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EVIL LOOKING CAKE - WHAT DID I DO WRONG (PHOTO)?

post #1 of 30
4/19/09 at 4:48pm
Thread Starter 
sunday is "experiment on my family" cake day.
today i made a dble chocolate cake from scratch that was cc recommended. recipe called for 2" 10 cake pans, i used 8" with magic strips on them.

in the first pan, i used half the batter.
in the second pan, i used the remaining half and added 1 cup andes mint bits that had been dusted in flour to keep them from sinking.

cake 1 had this warty thing going on in the middle.
cake 2 (with the andes bits) had the warty thing PLUS some sort of "freaky cake trying to flee the pan like a wave" thing going on icon_cry.gif

what caused these two unattractive things?

did i overfill?
should i have used a nail?
or do i just stink at scratch recipes?

thanks!
diane
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post #2 of 30
4/19/09 at 4:57pm
I have no idea what happened to your cakes, but I loved your innovative descriptions!! icon_smile.gif

Hope someone else can help you out
Gail
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post #3 of 30
4/19/09 at 5:42pm
Too much batter in the pans. The recipe called for 2 - 10" pans and you said you used 8". I think that was the problem.

The one on the left looks OK, but the one on the right is overflowing the pan.

How do they taste?
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post #4 of 30
4/19/09 at 5:55pm
Thread Starter 
luckily they taste a whole lot better than they look, lol.
i'll torte them and happily eat the ugly scraps icon_smile.gif

if i use a nail AND overfill would a nail alleviate the warty center? or is the ugly bugly center because the cake is rising and has nowhere to go but implode on itself in the middle (until it overflows)?

thank you for your help! one of these days, i WILL be a good scratch baker...
diane
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post #5 of 30
4/19/09 at 5:59pm
drakegore you make me laugh with your descriptions.
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post #6 of 30
4/19/09 at 6:03pm
I make that cake all the time (if you're referring to the Double Chocolate Layer cake). In fact.. I made it today! Yum!!

I always get the 'warts' as you called them in the top.. but they're not noticeable once everything is torted and iced. I've never had it explode like yours did on the right so i'm thinking you may have overfilled the batter. I find they rise pretty well.

Was it delicious at least? I LOVE that cake!
-Alexandra
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-Alexandra
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post #7 of 30
4/19/09 at 9:29pm
I think that you overfilled the pans. You just squeaked by with the first pan, but the extra cup of goodies mixed into the first one was the "kiss of death", since it brought the volume above the critical point.

I don't think that adding a flower nail will do anything to prevent problems with overflow, if the batter is just too much for the pan.
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post #8 of 30
4/20/09 at 10:08am
I would have to agree with the others. I think the cake batter on the right just had nowhere to go but overboard!

My scratch chocolate cake always looks like your "warty" cake on the left. Nothing I have done (nail, etc.) has ever made a difference. I decided that it's really no big deal. Just take the uneven part off of the top, and you are good to go.

My other scratch cakes don't look bumpy when they are done--must be something about the chocolate. Anyway, I don't let it bother me anymore, because it tastes just fine, and nobody knows you had a "warty" cake once it is iced!
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post #9 of 30
4/20/09 at 10:20am
My mind must be in the gutter today because I saw the pictures of your cakes and immediately started cracking up, thinking of what these cakes look like (I won't go there). Thank goodness cakes that come out ugly get leveled and iced and no one ever knows what they looked like before we make them gorgeous. icon_biggrin.gif
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post #10 of 30
4/20/09 at 10:26am
I use that recipe also. I bake at 300 and try not to overfill my pans.
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post #11 of 30
4/20/09 at 10:33am
ok I'm very inexperienced, please tell me what you do with the flower nail to help when baking cakes? this is something I haven't heard before.
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post #12 of 30
4/20/09 at 10:41am
Very definitely overfilledicon_smile.gif Especially adding the additional ingredient that is almost pure sugar caused an imbalance in that mixture icon_sad.gif
There usually is a reason for specifying a certain size/shape pan - pay attention in the futureicon_smile.gif
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post #13 of 30
4/20/09 at 10:48am
Thread Starter 
chocolate warts, yum, lol.
thank goodness for frosting!

i was paying attention; i just ignored it icon_smile.gif
10" is just to big so i fill my 8" and either make cupcakes or toss the left over batter. the problem is that i really, really suck at estimating where i should stop filling my 8" pans.

i would love to know from a scientific point of view what causes the bumpy middles (i think the tsumami cake is clearly overflowing caused by crappy baker - the strange crater shape is what threw me...my usual overfilling problems normally look domed and spilling).

thank you for the laugh stacy!
Diane
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post #14 of 30
4/20/09 at 10:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PTBUGZY1

ok I'm very inexperienced, please tell me what you do with the flower nail to help when baking cakes? this is something I haven't heard before.



Spray a lowernail really well with PAM, put it in the bottom of your pan before you fill it. The nail helps it bake more evenly.
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post #15 of 30
4/20/09 at 10:49am
If you're talking about the Double Choc. Layer cake, I usually 1/2 the recipe for 2-8" pans. Definitely overfilled them.

I also get those funny centers but I think it's mostly from uneven baking. Try the lower temperature as PP suggested. It will probably improve it.
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