This doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes when I bake a cake it comes out with a "fudgy" bottom or center. Do you know what I mean? It's like the top is fine, but underneath in the bottom and/or center it's real soft, chewy and fudgy... like a soft brownie texture. What is causing this? is it happening in the baking process? or am i cooling the cake wrong? don't get me wrong, it tastes good, but the texture is completely off for cake.... also, it's hard to handle and work with. and when this happens I don't bother torting, beause it just makes a huge mess....
any ideas?
It's hard to troubleshoot when we don't know what recipe you're using, or what pans, or when mixing methods, or what temp.....
well, it mostly happens when i doctor a box mix... but it will sometimes do it when i bake from scratch... by box mix recipe is one box mix, 4 eggs, 1 cup milk, 3/4 cup oil, 1 pkg. pudding.
Maybe you're not mixing well enough. Are you scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl half way though the mixing process to be sure everything is incorporated evenly?
If the box mix you are using has pudding in it, you might be using too much pudding. Do you use flower nails? I use them even when I am baking an 8 in cake, they work really well.
are you cooling in the pans or on a rack? how long are you leaving it in the pans before flipping out onto a rack?
well, this has happened even when i've used a heating core... and indydebi, I cool them for about 10-20 minutes in the pan, then i flip them out onto a rack...
The difference in making fudge, chewy or cake brownies is in the proportion of ingredients in the recipe:
http://www.finecooking.com/articles/how-to/brownies-chewy-cakey-fudgy.aspx
It would be no different when making a cake. If your recipe is heavy on fat and sugar (in proportion to your flour) your cake is going to be more fudge brownie like.
Some members call this texture: dense, moist or gooey depending on personal preference.
If you'd like a cake with a more traditional texture, try a more traditional scratch cake recipe or a doctored box mix recipe that doesn't add a lot of sugary ingredients or excessive fat.
Of course, the importance of using proper cake preparation/baking techniques can't be ignored. I'd recommend: www.joyofbaking.com
HTH
I think when doing yellow cakes I would only do 1/2 of the little box. Otherwise it was way too moist. I don't really do boxes anymore, but that is what I would do.
It sounds like you have two problems:
1. For cakes 10 inches and over I use a metal flower nail (the ones you make your roses on) inverted in the bottom of the pan. For larger cakes I use 3-5 nails. This ensures that the centers are perfectly cooked. The nails conduct the heat allowing the entire cake to cook evenly from the outside in and from the inside out.
2. Cool your cakes for 5-10 minutes and no more. The additional time creates condensation in the bottom of the pan and could create that gooey sticky consistency.
Good luck!
Sounds like too much pudding and oil to me and I wouldn't use the milk--too much fat IMHO. Use water, the oil called for by the mix and 1/2 a pudding.
I love this website. I had this exact problem with the Chocolate wasc. I was using the recipe with oil and sour cream and even called for a little extra sugar than regular wasc. I'm going to ditch the oil, reduce the sugar to regular levels and see how it goes.
Thank you all for responding to the OP. It helped me.
And special thanks to whoever posted the tip when you want to search cake central to google the topic and put cakecentral in the google search. I have found an answer to every question since I started doing that.
Thanks again.
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