28Sep/07Off
Cakes Hate Me
I just took the geekboy’s carrot cake out of the oven. It smells good. As I flipped the first layer onto the cooling rack, it fell out of the pan faster than I expected, and broke into several pieces. After I just stood there, staring at the mess, in shock, I pulled myself together and shoved it all back into one piece. I’m really hoping it will be okay. Once I put frosting on it, it should hold together, right? RIGHT? The other layer came out fine. I really don’t know why I suck so badly at making cakes. My cakes fill the two pans, but when I take them out, they seem so thin. My cakes always seem so short. They look pathetic and flat. Hate.
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September 28th, 2007 - 11:04
oh fg, you’re baking gb a cake at 10:49am and you’re worried it’s going to be flat?? you are too cute. i’d give anything to walk into my house at 10:49 and smell carrot cake! yummmmm and you are right – slather that yummy cream cheese frosting on there and it’ll stick perfectly. and if it doesn’t, giggle as you eat the pieces…b/c seriously, you’re going to cut it into pieces anyways!!!
gb will love it either way!
and any time you’re in houston, tx, please feel free to make yourself at home in *my* kitchen!!!
September 28th, 2007 - 11:11
How long did you let the cake cool before you flipped it? The less time, the more fragile.
But you’re stacking the layers, right? You’re not having two separate, flat cakes, are you? ARE YOU?
September 28th, 2007 - 11:19
You’re ever so much better with cupcakes. Break the whole thing up – frost the individual breakage – serve them as one-of-a-kind never to be duplicated oddly shaped cupcakes.
Mayhaps you’ll get a religious shaped one and can sell it on E-Bay!
Also it’s healthier. Everyone knows that cake breakage causes calorie leakage. And at GB’s age, you’re just looking out for his health.
September 28th, 2007 - 11:21
Mel – heh. Less calories in the broken pieces!
YES, MAGGIE, I AM SERVING TWO FLAT CAKES.
I’m stacking the layers, but even when I do that, in my experience, the cake always looks like it’s missing a layer.
I probably didn’t let the cake cool long enough. Although the second one did come out of the pan without a problem. I think it was user error.
September 28th, 2007 - 12:13
I am just really enjoying that Google is serving an ad for “cake pan grease.”
September 28th, 2007 - 12:25
Mmmmmmmm, cake pan grease.
September 28th, 2007 - 12:35
Frosting is like delicious glue. Just make sure the cake is quite, quite cool before you use it as glue – if it melts, it won’t work.
Questions:
1) How long are you letting it sit before you turn them out? I was taught to run a hard spatula around the entire perimeter as soon as it came out of the oven to make sure the sides didn’t stick, then walk away for about 5 minutes before flipping onto my prepared surface – e.g. onto wax paper or whatever on a flat surface. Then walk away again til it was cool to the touch to begin frosting.
2) How are you lining your pans? Crisco then flour works great. I wouldn’t depend on Pam, even the Pam for baking.
3) Height is about your baking soda / baking powder (leavening) being fresh and your butter/sugar being very very fine. Are you really creaming the butter/sugar so it’s almost frothy? Are you only mixing enough in the end steps to incorporate the dry ingredients – not overmixing? Does your cake go in the oven immediately, and is your oven pre-heated? Are you using brand name butter and sugar? All those steps are part of the chemical processes matter to cake height.
September 28th, 2007 - 12:46
The frosting as glue is working perfectly.
To answer your q’s:
1) I ran a knife around the perimeter when I took them out of the oven; no sticking at all. Then I waited about 10 minutes before attempting to take them out of the pan.
2) I use Wilton Cake Release – it rules. I always end up with a disaster when I use the flour method. And yeah, the Pam is the suck. The Cake Release worked so well for me I think that’s why the cake broke; it fell out of the pan before I had it close enough to the cooling rack.
3) Good call on the baking soda. I need a new box, probably. Also, this recipe has no butter, so that’s not it. The overmixing is possible. Oven pre-heated, check.
I rarely have height problems with my cupcakes…I think that I am just being weird. My cakes rise to the edge of the pan, just about. And if they domed, I would level them anyway. I think I am too used to seeing torted cakes that get more height.
Janet = Alton Brown
September 28th, 2007 - 13:11
Put the crumble layer on the bottom and frost the hell out of it. No one will ever know their was a problem. Unless they read this.
September 28th, 2007 - 13:42
Okay, the cake is done and decorated and you can’t tell the bottom layer was fuxored.
It also doesn’t look that flat. It might settle over the next few hours, though. ugh.
Also, I piped a carrot on top and it looks like a penis. Happy Penis Birthday, Geekboy!
… Michael? …
I’ll post a photo over the weekend or Monday; I want the geekboy to see it first.
September 28th, 2007 - 13:44
Baked with love!
September 28th, 2007 - 14:22
Is that a carrot on your cake or are you just happy to see me?
Yeah, that made no sense.
It’s probably just one of those “everything looks like a penis” days. Been there.
September 28th, 2007 - 14:39
HA!
September 28th, 2007 - 20:17
Okay, OMGZ, this is the MOST DELICIOUS CAKE EVER.
And I don’t really like carrot cake, usually.
September 28th, 2007 - 23:10
I am pretty certain that’s what icing was invented for.