flour only, and no wheat flour at all Standard Cake Proportions and Qualities In chocolate cakes, cocoa powder takes on some of the water-absorbing and structural duties of flour; it’s around 50% carbohydrate, including starch, and 20% nongluten protein Cocoa powders may be “natural” and acidic or “dutched” and alkaline (p 705), a difference that affects both leavening and flavor balance; cake recipes should specify which kind to use, and the baker should not substitute one for the other If chocolate rather than cocoa is used, it must be melted and carefully incorporated into the fat or eggs Different chocolates contain widely varying proportions of cocoa fat, cocoa solids, and sugar (p 704), so again, bakers and recipes should be clear about what kind of chocolate is to be used Fats In the standard method for making pound and layer cakes, the cook beats fat and sugar together to incorporate air bubbles, until the mixture reaches the fluffy consistency of whipped cream Solid fats retain air bubbles thanks to their semisolid consistency: the air carried along by the sugar crystals and beater becomes immobilized in the mixture of crystalline and liquid fat Butter is the traditional cake fat, and is still the fat of choice for bakers who value flavor more than lightness of texture But modern vegetable shortenings do a better job of incorporating air bubbles into the cake batter Animal fats — butter and lard — tend to form large fat crystals that collect large air pockets, which rise in thin batter and escape Vegetable shortenings are made to contain small fat crystals that trap small air bubbles, and these bubbles stay in the batter ... fluffy consistency of whipped cream Solid fats retain air bubbles thanks to their semisolid consistency: the air carried along by the sugar crystals and beater becomes immobilized in the mixture of. ..kind of chocolate is to be used Fats In the standard method for making pound and layer cakes, the cook beats fat and sugar together to incorporate air bubbles, until the mixture reaches the fluffy... and liquid fat Butter is the traditional cake fat, and is still the fat of choice for bakers who value flavor more than lightness of texture But modern vegetable shortenings do a better job of incorporating air bubbles into the