Ok, so I've been baking cakes for about 3 years now and most of my orders are for white, pound or chocolate cake. Last year I made some carrot cake cupcakes for a customer's cupcake cake and they turned out great. This year, the same customer order the same cake (4 year old wanted the same cake lol) so I'm thinking...excellent! Easy peasy!

Well, the other night I made the first batch of what I thought was the same recipe for carrot cake cupcakes I had used last year and they were a disaster. They foamed right up and overflowed the cups and then flattenned out and were simply a mess. So in the trash they go. Thinking I must have measured wrong (ok, it happens lol), I redid the same recipe and AGAIN, they formed right up, overflowed the cups and then flattened right out. Well, I had had enough that night so I put everything away and figured I'd try again the next night after I calmed down.

So, the next night I looked thru a couple of books and found another recipe for carrot cake which was very similar to the first - well how many different ways can you make carrot cake anyway? - except whereas the first recipe had called for 1 tsp of baking soda AND 1 tsp of baking powder, this one called for 2 tsp of baking soda only. Most of the other measurements were the same, even the WBH recipe was almost identical. So off I go grating carrots again and making sure I measured everything EXACTLY, and I put it in the oven and it looks to be doing fine until about half way thru when THE SAME THING HAPPENNED!!??

Any ideas? Maybe my baking soda is bad?? Does that happen?

Many thanks for any suggestions...


The frustrated carrot cake wrecker.

Is there a possibility that your oven might not be registering the right temperature? I had similar happen last year when my oven went.

Well, considering my oven is less than a year old, and convection, I REALLY hope that is not the problem lol. I baked two cakes tonight and they turned out fine...but I suppose I should check the temp next time.

Thanks for the suggestion

How about the expiration dates on your ingredients? With foam, it sounds like your baking soda is working, but then again, it should keep your cakes from falling - sorry, wish I had some ideas for you.

I just googled about baking powder. I found this:

The Potency of Baking Powder
Does baking powder go bad or lose its potency?

It does. Fresh baking powder should be good for three to six months once you open the container. There should be a date stamped on the bottom of the can so you can tell if you're buying fresh baking powder in the first place. It begins to lose its ability to leaven baked foods when it comes in contact with moisture, so storing it is a dry place will increase its longevity. For the same reason, never dip a damp measuring spoon into the can.
There was more.... http://www.ochef.com/790.htm

And this for baking soda:
Does baking soda go bad or lose its effectiveness? What other food in your kitchen sits in an open box for months on end, with changes in humidity, cooking smells, and who know what else wafting through the open box flap from day to day? The whole point of baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) is to neutralize the acidity or alkalinity of substances it contacts and you can be sure that happens in the open box as well as in your mixing bowl. How could it not lose its effectiveness?

The expiration date stamped on the baking soda box in the Ochef test kitchen is three years off. We assume that means if you opened the box for the first time 35 months from now, it would still be good. But we opened it a month ago, and are quite sure it will have lost a significant portion of its effectiveness if we don't dip into it again for the next 35 months.
http://www.ochef.com/1016.htm

I have had issues with my baking soda and powders in the past.