I was in labor with William for 26 hours. No joke.
I was in labor with Alexander for 14 hours. (Better than William’s)
I was in labor with Benjamin for 8 hours, but almost had to have an emergency C-section.
And with Henry, I had to have a C-section.
These deliveries weren’t easy, any of them… but I did it.
So my question is. Why the heck can’t I bake a friggin cake?
I’m not kidding.
I know I’m not the most domestic person on the planet… but I do like to TRY. I felt inspired to do so this past weekend for William’s birthday. All the little guy wanted was a vanilla cake with chocolate icing. I followed the directions on the box to a “T”… eggs, oil and water. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Yeah… this is what my cake looked like…
After that cake mishap, I geared up for Alexander’s birthday cake. He wanted chocolate cake with 1/2 chocolate frosting, 1/2 vanilla frosting (because his brothers love vanilla). I was determined this time not to fail or mess it up.
So my question is… how the heck did it come out looking like this?
Alex took one look and said, “Oh, mom… it looks horrible.”
I tried my little guys, I tried.
Well, on the first cake, I think the issue is the size of the baking pan you used. It looks like it was too thick a layer of batter, and the outside of the cake became cooked before the inside even started to cook. Notice how it made a dome shape. This means that it needed to have more room to spread out while cooking. Usually when I put the batter in the pan, I pour until it’s about 1 inch up from the bottom of the pan.
On the second one, again I think you used the wrong size of baking pan, although better than the first. Also, be sure to let the cake FULLY set up after being taken out of the oven. Let it sit for somewhere between 10-20 minutes. For example for a 9×13 cake dish I take it out of the oven and set it on the counter and immediately set the timer for 10 minutes. If it doesn’t start removing a little bit after this I’ll set the timer for another 10 minutes. This lets the finished product become cooled off and will slightly remove itself from the cooled pan. I also wedge a butter knife along the edges of the cake, making sure I don’t cut into the cake. Now, if you’ve done all that, just be really sure that you lubed the pan very well, don’t be afraid to put a bit of extra oil in order to make the cake come out easier (tip: use butter, it comes out really well and gives the crust of the cake a REALLY good taste and moist texture).
Hope these suggestions help!
–Andrew
Audrey, you are sooooo good at so many things, you can’t be good at everything! My advice would be: keep practicing, maybe making one cake every weekend until it’s easy (I think the boys will approve), so that the “Birthday Cake” will not be such a scary moment of truth
Or, just call the nearest, and best, bakery four times a year! (or call your mom!)
The first one just needed more time baking and maybe a bigger pan. The second, well it looks like it stuck to the pan.
How about I give you baking lessons and you give me fashion advice! 🙂
I agree with the above comments Audrey, and just have two words to add: Icecream Cake! 😉
I am the SAME WAY with Pancakes! I can’t make pancakes to save my life! I can make a mean chocolate cake from scratch though…lol. I think the answers above are right– wrong size pan. Google 5 minute cake– it’s a microwave cake in a coffee mug and it’s amazzzing with a scoop of ice cream on top when its fresh out the oven and best of all– it is seriously easy peasy…and if its still gooey it is OK because it tastes even better! 😉
Just because a recipe says “Bake at 350 for 30 minutes” does not mean that’s right for your oven.
Baking is a science more like chemistry than anything else. Baking is affected by so many factors, including your altitude, type of pan, type of oven, the way you mix your batter, the size of the eggs you use, etc. It takes lots and lots of practice.
I agree with the others who said your pan was too small, but you can still use those pans on cake mixes, just don’t fill them more than 2/3 full. There is no law that says you have to put the whole mix into the pan(s), use the leftover batter for cupcakes.
Don’t give up, and don’t add bricks to your mental block, you CAN bake a cake, you just need practice.