• Question: Why do buscuits go soft and cakes go dry and is there anything in the middle?

    Asked by soggysheepy to Andrew, Janey P, Kinda, Ravi, SarahJane on 17 Jun 2013.
    • Photo: Sarah-Jane Walsh

      Sarah-Jane Walsh answered on 17 Jun 2013:

      Food technology is not my forte, however i did find this answer from a Baker who seems to know her stuff http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070124025750AAbTeJR

      Apparently its all to do with the water content as biscuits are dryer than air they absorb water but as cake is wetter than air it releases water

      hope that helps

      Sarah

    • Photo: Andrew Manches

      Andrew Manches answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      Great question – you are a budding scientist. I have no idea, i would probably guess it was to do with the fat content. I usually eat them before I get a chance to test this.

    • Photo: Jane Paget

      Jane Paget answered on 20 Jun 2013:

      This is due to the types of fat these in goodies. For cakes liquid fat is incorporated making it initially softer. However at the cake ages water evaporates making it hard.

      For biscuits the inverse is true. They contain solid fat making them initially hard. So they take on water from the atmosphere making them soft. So biscuits don’t go soft in the desert.

      This why a jaffa cake is a cake and not a biscuit. Because it is soft to intially and goes hard when stale.

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