What is baking powder ? How does it make the cake soft and spongy ?
Baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and mild edible acid such as tartaric
acid.
- The chemical name of baking powder is sodium hydrogen carbonate ($NaHC{{O}_{3}}$).
- It is added to the dough while making cake because on heating it is converted to sodium carbonate with release of carbondioxide.
$NaHC{{O}{3}}$ + ${{H}^{+}}$-------------->
$C{{O}{2}}$ + $H _{ 2 }O$ + Sodium salt of acid - When baking the cake the $C{{O}_{2}}$ released by baking powder causes the cake or bread to rise making them soft and spongy.