Hi Julius, thanks for your advice.  I have a few questions though:

1) when should I mix longer...after adding the liquids to the flour or after incorporating all the ingredients at the end?

2) do you use the 1 1/2 inch pans?

3) does the white chocolate whisper cake taste like white chocolate or yellow cake?

I appreciate all your help!  Hopefully I can achieve success...these cakes are amazing!

My opinion of the white chocolate whisper cake is that it cuts like butter and melts in your mouth - it’s heavenly.

I think it’s your oven.  I don’t think it is keeping the temp properly.  Is it gas or electric?  If gas, you might be having a problem with the thermostat; it might register the right temp even though the actual temp in the oven is much lower.  That makes the gas fire less frequently than it needs to in order to maintain the temp.

Next time you turn it on, watch the oven thermometer.

zenu - 04 March 2008 02:18 PM

Hi Julius, thanks for your advice.  I have a few questions though:
1) when should I mix longer...after adding the liquids to the flour or after incorporating all the ingredients at the end?
2) do you use the 1 1/2 inch pans?
3) does the white chocolate whisper cake taste like white chocolate or yellow cake?
I appreciate all your help!  Hopefully I can achieve success...these cakes are amazing!

Hi ~

1) I mix longer at each step.  The timing I’ve settled for is 1min 45sec /30sec /30sec /30sec.  This seems to give me a sturdier cake.  Nick Malgieri mixes his two-stage batters at 2 minutes at all intervals to a whopping 8 minutes total! By formulation, there is little difference between his two-stage cakes and RLB’s. (Note: One difference though with his method is he lets the butter mix into the flour and sugar thoroughly for a couple minutes before adding any liquid).  I haven’t had the heart to mix as long as he does for fear of overmixing the batter.... maybe one day when I feel like experimenting.
2) I use 2” pans only… the 1.5” pans are a bit of a relic… can’t find them anymore.
3) The white chocolate whisper has a “whisper” of white chocolate flavouring… not quite an “undertone” but more assertive than that… it’s definitely there, but doesn’t overwhelm.  I never have to adjust the mixing times on the white choc whisper.  After complete cooling (at least 2 hours), it is a sturdy but melting cake.  It’s a favourite!

Try also my other suggestion - don’t adjust the mixing times, and freeze the cakes well-wrapped after they have cooled to room temp, then thaw in their wrapping on the day you’re going to use them.

Oven temp is also worth looking into.  Before adjusting my mixing times, I made sure to eliminate the possiblity of poor oven temp.  I’m sure it’s not the cause of my crumbly cakes because my ovens calibrate spot-on to 2 different thermometers.

Hope this helps.  Rose’s cakes really are the best.

Hi, don’t know if you are still having problems with this, but try it without the bake even strips.  As mentioned on an earlier post, they make the cake rise higher and more delicate.  i started to bake my smaller cake without them and have not had the crumbly problem.