Ongoing gingerbread disasters -please help!

[Shelley G.]

My frustration has knows no bounds at this point. For several years, I have been happily making gingerbread for my restaurant in a non-stick bundt pan, and it has worked beautifully. The customers adore it. And the food cost is excellent, so I am loath to abandon it. For quite some time now, when I turn the cake out, the bottom stays with the pan, not with the rest of the cake, rendering it unusable. The pan is in good shape. I cool the cake for the same 25 minutes I always have, loosening it gently around the sides first. I have tried adjusting the oven temperature a bit, and the rack position too. I have tried reducing the number of eggs from 4 to 3. Sometimes it works, but usually not. Needless to say, the making of the gingerbread is now fraught with anxiety. I would greatly appreciate any ideas that anyone might have. The customers will sqawk bitterly if they're deprived of one of their favourites. BTW, I am reluctant to abandon the Bundt pan because it presents so beautifully on the plate.

[chefpeon]

Have you been using the same bundt pan for awhile? Non stick surfaces do wear out with time and use. Your solution may be as simple as this:

Either:

Grease AND flour your pan if you aren't already,

or

Make "baker's grease"......simply mix one part flour, one part shortening, and one part oil on the mixer. Whip til nice and fluffy. Store in a container in the fridge. When you need it, just dip a pastry brush in it and use that to thoroughly grease your pan. Or use your hands.....whichever you like.

You KNOW your recipe is good, so I don't think you need to adjust it......you just need to make up for the aging of your pan.

[pastrymama]

If it is the same pan you have been using for a while, it may becoming worn from washing it, getting small scratches that you don't notice. you may need to grease it with shortening very well. A lot of the bundt recipes say to do that and sometimes they say to flour also, but I don't think the flour would look good when you turn out your cake as it would make it dusty looking. When I make chocolate bundts I use a mixture of flour and cocoa, but I don't know what to suggest for gingerbread besides a good greasing.

I guess Anne and I were typing at the same time. Hope it helps.

Edited September 20, 2005 by pastrymama (log)

[chefpeon]

Ha ha! PastryMama and I were responding at the same time!

That's a great idea about using the cocoa powder for chocolate bundts.....I suppose you could use a cinnamon/flour mixture to prevent a "dusty" look on your gingerbread, but if you use the baker's grease you don't have to worry about "dust" at all.

[ladyyoung98]

there is also a very good product out on the market called cake release...which does the same thing as the flour , shortening oil mixture mentioned above..its just that the proper proportions are already doen for you so that all you have to do is til the bottle after opening, squeeze some of it in and take a paper towel and spread it around the pan...it does not require refrigeration and does work beautifully...however what you use is up to you..i use the cake release simply because i like the way it works ..you may want to do the other as it may be more cost effective for you

and i do agree with pastrymama...you know your recipe is a good one..if it were not it would not be so successful...but if you start messing with your already proven recipe your repeat customers will notice the difference

Edited September 20, 2005 by ladyyoung98 (log)

[Beanie]

Ditto all the above suggestions. I've baked gingerbread many times in a bundt pan and I always spray the pan with Pam--the kind with flour in it (like Bakers Joy)-- and the cake never sticks. And the flour never shows either.

[Shelley G.]

Have you been using the same bundt pan for awhile? Non stick surfaces do wear out with time and use. Your solution may be as simple as this:

Either:

Grease AND flour your pan if you aren't already,

or

Make "baker's grease"......simply mix one part flour, one part shortening, and one part oil on the mixer. Whip til nice and fluffy. Store in a container in the fridge. When you need it, just dip a pastry brush in it and use that to thoroughly grease your pan. Or use your hands.....whichever you like.

You KNOW your recipe is good, so I don't think you need to adjust it......you just need to make up for the aging of your pan.

←

I should have mentioned that I always first grease, then use cocoa. Perhaps I should try a mixture of flour and cocoa. Thank you for the advice. What about using a pan that isn't non-stick? I am much less cranky this morning!

[Tweety69bird]

How about freezing the cake in the bundt pan before trying to remove it. I realize that this isn't very productive, but if it works...

Or, how about trying your recipe in a new bundt pan and see what happens?

[MightyD]

chefpeon, the proportions you gave for baker's grease - are they in volume or weight?

[Shelley G.]

Have you been using the same bundt pan for awhile? Non stick surfaces do wear out with time and use. Your solution may be as simple as this:

Either:

Grease AND flour your pan if you aren't already,

or

Make "baker's grease"......simply mix one part flour, one part shortening, and one part oil on the mixer. Whip til nice and fluffy. Store in a container in the fridge. When you need it, just dip a pastry brush in it and use that to thoroughly grease your pan. Or use your hands.....whichever you like.

You KNOW your recipe is good, so I don't think you need to adjust it......you just need to make up for the aging of your pan.

←

Bless your encouraging words - I am about to make up the bakers' grease and have at it! BTW, it is in fact an exceptionally fine gingerbread, with a lovely fine crumb, and no coarseness to speak of. I adore e-gullet. This is the first time I've asked for help, and appreciate the unstinting nature of advice rendered.

[chefpeon]

chefpeon, the proportions you gave for baker's grease - are they in volume or weight?

With this stuff, it kinda doesn't matter. Whatever you feel like. When I have a scale, I weigh, when I only have volume measures I do it that way. I found I get the same result either way. Mostly I use volume, because a lot of places I have worked don't use scales......

[chefpeon]

What about using a pan that isn't non-stick?

Well, you'd REALLY have to grease a pan that isn't non-stick......I always say, "Hey, if ya got the non-stick, use it.....it makes life easier, even if you still have to grease it....."

[Shelley G.]

What about using a pan that isn't non-stick?

Well, you'd REALLY have to grease a pan that isn't non-stick......I always say, "Hey, if ya got the non-stick, use it.....it makes life easier, even if you still have to grease it....."

←

Well, chefpeon, you are a very clever woman - and I am a very happy cook! The bakers' grease worked like the proverbial charm, and I have made a big batch for the restaurant kitchen. I used a pastry brush to apply it, instead of my hand, which is what I used to do with the shortening, before dusting with cocoa. Anyway, the beautiful cake popped right out of the pan... I am very grateful, and the customers will rise up and call you blessed. Honestly, it was pretty embarassing. We make many more complex things with nary a hitch, and because my pan was actually not that old and I treat my tools well, I had not thought about invisible scratches. I knew that I could have done it as a sheet cake, but honestly, the bundt form looks so lovely on the plate... two nice slices overlapping, and a cinnamon maple leaf stencil, and a sort of cornucopia of whipped cream. Anyway, I've blathered enough, because I'm tired, and I still have a bunch of things to make tonight. Thank you.

[chefpeon]

I am a very happy cook! The bakers' grease worked like the proverbial charm, and I have made a big batch for the restaurant kitchen.

That's just super!

I'm so glad I could help!

[Shelley G.]

BTW - the baker's grease has added a sort of very attractive slightly glossy appearance to the surface of the cake, which definitely didn't happen with the shortening/cocoa dusting technique. I like it a lot.

[prasantrin]

Bless your encouraging words - I am about to make up the bakers' grease and have at it!  BTW, it is in fact an exceptionally fine gingerbread, with a lovely fine crumb, and no coarseness to speak of.  I adore e-gullet.  This is the first time I've asked for help, and appreciate the unstinting nature of advice rendered.

←

Would you care to share your recipe ...please... ? I adore gingerbread, but have never made it, and would love to give it a try. I even brought a bundt pan back to Japan with me (all the way from Winnipeg) and have not used it, yet. This would be a great chance to break it in!

[Shelley G.]

Yes, of course - here it is, and enjoy it!

Sift into Kitchen Aid:

4 cups flour

3 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tsp. ground ginger

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

2 or 3 twists freshly ground pepper

Add:

1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups molasses

4 eggs

Beat on low until ingredients are combined, then beat on med-high speed for 1 min. SLOWLY add 2 cups boiling water, beating on lowest speed until incorporated. Pour into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350. Let cool on cooling rack for 25 minutes, and turn out.

It really is a lovely gingerbread, and the baking grease works like the proverbial charm. Enjoy!