a favorite hobby of mine. I studied foods/nutrition in college and also taught high school foods classes for a while. So a little bit of kitchen chemistry is pretty exciting to me. The kids and I did a cake experiment this week that was interesting and yummy! Did you know that baking is actually a chemical reaction? When you add heat to something and it changes, it is called an endothermic reaction. So, baking is chemistry!!
We did an experiment with mini cakes to see what happens when we leave out certain ingredients. We made four different ones. One cake was made correctly with all of the necessary ingredients. In one of the cakes, we left out the egg. In one cake we left out the baking powder, and in one cake we left out the oil.
Recipe for the Kitchen Chemistry Cake Experiement
You’ll need to measure and mix this set of ingredients four times to complete all four experiments.
- 6 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 or 3 pinches of baking powder
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
- ⅓ of an egg (Break egg into a cup; beat until mixed, then use approximately one third of it. Save the rest for 2 of the other cakes.
Mix the dry ingredients, then add the wet ingredients in the order listed. Mix well and pour into prepared dish. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
I prepared four ramekin dishes by labeling them with a piece of duct tape and a sharpie marker with numbers 1-4. Mix the batter for each cake individually so you can leave out the proper ingredient each time for the experiment. Label the first cake #1 and make it with all of the ingredients.
Then, go on to bake three more cakes, but with the following differences:
For cake # 2, leave the oil out.
For cake #3, leave the egg out.
For cake #4, leave the baking powder out.
After the cakes are cooled, remove them from the pans and cut them in half. Observe the differences in size, texture, appearance, etc. They are all edible, so you an taste each one and see which tastes the best. Discuss why each cake is different and what the purpose is of each ingredient in the cake.
The purpose of eggs in a cake: Eggs add structure, richness, leavening, color and flavor to baked products. Eggs become firm when heated, so it allows baked goods to add in structure. The fat in the eggs also adds a tenderness and richness to foods.
The purpose of oil in a cake: Oil is a fat. Fat in baked goods makes it more moist and tender after baked.
The purpose of baking powder in a cake: Baking powder is a leavened. This makes the cake rise. The more it rises, the more light and tender it will be when finished. The baking powder releases a carbon dioxide gas causing bubbling. The bubbling makes pockets of air causing the baked goods to expand.
It’s fun to do science when you get to eat it. Next time I think we will try a cookie experiment!
Want More Food Chemistry? Check out my post on turning juice into gummy noodles!
Katie Pinch says
July 26, 2014 at 9:52 amI love this idea, what a fun way to spend time in the kitchen together and learn!
Rach D says
July 26, 2014 at 8:12 pmAn interesting & tangible way to let our children learn about , well really, simply chemistry! I know our kids would love this…but did you guys end up eating all the different ones? I don’t think hubby would love me wasting 😉
Thanks for sharing!
Karyn Tripp says
July 27, 2014 at 6:45 amMy kids liked all except the one without baking powder. That one had a dense, chewey texture. The other three were gobbled right up. Since the cakes were very tiny, there really was not much waste at all!
madison wilkinson says
December 17, 2014 at 12:36 pmim doing this progect for the science fair got any tips
Robin Russell says
October 20, 2015 at 8:06 amI love, love, love this idea! What a great way to teach science, but also teaching about each persons unique gifts and talents. So many lessons in the kitchen. I, too, enjoy understanding the chemical reactions going on in cooking and baking.
Karyn Tripp says
October 21, 2015 at 1:18 pmThanks!! It was lots of fun. Glad you liked it. 🙂
Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley says
February 23, 2016 at 10:10 amMy kids have been having a weekly “restaurant” for their grandparents for the past several months. It’s become a favorite part of our homeschool this year. This experiment would work perfectly! Thank you!
Rubie says
October 8, 2017 at 1:50 pmThanks for this. I am writing a post for National Cake Decorating Day and am linking this page on the post! It’s so good for kids.
C says
March 25, 2018 at 9:10 pmMy daughter and I tried it. The recipes did not look like the pics at all! They were all too dry to be viable.