Kathleen in VA Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I am trying to make this cake. I have baked both 9X13 layers and I have to admit I am a cake baking failure. Both of them cracked open big time while cooling. The tops puffed up high so when I turned them upside down onto their "platters" they just cracked open. Aargh!!! Now I'm making the frosting. Anyway, just thought I'd post and if anyone has any suggestions on how to finish this up without any more major glitches feel free to advise me. I am so NOT a baker. I still have to flip the top layer onto the bottom layer. I've already warned Ds13 that it will probably taste pretty yummy if nothing else.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 (edited) When cakes puff, you have to level them off. This means taking a large knife (a bread knife works best) and very carefully slicing off the puffy layer. I will be making a treasure chest cake for ds's birthday in 3 weeks. The good thing about a cake though is that it usually tastes good, no matter what it looks like. Cake is cake! Edited to add: to keep a cake from cracking while baking you have to get the air bubbles out. This is very, very noisy. After your pour the batter in the cake pan, lift the pan an inch or so off the counter and rock it quickly back and forth banging one end and then the other on the counter (see? noisy). You will see air bubbles rise up and pop. Do this for a few minutes or until the rise of air bubbles slows considerably. It makes a HUGE difference in the consistency of the cake. Edited July 10, 2010 by Mom in High Heels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 I'm ready to give up. I am not processing the directions for attaching the lid at. all.:tongue_smilie: I feel stupid. The lid is not happening. The treasure is going on top and I'm going to pipe "Happy Birthday" on there and that'll be that. Like I said, it'll taste pretty good. Tell me it's fine even though it'll look nothing like a treasure chest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Icing covers a multitude of cake baking sins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I use a white almond sour cream doctored box cake recipe and almost never have the 'bump'. If you do get one, never flip until you have trimmed or leveled that bump off. Here is the recipe, you can tweek the flavors to work with chocolate or other flavors: http://cakecentral.com/recipes/2322/white-almond-sour-cream-cake-wasc Once a cake cracks like that, it is hard to put it back together even with frosting. If you are familiar with fondant, you might be able to shore up the sides with a fondant ribbon. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 I'm ready to give up. I am not processing the directions for attaching the lid at. all.:tongue_smilie: I feel stupid. The lid is not happening. The treasure is going on top and I'm going to pipe "Happy Birthday" on there and that'll be that. Like I said, it'll taste pretty good. Tell me it's fine even though it'll look nothing like a treasure chest. It's fine! And I bet it'll be delicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Keep a piece of plastic wrap over the frosting until you're ready to use it. Put both cakes in the freezer. They'll be easier to position and easier to frost without crumbs. You can even slice them to even them up when they're frozen. Lightly brush crumbs off right before you frost. When you frost, do a light underlayer first to seal it and seal up any remaining crumbs. Keep your spreader moving--don't stop and don't go back over any spots. If you get that far without a mishap, the rest should go fine. :001_smile: Happy baking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 The lid looks like the easy part. That is a pastry board that is just decorated with frosting and other decorations. It doesn't look edible but it would be pretty easy to make. You could make a pastry board out of cardboard but it isn't food grade. But you could make one if you made sure to cover it well with food grade wrap and then decorate. I'm sure the cake will be fab! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 It's fine! And I bet it'll be delicious. Thanks! I'm going with that.:) The lid looks like the easy part. That is a pastry board that is just decorated with frosting and other decorations. It doesn't look edible but it would be pretty easy to make. You could make a pastry board out of cardboard but it isn't food grade. But you could make one if you made sure to cover it well with food grade wrap and then decorate. I'm sure the cake will be fab! :D I made the lid no problem. It was getting the skewers in it and affixing it to the cake where I was running into trouble. It's in the trash now.:D I put chocolate coins covered in gold foil, hershey's kisses (plain silver) and unwrapped cinnamon discs (rubies) on one side and am going to leave it at that. Thanks to everyone for your input. Now it's nap time!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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