Dry Marble Cake..upset

Baking By tal Updated 19 May 2015 , 5:54pm by Jenn123

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tal Posted 14 May 2015 , 11:28am
post #1 of 17

I made a 3 tier cake for friend of mine;  bottom tier 10" was marble.  Raised beautifully but when I tasted it, dry

16 replies
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leah_s Posted 14 May 2015 , 2:58pm
post #2 of 17

Well, then you likely overbaked it.

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SquirrellyCakes Posted 14 May 2015 , 4:35pm
post #3 of 17

As above or :

the recipe was the problem

somehow you accidentally made a mistake in the ingredients

it was left uncovered while "not frosted" for too long

the slice you had sat out uncovered for too long before you ate it.  


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cakedout Posted 14 May 2015 , 5:32pm
post #4 of 17

Do you use baking strips around the outside of your pans?  They help tremendously.  And also there is the trick of lowering your oven temp by 25*....another thought might be to use a heat core for the center of your cake -it will help the cake bake more evenly and can avoid the over-baking while waiting for that last bit in the center to get done.

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tal Posted 15 May 2015 , 12:20am
post #5 of 17

I did use strips, 325 temp, center was not done after an hour....not sure what went wrong but def overdone.  Did not test my oven first which may have been the problem.

Thanks for your input!

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Jenn123 Posted 15 May 2015 , 2:20am
post #6 of 17

I think you overfilled the pan and then overbaked. It is easy to do on marble. Try using less batter next time.

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tal Posted 15 May 2015 , 11:15am
post #7 of 17

Never thought of that either... thank you. 

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remnant3333 Posted 16 May 2015 , 12:56am
post #8 of 17

 Have you ever used that cake recipe before and it turned out moist? I have read that to make a cake moister add 1 extra egg yolk to the batter and maybe 1/2 cup of sour cream. It is supposed to keep a cake more moist. 

The others also had very good advice about the baking strips! I hear they work wonders for cakes!!

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Happyfood Posted 19 May 2015 , 12:25am
post #9 of 17

A heating core really helps cakes bake more evenly.  You can use a metal rose nail for a heating core. I use one even in my 9 inch pans.  The nail leaves such a small hole that no one notices it but it sure does make a difference.   I agree with Jen123.  You might have had too much batter in your pans.  That can make a big difference in baking times and results.  Hope your next one turns out beautiful.  :)

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MinaBakes Posted 19 May 2015 , 1:58pm
post #10 of 17

Is this your first time baking in a 10" cake pan? The first time I did, I baked at 350° (DUMB! Never again..). The second time I baked at 300° and it took forever. Both time I didn't use strips either. Third time baked it at 325° with strips. Baked within an hour and it was perfect. Just the sides were slightly over baked. You really gotta know your oven and what temp works for what pan in your oven. The wilton chart told me to bake a 14in cake at 325° and I'm glad I didn't! it baked perfectly for 1hr 20min at 300°. Anyway, I'm rambling.... 

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tal Posted 19 May 2015 , 3:06pm
post #11 of 17

Yes thank you all!  The more I think back on it, the more I think over filling the pan was the cause of the disaster!  Although the customer didn't complain much.  She LOVED the frosting and didn't make much fuss about the dryness of the cake itself. 


All of you are such great support and thank you again for your tips and advice!  Next time, won't fill it as much! 

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Jenn123 Posted 19 May 2015 , 4:45pm
post #12 of 17

To avoid this problem, I have a scale and weigh how much I put in each pan. This is especially important for marble because it is too hard to judge visually. You can use a cheap digital postal scale. I also have an old spring loaded postal scale I bought at an antique store.

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tal Posted 19 May 2015 , 5:25pm
post #13 of 17

Jenn123, never thought of weighing....usually just eyeball it....hmmmm

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Jenn123 Posted 19 May 2015 , 5:27pm
post #14 of 17

LOL That's what the bakeries do. Makes the cake exactly the same every time.

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Jenn123 Posted 19 May 2015 , 5:39pm
post #15 of 17

Here is what I use. You will have to adjust it for your own type of cake... but this is a good starting place.

This should work for a basic yellow cake or box mix.

(# = lb= pound)

Round

6”            10 oz

8”            1#

10”            2#

12”            3#

14”            4#

16”            6.5#

18”            11#

 

Square

6”            14 oz

8”            1# 8oz

10”            2# 10oz

12”            3# 10oz

14”            4# 12oz

16”            7# 2oz

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tal Posted 19 May 2015 , 5:48pm
post #16 of 17

This is fantastic!  Can't wait to try next time.  Thank you so much Jenn!!!! (;


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Jenn123 Posted 19 May 2015 , 5:54pm
post #17 of 17

BTW I use 2" pans.

For those that have never used a scale... put your pan on the scale an make it equal zero. ("Tare" button for digital scales). Then you are weighing only the batter. If you can't see the reading under your pan, raise the pan on a canister or a tall turntable.

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