• Question: Why do biscuits go soft and cake go hard?

    Asked by 0mnomcookie to James on 19 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: James Hargreaves

      James Hargreaves answered on 19 Jun 2011:

      Hey 0mnomcookie,
      This is a good question.

      When biscuits are baked, the main objective is to get rid of the moisture. This is all dependant on the type of flour used for baking biscuits. In cake baking the main objective is to keep the moisture in to give the cake its structure. Again this is to do with the type of flour used. In cake a flour called Hi Ratio is used.

      Going onto the real subject of your question, cake going hard and biscuits soft is caused by a process known as “staling”. When left out open to the air, The low moisture content of a biscuit means it will absorb moisture from the air, while the high moisture content of the cake means it will loose moisture. Which is why biscuits go soft and and cakes go hard!

      Let me know if that is okay, or anything else you need to know. 🙂

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