Answer :
Final answer:
To make cakes tender, proper amounts of fat and sugar are essential, along with balanced leavening agents that produce carbon dioxide gas for a light texture. Excessive leavening, overmixing, and high temperatures can result in tough or dense cakes. None of the given options are correct.
Explanation:
Ingredients that make cakes tender include specific amounts of fat and sugar, not low amounts as one might assume. Fats, like butter or oil, tenderize the cake by coating the flour proteins and preventing them from forming a tough gluten network. Sugar also tenderizes by absorbing moisture and inhibiting gluten formation.
Contrary to option b), using excessive leavening agents can create too much gas, causing cakes to rise too quickly and then collapse, which results in a dense texture. Option c), excessive mixing or overmixing, incorporates too much air and develops gluten excessively, leading to a tough cake. As for option d), a high oven temperature can cause the outside of the cake to set before the inside has fully risen, also yielding a denser product.
Leavening agents like baking soda and baking powder are crucial for creating a fluffy texture in cakes. In the presence of acidic ingredients and moisture, baking soda reacts to form carbon dioxide gas, which gets trapped as bubbles within the cake batter and expands during baking to lighten the cake's texture.
However, it's essential to balance these reactions carefully to achieve the desired tenderness and fluffiness without leading to excessive rising and collapsing or creating a cake that is too dense or tough.
Hence, all choices are correct.
