PART I

How mathematics is used in cake baking and cake decorating ?

Dainty , marvellous looking cakes . In order to make it done , mathematical applications is a

vital aspect that must not be forgotten . Without it , these beautiful pastries will could not be

baked . However , how do mathematics is used in making them ?

 Wacław Franciszek Sierpiński (1882 - 1969), a Polish mathematician, is known for

outstanding contributions to set theory, number theory, theory of functions and

topology.

Three well-known fractals are named after him (the Sierpinski triangle, the Sierpinski carpet

and the Sierpinski curve).

congruent subsquares in a 3-by-3 grid, and the central subsquare is removed. The same

procedure is then applied recursively to the remaining 8 subsquares, ad infinitum.

The method starts with an initial pattern. Once that is made, it is stretched out to make it

small enough to form the basis of the next iteration, which is in turn stretched out and folded

to make the next iteration.

cocoa powder. Also reduce the butter by a tablespoon and mix about a tablespoon of melted

bittersweet chocolate into the cream cheese before adding it to the dough. Chilling the dough

isn't necessary, as you want it to be soft enough to be workable.

For the first block, you'll need to roll out eight strips of one color and one of the contrasting

color. After rolling them out, form each one into a square, then stack them to form a larger

block with the contrasting color in the center. You'll want to slice off the end of the stack to

even it up. Use a sharp knife and cut carefully so you don't squish the pattern.

To draw the block out longer and thinner without disturbing the pattern, turn it over

frequently. You can either squeeze the sides, then rotate, or press the top, then rotate. It helps

to pull it out twice as long as it was, then cut in half, and repeat until you have eight equal

pieces, each about as long as the original block. Parchment paper is a good work surface for

this. Keep an extra sheet handy for when the one you're working on gets too sticky.

Roll out another length of the contrasting color, using the same amount of dough you used for

the original pieces. Form it into a square, and stack the pieces up with the contrasting piece in

the center again.

samples of the different iterations, this is the time to do it - just after the edges have merged

sufficiently. Again, lengthen it until it is twice as long, cut, and lengthen those pieces, cut

again and repeat.

When you add another piece of contrasting color and stack everything up, the pieces will

again be somewhat separate. You will want to draw it out a little smaller to merge the blocks

before slicing.

With three iterations, it's now ready to slice. (If brave, feel free to try more iterations.)

Chilling it would probably be a good idea, but if you're impatient, be sure to rotate between
slices to keep the pattern from getting too squished in any one direction. Slice carefully with

a very sharp knife or a cheese wire.

One final (but optional) step is to gently roll each cookie out to smooth the surface texture

out.

 Measurement is a part of mathematics. if we didn't have measurement, such as cups or

teaspoons, we wouldn't know how much of each ingredient to put in to make a cake.

telling time is another part of math. if we couldn't tell time, we wouldn't know how

long to cook something.

 “ ¾ : 1 : 1 ½ ” – what’s that?

No, it’s not what you think – it’s not a secret code or some mathematical formula.

This mathematical ratio exemplifies the recipe for a simple cake – probably the first thing I
learnt to cook.

It’s simple. Take ¾ [three-fourth] vati [ katori or cup] of fresh butter, cream it till fluffy
with your hand, add 1 [one] vati of sugar and whisk vigorously till the sugar and butter blend
smoothly, whip three eggs till they fluff up into peaks, fold into the butter-sugar mixture
carefully, and beat with your hand till the batter emulsifies nicely.

Sieve 1 ½ [one and a half] vaties [katories] of maida [flour] with a teaspoon of baking
powder and keep ready in a thali.

In a glass pour a generous “tot” of full-bodied dark rum – the darker and mellower the rum
the better it is – as it will have more caramel which will impart an inimitable heavenly bitter-
sweet flavour blended with the richly aromatic enveloping tang of molasses.

Now start adding, by the tablespoonful, the sieved maida to the butter-sugar-egg emulsified
batter, gently folding in and smoothing in with your fingers, and alternately, from time to
time add a few “drops” by the teaspoonful of the full-bodied dark rum, licking your fingers
from time to time, rolling on your tongue, sampling and tasting at every step, till you get the
right creamy consistency and taste.

if you want to build a three tier cake, you have to know that 1+1+1 = 3
 Volume measurements, temperatures, adding, geometry and symmetry, and that's just
off the top of my head.

 Increasing a recipe. Decreasing recipes.

Suppose I need to increase a recipe to serve 85 people. The recipe I have serves 8. I
need to multiply the recipe by 11 times.
3/4 cup of sugar x 11 = ?
33/4 cups of sugar = 8 1/4 cups.

1 teaspoon of baking powder x 11 = ?

 You use math to determine how much ingredients you need for how much your
baking for instance if your recipe calls for 2 cups of flour to make 6 biscuits and you
need to make 12 biscuits then you need 4 cups of flour for decorating you use math to
determine where you need to place things so if you wanna place 12 icing flowers on a
6 inch by 6 inch square cake and have them evenly spaced apart then the flowers
would be .5 inches apart
 Proportion - the amount of ingredients in a recipe to make both the cake and frosting
or Fondant
also to size the figure ( like rose, vines

geometry - measuring the volume of cake, doing the pictures and sugar sculptures and
the placement of the frosting and decorative motifs and to cut it into the decrised
shape

and other things like what time to get the cake out of the oven so you don't burn it also
.
 Axis of symmetry is used in cutting cakes to similar portions .