Real Baking with Rose Discussion Forums

Problems with Red Velvet Cake

2012-02-09T12:58:00Z

I have been baking Red Velvet Cake since 1969. Recently, we got a new “state-of-the-art” oven. The first thing I tried to cook was my Red Velvet Cake. They cooked around the outer edge, but were gooey and sticky in the middle. The whole cake rose in the process of cooking, but at a point, the center fell. I was watching through the door; I did not open the oven. We had service people check the oven and basically they told us that nothing was wrong with the oven; the problem is with the cook or the recipe according to them. I can go to a friends house and bake this cake using the same recipe and it turns out fine, but it will not give me satisfactory results in this “state-of-the-art” oven. The oven has convection and thermal but I get the same results no matter which selection I make. Does anyone have any suggestions or options that I might try? I’m desperate and willing to try most anything.

Cake Flour Confusion in the UK

2008-07-22T06:51:22Z

Hi Cake Bakers

I am here in the UK and have got my copy of The Cake Bible from Amazon UK, although I believe it is the American edition. The recipes and photographs are amazing and I can’t wait to get started!

My dilemma as you can probably guess concerns ‘cake flour’ a quick search reveals many workarounds for the UK baker - microwaving flour/subtracting flour and replacing it with cornflour, or just using Self Raising minus any baking powder.

Is there a definitive answer to this problem? I hope someone could please advise.

Many thanks in advance.

Jane

Refrigerator Banana Cake Substitution

2012-01-31T10:58:43Z

I am thinking of baking a low cholesterol version of the refrigerator banana cake in RHC. In some of Rose’s other recipes, she allows 2 eggs to be replaced with 3 egg whites. Would that substitution work in this recipe? Can this recipe be baked in a 9 x 5 loaf pan?

A few days ago I baked Rose’s Pumpkin Walnut Ring substituting the whole eggs for 3 egg whites. I drizzled a soy ganache on top. At first bite I hated it. It was like biting into a pillow-way too soft. But the next day it was more dense and the day after that it was delicious. Rose does mention that cake benefits from sitting a day or two. I would have baked that cake again today but I need to buy more pumpkin.

I do have bananas though.

Cake pan conversions

2012-02-06T23:12:57Z

I have recently got into serious baking and decorating and have gone into a shopping blitz for stuff like cake/cupcake pans, turntable, piping sets, fondant/gumpaste sets etc etc and for the moment I don’t have the budget to buy more stuff. I want to try out so many layer cake recipes but most of them call for 9*2 or 9*1 1/2 inch pans (including most of Rose’s recipes). The problem is I only have 2 8*3 inch pans for layer cakes. If I choose to bake cakes which call for 9 inch pans in my 8 inch pans, will my results be different ? How much longer should the baking time be and how should I estimate the finished height of my cakes ? BTW, I bought the 8*3 inch pans because I think that tall cakes look better but now I’m concerned about the texture since I find that most recipes call for 9 inch pans.
I have heard that TCB mentions something about using the exact pan sizes. I have recently ordered TCB but am yet to receive it. In the meantime, I want to try out a couple of cakes. Please help me as I want my results to be perfect.
I also have concerns about my oven tempeature. I use an oven thermometer but I remember having read that Rose says they are not very accurate (in my library copy of TCB) and the All Occasion Downy Yellow Cake is a very good indicator of oven temperature, but since my pan sizes vary I can’t use it to judge the accurateness of my oven. Please suggest some other way.

My Cakes Simply Will Not Rise

2012-02-05T11:46:08Z

Hi, all!

I am at a loss and am looking for ideas. Here’s the deal: My Cakes Simply Will Not Rise. It all began, I’d say, in September.

To wit:

In September, I made Rose’s German Chocolate Cake (cake part), and it didn’t rise much. I was going to make a single-layer torte cake, but it was too flat for that, so I ended up having to make a second one and making a layer cake.

In October, I made the Baked guys’ maple cake, and they were flat as pancakes. I saw many blog posts on this cake, and it rises.

In November, I made the Pound Cakes (vanilla and chocolate) and the Chestnut Cake, all as mini loaves, and they might have risen—I can’t say the sides were much higher than the 2/3 I filled the pan, though—but they domed well and looked good.

In February, I made the Bobby Flay Coconut cake—it was supposed to be two 9x2” layers that you cut horizontally for 4 layers, but mine were only about 3/4”, so I had to mkae two more non-rising layers. My friend makes this cake often, and it rises for her.

Recently, I made a batch of cookies (uses only baking soda), and THEY didn’t rise—they had rounded, not flat, edges, but the cookies themselves were, on the whole, flat. LIke 1/4” rather than 1/2” tall.

My baking powder is always fresh—I never kep “backups” of it (as I do most things).

My mixer is a Cuisinart hand mixer, and I always mix on high and for the longer mixing times specified in RHC for hand mixers. I’ve tried seeing if using the wisk attachment for would help, but it didn’t.

My oven might be a touch cool, so sometimes I up it by 5 degrees, but teh cakes are always done in the proper time frame.

I have, before this bizarreness, made cakes in this oven with this mixer and they rose perfectly.

Does anyone have any clues that can help solve this mystery???? I am hoping a new can of baking powder might (even though it doesn’t take into consideration the cookies) fix things—maybe the old can was just bad, but I thought I’d cast out a net, just in case.

Thanks!

—ak

Red Velvet Colour

2011-10-07T20:07:38Z

I have made the Rose Red Velvet Cake so many times but I cannot get it to be red. I have managed a very light barely noticable red-orange but never the traditional red. I have tried both the red food colouring from a bottle and mixing my wilton no taste red with water and I still can’t get it red. Any suggestions?

Milk with steeped vanilla bean

2012-01-31T18:54:31Z

I am making the white velvet cake for Sunday and I usually take a split vanilla bean and add it to the milk and bring it to a boil and then cool to room temperature. My question is: can I do that today or tomorrow and just refridgerate the milk until Sunday and then bring it to room temperature?

Chocolate Fudge Cake / Chocolate velvet fudge cake

2012-01-31T12:33:03Z

Both recipe has a little change in ingredients quantity. Made velvet fudge cake and it was very good, now want to make fudge cake for some one so thinking which one would be best? is the chocolate velvet fudge cake (RHC) is revised addition of fudge cake(TCB)?

Fondant flavoring

2012-01-31T08:01:01Z

Is it possible to flavor Fondant? And if so, would you use water or oil based flavorings?

Oil Based White Cake?

2012-01-28T20:36:04Z

Does anyone know if Rose has an oil based white cake recipe? Perhaps I’m just missing it but I’ve looked in RHC and TCB and don’t see one. I love the White Velvet Cake but I’m looking for something similar with an oil base. I want to use it in a cake with fruit and mousse fillings which requires refrigeration for most of the time. And I know that oil based cakes ‘seem’ more moist out of the fridge than butter based.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!!

Regards,

Bethany