Gravity keeps the cake structure stretched to
its maximum volume while the walls of the
gas cells firm and develop cracks that allow
the pressure inside and outside the cells to
equalize.
Cakes keep for several days at room
temperature, and they can be refrigerated or
frozen. They stale more slowly than bread,
thanks to the presence of emulsifiers and their
high proportions of moisture, fat, and
moisture-retaining sugar.
Pastries
Pastries bear little family resemblance to
cakes or breads or pastas. They’re a very
different expression of the nature of the wheat
grain. In making other dough and batter foods,
we use water to fuse the particles of wheat
flour into an integrated mass of gluten and
starch granules, and further knit that mass
together with cooking. By contrast, pastry is