Best Of: Butter Cake

[CanadianBakin']

I've never frozen cakes, and am wondering how you handle the cake after it's been frozen. Simply take it out for a couple of hours to thaw at room temp?

And will the texture be as good as it would be if it hadn't been frozen?

I can't answer how the quality will be although I've got a few I'm going to freeze tonight so I'll know in a few days. As to thawing, you leave it wrapped and put it in the fridge for a couple hours. Unwrap only after thawing. The condensation will stay on the wrapping instead of making the cake soggy.

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Hi CanadianBakin"

Thanks for trying my cake recipe! Just a quick tip! Don't thaw the cake in the refrigerator -- rather thaw this cake at room temperature in its wrappers. I noticed on another thread that you thawed another cake in the refrigerator and ended up with "no crumb". It's not the cake that causes it, but rather the "home refrigerator" environment that you are putting the cake into.....

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Thanks for the clarification Sarah! I didn't realize there was different thawing methods for different cakes. On a thread awhile ago, one of the professionals among us had said that cakes needed to be thawed in the fridge, but maybe we were talking about a particular type of cake.

My cake actually had no crumb before and after refrigeration. I think I'm over beating but I'll have to keep experimenting to figure it out. I've now got tons of butter cake in my freezer. I'll figure it out one day.

[Sarah Phillips]

Hi CandianBakin' (I love your name, by the way - very clever!)

I don't know what the previous discussion was about with the other cake professional, but only thaw a cake in the refrigerator if it contains a perishable filling or frosting because the filling or frosting has to remain refrigerated.

In general, if a cake layer or cake does not contain any perishable items, all cakes should be thawed at room temperature -- there aren't different rules for different types of cakes. Sometimes cake professionals thaw cake layers in professional refrigerators which are quite different than home refrigerators -- Home refrigerators will simply dry out a type of cake or make it too sticky, such as an Angel Food Cake.

Again, I don't know the entire context of what an eG cake professional was discussing in a previous post, so I can't comment.

I hope this clarifies things!

By the way, what was the problem with the crumb in your other cake? I lost where you posted it?

Edited June 15, 2006 by Sarah Phillips (log)

[CanadianBakin']

By the way, what was the problem with the crumb in your other cake? I lost where you posted it?

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I seem to have a problem making butter cakes in a 9x13 format. When I cut them open they have greasy looking streaks or patches that have almost no crumb. My other thread was on helping me bake a 9x13 butter cake. The last suggestion made is that maybe I'm over beating. I'm going to have to try again because I don't like not being able to bake something. Sponges mystify me a bit too, but that's a whole other discussion.

The directions for your cake are very specific. I followed them to a tee and it turned out as I mentioned above. Another thought I have is that I use a 700W Bosch mixer and I'm wondering if it maybe beats faster than a standard KA and so my mixing times are too long. I don't know, it's just a thought.

[Sarah Phillips]

Hi CanadianBakin',

So sorry I didn't reply to you sooner! I get so busy on my website and forum!

Anyway, as a test, and since you have had much success with my recipe, why don't you bake my Ultimate Butter Cake in a 9 x 13-inch pan? I have done it successfully in the past. Then, you can see if the problem lies with your mixing techniques or someone else's recipe -- or, perhaps you may need some general practice on how to mix butter cakes. Perhaps you can use my recipe as a "how to" lesson and gain some tips and practice from it that you can apply to any butter cake recipe!

Make my Ultimate Butter Cake. NOTE: The cake can be baked in a 9 x 13 x 2-inch, greased cake pan. It takes 45 - 55 minutes to bake. Cupcakes take 20 - 30 minutes to bake.

[CanadianBakin']

Hi CanadianBakin',

So sorry I didn't reply to you sooner! I get so busy on my website and forum!

Anyway, as a test, and since you have had much success with my recipe, why don't you bake my Ultimate Butter Cake in a 9 x 13-inch pan? I have done it successfully in the past. Then, you can see if the problem lies with your mixing techniques or someone else's recipe -- or, perhaps you may need some general practice on how to mix butter cakes. Perhaps you can use my recipe as a "how to" lesson and gain some tips and practice from it that you can apply to any butter cake recipe!

Make my Ultimate Butter Cake. NOTE: The cake can be baked in a 9 x 13 x 2-inch, greased cake pan. It takes 45 - 55 minutes to bake. Cupcakes take 20 - 30 minutes to bake.

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I'm sorry Sarah, I guess I didn't explain very well. I've actually had no success with your recipe. It was actually Tippy's recipe that was working for me in a 9" round. I've only tried your recipe in a 9x13 and it was dense and had the greasy, no crumb streaks in it. However when I made Tippy's recipe in a 9x13 I had the same greasy streak problem as I did with yours. I'm not sure what the problem is but in the next couple weeks I'll probaby try her recipe again and beat it less.

[David J.]

I'd like to try this recipie in the 10 cup Nordic Octopus bunt pan. Research shows that 2 9" rounds are 12 cups so it looks like I'll have 2 cups worth left over. That's probably not enough to adjust the size of the recipie.

What I am most interested in is the adjustment for baking time (if any) for a pan like this.