What is 'cream of tartar' and how can i substitute it in a cake recipe?!
What is 'cream of tartar' and how can i substitute it in a cake recipe?
these are the Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 egg yolks and 4 egg whites
1 1/4 cups ground almonds
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
Confectioners' sugar, optional
Answers:
Just leave it out. It is a stabilizer for the egg whites. Have you made a cake with whipped egg whites before? Be sure the beaters and bowl are absolutely clean and dry.
-It appears to be potassium hydrogen tartrate
-Cream of tartar is best known in our kitchens for helping stabilize and give more volume to beaten egg whites.
-It is also used to produce a creamier texture in sugary desserts such as candy and frosting. It is used commercially in some soft drinks, candies, bakery products, gelatin desserts, and photography products. Cream of tartar can also be used to clean brass and copper cookware.
-If you are beating eggs whites and don't have cream of tartar, you can substitute white vinegar (in the same ratio as cream of tartar, generally 1/8 teaspoon per egg white). It is a little more problematic to find a substitute for cream of tartar in baking projects. White vinegar or lemon juice, in the ratio of 3 times the amount of cream of tartar called for, will provide the right amount of acid for most recipes. But that amount of liquid may cause other problems in the recipe, and bakers have found that cakes made with vinegar or lemon juice have a coarser grain and are more prone to shrinking than those made with cream of tartar.
I don't know what country you live in but here in the U.S. it is sold in a small can and you find it on the same shelf as the seasonings in any supermarket.
It is in a box in the supermarket. Ask someone for help. It is in the cooking isle. But if you can't get out then at such a small quantitiy i wouldn't worry
Use a copper bowl when beating the egg whites. The free copper ions will stabilize the meringue the same as the cream of tartar. Every chef uses a copper bowl for egg whites.