Spiced Apple Cider Cake | The Best Cake Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What does apple cider vinegar do in a cake? ›

When vinegar reacts with baking soda, it creates carbon dioxide bubbles, which act as leavening agents. So as the batter bakes, these tiny bubbles expand, causing the cake to rise and giving it that light, airy texture we all love.

White Vinegar: It sounds like a strange ingredient in a cake, but it is essential in a red velvet cake. This recipe calls for baking soda to leaven the cake (make the cake rise). The small amount of added vinegar allows the soda to do its best work.

Apple cider is made of pressed fresh apples. Unfiltered and raw, it doesn't contain added sugar, undergoes minimal processing, and is usually unpasteurized. It tends to be slightly darker than apple juice, more opaque, and can sometimes have residue at the bottom.

White vinegar substitute: If you need a different vinegar to substitute for white vinegar, use apple cider vinegar or malt vinegar. You could also swap in lemon or lime juice, depending on your recipe. When you're canning or pickling, there are no comparable substitutes.

Apple cider vinegar and white vinegar make good substitutes for one another in most cooking applications, but the former is significantly more tart. In many cases, you can also use these vinegars as substitutes for other types of vinegar.

Most people agree that the basic difference would be the level of purity. Simply put, distilled vinegar has been purified more than white vinegar. More than that, there are also dissimilarities when it comes to chemical structure, production and usage. White vinegar is sometimes also called spirit vinegar.

The natural sweetness of apple cider vinegar complements desserts like cakes, muffins, and pie crusts. Additionally, apple cider vinegar can be used as a substitute for eggs in vegan baking, contributing to a moist texture.

Just keep in mind that the fats will solidify once the baked good is cooled, so the texture may be slightly different than you're used to. The water that's present in butter strengthens the gluten in a cake's flour, resulting in a crumb that's denser and not quite as tender as a cake made with oil.

“You can use substitutes for pretty much any of the ingredients,” King says. “I prefer apple cider vinegar for its subtle kick, but any standard vinegar will do. And if you'd rather swap sour cream or yogurt for the buttermilk, that works just as well.”

If you don't want to use vinegar, you can substitute an equal amount of lemon juice. If you want to skip the acidic liquid altogether, you can substitute a tablespoon of baking powder for each teaspoon of baking soda. Then add water equal to the amount of vinegar you omitted.

What's the difference between red velvet and devil's food cake? ›

Devil's food cake typically has coffee, sour cream, or water in the batter. While red velvet cake has tangier flavored liquids like buttermilk or vinegar. The different liquids also mean that Devil's food cakes have more moisture, which results in a more tender cake than red velvet.

Apple cider contains polyphenols, which are compounds in plants that act as antioxidants. They can help the body to fight against free radicals and cell damage, lowering your risk of certain types of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Polyphenols also help to ease inflammation in the body.

Is apple cider the same thing as apple cider vinegar? Nope, they're not the same! While both start from apple juice, apple cider is the fresh, fermented version, whereas apple cider vinegar goes through a second fermentation process, turning the sugars into acetic acid, giving it a distinct flavor.

Fermentation and Flavor Enhancement: Apple cider is made through a natural fermentation process. During this transformation, the natural sugars in apples are converted into alcohol by yeast. This fermentation not only preserves the apple juice but also enriches its flavor profile.

It can make cake rise.

For the same reason it works in pancakes, apple cider vinegar can aerate all kinds of baked goods. In cake, for instance, it works along with the baking powder to add some fluff.

Apple cider vinegar's acidic properties help to balance the sweetness of baked goods, and it can also be used to add moistness or texture. However, there are a few things to keep in mind when using apple cider vinegar in baking. What is this? First, it's important to use quality vinegar.

Most boxed cake mixes nail the chemistry of cake, but they tend to be a little bland. We amp up the flavor by adding extra salt, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, and coconut milk. 1. Follow all the box directions, swapping in coconut milk for cow's milk and vegan butter for regular butter.