Well, I just took a week off from work to make test cakes, icings, fillings and play with new toys and techniques. What fun!! Bet I gained five pounds. And my kitchen floor is really sticky.

I overbaked a couple of cakes. I decided to put that expensive instant read thermometer to use, and am documenting the internal temperature when I correctly decide a cake is done to perfection. So far that temperature has consistently been in the 205 - 207 range.

Tonight I watched a Good Eats episode where Alton was making cupcakes. He said something about the internal temperature should be in the range of 205 - 209. That made me happy.

I wish more recipes would provide the internal temperature to reduce guesswork and poor decisions. We have the technology... we can bake the cake better... (jump in here, indydebi... that a quasi-quote from Million Dollar Man).

Interesting - I had no idea that I should be checking the internal temperature of my cakes!

...and not saying that we SHOULD be checking internal temperature, but it would seem a more reliable way to judge doneness. Of course, Alton is all about food science, and he gives the goal temperature of most everything he cooks, bakes, prepares. I am an Alton devotee, so I have taken up the habit of checking temperature, which is what gave me the idea on the cakes.

Ya gotta love a guy who plays guitar, rides a motorcycle, is well-versed in pop culture, has a major dose of smart aleck, knows his way around the kitchen and loves his grandmother so much!

Hmmmmm interesting. Do you by any chance have/remember what they looked like at say 190? It's just 205 seems awful high to me.

Thanks,
Mike

No, Mike, I only took the reading once I decided the cake looked done.

The last cake I made, a chocolate WASC, was taken out of the oven at 205. It left only the tiniest crumb on the toothpick, sprang back when gently pressed, had only very slightly started to pull away from the pan. It no longer jiggled. The crust was soft and tender, not at all crunchy or smelly of burned chocolate.

Once the cake cooled and I Agbayed it, I saw I could have left the cake in the oven just a tad longer - just a tiny spot of dark moistness in the middle, smaller than a dime. Next time I'll wait to 206 or 207.

The finished cake was moist and delicious, smooth crumb, held together very well, not in the least overbaked.

Cool tks. I bake my cheesecakes to temp, 165,0 nary a crack.

Thanks,
Mike

Mike, it's good to know 165 is the goal for cheesecakes - I've been wondering. Got two coming up in a couple of weeks.

Did he mention anything about carry-over cooking/baking? Foods continue cooking/baking, even after being removed from the heat source. I'm wondering, is that the temperature it should be brought to right from the oven, or after the cupcakes have been removed from the pan.

Theresa

Alton definitely said between 205 and 209 at time of removal from oven. I can still see him saying this as he pulled his cakes from the oven with thermometer in hand.

Thanks for the clarification on this.

Theresa

We bake all of our cakes to temp. Its the only way.

We bake all of our cakes to temp. Its the only way.

I know this is an old thread, but I bake to between 195 and 200.  Alton's temp seems too high to me.

Liz
 

AIs this works for scratch cakes? There are so delicate