• Forget about baking cakes in ovens, now you can just spray out cakes and bake them in the microwave!
    52 replies, posted
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3h9uePWTzc[/media] [img]http://cdn.cstatic.net/gridnailer/660x/http://cdn.cstatic.net/images/gridfs/53cd329df92ea16c9b00a72e/spray-cake-harvard.png[/img] [quote] Joanne Chang put a fork into a small cake and raised a bite to her mouth. The two Harvard students next to her watched anxiously. The cake was their invention, one they think could revolutionize the world, at least the world of cake. Chang is the chef behind Flour bakeries and a superstar of that world. To them, her opinion was crucial. In a way, she had inspired their radical and novel way to make a cake, start to finish, in minutes. It all started a little over a year ago, when John McCallum, one of the Harvard students, was sitting in the lab at his Science & Cooking class, trying to come up with ideas for his group’s final project. As he puts it, they were spitballing a bunch of possibilities that all followed the same theme: “ways to eat more cake.” Chang had appeared before the class earlier that semester and talked about the chemistry behind what makes cakes rise. As McCallum stared off into the distance, thinking about cake, he happened to notice someone spraying whipped cream from a can. Read more: Food & dining coverage from The Boston Globe That’s when the 20-year-old from Louisiana had his eureka moment: cake from a can. McCallum wondered if he could borrow the technology from the whipped cream can and create a similar delivery mechanism for cake batter, in which an accelerant releases air bubbles inside the batter, allowing the cake to rise without the need for baking soda and baking powder. To his surprise, it worked. At first, McCallum, who will be entering his junior year (he had the idea as a freshman), was just happy to have come up with a clever idea for class. When he walked into the dining hall one day, carrying something wrapped in foil that he “made in the lab,” his friends didn’t show much interest in eating it. But Brooke Nowakowski, a 20-year-old classmate from Utah who would soon become his girlfriend, thought he was missing the potential. “He was just like, ‘Cool. Lab project,’ ” Nowakowski said. “But I thought it could go somewhere.” The two perfected the recipe through trial and error in McCallum’s dorm kitchen, and after searching high and low to be sure no one had done it before, they decided to take it to market. They are now in the process of patenting a product they call Spray Cake. As they demonstrated the product in a Harvard dorm on Thursday, spraying the batter into a baking dish and a cup cake tray, they talked about the many benefits that come from making cake this way. Number one: You can make it in the microwave. For a cupcake, it takes about 30 seconds and you’re done. For a whole cake, it takes no more than a minute. And they say it has the same mouth feel as it does when cooked in a traditional oven (where, they say, it will cook much faster than a traditional batter because the batter has essentially already risen). And Nowakowski, who seems to be the salesperson of the duo, likes to point out that it allows for better portion control. “You can simply pull it off the shelf, make one cupcake, then put it back in the fridge and it won’t go bad.” Plus, there is nothing left to taunt you on the counter all night. Their goal, they say, is “taking baking back.” They’re not going after the traditional made-from-scratch cakes — and the satisfaction of that cooking process — but instead are targeting the premade cake mixes. The gimmick is intriguing, but the success of the idea will come down to taste. So with that in mind, the Globe arranged for McCallum and Nowakowski to bring Spray Cake to the woman who inspired it all. They were nervous as they walked into Myers + Chang, an Asian restaurant Chang owns in the South End. “I can’t believe Joanne Chang is about to try our cake,” McCallum said. But Chang seemed pleased to meet students who had done something with one of her lectures. “I’ve never had anyone experiment to this level, that I’m aware of,” she said, as McCallum and Nowakowski told her about the product, their target market, and the basics of how it was created. McCallum produced two cans from his bag and filled two small dishes with what they call “Zebra cake” — half chocolate, half vanilla. (They say this is another added potential of their batter, which is thicker due to the included bubbles, so it won’t run together like traditional batter.) Chang took the cakes back to the kitchen, apologized that she didn’t have the right oven or a microwave in the Asian restaurant, and returned about 15 minutes later with two cute little cakes. Then, the moment of truth. Chang took her bite and considered. As she did, she began to nod her head, slowly. Then it came: the thumbs up. The cake hadn’t browned much — Chang blamed it on the fact that she didn’t have a bakery oven — but as she took a few more bites, she seemed sold. “I’d add a little more salt, but that’s just me,” she said. The kids looked relieved, and as they got ready to leave, a group of women who were waiting to take a cooking class rushed up to congratulate them.[/quote] [url]http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/07/17/for-young-chefs-eureka-moment-cake-from-can/iBFxDg0yLibjQttAfREq3J/story.html[/url]
Science, you cheap whore...
I googled "cake" just to be sure what cake means... the results I got weren't what I saw in this video. This is just f*cking dough in a spray can.
I'll be convinced when I can spray out a completely baked and decorated cake from a can first :v:
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;45467296]I'll be convinced when I can spray out a completely baked and decorated cake from a can first :v:[/QUOTE] I want one of those cakes that's just a pill until you drop a drop of water on it
Back to the Future style instant pizza next pls
So did they just put cake batter into a spray can? It's pretty cool, I'd buy it.
Well, this is a thing that we have in the future, apparently. Proof of the pudding is in the eating though, so I'd need to try it myself to see if it holds up well, but otherwise this is an interesting development in the realms of baking. That said it'll probably not be too long before this is adapted for 3D printers, allowing for 3D bakery.
This is used in gastronomy cooking a lot, just no one had patented the idea.
Soon: [video=youtube;5ztwns5PkJY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ztwns5PkJY[/video]
[QUOTE=Vasili;45467903]This is used in gastronomy cooking a lot, just no one had patented the idea.[/QUOTE] And now two students have managed to get it somewhat popularized for the general market. If their brand manages to kick off as opposed to being one of those things that doesn't quite make it, I imagine it'd be a popular thing for the household, even if it still wouldn't be as excellent as Gramma's jam sponge cake.
[QUOTE=Zonesylvania;45467296]I'll be convinced when I can spray out a completely baked and decorated cake from a can first :v:[/QUOTE] Just put a heating element in the tip of the nozzle. [editline]22nd July 2014[/editline] instant doughnut string
I really don't see the appeal in stuff like this and cake mix. You can buy a pack of like 12 fairy cakes/muffins for the same price as the cake mix, and all cake mix entails is open the packet, pour it in a bowl, add an egg, put in oven. If somebody wants to make cakes I don't see why you just wouldn't go the full distance.
[QUOTE=Noss;45468344]I really don't see the appeal in stuff like this and cake mix. You can buy a pack of like 12 fairy cakes/muffins for the same price as the cake mix, and all cake mix entails is open the packet, pour it in a bowl, add an egg, put in oven. If somebody wants to make cakes I don't see why you just wouldn't go the full distance.[/QUOTE] If you want to make pizza, why wouldn't you just make some dough, put some sauce on it, add some cheese, then put it in the oven? [IMG]https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2072/2319663688_c4505a5793_z.jpg[/IMG] oh. There's no reason to discourage new ideas just because we have old ideas. Especially if the new ideas don't work very well. How else would anything progress? Look at airplanes. It only took 66 years to go from "jumping 120 feet" to "landing someone on the moon and shooting them back into the ocean".
[QUOTE=chimitos;45468300]Just put a heating element in the tip of the nozzle. [editline]22nd July 2014[/editline] instant doughnut string[/QUOTE] Isn't that part of how people make churros? I know they dunk the stuff in the frying oil before coating them in sugar and cinnamon.
[QUOTE=ironman17;45468435]Isn't that part of how people make churros? I know they dunk the stuff in the frying oil before coating them in sugar and cinnamon.[/QUOTE] Or for that matter, any form of donut :v:
That doesn't look like cake
[QUOTE=LVL FACTORY;45468688]That doesn't look like cake[/QUOTE] You do realize how making a cake works, right?
[QUOTE=Noss;45468344]I really don't see the appeal in stuff like this and cake mix. You can buy a pack of like 12 fairy cakes/muffins for the same price as the cake mix, and all cake mix entails is open the packet, pour it in a bowl, add an egg, put in oven. If somebody wants to make cakes I don't see why you just wouldn't go the full distance.[/QUOTE] I'll be honest and admit that until I learned how to bake, yes I can bake without acid, I thought it was witchcraft. Cakes, breads, rolls, biscuits, all home made? Awesome but far beyond anything I can do. Then I learned how and it turned out it was, if not easy, relatively uncomplicated. It takes a bit of work that's all, as long as you're not lazy anyone can do it. So I think a product like this appeals to people who are where I once was, thinking that baking is beyond their abilities. They make it sound like it's a big deal that you can make a cake 'without baking soda or baking powder', haha that stuff is cheap, comes in small containers, and stores for a long time. There's no reason to see baking soda or baking powder as some barrier to baking for the average person.
[QUOTE=Noss;45468344]I really don't see the appeal in stuff like this and cake mix. You can buy a pack of like 12 fairy cakes/muffins for the same price as the cake mix, and all cake mix entails is open the packet, pour it in a bowl, add an egg, put in oven. If somebody wants to make cakes I don't see why you just wouldn't go the full distance.[/QUOTE] Convenience my friend, convenience . Why do all that work, totaling like 30-40 minutes for cake, when it can be done in 2 minutes? You don't understand the mass market appeal this has. This is gonna make a lot of money.
Reminds me of the "Instant" Cupcake from Poundland. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpIVAzPdQMo[/media]
[QUOTE=counterpo0;45470007]Convenience my friend, convenience . Why do all that work, totaling like 30-40 minutes for cake, when it can be done in 2 minutes? You don't understand the mass market appeal this has. This is gonna make a lot of money.[/QUOTE] Because there isn't any point in baking cakes rather than buying them if you're going to use a cake mix, giving you no variation on the recipe?? (don't argue that people change the recipes of cake mix, 99% don't) [editline]23rd July 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=chimitos;45468362]If you want to make pizza, why wouldn't you just make some dough, put some sauce on it, add some cheese, then put it in the oven? [IMG]https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2072/2319663688_c4505a5793_z.jpg[/IMG] oh. There's no reason to discourage new ideas just because we have old ideas. Especially if the new ideas don't work very well. How else would anything progress? Look at airplanes. It only took 66 years to go from "jumping 120 feet" to "landing someone on the moon and shooting them back into the ocean".[/QUOTE] you buy frozen pizza because you want to eat it hot that isn't even a remotely accurate comparison you've made right there [editline]23rd July 2014[/editline] i'm not even going to even fucking bother anymore this is just going to turn in to a 10 page argument about semantics and not understanding the original argument - which was me not understanding the appeal of "baking" your own if you're just going to open a packet of pre-determined mix and be done in less than a minute
[QUOTE=Noss;45470705]Because there isn't any point in baking cakes rather than buying them if you're going to use a cake mix, giving you no variation on the recipe?? (don't argue that people change the recipes of cake mix, 99% don't) [editline]23rd July 2014[/editline] you buy frozen pizza because you want to eat it hot that isn't even a remotely accurate comparison you've made right there [editline]23rd July 2014[/editline] i'm not even going to even fucking bother anymore this is just going to turn in to a 10 page argument about semantics and not understanding the original argument - which was me not understanding the appeal of "baking" your own if you're just going to open a packet of pre-determined mix and be done in less than a minute[/QUOTE] "you buy a frozen pizza because you want to eat it hot" no shit? the same applies to making a pizza, of course you want it hot what does the temperature have to do with ANYTHING? the comparison was buying premade and heating it up, compared to starting from scratch which is a 1:1 comparison this isn't about the joy of baking this is about freshness a 100% freshly baked cake, baked in one minute after spraying from a can buying a premade cake would lack that freshness; cakes lose it quite fast
[QUOTE=bitches;45470814] this is about freshness a 100% freshly baked cake, baked in one minute after spraying from a can buying a premade cake would lack that freshness; cakes lose it quite fast[/QUOTE] there we go, a rational argument that doesn't assume that i'm an absolute pessimistic retard i now accept why somebody might make a spray can cake
This isn't a new idea at all. I bought a spray can for pancake mix like two years ago and it worked okay. This is the exact same thing only with cake batter.
I bet the "cake" will come out incredibly dissapointing and probably not tasting well at all.
Guys, there's a big difference to buying a fully topped pizza to sticking some cake mix in a can.
I'd buy a can just to try it out. All this talk about cake makes me want one now.
[QUOTE=cecilbdemodded;45468811]I'll be honest and admit that until I learned how to bake, yes I can bake without acid, I thought it was witchcraft. Cakes, breads, rolls, biscuits, all home made? Awesome but far beyond anything I can do. Then I learned how and it turned out it was, if not easy, relatively uncomplicated. It takes a bit of work that's all, as long as you're not lazy anyone can do it. So I think a product like this appeals to people who are where I once was, thinking that baking is beyond their abilities. They make it sound like it's a big deal that you can make a cake 'without baking soda or baking powder', haha that stuff is cheap, comes in small containers, and stores for a long time. There's no reason to see baking soda or baking powder as some barrier to baking for the average person.[/QUOTE] I think the point of it not using baking soda / powder is because it wouldn't store as well, not because people have difficulty using it. The appeal of this (IMO) is you can make a decent cake in minutes, compared to the better part of an hour.
[QUOTE=Noss;45470705]you buy frozen pizza because you want to eat it hot[/QUOTE] This has genuinely pissed me off. What the fuck do you even mean by this? Do you make pizzas from scratch because you want to eat them at room temperature? Do you just eat the dough and cheese raw while drinking the tomato sauce from a fucking glass? [editline]oh hamburgers[/editline] I don't even know why I'm getting so fucking mad at this.
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