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Ambber Morales

Mrs. Stevens

Life Science

21 February 2020

Does the Type of Milk Used, Affect the Volume of a Cake?

People in the U.S. consume 29.8 gallons of milk a year (How Much). People consume

much of their milk in cake. A cake would most likely be dry and less enjoyable without milk.

However I asked myself, does the type of milk affect the volume of a cake? I thought if you add

cow milk to a cake mix, then the cake’s volume will increase the most.

What Is the Difference Between Cashew, Cow, and Almond Milk?

Almond milk has a creamy texture and very thin. Like almond milk, cashew milk is

pressed with water. Both almond and cashew milk have a nutty flavor. Cow milk, however, is

filled with fat and carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are sugars, carbs/starch, and fibers (Food).

Compared to almond and cashew milk, cow milk is more likely to give diseases, such as

salmonella (Mozes).

What Does Milk Do in a Cake?

The sugars in the milk add tenderness, flavor, and moister. While the proteins make the

batter stronger and bring all the other materials together. Proteins also help a cake rise and

withstand the heat (Christensen). Milk, in general, loosens the batter so it is not like dough

(Connelly). Milk gives cake structure so it does not fall in the oven when baking. It also gives a

cake a crisp crust (Tony).

How Do You Measure and Calculate Volume?

Volume is essentially the mass inside of an object. A common formula is lwh (length
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times width times height), which is for a rectangular prism. In some formulas, you use pi (𝜋). Pi

is about 3.14 or 22/7. For example, the formula for a cylinder is 𝜋r2h (pi times radius time radius

times height). The most common formula is the area of the base times the height (How to).

How Do You Measure the Volume of a Cake?

A cake is usually a cylinder but is sometimes a rectangular prism. Let’s assume the cake

is a cylinder. First, you multiply the radius by itself. The radius is from the middle of the cake to

the outside. Then, you find the height of the cake and multiply it by the total of your last

equation. Next, you multiply your final total with pi (3.14). Then, you have your answer (How

to).

Why Does a Cake Rise When Baked?

A cake rises from air bubbles that form while baking. If you decrease the temperate the

air bubbles have more time to form. If you increase the heat of the oven then a cake will not rise

as much as it would if it had been baked at a lower temperature (Beck). Another way to make a

cake rise more is to add baking powder before the liquid. Egg whites add more fluff, therefore

making a cake rise better. If you add the egg whites before the yolk, then the cake will rise more

(Decker).

How Does the Baking Temperature Affect Cake?

Baking a cake, in general, allows eggs to be more eligible, so someone can consume the

cake. The heat in the oven gives the structure to a cake. The temperature affects how many air

bubbles form. The lower the heat, the more time for the air bubbles to form (Beck). The heat of

the oven affects the final quality. Higher temperatures make a cake less moist (Shahapuzi).

Conclusion

I thought that, if I add cow milk to a cake mix, then the cake’s volume will increase the
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most, and I found out that I was right. On average cow milk had a volume of 302.25 cm3, almond

milk had an average of 235.25 cm3, and cashew milk had an average of 287.5 cm3. Throughout

this experiment, I found that cow milk made a cake more fluffy. The cashew milk, on the other

hand, was the densest out of the three. The importance of my experience was to discover what

type of milk would make a cake more spacious.

Works Cited

Beck, Andrea. “How to Make Sure Your Cake Will Rise.” Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Sept.

2019, www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/bake/how-to-make-sure-your-cake-will-rise/.
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Christensen, Julie. “What Does Milk Do in Baking?” LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group, 2019,

www.livestrong.com/article/547557-what-does-milk-do-in-baking/.

Connelly, Andy. “The Science of Cake | Andy Connelly.” The Guardian, Guardian News and

Media, 9 June 2010, www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2010/jun/09/science-cake-

baking-andy-connelly

Decker, Fred. “How to Make a Cake Mix Rise Higher.” LEAFtv, 14 Mar. 2019,

www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-make-a-cake-mix-rise-higher/.

“Food Fight: Almond Milk vs. Cashew Milk.” Food Network, 2016,

www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/2016/03/food-fight-almond-milk-vs-cashew-milk.

“How Much Dairy Does the Average American Consume in a Year?” Madison.com, 23 June

2017, madison.com/wsj/business/how-much-dairy-does-the-average-american-consume-

in-a/article_5f1e4abf-4442-548e-991d-f93e8afae95a.html.

“How to Calculate Cake Sizes.” Minh Cakes Zürich, 23 May 2017, minhcakes.ch/en/cake-sizes.

Mozes, Alan. “Cow, Soy or Almond: Which 'Milk' Is Best for You?” WebMD, WebMD, 1 Feb.

2018, www.webmd.com/diet/news/20180201/cow-soy-or-almond-which-milk-is-best-

for-you#1

Shahapuzi, Nur Syafikah, et al. “Effect of Oven Temperature Profile and Different Baking

Conditions on Final Cake Quality.” Wiley Online Library, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

(10.1111), 16 Oct. 2014, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ijfs.12679

Tony. “The Role of Milk In Cake Making.” 247 Naija Cake Affairs: Nigeria's Foremost Cake

Blog, 2016, 247naijacakeaffairs.com/index.php/tutorials/item/492-the-role-of-milk-in-

baking\.
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