Everything about food, from matching food and wine to recipes, techniques and trends.

Pound cake problems...HELP!

Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker

no avatar
User

Drew Hall

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

862

Joined

Mon May 26, 2008 8:07 am

Location

Bel Air, Maryland

Pound cake problems...HELP!

by Drew Hall » Mon Dec 02, 2013 3:57 am

I make pound cakes to give as Christmas gifts every year and have a very solid recipe. This year, though, they're slightly sunken in the center and I can't figure out what's going on. Oven temp is good, baking powder is fresh. What's crazy is that for every two that turn out the next two are slightly sunken. :cry: Any ideas from the bakers?

Drew
no avatar
User

Redwinger

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

4038

Joined

Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:36 pm

Location

Way Down South In Indiana, USA

Re: Pound cake problems...HELP!

by Redwinger » Mon Dec 02, 2013 8:41 am

After consultation with NJ, she's pretty sure something is amiss with the baking powder. You mention it is fresh, but have you "tested it? If not, try this:

To test baking powder: Put a few tablespoons of warm water (warm tap water is fine, but cold water is not) into a small bowl and add a teaspoon of baking powder. The mixture should make a fizzing noise and, after a moment, the baking powder will begin to fizz and the water will become very cloudy with tiny bubbles. The more bubbles, the fresher the baking powder. Baking powder reacts with liquids and heat, but does not react as well with cold water (even fresh powder won’t fizz much in ice water), so do not use it for this test.

You may already do this, but she also suggests that you get the batter into the oven as soon as possible after blending/mixing. baking powder doesn't like to sit around...I guess it loses its potency pretty quickly.

Other than that, it is weird that a tried and true recipe has suddenly gone wonker.
Last edited by Redwinger on Mon Dec 02, 2013 12:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Smile, it gives your face something to do!
no avatar
User

Jeff Grossman

Rank

That 'pumpkin' guy

Posts

6998

Joined

Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:56 am

Location

NYC

Re: Pound cake problems...HELP!

by Jeff Grossman » Mon Dec 02, 2013 11:16 am

Did you weigh the flour? I suppose not, as it's a tried-and-true recipe. But I am recently learned of the horrors of flour settling and becoming more dense as it sits, hence making cup measures even less useful. (The preceding is a SWAG: simple wild-ass guess.)
no avatar
User

Drew Hall

Rank

Wine guru

Posts

862

Joined

Mon May 26, 2008 8:07 am

Location

Bel Air, Maryland

Re: Pound cake problems...HELP!

by Drew Hall » Sun Dec 15, 2013 9:09 am

I changed two things and the cakes turned out perfect.
1. I adjusted the weight of the flour to match the sugar. Thanks Jeff!
2. Creamed the butter first and added the sugar by spoonful to the creaming process.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Amazonbot and 2 guests

Powered by phpBB ® | phpBB3 Style by KomiDesign