AI cannot seem to get a great white or vanilla cake. They ALL crust on the top, and the sides come apart. I bought & tried Beyond Buttercreams recipe and it did the same. It was horrible.

What causes the crusting? The sugar ?

Hello, sorry you didn't like my recipe!

 

Yes, because of the high sugar content it browns on the top.  For me, this isn't a problem because the cake gets leveled and the top gets cut off so it doesn't matter, only the interior of the cake is what counts, and it is soft and tasty.  I have tried many scratch butter cake recipes and every one of them browns and crusts on the top.  I'm not saying all do because I haven't tried every recipe ever, but all the ones I have made in the past do.

 

Best of luck,

 

Jen

AMine gets a crusty crunchy top that's delicious.

Yep - mine all get crunchy tops, just this morning I made a cake (which is tucked hidden in the freezer for my hubby's birthday which I almost forgot, whoops) and because I have dyed it bright red - to go with the black cakes already hidden in the freezer (he collects international harvester tractors and their logo is red and black) I chopped off the top to check the taste. All in the name of self sacrifice of course..... yum. 

I love the crusty tops... They taste the best!  

 

And I get to keep them all for myself  since I need to take them off when leveling anyhow...

A

Thanks! I love the flavor of your cake and it could've been something on my part, but it just didn't work for me :(

I level my cakes as well and cut the crust off, it's more the sides I have the problem with. I usually take a knife around the cake while still in the pan and it always comes out clean so I hadn't figured it was messing with my sides...maybe that's where I go wrong? But they sides come out all crumby and falling apart. It doesn't have that nice brown ring around it. Only part.

AAre you allowing the cakes to cool before you run the knife around the edges? I find that Jen's recipe does not stick to the pan so long as it is properly prepared so I don't need to even run a knife around the pan to release the cake. I have had this problem with other cakes (particularly a chocolate recipe I have been tooling around with), though, and I find that allowing it to completely cool makes a difference.

A

I'm actually not. I have been doing it almost as soon as the pan is cool enough for me to touch without a mitten.

I don't think I had such a huge problem with Jens cake as I did other recipes such as I am Bakers, and the one on Add a pinch.

I made the "Heavenly White cake" recipe and it made amazing cupcakes. I haven't tried it yet as a cake so I'll give it a try. I really loved everything about that recipe. The taste, texture, and look.

AFor your side's you could try making a ring of parchment to place inside your pans and that should end the problem your having.

Hope this helps.

Cakeymom

I could see how running a knife around the sides of the pan would butcher the delicate cake in the pan, so stop doing that STAT!

 

Do you only prep your pans with butter and flour?  I haven't done that in years.  

 

It sounds like you aren't prepping your pans enough.  I say in the recipe to get a pan spray that has silicone dioxide (read the ingredients) or a version thereof for your cakes to pop right out.  

 

For the best sprays, look next to pancake mix, not next to cake mix.  I use a commercial pancake griddle spray that rocks.  Do you have the version of the recipe with a version of this photo in it?  

 

 

When my cakes are cool enough to handle in the pan (I leave the bake even strips on the sides to work as pot mitts of a sort because a lot of time the pan and cake is still super hot).  I actually turn my pans on their sides and bang them on the table to loosen them from the pans, take the palm of my hand and actually twist the cake in the pan to make sure the bottom is detached, flip the cake out on my palm, then lay the cake on a parchment-lined sheet pan right side up.  My cakes come right out, crust totally in tact.  Again, I never really thought about the crusty top because it gives support for me to handle the cakes like this.  But it gets Agbayed right off when my cake is cool.  I didn't take a photo of the side crust - it's never as brown as it is on the top of the pan, it's only a few shades darker then the interior of the cake.

A

I run the knife with my chocolate cakes and it never happens. Only my white ones but I'll stop doing that as it seems the chocolate comes out perfect.

So is bakers joy or Wilton's cake release not the way to go?

I grease the pan with shortening( bottom & sides) and put a parchment circle down on the bottom, and flour the sides with whatever flour I used for making the cake.

The version of your cake I used was the one in the PDF file. I'm not giving up on it yet, eswpically after these tips. I loved the flavor of it, and know my customers will if I could just get the dang thing out right and intact.

Thanks for all the help!

AHi

I use Pan grease. It's awesome. Never had an issue with heavenly white or scratch sf recipes or any recipe. here is a link http://www.woodlandbakeryblog.com/professional-bakery-pan-grease/