Do you need to add lemon juice when making cakes? What can I use instead of lemon juice when making cakes?

We all know that cake is a common dessert. There are many ways to make it. Cakes made with different ingredients will have different flavors and tastes. Many people make cakes at home. So do you need to add lemon juice when making cakes? Let's take a closer look!

What is the effect of lemon juice in making cakes

When making cakes, dripping lemon juice is a common operation, and its main functions are as follows:

(1) Remove fishy smell

Generally speaking, cakes are made with eggs, but some people are sensitive to the smell of eggs. The addition of lemon juice can remove or cover up the unpleasant "egg smell".

(2) Improve the taste and flavor of cakes

Lemon juice is a common ingredient not only in baking, but also in Japanese cuisine, such as sashimi, and when eating seafood, it is also very common to squeeze fresh lemon juice. In addition to the above usage scenarios, a few slices of lemon are often added when grilling fish and chicken wings. In addition to removing the fishy smell, it also gives the food a fresh lemon taste and more layers.

(3) Whipping of stable protein

When making cakes that require whipped egg whites, such as chiffon cake, light cheesecake, and angel food cake, adding a few drops of lemon juice when whipping the egg whites can neutralize the acid and base. Because the egg white is alkaline, adding lemon juice can adjust the pH value and make the egg whites more stable.

What can I use instead of lemon juice when making cakes?

Of course, if you don’t have lemon juice at home, you can also use white vinegar instead.

But what is certain is that even without lemon juice, the egg whites can still be whipped into a delicate and stable meringue if you pay attention to the operation skills. Lemon juice is the icing on the cake. It is not necessary to use it.

To add, lemon juice is also commonly used when making syrups and sauces, mainly to adjust the taste and prevent oxidation.

Cranberry Chiffon Cupcakes

(Reference quantity: 6 molds + 2 square paper cups)

Ingredients:

Eggs: 2, sunflower oil: 15g, yogurt: 40g, low-gluten flour: 40g, fine sugar: 20g, lemon juice: a few drops.

(Filling) Dried cranberries: 30g, low-gluten flour: appropriate amount.

Production steps:

1. Chop the dried cranberries, sprinkle with appropriate amount of low flour to coat the surface, and then sift out the excess flour.

2. Mix egg yolk, oil and yogurt evenly, add sifted low flour, and mix irregularly into a fine yogurt and egg yolk paste.

3. Add lemon juice to the egg whites, add granulated sugar twice, and beat until the small hook is 90% distributed.

4. Take 1/3 of the egg whites and mix with the egg yolk paste, then pour it back into the remaining meringue and stir evenly to form a fine and thick meringue.

5. Pour in the dried cranberries that have been processed in advance and stir evenly.

6. Put the cake into paper cups, shake the mold, and bake in a preheated oven at 175 degrees for about 20 minutes, depending on the temperature of your oven.

Cake making tips

1. Pre-treating the dried cranberries with low-gluten flour can prevent the dried cranberries from sinking to the bottom during mixing.

2. This cranberry cupcake is still made using the same recipe as the chiffon cake, except that yogurt is added to the egg yolk paste to enrich the taste, making it a yogurt egg yolk paste.

3. When whipping egg whites, add sugar in 2-3 times. The amount of sugar here is relatively small, so add it twice. Sugar is added when whipping egg whites because sugar is hygroscopic and can stabilize the whipping of egg whites, making it easier to whip up a fine and stable meringue. Adding it in batches is because the absorption capacity of egg whites is limited and sugar has the effect of inhibiting foaming, so add it in batches.

Therefore, it can be seen that sugar is very important in the process of whipping meringue. It is very easy to whip meringue without sugar, but the bubbles are very large and easy to break, and the meringue is extremely unstable. In particular, although sugar substitutes such as xylitol have the sweetness of sugar, they do not have the effect of sugar in whipping egg whites. Unless it is made for special groups of people, it is not recommended to whip the meringue without sugar at all, otherwise the meringue will be unstable and easy to fail.

4. There are two types of paper cups. This thin and short paper cup is generally not used alone and must be used with a mold. Remember to buy the appropriate size. If you use a taller paper cup (with a coating inside), you can use it alone.