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Italian Cream Cake deflated!

post #1 of 12
10/12/12 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
I made an Italian Cream cake that called for beating egg whites stiff and folding into the batter. The batter went into 3 pans. When the cakes came out of the oven, they were perfect and beautiful. But, within 2 or 3 minutes, it was like someone stuck a hole in a balloon! They shrunk from the sides of the pans by at least 1/2 inch and the tops shrunk more than the bottoms, so when I tried to stack them they were very uneven on the side and I had to use a huge amount of frosting to even it up.I'm not new to baking, but I've never had this happen before. I have to make another one soon and would love any input anyone can give me. Thank you so much!
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post #2 of 12
10/12/12 at 2:03pm
Please post a link to the exact recipe you used or say which cookbook it came from.

Tell us how you measured your flour.

Tell us what size of pans you used.

Tell us whether anybody was playing football in the kitchen while the cakes were baking (yes that happens to be directly relevant to your problem)
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post #3 of 12
10/12/12 at 2:55pm
Thread Starter 
BakingIrene,
I don't remember where I got the recipe but I searched recipes online just now and most of them are the same as what I used. Here it is:
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
2 c. sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 c. coconut

I used 3- 9 inch rd. pans, buttered, parchment paper, buttered again, floured.
Sift together flour, soda, salt. Cream butter, shortening, sugar, vanilla. Add egg yolks one at a time. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in coconut. Beat egg whites until stiff; gently fold into batter. Bake at 325 for 25-35 mins. Do not overbake.
I measured the flour by spooning it into the cup measure and leveling. I measured before sifting with soda and salt.
No one else was home, so no disturbance while it baked.
Any ideas?
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post #4 of 12
10/12/12 at 8:15pm
Thread Starter 
Can anyone help me? Please?
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post #5 of 12
10/13/12 at 7:36am
Thread Starter 
Can it be possible that no one has ever heard of this happening, or is it just that no one is interested in helping me? I see all of these other posts get lots of answers, but mine is going ignored. Is it me?
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post #6 of 12
10/13/12 at 12:19pm
Hi dawnybird, I doubt if folks are ignoring you. I tried to do a search online for why you cake did what it did, and came up with so many possibilities:
- Excessive liquid.
- Batter too cold.
- Oven too hot.
- Improper mixing procedure.
- Baked too long.

It could be for so many reasons. Do you use a separate oven thermometer to monitor your oven temp?

I've found that when I have cake shrinking issues it's typically because I over-baked, especially with my cupcakes. I've often heard that if you cake has that super golden brown color when you pull it out of the oven it's already over-baked. Maybe try baking for a little less time than you did this time.

Also, baking strips might help so the sides don't overcook while the middle is still baking. That's all I can come up with.
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post #7 of 12
10/13/12 at 1:29pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you for your answer. I'll consider all those variables. I don't have an oven thermometer. Guess I better get one. I don't remember how long I baked it, so I'll try to guard against over-baking. I appreciate your input.
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post #8 of 12
3/14/13 at 9:49am

Mine did the same thing.  It rose really tall and beautiful in the oven and I thought this is going to be a beautiful tall impressive cake and then out of the oven, it deflated.  Oh, well.  Now I bake the same recipe in 8" pans instead of 9" and make 4 layers from the two 8" pans and it is fine.  The deflating doesn't affect the outcome taste, flavor, or texture.  It's still yummy.

 

Candace

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post #9 of 12
3/18/13 at 12:28pm

It did the same for me... My cake lasted till I actually decorated it... wend to bed .woke up and the whole cake has collapsed!! I was so sad and tired i told my self I will never do that recipe again.... But I have over come that... Still loving cake decorating!!

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post #10 of 12
3/18/13 at 3:25pm
A light cake can fall or collapse when the egg whites are over-beaten causing the structure to break down. It can collapse when baking or afterwards,
 
Beating egg white re-aligns it's proteins so that it traps air. When baked the air expands - the cake rises.
 
However, overbeating joins the proteins so firmly that when it is heated, it won't stretch [flat cake] or it "bursts" [collapsed cake].
 
There is a fine line.
 
Beat the whites until foamy, then gradually add the sugar. 
Beat until it peaks: If you tilt the bowl, they should slip slightly. If they don't, they are overbeaten.
 
Egg whites should be soft enough to fold easily into the cake mixture.
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post #11 of 12
3/19/13 at 9:17am

Thank you auzzi for all that info.  I actually had stopped making white cakes ( was using Whimsical Bakehouse recipe) that required the egg whites be beaten separately because of these reasons...shrinking, etc.  They are delicious, but it all just annoyed me.  So I was/am using Colette's Brown Sugar White Cake.  While I love and it and so do my customers, I always felt a little off not offering a true white cake.  I always suspected that I was over whipping!

Aah, cake. . .the 5th food group!!
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Aah, cake. . .the 5th food group!!
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post #12 of 12
3/19/13 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dawnybird View Post

BakingIrene,
I don't remember where I got the recipe but I searched recipes online just now and most of them are the same as what I used. Here it is:
2 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. butter
2 c. sugar
6 eggs, separated
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/3 c. coconut

I used 3- 9 inch rd. pans, buttered, parchment paper, buttered again, floured.
Sift together flour, soda, salt. Cream butter, shortening, sugar, vanilla. Add egg yolks one at a time. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Stir in coconut. Beat egg whites until stiff; gently fold into batter. Bake at 325 for 25-35 mins. Do not overbake.
I measured the flour by spooning it into the cup measure and leveling. I measured before sifting with soda and salt.
No one else was home, so no disturbance while it baked.
Any ideas?

I believe the use of baking SODA as you have typed it would also help to make the cake fall.  Normally baking POWDER would be used to add some leavening. Normally egg whites are stabilized by adding acid like cream of tartar or lemon juice.  Baking SODA is alkaline.

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