Hey there! Today, Squeaks and I are going to bake a cake, and it might seem like magic, but it’s really all about science! When we mix our ingredients, they turn into a liquidy batter. Then, when we put the batter in the oven, the heat changes it into a delicious cake!
First, let’s look at our recipe. We need 3 cups of flour. When we mix flour with water, it makes a stretchy batter. This stretchiness helps the cake rise, which means it gets bigger and taller as it bakes. The ingredients that help with rising are usually baking soda or baking powder. These create little bubbles of a gas called carbon dioxide, which get trapped inside the cake. When the batter heats up in the oven, the bubbles grow, making the cake spongy and puffed up!
Next, we have butter, which is the fat for our cake. Fat in food, like butter or oil, coats the flour and keeps it from mixing too much with water. This makes our cake soft and fluffy!
Most recipes use eggs, and ours calls for two. Eggs help the batter turn from a liquid into a solid cake in the oven. They also help the cake rise. If you whip egg whites, they fill with air bubbles. Adding these to the batter helps the cake rise even more!
We also add sugar to our recipe. Can you guess why? It makes everything taste terrific!
Now, let’s mix all our ingredients and put the cake in the oven. We measured everything perfectly, so our flour, butter, baking soda, eggs, and other ingredients will react to turn the batter into a cake. We preheated our oven to 175 degrees Celsius (or 350 degrees Fahrenheit) so it’s hot enough for the bubbles to grow and help the cake rise. Other ingredients mix to create yummy flavors, while the eggs and flour hold it all together!
Baking is a great activity for kids and grown-ups to do together. But remember, using the oven is a job for your grown-up. And guess what? Our cake is ready!
Hey, it turns out it’s my birthday, and we’re celebrating with baking science! Thanks for joining us. If you want to keep learning and having fun with Squeaks and me, hit the subscribe button and check us out on the YouTube Kids app. See you next time!
Bubble Experiment: Let’s see how bubbles help the cake rise! Take a small cup and fill it halfway with vinegar. Then, add a teaspoon of baking soda and watch what happens. Can you see the bubbles forming? These bubbles are similar to the ones that make the cake rise in the oven. Try to count how many bubbles you see in one minute!
Fluffy Egg Whites: Ask a grown-up to help you with this fun activity. Crack an egg and separate the yolk from the white. Use a whisk to beat the egg white until it becomes fluffy and full of bubbles. Notice how the egg white changes from a liquid to a fluffy foam. This is similar to how eggs help our cake rise and become soft!
Observation Walk: Go on a walk around your kitchen or home and find other foods that might use similar ingredients or processes. Can you find bread, muffins, or pancakes? Talk with a grown-up about how these foods might also use flour, eggs, or baking soda to rise and become fluffy. What do you think would happen if we didn’t use these ingredients?
