Cake - What am I doing wrong?

[DADoES]

I've made Jeff's chocolate pound cake twice. Both times it came out of the pan like so. What's the trick I'm missing? This one is intended as a gift for a friend, but it doesn't look very nice. It cooled for several hours. Too much cooling? Not enough greasing (looked like plenty to me)?

 

[frigilux]

Glenn--

1) Grease AND flour the baking pan. I use Crisco No-Stick Baking Spray with Pillsbury Flour (in a blue can in the aisle with all the other Pam-type non-stick cooking sprays). It makes the job very easy. But you can certainly grease and flour the traditional way.

2) Try removing the cake from the pan after 20 minutes of cooling. If the cake cools completely before you flip it out, it will want to stick to the pan.

 

[lederstiefel1]

cake

When baking cakes ALWAYS grease the tin well with butter and flour it afterwards before filling the cake-mixture in it. For very fine cakes (sponge-cakes) use flour for others use fine breadcrumbs or better semolina to coat the buttered tin-surface.
After baking leave the tin for about 5 minutes outside the oven on a wire-rack to set and make shrink the cake a bit, then turn tin onto a wire-rack which you lay on top of the tin first and turn them both over together to avoid a dropping of the cake onto the rack which can cause the cake to break like on your photo! At least lay a cold wet cloth on top of the tin. That will cool the tin immediatly and evoke a thin layer of condensed humidity between cake and tin-surface which loosens the cake. Lift tin carefully and slowly, shaking it a bit while lifting, and let the cake cool on the wire-rack completely for several hours!
If all that fails, the tin has a bad surface and probably will never bake satisfactorily. You should look for a new one then.

Ralf

 

[eluxomarty]

I hate it when this happens!!

This happened to me once and it was because i didn't grease and flour the pan enough. I'm going to try the baking spray that frigilux mentioned.

 

[frigilux]

Here's the stuff you're looking for. It works great. I've never prepared a baking pan the traditional way since trying it. Makes the process simple when using things like muffin pans or Bundt®-style pans.

I'd steer clear of Baker's Secret spray. Its spray pattern is uneven and it foams up like oven cleaner. I wrote all this in another post, but I must have forgotten to press the 'post' button because it didn't show up.

 

[DADoES]

Thanks. The posted recipe instructs to grease the pan "liberally" but doesn't say to flour it. It also says to cool completely before removing the cake from the pan. Perhaps I can try once more before I run out of time for the gift-giving. I did make another cake last night that can be substituted (Gingerbread Cake).

 

[frigilux]

I'd never do a 'grease only' preparation on a pan for a cake that gets tipped out of the pan. I even grease/flour muffin tins. Just a bit more insurance that nothing sticks. I'd also not cool a cake completely before removing it from the pan---barring a classic angel food, of course.

 

[hoover1060]

Glenn!!! NO FLOUR!!!!

Glenn,
I've never floured the pan for that cake, so I don't know what the result would be.
I have learned something though, that namely this cake will bake in MANY different pans with good results. Thats good to know.
I have always baked this in a regualr angel food type tube pan, first using the two-piece pan, and then later using a non-stick one piece pan.
I grease the pan with butter or margerine(using shortening changes the taste somewhat)
I probably use a couple of tablespoons of butter to grease the pan.
I can't remember off the top of my head what the recipie says, cool completely or for only 15 minutes. I can say I have had them break apart coming out of the pan, and what you've had too. I always serve this right side up, I like the look of the cracked, crusty top.
You could certainly use the cake pictured above, just flip it over and serve that side up.
I'll be making one this weekend for my neighbors Michelle & Lucas, they are total choco-holics!
We'll see what kind of luck I have...

 

[magic clean]

Eugene is right

Crisco baking spray will Pillsbury flour is the best. I baked 12 bundt cakes last night and am on the next round this morning. Every cake fell right out of the pan very cleanly. The hint for cooling for 15-20 minutes works great.

I can't wait to try Jeff's cake!

 

[Maytagluver]

VERRRRY good cake Jeff

Hey Jeff;
Made your cake this week...SUUUUPER rich! ! Guys at work were on it like a duck on a June Bug ! ! !

I used the 2 piece tube pan...left it cool completly,(sprayed pan w/ Meijer brand baking spray) went around cake w/ knife and flipped it out of pan, removed tube and served right side up, dusted w/ conf. sugar.

Thanks for the great recipe Jeff!!

Happy Holidays to all ! !

Al

 

[tlee618]

I use a similar product like the Crisco with flour that is called Baker's Joy and believe me when you go to take the cake out of the pan it is a joy. Even worked great on a cast iron corn stick pan. Can't wait to try Jeff's cake myself.

 

[toggleswitch]

I apologize in advance.

HMM I have never had any luck with a Bundt pan with or without flour.

Editor's Note:
Oh how times change! This one is BOUND to offend someone. Talk about politcally incorrect?

My great-aunt was part Polish and forwarded to me before she passed-on a gugelhopf (sp?) cake recipe (the aboslute BEST cake I have had to date!) that was her mother's. It calls for a "Turk's head mold" this was a printed recipe, published that way! That took me a while to figure out it meant a turban...or a Bundt pan. OY VEY!

 

[magic clean]

Hi Terry. Bakers Joy and Pam with flour for baking are also very good too. However, one thing I noticed with the Crisco & Pam spray, is they seem to coat the pans more evenly. The spray is more like a fine mist. Whereas, the Bakers Joy of late, the nozzles seem to sputter & splatter. So I always ended up brushing the stuff around the cake pans anyway. Have you had that experience? Maybe I just got a bum can or two.

 

[gansky1]

I've noticed that same sputtering and uneven spray with Baker's Joy - I'll have to try the Crisco version.

Do you hear that thumping sound? That's my grandmother banging on the lid of her grave at the thought of spending money on spray grease and flour! ;-)

Has anyone tried using the Wondra flour in the can? That's what we always used growing up, it's a coarser grain of flour - lots of uses, gravy, etc. but it makes cakes slip right out of their pans.

 

[hoover1060]

Never tried it

Those baking sprays... I do use PAM now and again for cooking though...
I'll have to try the wondra flour though and see how that does...

I share Toggle's experience: Never had much luck with a Bundt pan(or any kind of fancy cake pan) unless the goal would be to have the cake run out of the pan and all over the oven, stinking up the house and even on occasion filling it with smoke... then they are successful!

 

[magic clean]

Snicker, we are slaves to convenience products

Greg, if I'm not in a hurry, I'll brush a regular cake pan with shortening and dust with flour. We have Wondra, so I'm going to try that next time! Thanks for that hint. Bundt pans with all their grooves & crevices can be tedious, so I always use baking spray. In fact the Nordicware folks strongly suggest this.....for best results! In other words, no cursing in the kitchen!

My Austrian born mother does what Ledersteiefel1 suggested; a well greased/buttered pan and very fine bread crumbs. However, the last time I peeked I saw a can of Pam Baking spray in her kitchen cabinet too. She must have had a coupon!

O.K. here is a thrifty recipe for cake pan coating from Duncan Hines that you can make & keep for up to 6 months at room temperature:

Combine 2 cups vegtable shortening and 1 cup all purpose flour with an electric mixer. Brush cake pans liberally. Cover with plastic wrap & store.

Has anyone baked Shortbread yet?

Leslie

 

[tlee618]

Yes Leslie, I have had the same problem with Bakers Joy but always felt is was worth the problem as everything came out of the pan, including bundt pans perfectly. Next time I will give the Crisco brand a try. Terry

 

[mixfinder]

Sticky Issue

Your pan is cast aluminum and needs to be seasoned like a fry pan. Grease it with Criso (solids burn at a higher temp than liguid) and bake the empty pan at 250 for a couple hours. Don't scrub or soak the cake pan. Use salt and rub the pan to clean it. Then grease (solid) again and store. Frigulux is correct. Remove within the first hour. Try using an Angel Food pan instead of the Bundt. The cake is much easier to deal with that way.
Best dishes,Kelly

 

[foraloysius]

I never liked the baking sprays. Just a liberal amount of butter was good enough to get my Jeff's chocolate pound cake out of the pan. Here's what's left of it. I served it a few times with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some egg liqueur (in Dutch "advocaat", I believe you call that egg-nog).

 

[exploder321]

I am dying to make the cake, but where's the recipe (what thread)

 

[DADoES]

The pan I used has a non-stick finish. Well, it's *supposed* to be non-stick. I'd be hesitant to grease/flour for a chocolate cake, being as the white residue might spoil the appearance ... except if it's finished by sprinkling with powdered sugar that wouldn't matter. I'm thinking it may be too much cooling causing the trouble.

Anyway, I didn't make a 3rd attempt, not yet anyway. I sliced the cake and arranged the pieces on a plate. Not particularly impressive, but it'll do.

I don't have an angel/tube pan, but I suppose I can get one. I have another bundt-type pan that is a bit smaller, isn't fluted as deeply. Also non-stick, I used it for the aforementioned Gingerbread Cake (sprayed with butter Crisco spray), cooled 20 mins and it dropped right out.

 

[maytagbear]

Leslie....I posted a shortbread recipe here

some time ago...I thought you saved it.

KitchenAid Shortbread
250F
10x15

2 cups- 4 sticks-1 pound butter (unsalted for preference, salted works anyway)

2 cups sugar..white or light brown. If light brown, firmly packed.

5 cups unsifted all purpose flour (I like King Arthur all purpose, but Gold Medal and Pillsbury work, too)

___________-

In mixer, with flat beater, cream the butter and sugar. Really wail on it...about 5 minutes or so. (Yes. But not above "medium," or about 4 on an 10 speed).

Stop and scrape.

Add the flour, a cup at a time, stopping and scraping twice.

Dump onto clean but ungreased 10x15 pan. With floured fingers, press into the pan evenly. I like to put some dough in each corner and press it out into the centre.

Dock well. That is, prick the surface nicely with a fork.

Place in preheated 250F oven, and bake for about 45 minutes. Should be "squdgy-firm" when poked. Will solidify while cooling.

Remove from oven, cool on rack. At about 10 minutes out, score deeply with a small sharp knife.

Score again when fully cool.

Yield: to the temptation.

Makes: a lot.

Variations--------

Cocoa shortbread. White sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa instead of 1/2 cup of the flour. Add a dash of almond extract...up to a teaspoon. Add a dash of coconut extract...

Spiced shorthread. brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, more than a few raspings of nutmeg.

Enjoy!

I like the Pam for Baking. No current experience with the other brands.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[magic clean]

Thanks Lawrence

I wondered if you would chime in. The shortbread is so easy and good. Thanks for re-posting the recipe.

 

[magic clean]

Glenn, I recognize your Bundt pan. It's a Wilton non-stick. When you try the cake again........thoroughly spray that pan with a baking spray. You'll find it will fall right out.

I hate it when recipes get screwed up because of some nuisance thing. Especially when you are 95% done and no easy way to rescue your creation. Don't despair!

I just finished making Emerils Food Network Christmas triple Chocolate bark. Emeril had it made in no time on TV. I have really cussed up a storm. The kitchen is a mess & I'm miserable. I need a Xanax! The recipe ingredients and the end result were are fine. However, the instructions were written by a "masochist"!!!

 

[scott55405]

The baking spray rocks. I have the Pam here and it's just great. I had another Bundt cake recipe a while ago that said only to grease the pan, and I followed the recipe since it was the first time. Had the same problem Glenn did, and I will never do that again. Anything that comes out of the pan gets sprayed or greased and floured. I used to make Bundt cakes in the 70s when they were all the rage, and I'd grease and flour, never once had an issue.

For those that bake layer cakes, parchment is truly a wonderful thing too. I buy it in precut rounds for the pans.

Here's another tip I learned from Betty: for chocolate cakes, if you don't want flour to whiten or discolor your cake, use cocoa instead of flour in the pan.

 

[appnut]

I even emailed Jeff and asked him if I could bake the cake in a bundt pan. He hadn't had any experience using this recipe in a bundt pan and what experience he had had with those types of pans, wasn't impressive. So I followed his recipe to the letter and drug out my old angle food cake pan. Sprayed it very well with spray. Let it cool completely like state4d. The "tuve" part came out easilyu. and sliding a knife under it and around, cake came right out.

 

[DADoES]

I recall reading that about using cocoa as pan flouring for chocolate cakes. I've always thought of pound cakes in loaf-form so perhaps will try that next time. But I think Leslie's Chocolate Applesauce Cake is next on-tap!

 

[paulg]

Douche it

We have one of those "CASTLE" cake pans that is sold at Williams-Sonoma.
The cake pan is very detailed and you would never think that the cake would ever come out. And the first time we tried it... it didn't.
However, if you douche the pan with Baker's Joy or equivalent product, the cake pops right out. And I do mean DOUCHE IT.
And thank you to the helpful person at Williams-Sonoma for the tip. We love the cake pan and the cakes literally eject themselves. Ok... I'm exaggerating a bit.

 

[foraloysius]

I've never seen an angel food cake pan overhere, so I used my largest bundt cake pan. The batter was a bit too much for the cake pan so I got a good taste of it. Chocolate ice cream indeed! I guess next time I'm in the US I need to go shopping at Williams-Sonoma.

 

[gyrafoam]

In my experience, the spray oil/flour products usually work very well---although I have also not been happy with the sputtering, uneven spray of the Bakers Joy---so will try the Crisco product.
I think these products also contain (the dreaded) silicon dioxide, and that help things "out" so to speak.

I have noticied the "silicon free" sprays at the "Wholefoods" market but am not yet prepared to pay the outrageous price for it. Hopefully, if I am to die from silicon dioxide exposure, it will keep the casket lining from sticking to my skin and pulling.I always hated that.