Gelatin can seem like a daunting ingredient, but it opens up a whole world of cake recipies once you understand its properties. Gelatin is used to stabilise inclusions in European and Russian cakes, as well as frosting recipe. Once you know how to work with gelatin, you can add stable flavourings and cake decorations to your cakes. Gelatin is also used to make jellies and fruit jams . So don’t be afraid of this mystery ingredient – embrace it and learn all you can about gelatin’s many uses in for making cake !
When it comes to baking, there is a lot of science involved. However, as a baker, you don’t need to know all the details in order to create delicious treats. This article will skip the chemistry and focus on the most important information you need to know in order to understand cake recipes and even create your own variations:
- Gelatin sheets vs gelatin powder
- Gelatin strength/ bloom
- Where to use gelatin
- How properly use gelatin for making cake
- Impact of other ingredients
- What is gelatin mass
Gelatin leaves vs gelatin powder, what is the difference ?
Edible gelatin is available in two forms: leaves and powder. Both forms are soluble in warm water and jellified when cooling. Both can be used for the exact same applications. You will have to convert the quantities from one to the other. Unfortunately, not all gelatin producers even mention the gelatin bloom on their products package. It is worth to learn how to find out the which type of gelatin you have and which bloom.
What does it means gelatin bloom and gelatin strength, are they the same ?
Leaf gelatin is classified by types, for example Gold, Silver, Platinum etc. with different Bloom strength. In fact, it is exactly the same gelatin, with the same gelling property, but each type of such gelatin leave will have different weight and will determine how strong jell will come by gelatin weight used. The more gelatin you use for making a gel, the stronger and firmer the gel becomes. The most important attribute of gelatin is its gel strength and is called the Bloom Strength.
Sheet gelatin comes in following bloom strength and weight per sheet:
- Titanium 120 bloom / 5 g
- Bronze 140 bloom / 3.5 g
- Silver 160 bloom / 2.5 g
- Gold 200 bloom / 2 g
- Platinum 230 bloom / 1.75 g
Bloom measurement refers to the strength and clarity of the gel, with higher numbers indicating a stronger and clearer product. For most applications, titanium or 120 bloom gelatin is perfectly adequate. This type of gelatin is good for foods where clarity isn’t a primary concern, such as chocolate mousse. For applications where the clearest gel possible is desired, platinum or 230 bloom gelatin is the way to go. This is typically used in confectionery products such as gummies candy . No matter what your needs, Bloom numbers are an important consideration when selecting the right type of gelatin for your project.
Popular misconception is that the higher the bloom the less gelatine you will need to use. One sheet from each type of gelatine will have the same gel strength. The weight the sheets varies which allows for them to have the same gelling power as each other. This means that if you are using a higher bloom gelatine, you will need more sheets to get the same result as a lower bloom gelatine.
At the end of this article, you will find a useful chart with all gelatin types and conversations. But I encourage you read all article, as you will find some important information about usage and storage of gelatin.
Want to know when and where to use gelatin in cake making ? Keep reeding
As I observed in my workshops, many of my students were unaware of where and why to utilise gelatin. Many are hesitant to utilise it because they have a negative preconception about it. They almost certainly encountered a finished product where gelatin was used incorrectly, resulting in a lot more jelly rather than simply stabilising the whole mixture and item. Alternatively, when gelatin is added to a cake mass or dessert creams at incorrect temperatures, it won’t distribute equally throughout the product but instead create visible gelatin strands.
If you’re a home baker, you’ve probably made many cakes with various fillings. Gelatin can be used in your cake recipes, such as to stabilize whipped cream recipe or whipped chocolate ganache, confiture layers that are strengthened and prevented from sliding out of the cake sides, and so on. They may also be used in a variety of cream filling recipes to keep filling layers together while stabilizing whole cake construction. It won’t be added to buttercream fillings and frostings, but I always use it for delicate fillings because I can make light cakes high and tiered.
Here are some of my advices how to use gelatin
Hydrate gelatin, dont skip this step
Make sure the gelatin is hydrated. You always employ hydrated gelatin in your recipes, which has been previously soaked in room temperature water and does not include powdered or leaf form of gelatin straight into the recipe mix. In order to ensure that all gelatin particles are dissolved, we must make sure that they are completely dissolved throughout the course of production.
Don’t boil , or it will be ruined
You should not heat your gelatin-infused product any more after you’ve added it. Gelatin, despite its ability to endure high temperatures, will degrade over time if exposed to those conditions for too long. As a consequence, the proteins become too small to form adequate gels as a result of this. If you need to cook or boil your item, do so before adding the gelatine.
Stabilising gelatin, for stabilized whipped cream recipe, chocolate ganache and more
Gelatin takes a long time to gel. The majority of recipes recommend waiting a few hours. The mixture may need to cool down, and the gelatin proteins must then organise themselves. Even after the gel is formed, it will continue to harden and solidify. If you leave your panna cotta in the fridge for two days, you’ll notice that it’s hardened considerably versus the fresh one. Of course, it won’t harden indefinitely; eventually, the hardness levels off. For cake fillings, confitures, used as a filling whipped ganache I recommend to leave the final product to stabilize at least 8 hours.
This is a tricky part – Freezing
Gelatin is a popular and versatile thickener in entremets, mousses, confitures, and other frozen desserts. Gelatin isn’t usually the greatest ingredient to freeze. It’s possible that after thawing it will lose its gelifying abilities. To utilize gelatin in frozen desserts, you must use starches and fibers as texturizers to balance the recipe with additional texture-providing measures. These texturizers will be starches and fibrous materials.) The way you create an emulsion that is going to be frozen is also crucial.
If after defrosting your desert it leaks water underneath (do not mix it with condensation – small water drops on surface) called syneresis, it means the recipe is not balanced good. You have to adjust it and to control water and improve technique.
For example, in confiture made from berries puree, sugar and gelatin or might be pectin, leaking water after defrosting will happen. You can improve recipe by adding thickening gums – xanthan gum, tarragon gum, locust bean gum, they will stabilize recipe.
Gelatin gels are not very resilient to low freezing temperatures. When the ice crystals grow in the freezer, they can damage the gel structures, allowing some of the water to seep out when you thaw them.
Also, try to freeze the product as quickly as possible, moving from -4 C to -12 C. If you own a bakery business, you may have a blast chiller that will assist in the rapid freezing of your goods. If you utilize an ordinary home freezer and maintain it in excellent technical functioning and do not overload it, it will help to increase its freezing capacity. Some items might not even reach the zero degree Celsius point if kept in an overloaded freezer somewhere along the line.
Impact of other ingredients, is it true it makes huge impact ?
The enzymes present in certain fruits and vegetables- such as peaches, pineapple, papaya, mangos, melons, kiwi, figs, prickly pears, and ginger- will break down the proteins in gelatin as a result, gels made with these ingredients may not thicken properly. To neutralize the enzymes, boil the cut up ingredients for 5 minutes before using in a gelatin dessert, or use canned fruit .
Many people ask me can gelatin be remelted , lets find out ?
A gelatin gel is reversible. This means that the gelatin gel may be melted and reused. Simply heating the gel can help you do this. Don’t use it more than once, since repeated heat will gradually break down the proteins in gelatin, reducing its ability to form a solid mass.
What Is Gelatin Mass?
In professional recipes you will find that gelatin is used not the weight of gelatin, but the weight of the gelatin mass. Gelatinous mass is pre-stabilized gelatin with water. That is, the gelatin was soaked in advance, it swelled, we melt it, pour it into a mold and cool it. It turns out a layer of gelatin. Cut off the required amount from it and dissolve it in hot liquid. The gelatinous mass is stored in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Creating gelatin mass ?
Two ingredients you will need to make a gelatin mass – gelatin and water. The ratio is usually 1 to 5 times its weight: i.e., 1 part gelatin to 5 parts water. For example, if you are using 5 grams of gelatin powder, you would use 25 grams of water to hydrate the powder to make the mass
| Gelatin | Titanium 1 | Bronze 14 | Silver 160 | Gold 200 + | Platinium 200 | Beef 250 | Fish 250 |
| Bloom | Bloom | Bloom | Bloom | Bloom | Bloom | Bloom | |
| Titanium | 10,0 g | 9 g | 8,5 g | 7,7 g | 7,1 g | 6,6 g | 6,6 g |
| Bronze | 11,1 g | 10 g | 9,2 g | 8,5 g | 7,8 g | 7,3 g | 7,3 g |
| Silver | 12,1 g | 10,8 g | 10 g | 9,3 g | 8,6 g | 8,1 g | 8,1 g |
| Gold | 13,0 g | 11,7 g | 10,9 g | 10 g | 9,2 g | 8,7 g | 8,7 g |
| Platinium | 13,9 g | 12,5 g | 11,6 g | 10,8 g | 10 g | 9,3 g | 9,3 g |
| Beef | 14,7 g | 13,3 g | 12,4 g | 11,6 g | 10,8 g | 10 g | 10 g |
| Fish | 14,7g | 13,3 g | 12,4 g | 11,6 g | 10,8 g | 10 g | 10 g |