OK, I'm making a coconut version of the WASC cake (first time) this is what I put in it:

2 boxes of white cake mix
2 C flour
2 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp sald
8 egg whites
2 2/3 C coconut coffee creamer
1 Box coconut pudding mix
4 Tbsp Veg Oil
2 Tsp Vanilla
LorAnn coconut... about half the bottle.
handful of coconut

I've only made one other version of WASC (Orange Dreamsicle) and it was overall great.

This coconut cake baked FOREVER because every time I checked it, it was still wobbly (looking liquidy) in the middle. When I finally took it out The top was WAAAAAY over cooked and just as I suspected when I toothpicked it, it was almost like a pie!! The top was hard and crusty and actually broke away unveiling totally NOT COOKED cake mush underneath.

Any ideas what happened? I baked on 325.... don't really know how long. I usually just keep an eye on my cakes. I'm kinda discouraged by this one... I know cake flops are bound to happen (and its probably a good way to learn) but its my first and I really want to know where I went wrong

Any thoughts?

Too much sugar and/or fat will unbalance a cake recipe and can cause quite a few problems..

Handy cake troubleshooting charts:

http://tinyurl.com/2p5bdu

http://tinyurl.com/32goqe

http://tinyurl.com/6c745g

http://tinyurl.com/6lpjww

http://tinyurl.com/yay22w

HTH

Thanks Jan! Try, try again!!

Hmmm... your recipe looks pretty close to the original WASC... you changed the water to creamer, added a box of pudding, and some Lorann Oil, and it looks like you eliminated the sour cream... is that correct, or did it just not make it onto your ingredient list when you typed it out here?

So, lets see... you already made another version with success. What changes did the other version make to the original recipe?

I've heard people use the coffee creamer (or other liquids) in lieu of water, so the only problem I can think of that that would cause would be based on what, if any, amount of sugar was in the creamer itself.

Where do you live... specifically, the altitude. There are changes that need to be made for it to bake correctly at high altitude, so that could be a culprit.

The only other thing I can think of is if you mistakenly measured your liquid or oil wrong. Did the thickness of the batter seem similar this time to when you made the orange dreamsicle version?

Sorry, I accidentally ommitted the yogurt. I used 2 C coconut creme yogurt instead of sour cream. I live in Nashville, TN so I don't think the high altitude thing applies. The batter may have been a tad on the thick side, but not alarmingly so. Now that I've slept on this the only thing I can think of is that I must have mismeasured something. I was watching American Idol while I was baking ... Maybe I just need to pay closer attention. I'm definitely doing the whole thing again tonight. I can't stand to feel outsmarted !! Especially by a cake!

Casey, were you able to fix your recipe? I am going to attempt this one but wanted to check to see if you found the issue.

One thing I'd like to suggest is maybe too much of the creamer (it may add too much sugar.) Here's my thinking - I made the strawberry WASC and used daquiri mixer as a replacement for ALL of the water. My cake fell in the center and never did get done. I changed it to use half mixer, half water and it baked completely and didn't fall.

I think between the sugar in the creamer, the sugar in the pudding and the sugar in the yogurt that the balance of things got thrown of. In general you could probably add one in with out a problem, but between the three things that could have just been too much sugar.

Hey there! what I actually ended up doing was going back to the original Kakeladi WASC recipe

1 box white mix
1 C flour
1 C sugar
1 C sour cream
1 C water
3 eggs
1 T flavor

and subbed from there, basically yogurt for the sour cream and 3/4 c creamer 1/4 c of water. I'm still pretty green as a baker and I felt like it could be any of the suggestions people were giving me and I didn't really have the skills to narrow it down so best to go back to basics.
I will say this about it. It still baked up different from the other WASC recipes I've used in that the top was still a bit over baked but i filled my pan enough to allow for the top to be leveled off anyway. The inside was moist and yummy (and done ) Hope this helps!

Hi CaseyNic. I just wanted to give a shout out to a fellow Nashvillian. I also live in Nashville. Welcome to CC. If I can ever help you with anything, just send me a pm. Glad you got the recipe to work for you.

Hey luv_to_decorate!! I assume since you are on the computer caking you've managed to stay high and dry in these damp nashville times (to say the least!!) Good to see somebody local on here, thanks for the offer and for saying hello