Q&A: How would I figure out the proper proportions to write my own cake recipes?

Question by : How would I figure out the proper proportions to write my own cake recipes?
I have been baking up a storm over the past few weeks and it just dawned on me, doesn’t every great baker have their own recipes? I’d really love to learn how to write my own, with proper proportions, etc. Does anyone have any advice on where to begin?

Best answer:

Answer by Adrian T
Having the right proportions of flour, eggs, sugar, and fat makes all the difference. Every baker does the math to make sure it’ll properly rise, taste, and set the way you want. Flour and egg are the protein. Sugar and fat actually wreck or soften the cakes structure. So, too much flour and eggs, it becomes dry and touch, too much sugar and fat, it becomes too moist and a mess.
Sugar = Flour

The sugar should weigh the same as, or slightly more than, the flour. Remember that this is weight, not volume. A cup of sugar weighs about 7 ounces, and a cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 4-1/2 ounces. So, if we’re building a recipe with 1 cup sugar, we’ll need about 1-1/2 cups flour (about 6-3/4 ounces).
The eggs should weigh about the same as, or slightly more than, the fat. One large egg (out of its shell) weighs about 1-3/4 ounces. If our developing recipe contains 4 ounces butter (or shortening), we could use two whole eggs (3-1/2 ounces). This is a little under, but remember that these rules are flexible, and we’re still within 20%.
Eggs = Butter

But eggs have two parts: whites, which dry out baked goods, and yolks, which make textures smooth and velvety. A yolk from a large egg weighs about 2/3 ounce. One way to balance the eggs with the fat and to get a smoother cake is to add extra yolks. You could use one egg plus three yolks for a total of about 3-3/4 ounces.

The liquid (including the eggs) should weigh the same as, or more than, the sugar. Our recipe now has 7 ounces sugar and 3-1/2 or 3-3/4 ounces eggs. To get the total amount of liquid to weigh more than the sugar, we could add 4 ounces (1/2 cup) of a liquid, like milk or buttermilk.

Eggs + Liquid = Sugar

Proper leavening is also critical. If a recipe is overleavened, the bubbles will get too big, float to the top, and—pop! There goes your leavening, and here comes a heavy, dense cake. One teaspoon of baking powder for one cup of flour is the perfect amount of leavening for most cake recipes. For baking soda (which is used if the recipe has a considerable amount of acidic ingredients), use 1/4 teaspoon soda for each cup of flour. Finally, don’t forget a little salt, about 1/2 teaspoon for a small cake like this. It’s a major flavor enhancer.

Once you have a working recipe, you can test it and start making adjustments to taste. I like baked goods very moist, so I would have started with one egg and three yolks. If I decided I wanted a moister cake, I could bump up the sugar, or I could replace some or all of the butter with oil. Oil coats flour proteins better than other fats and will make a more tender, moister product.

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