Whenever I make a cake, they always are the same yellow color as the batter when they come out of the oven. Never the golden brown I baked at 325 and 350. Oven temp. is always in the oven. Same results. I use bake even strips. Bakes about 1 hour for 2 -8 inch rounds.

Before I ice these cakes I have to leave them to "air" dry a min. of 2 HOURS!!!! If not, the cakes are to wet to apply icing. The icing would fall off or not stick at all.

This particular cake came out great. Really moist, but still wet. Everyone said it was very good. But, why does my cakes stay so wet?? The completed cake is in my photos with the big 40 on top...

Any input?

Previous post on this baking issue:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-673375-.html

HTH

Yes I was the one who did the post. However, I did not have any pictures. I was hoping a visual will provide more feedback....


Thank you

(Don't mind me Mikel79, I was just trying to provide a little background on your cake issues.)

And pictures are a great help.

If you're baking your 8" rounds for 60 mins. (3" deep pans) - you're not baking long enough (especially if you're making one of the WASC cake recipes or doctored cake mix recipes that call for the addition of significant amounts of sugary ingredients).

What recipe are you using?

Thanks Jan!

I am using the WASC from this site. I use Magic Line 2" deep pans. I also used the Wilton brand with the same results. You think that 1 hour is not enough time for 2" deep pans?


Thank you for the input..

Yes, I had the wet cake, I had the same issue. I also have Magic Line pans. When I stopped checking over and over and over I had to really MAKE myself let it cook longer. Which was hard, since I'm used to box mixes taking such a short amount of time. But when I did, it stopped being tacky! HTH

Edited to say: I used WASC and I bake it atleast 80 minutes now. Clean knife doesn't do it, it has to be a clean knife/toothpick/skewer (whichever you use) and pulling from the sides a bit, push on the top and if it springs back immediately its done, if it takes awhile to shape back up then put it in again. I put it on the min. time and then add 5 minutes or so until it passes all the tests. Do a "test" cake and just bake it longer than you're used to, that way you can just keep baking until you feel its right, but no pressure if you accidently over bake. Definitely takes trial and error

Wow 80 minutes!! I guess I am going to have to do a test cake like you mentioned.

Thank you

JanH....


I measure the batter with a measuring cup. I measure approx. 3 1/4 cups. Even with that much they still do not rise to the full 2". Just barley short of the mark.



Thanks

What are you doing with the cake after you bake it? Is it cooling uncovered? Do you wrap it in plastic wrap before it is completely cool?

Sharon Zambito has a WASC recipe on her blog. She got it from here. I let my cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes. I then flip them out onto a cake rake and let cool about 1 to 2 hours.

Hmmm, okay. Then I'm lost. When wrapping them up, for me, it can cause some extra moisture. Even when my cakes are completely cool and I wrap them over night, I have to let the outsides dry a little before I try to ice it.

You can also try using a flower nail with the bake even strips.
Yes I said a Flower nail, it distributes even baking, I use a flower nail and my cakes comes out perfect, just grease the flower nail, after you fill the cake pan, and stick it down in the middle, make sure to grease it very well, after your cake is done it will pop right out when you flip your cake over to cool. I think there is a tutorial on here.

I use the flower nail method along with the bake even strips. After I fill my cakes they are wrapped and let to sit overnight. They sit at room temp. for 2 hours, yet they are still tacky/wet.


I emailed Sharon Zambito sometime back asking about bake strips. She says she does not use them. She uses heating cores. I have two "test" cakes in the oven now. They are not wrapped in the strips, but have the flower nail. I will see how these come out...


Thank you all!!

An 8"x2" cake should not need a flower nail. I have baked my *original* WASC recipe in the past up to 16" rounds w/o using either Magic strips or flower nail.
Instead of time I bake mostly by my nose When you can smell that wonderful cake aroma it is usually done. Time is just a guide, not a hard and fast rule. I bake mostly at 300 degrees.
I agree w/JanH that you had better check your oven temp. It should not take that long for 8x2 pans Ev en new ovens can be off on temp. To properly check temp a special meter is needed and several hours (at lest 1 - preferably 2-3) to check it out. An oven runs by the time averagering. It will go over the temp set by @ least 25-50 degrees, then fall below by about the same; after 3 or 4 checks over time an average is taken of the hi and low temps and that is where the dial will be set (example: 350*). If your dial is set at 350 but the check showes it is only going as high as 330, then of course, the dial is off so your baking will be off It is worth the cost to have a trusted appliance repairman check it if you are baking often.

Hi again!

Here are my "test" cakes. This time I did not use the bake even strips. What a difference. The cakes have a golden hue to them this time. Do you think these baked cakes look like they are cooked like they should be?

Yep, it looks like the bake even strips were the culprit and were inhibiting the Maillard reaction that gives that nice golden color. I've never used the bake even strips and never had a problem with my cakes not getting nice and golden.

I always use bake even strips & my cakes always bake perfectly. I use a flower nail in any cake that is larger that an 8". I bake my cakes at 325. Sorry you are having this problem Mike179, I can't think of anything else to add to the other tips you have been given except to say bake them longer.

perfect!!

I never use the bake even strips. I used to but they are a PITA in my opinion. My oven is dead on with the correct temp. It is also so old that it dosen't even have a window. We actually had to pull it out last weekend and I started looking at the sticker on the back with the phone number to call and guess what??? The phone number was only four digets!! I've got an oldie but goodie oven. I think the problem is the temp being off or using the baking strips.

I have also found that when I cool my cakes on racks the steam created between the counter and the cake would make the cake soggy on top. I solved this by raising the cooling racks with coffee cups to increase the distance.

I've never used the bake even strips, only the flower nail on anything bigger than 9"...I attempted to bake a 3" deep 12" round last week, and made "homemade" bake even strips....my cake turned out HORRIBLY! It was doughy, nasty, WET, like you said. I will stick with my flower nail from now on!

Looks like the strips are to blame, maybe!! Hope you've found your answer!

Thank you everyone for your help!!!

I have posted a pic showing my "test" cake filled. If you look at the very first pic compared to this one, there is a big difference.

My problem.....Bake even strips!!!


Thank you again folks!!!

Have you tried Sharon Zambitos, topsy turvy cake receipe,it makes a nice firm cake that taste great.

zdebssweetsj....


No I have not. I am going to purchase the DVD soon. What receipe does she use? Is it not the WASC?


Thanks!