Has anyone heard of Ovalette?

So, i am trying my hand at making my fave childhood cake, Pandan Sponge Cake. Pandan is a screwpine leaf, and we use the it just like Americans use vanilla here.

Anyways, looking at recipes from most Malaysian and Sinagpore sites, Ovalette is often included as an ingredient. While some recipes say that it is optional, other say that the cake will not rise correctly without it. I found a brief description online

Ovalette is a cake emulsifier and is used in sponge cakes. It is usually used to make cakes spongier and cuts down the time needed to beat or whisk cake batter.

Has anyone heard of Ovalette? If so, any ideas on where to buy it?

From website: http://www.dianasdesserts.com/index.cfm ... Recipe.cfm

Ovalette
Ovalette (for stablizing chiffon cake or other sponge type cakes) is difficult to find here in the USA. It is not necessary to use ovalette in this recipe for Pandan Chiffon Cake. You may leave it out if you can't find it. It won't make a big difference.

From website: http://202.186.86.35/kuali/recipes/24beh1202.html

IS THERE another name for Ovalette and what is it? Where can I get it? – Tan Guat Sim

Another name for Ovalette is Quick 75. This is an acidic stabiliser that is added to cakes to help eggs rise quickly and stiffly. It also helps eggs that have been beaten remain light and airy and renders their texture voluminous. Ovalette is available fromcake specialist shops.

From website: http://202.186.86.35/kuali/recipes/09beh0399.html

I tried making sponge cakes without ovalette and they didn't turn out well. My friend says I must use ovalette. Why? - Nelline Choong, Penang

Ovalette is a stabiliser used in baking sponge cakes. It helps the eggs to rise rapidly and stiffly. As it is acidic it also helps the beaten eggs to remain stable and not lose the airy and voluminous texture. It makes sponge cake softer and smoother.

I am throwing out my first thought: this is tartar acid or similar.

There is another product which is supposed to be a direct substitute: Quick 75 ... again not common in this country.

From what I read, it is not absolutely necessary though desireable to have Ovalette. Why not make it with what you have and ask your family to mail you some packets?

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:I am throwing out my first thought: this is tartar acid or similar.

I think she's got it. If you do the google "translate this page" (or, I suppose, if you can read the Spanish yourself--and it's not hard in this particular case) you find

- 1 teaspoon of "ovalette" - acid tartar to stabilize eggs -.

A little more googling unearths this Pandan Chiffon Cake recipe using cream of tartar

Hi,

I was just at Sunset Foods where I read the label of the 'Cream of Tartar.' It stated its' purpose is stabilizing egg whites for sponge and chiffon cakes recommending 1/8 teaspoon per egg white.

Cream of Tartar is also the major flavoring ingredient for Snickerdoodle cookies.

I think you can call off your search for Ovalette (Ova - egg).

So when are Ann and I invited for the taste?

Regards,

Tartaric acid is one of the hydroxy polycarboxylic acids. This family includes malic and citric acids. Many occur naturally in fruits. Esters formed by reaction of ethanol and other alcohols with these acids are important in developing the bouquet of wines during aging.

Grapes have the potassium acid salt of tartaric acid. One hydrogen atom has been replaced by a potassium atom. This makes for lesser acidity. A lot of this salt precipitates during aging and accounts for a good bit of the lees. The crude form is argol while the purified form is known as cream of tarter.

Cream of tarter has been used to make beaten egg whites stiffer and more stable for a long time.

In case anybody is wondering, I did look in my old organic chemistry textbook before writing.

ekreider wrote:In case anybody is wondering, I did look in my old organic chemistry textbook before writing.

I'm breathing easier already!

Ann - I found Pandan Cake recipes while looking for an explanation of the Ovalette. What surprised me and almost threw me off was to find recipes which called for both Tartar acid AND Ovalette. In this case, the Ovalette was mixed in with the dried ingredients and the cream of tartar was used with the eggwhites.

If the Ovalette is doing what we expect it to be doing, then it belongs only in the egg whites. I'd say there is something about the chemistry of some of those recipes which seems off.

REgards,

Hi! I'm Indonesian and we're used to Ovalette.... and Chiffon Pandan Cake came from my country, so....

Ovalette is an emulsifier and stabilizer. It contains polysorbate, polyglycerol, mono- and diglycerides from fatty acids, and propylene glycol as softener. It is NOT tartaric acid nor cream of tartar.

Yes, we can use Quick75 from Zeelandia, it contains polyglycerol ester of fatty acid. If you look with E number, it is E475.

However, Chiffon Pandan doesn't require it.... We make it by two-stage method, whisk yolks and oil here and mix meringue there, then incorporate both of them, then to chiffon tin.

Happy baking!

CrazyC wrote:So, i am trying my hand at making my fave childhood cake, Pandan Sponge Cake. Pandan is a screwpine leaf, and we use the it just like Americans use vanilla here.

Anyways, looking at recipes from most Malaysian and Sinagpore sites, Ovalette is often included as an ingredient. While some recipes say that it is optional, other say that the cake will not rise correctly without it. I found a brief description online

Ovalette is a cake emulsifier and is used in sponge cakes. It is usually used to make cakes spongier and cuts down the time needed to beat or whisk cake batter.

Has anyone heard of Ovalette? If so, any ideas on where to buy it?