Question For A Cake Chemist Haha

Decorating By Kitagrl Updated 11 Sep 2009 , 12:29am by Kitagrl

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Kitagrl Posted 10 Sep 2009 , 11:20pm
post #1 of 8

Ok I have a scratch cake recipe that is VERY good...its rather dense and sort of a cross between cake and a soft brownie, I think...delicious especially with whipped ganache fillings which is how I usually make it.

This cake generally for some reason does seem to sink a bit in the center. In my regular cakes its not a huge deal...it gets filled and iced and nobody cares.

But today I'm baking a large wedding out of this recipe, and I have to torte it extra too, which I don't generally do. In a 16" cake, the sinking center is really alot more obvious than in the smaller cakes! I still think I can pull it off, although the torted layers are going to end up a bit narrower than I want them to be.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I could tweak the recipe in order for it not to do this? Or oven temp? I bake at 335. I don't want to share the recipe necessarily....it is a more liquidy batter, using boiling water at the end for anyone familiar with that type.

Thanks!

7 replies
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BabyBear3 Posted 10 Sep 2009 , 11:29pm
post #2 of 8

do you use one of the core heater things? Its a metal cup looking thing that you put in the middle to help cook the cake from the inside as well as the outside. this has helped me with bigger cakes.

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Kitagrl Posted 10 Sep 2009 , 11:30pm
post #3 of 8
Quote:
Originally Posted by BabyBear3

do you use one of the core heater things? Its a metal cup looking thing that you put in the middle to help cook the cake from the inside as well as the outside. this has helped me with bigger cakes.




I use a flower nail...it doesn't really change how it bakes (bakes faster of course), it still sinks in the middle similar to the smaller sizes.

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costumeczar Posted 11 Sep 2009 , 12:12am
post #4 of 8

Does it have baking powder in it? If it does, use a little less. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the baking powder will weaken the gluten structure of the cake and won't let it rise evenly in the center, which get hot last due to being farthest away from the heat. The flower nails should help with that, though.

If there's no baking powder in the recipe, try mixing it a little more than you've done. It could also be that you're underbeating the batter and not developing the gluten structure enough. That's probably going to be your solution, since you're using the flower nails.

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costumeczar Posted 11 Sep 2009 , 12:14am
post #5 of 8

You could also try increasing the flour a little, too. That would give you more gluten.

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Kitagrl Posted 11 Sep 2009 , 12:17am
post #6 of 8
Quote:
Originally Posted by costumeczar

Does it have baking powder in it? If it does, use a little less. It sounds counter-intuitive, but the baking powder will weaken the gluten structure of the cake and won't let it rise evenly in the center, which get hot last due to being farthest away from the heat. The flower nails should help with that, though.

If there's no baking powder in the recipe, try mixing it a little more than you've done. It could also be that you're underbeating the batter and not developing the gluten structure enough. That's probably going to be your solution, since you're using the flower nails.




Yes...there is a TBSP of baking soda (not powder) in the recipe, and the recipe volume is roughly equal to two box mixes.

Per recipe I am beating the sugar/butter/eggs alot but then not the flour and other additives so much....maybe I should be beating that longer before adding the boiling water...I'll give that a try next time!

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costumeczar Posted 11 Sep 2009 , 12:23am
post #7 of 8

Try 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder and see if that helps. That's a lot of baking soda for there not to be any baking powder. I assume there's some sort of acid in it to activate the soda.

I have a really liquidy chocolate batter that I make sometimes, and for 2 8" cakes it uses 1/2 tsp each baking soda and baking powder. A full Tbsp of soda seems like a lot.

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Kitagrl Posted 11 Sep 2009 , 12:29am
post #8 of 8

Thanks so much! Costume I PMed you...

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