Cuban opera Cake recipe, question.

[middydd]

I've been wanting to make the Cuban Opera Cake but have been daunted by reviews that mention the cake falling after coming out of the oven.

Could some of the experienced bakers here have a look at the recipe and see what might be causing this?

I'd appreciate it.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/108593

[Sugarella]

That recipe has a lot of liquids in it.... a liquidy batter can cause a sinking cake when exposed to temperature extremes, like moving from a hot oven to a cool room, or if it gets bumped around while still hot. Remember, batter expands with heat and is susceptible to all kinds of trouble while still in its expanded state. (I prefer liquidy batters, myself....makes for moister cakes when done right.) I don't think this is everyone's problem with it, however....it may just be that the cakes are deflating a bit on cooling and it's being mistaken for sinking. I'm not sure about the advice to "Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto 9-inch cardboard rounds or removable tart pan bottoms; cool cakes completely on racks. " For denser cakes this is fine but handling that cake while still hot can cause deflating, so it's better to just leave this cake in its pan, right side up, until almost cool. Make sure you line the sides of the pan with parchment so you can get the cooled cake out.

To help wth deflating though, I'd recommend you replace the 2 teaspoons baking soda in the recipe with 1 tsp. baking soda + 1 tsp. baking powder. I also think you should seperate the eggs and whip the whites to firm peaks seperately, then FOLD (not STIR) those in at the very end.

[CanadianBakin']

I haven't made the cake yet but I wanted to let you know the mousse is delicious! I'm using it for a dessert event this week.

[middydd]

That recipe has a lot of liquids in it.... a liquidy batter can cause a sinking cake when exposed to temperature extremes, like moving from a hot oven to a cool room, or if it gets bumped around while still hot. Remember, batter expands with heat and is susceptible to all kinds of trouble while still in its expanded state.  (I prefer liquidy batters, myself....makes for moister cakes when done right.) I don't think this is everyone's problem with it, however....it may just be that the cakes are deflating a bit on cooling and it's being mistaken for sinking. I'm not sure about the advice to "Cool cakes in pans on racks 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto 9-inch cardboard rounds or removable tart pan bottoms; cool cakes completely on racks. " For denser cakes this is fine but handling that cake while still hot can cause deflating, so it's better to just leave this cake in its pan, right side up, until almost cool. Make sure you line the sides of the pan with parchment so you can get the cooled cake out.

To help wth deflating though, I'd recommend you replace the 2 teaspoons baking soda in the recipe with 1 tsp. baking soda + 1 tsp. baking powder. I also think you should seperate the eggs and whip the whites to firm peaks seperately, then FOLD (not STIR) those in at the very end.

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Sugarella, thanks for all the advice. The 2 teaspoons of baking soda sounded like a little too much leavening power to me, the combination of powder and soda sounds like it would give a more even rise.

I think I'll experiment a bit with the cake before embarking on the whole production.

[middydd]

I haven't made the cake yet but I wanted to let you know the mousse is delicious! I'm using it for a dessert event this week.

←

Thanks for posting about the mousse. Do you stick to the amount of gelatin in the recipe, or increase it as some reviewers recommend?

Edited April 18, 2006 by middydd (log)

[CanadianBakin']

I haven't made the cake yet but I wanted to let you know the mousse is delicious! I'm using it for a dessert event this week.

←

Thanks for posting about the mousse. Do you stick to the amount of gelatin in the recipe, or increase it as some reviewers recommend?

←

I did it as listed and it was perfect. It kept well in the fridge for a couple days so you can make it ahead and assemble later.

[middydd]

I did it as listed and it was perfect. It kept well in the fridge for a couple days so you can make it ahead and assemble later.

←

Good to know! It sounds like you can make the cake layers and mousse ahead and then

assemble the cake later.