Pretty sure I've killed it!

[OceanPrincess]

Baking a couple of cakes to make a
Miffy cake for my DD's birthday on Sunday. Plan was to do a 23cm round and a 23cm square, then cut the pieces I need from that.

Did the round first. Used two cake mixes that I have always baked for birthday cakes, from the cake shop I use.

Said it would take 50-60 mins. Checked it at 45, still wet. Kept adding 5-10 mins on, reckon it was in for like 1hr 25 in the end. But the skewer was coming out really wet! It kept rising really high, then started cracking along the top.

Tool it out. Cooled for 45 in the tin. So now I have turned it out. It has sunk right back down and feels really dry

Can see right down one of the cracks to almost the bottom. I feel like breaking it apart to check but I reckon it is dead

So upset.

[Rouge]

Oh hun!

If you can be bothered, try it again.

The best way to cook cakes is low, slowly and for a long time, covering with foil towards the end of cooking time also helps the cake to steam through. If it ever happens again that it is not cooked through when you take it out. Cover it with foil and some towels. It's the best way to rest a moist cake or a cake that takes a long time. I do this with fruitcakes too and they come out beautiful.

Most bakers cook their cakes at 160C. Not the usual 180C. And the average cooking time is an hour.

I wish I could have helped before hand xxx

[Miss.September]

Taste some and see what you think about the dryness. Could still be fine. I've put buttercream in any gaps and cracks in cakes in the past and it works well.

[OceanPrincess]

Rouge, what a great idea. Never thought of protecting it with something on top.

I had it on 150, DH did ask if that was right and I said I was sure it was, glad I got one thing right

DH got a bit excited that we could smash it up and eat it - make another in the morning - but then he went and looked at it and said it might be ok.

The square had just under an hour and looks fine - just a few cracks in the top but really topical, don't seem to be structural

Pac - that's a good idea - I do have a 3kg tub of buttercream icing

I've also just remembered that I'm cutting it up into shapes. Wonder if I could position the stencils around the cracks? That might work.......

[MummyDuck]

Best part about a dry cake = cake pops!!!!!

Make matching miffy cake pops if you have time. You can google a variety of recipes and "glues" depending on what flavour the cake is. Grab some white candy melts and Lilly sticks and voila


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[MummyDuck]

Ps: professional cake makers (and me - a complete amateur) Di what's known as Torte (ing) a cake.

I put it back into the pan and run a bread knife long the top to even the cake and remove dry tops. Or if you aren't keen or it hasn't risen above the tin use some sugar syrup on the top to remove the crunchiness out of it then crumb coat with buttercream


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[OceanPrincess]

Thanks MummyDuck! I love the cake pops idea

Definitely doing a crumb coat to help it all stick together. Maybe I'm not in so much trouble.

[OceanPrincess]

And now they have both shrunk. Why?!! Why have the shrunk?

[LimeSlice]

Is it hot or humid in Melbourne today? It can mess with the flour:moisture ratios....

[OceanPrincess]

It wasn't too bad by that stage LS. Hot during the day yes but it had cooled down by cooking time. The mixture looked great...

Now I'm fretting there won't be enough cake for the stencil I've got

Should I try again??

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Can you pop the stencil on top and see if you roughly have enough?
If not then you could probably just bake 1 more cake (rather than both) and make cape pops out of any of the left over bits you don't use?

I'm sure it's going to look awesome hun!

[OceanPrincess]

Trying the round again.

What should I do - cover it about half way through to stop it drying and rising so much? What should I cover with?

Anything I can do to stop it shrinking after it comes out?

[Melbournemumma]

I know with cheesecakes iif you bake them till they are still a little moist and then let them cool in the oven with te door ajar then it will finish cooking them and stop cracks from forming. i think the cracks happen cause its cooled too quickly

[OceanPrincess]

MM it was cracking IN the oven.

I am seriously about to give up.

I've just done another one, with less mixture, covered with foil for the last 20 mins. It is still cracked and not even fully cooked.

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

Oh babe massive

[Mother Goose]

I can help you in a couple of hours. Whip up a basic round cake for you. Or you could pop into woollies and see if they have plain sponge slabs today. They sometimes have them then you just cut and decorate? Let me know if I can help.

[Miss.September]

Ring the place where you got the mix from and see what they can suggest. It may be a typical thing that the type of cake you're making tends to crack (like muds tend to crack open). They might have another suggestion on how to avoid it

[OceanPrincess]

Thanks so much MG. I've just been on the phone with a friend who has done a course with the cake shop (you prob know the one - in Greensy?) and she's going to come round and help.

I'm also going to take the second one into the shop and ask them. Thank goodness it's close.

Otherwise she's getting a Ferguson Plarre cake. I swear!