On one of my recent blog posts, Orange Cardamom Cake with Blackberry Curd, a reader left a comment that left me scratching my head. She wrote, “I have tried to make this cake twice and the cake has fallen – severely – before taking it out of the oven. I have years of baking experience, and can’t get this to bake right.”
Of course, my heart sank. How could this be? I referred back to the cake recipe and scrutinized it line by line, and was still left baffled. I knew I had baked this cake several times and wondered what had gone amiss. After several conversations between the reader and myself, and I discovered exactly what went wrong. She had used a 6 inch pan the first time and an 8 inch pan the second time, when the recipe had called for a 9 inch pan. Using pans of another size, other than what the recipe calls for, (even a mere inch) can cause the cake to collapse in the middle and/or cause the excess to flow over the edge of the pan.
The fact that this particular reader was a seasoned baker, made me realize that although many home bakers out there may have decades of experience, it is probably in baking the same repertoire of recipes over and over. For instance, a simple pound cake or chocolate cake most likely won’t sink if substituting with a slightly different pan size. But for a genoise, sponge, angel, chiffon or any cake using egg whites and air to leaven (raise/suspend), the cake would definitely end up with a monumental crater.
Chopping board provided by https://www.tshirtstudio.com
I’ve decided to do a quick checklist here with brief explanations on how to achieve that perfect cake. I’ll dedicate a more detailed blog post at a later time but for now I thought I’d share these quick tips to help you avoid any cake disasters.
-Check that your oven’s temperature is correct with an oven-safe thermometer.
-Always use the pan size indicated in the recipe. Using a smaller pan than what is called for in the recipe will cause the cake to collapse in the middle (and over flow on the sides). While baking, the cake expands and rises and has nowhere else to go. Thus, the flop and spillover. On the opposite spectrum, using a pan larger than what the recipe indicates may result in a flat and dry cake.
-Grease pan with butter and dust with flour on sides and line bottom of pan with parchment paper (that you’ve traced and cut out).
-Glass and dark-coloured pans usually bake things faster…reduce oven by about 25F or check up on cake a bit earlier. Normally recipes are based on aluminum/light-coloured pans.
-Always measure flour and most ingredients by weight. If you don’t have a scale, don’t scoop the flour directly with a measuring cup. Take a spoon and spoon it into the measuring cup and level off with a knife.
-Sift all your ingredients including sugar (especially brown sugar). Nothing like baking a gorgeous cake only to find a big air pocket inside after slicing into it.
-Make sure you thoroughly whisk your flour and baking powders/sodas together
-Have all your ingredients come to room temperature (unless otherwise stated) – especially eggs, milk, creams, cheeses etc. This helps create a lighter texture and an even bake.
-If you’ve forgotten to bring your eggs to room temperature, soak them in a bowl of warm water for 10-15 minutes.
-Don’t stray too much from the recipe. If it says 2 cups of flour, don’t add another half cup. In baking, even the slightest variation in ingredient ratios can throw the entire recipe off.
-When testing with a toothpick, dont wait till it comes out perfectly clean. A few crumbs on the toothpick is the perfect time to take out of the oven as the cake will continue to cook when taken out
-Brush your cakes with a simple sugar syrup while still warm. Its simple to make- equal amounts of water to sugar…bring to boil and brush over cakes. This will make your cakes moist for days!
Now back to what this blog post was really about…chocolate cake. The recipe below was tested at least a dozen times with various ingredients…sour cream instead of yogurt, butter instead of oil, unsweetened chocolate rather than semi sweet, raspberry buttercream instead of coffee…etc. And the end result was a gorgeous, moist, crumb. Sweet but not overly sweet with a smooth silky coffee buttercream with a nutty crunch. The recipe below is for a double layer cake and is quite large. You can easily make this cake into a single layer by dividing all the ingredients by half. This makes a single nine inch cake. I hope you enjoy it.
Bon app!
- 390 or 3 cups all purpose flour sifted
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 225 grams or 8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate finely chopped
- 85 grams or 1 cup sifted cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 2 1/2 cups boiling water
- 1 1/2 cups canola or vegetable oil
- 6 eggs room temperature
- 400 grams or 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 200 grams or 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup water
- 50 grams or 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
- 6 egg whites
- 400 grams or 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 450 grams or 2 cups softened unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 100 grams or 1 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- pinch of sea salt flakes
- Preheat oven to 350 F and place oven rack in middle
- Grease sides of pan with butter and dust some flour then trace and cut out bottom of 9 inch pan with parchment paper and place inside pan. Set aside
- Chop semi sweet chocolate into small bits and put in large bowl and sift cocoa powder over chocolate, and add the 2 tablespoons of instant espresso powder or instant coffee
- Bring a pot or kettle of water to boil (at least 3 1/2 cups) But pour only 2 1/2 cups of boiling water over chocolate and whisk until it becomes smooth and silky. set aside
- In large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, whisk well and set aside
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, put sugar in bowl and add egg in one at a time making sure each egg has been incorporated into sugar.
- Once egg and sugar have become thoroughly combined, add the vegetable oil in a slow steady stream stirring on low- scrape sides and mix again
- Stir in the yogurt and vanilla extract
- Reduce to lowest speed and stir in flour in three additions and chocolate mixture in two additions. Mix until flour streaks have dissolved. Do not over mix
- Divide the batter equally into pans and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a tester comes out with just a few clean crumbs
- Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Place wire cooling rack on pans and invert cakes removing the parchment paper. Generously brush SUGAR SYRUP (instructions just below) while cake is warm Allow to cool completely another 1 1/2 hours
- While cake is baking, in a small saucepan, bring the sugar and water to a boil stirring until sugar has completely dissolved
- Add the Grand Marnier while syrup is just a touch warm.
- Generously slather on both cake layers about 5 minutes after cake has come out of oven
- Leave oven on at 350 F. Line a baking tray with parchment paper
- Place the walnuts in centre of tray and drizzle with the maple syrup and mix with wooden spoon
- spread nuts out evenly and bake for about 15 minutes, turning once halfway at about 8 minutes
- after
- Let cool for about 3 minutes before separating the walnuts and sprinkling the sea salts
- Keep all the caramelized bits of maple syrup to dress cake with
- In a medium saucepan filled with couple inches of water on medium heat, place the stand mixer bowl with the 6 egg whites and 2 cups of white sugar and bring water to a simmer
- Whisk constantly until candy thermometer reads 160 F- check by rubbing a bit between your thumb and finger that the sugar has completely dissolved and isn't gritty
- Fit the mixer bowl in the stand mixer with the whisk attachment and whisk until medium-stiff peaks form and the bowl returns to room temperature about 10 minutes
- Whisk together the instant espresso or coffee powder with the milk until all the powder has been dissolved
- Turn the mixer down and stir in the vanilla extract and the epresso/coffee milk mix
- Change the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and start dropping in the room temperature butter in a couple table spoons at a time. Make sure the butter is fully incorporated before adding the next dollop of butter.
- Once all the butter has been added beat another 5 minutes on medium
- Buttercream may look a bit lumpy at times...be patient, it'll smooth out with a couple minutes of beating.
- First...make sure cakes are completely cool. Refrigerating overnight or freezing for about 15 minutes makes icing easier.
- Place first cake layer on your cake stand and spread out about a quarter of the buttercream with an offset spatula
- Top with the next layer of cake and spread buttercream with offset spatula on top and on sides of cake
- Sprinkle the walnuts and the caramelized maple glass
- -This recipe can easily be made into a single layer chocolate cake. Just divide all ingredients by half and bake in one 9 inch pan
- -I've read that swiss meringue buttercream can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks...however consuming within a week is ideal. Make sure you bring to room temperature and beat again for about 3 minutes before icing onto cake...if it gets lumpy or appears like it's curdling, blast a hair dryer on the buttercream while its beating in the stand mixer or place on a double boiler for a couple minutes...just to get the butter to gel with the meringue again.
- -Store cake in fridge in a cake container for up to a week