I made a pound cake last night (in a tube pan). It baked 1 hr and 20 min and looked perfect when I took it out of the oven. I let it sit for 10 mins before turning it out to cool. The outer edge crumble a little but it still seemed ok. I let it cool for over an hour and then covered it with the cake keeper. This morning, I decided to slice it and give it a try. I noticed that it had "sunk" a little in the middle. When I sliced it, I found that a section about 1/2" deep by 1/2" wide was sort of soft and gooey. Not raw but not as done as the rest of the cake. When I poked it with a toothpick last night, it came out clean so I assumed it was done. Evidently not. OK, so here's my question. Can I put this cake back in the tube pan (even though a slice is missing) and put it back in the oven to allow that center to cook a little more? If so, would you recommend covering the top with foil so it doesn't get too dry or what? It is a sour cream pound cake with 6 eggs and 4 sticks of butter so it's very, very moist and may not dry out anyway. I just don't want to have to waste it but also don't want to serve it like it is. Suggestions?

i wouldnt put it back in the oven...i would just cut out the uncooked part and eat the rest...this happened to me once...i just cut it out and the rest got eaten

For health reasons, it's best not to try and bake it again. The middle was undercooked and bacteria could have already settled in there. I don't like waste either, but in this case I think you should start over.

I spoke with the Chef in our dining room here at work. He said if I covered the top with foil and put it in the oven at 250 for 15 - 20 minutes that part would finish cooking and it would be OK. Seems no one agress with that. Now I don't know what to do.

Wouldn't cooking another 15min make the rest of the cake too dry?

I still think better safe than sorry. The moisture trapped in the center of the underbaked cake is a breeding ground for bacteria especially when left at room temperature overnight.

I agree, I would throw it out, sorry to say.
Hugs Squirrelly

I never considered the health reasons. Thanks for bringing that up, Lisa.

I wouldn't have cooked it more because I don't think it would work well and you would end up with a ruined cake anyway. If it's just for family--just cut out the part that's not cooked. If it's for someone else--toss it. Sorry, I have to agree wtih Squirrelly and Lisa here.

You could cut up the baked part and make cake balls. Just a thought.

Lisa

Short and simple.....


When in doubt, throw it out!!!!!!!



Princess

I agree with Cake_Princess...toss it.

I wouldn't dare throw it out. Here in the South (GA), that's considered a really good pound cake. Everyone here goes for the goo first!

Thank you LisaMae! I REALLY don't want to throw it out. I ate the piece I sliced off this morning and other than that one area (all the way around the cake) it was wonderful! It's been almost 8 hours since I ate it and I don't feel sick so I'm assuming that means it won't make us sick tomorrow. I too live in GA. - Atlanta. Happy Thanksgiving GRITS! You know GRITS stands for Girls Raised In The South don't you?

I'm just serving it to my family as part of our Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. I may just be over-reacting anyway. I've never made this recipe or any pound cake with sour cream in it before so maybe this is how it's supposed to be. However, given the fact that it also "sunk" a little and that's a sure sign of under-baking, I'd have to say my assumption that it's not "done" in that spot is correct. Maybe I'll just take the advice of everyone else and cut the good part in slices and serve it on a tray. No one ever has to know that it was once a full size cake. Not many of them even like pound cake. I mainly made it for me since I don't care for pumpkin pie or the other desserts.

About Atlanta - yeah, it's a great city but it's WAY TOO BIG. I've been here most of my life and I've grown tired of the hustle bustle. You should plan to come visit again. The largest aquarium in the world in now in Atlanta and it opens today - 11/23/05. I understand it's quite a site to see. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and thanks for your input with my cake situation.