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Elvis Poundcake Headache


greenbean

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While looking for a poundcake recipe here, I came across the thread that ended up being mostly about the Elvis Poundcake. I tried making the cake at work, but it ended up being very cratered in the center. I decided to try it at home and it came out beautifully, with little to no cratering (I ended up making 5, some in loaf pans some in tube pans). So I went back to work armed with some adjustments from the same recipe on Epicurious (different egg ratio, less flour due to triple sifting). Made the cakes again in different size pans (tube, long loaf, short loaf) to see if this made a difference and the cakes sank worse than ever.

While I am determined to get this right my boss is tired of sunken cakes. The cake is delicious, but because people eat with their eyes, the appearance is a problem. Here is my question: What am I doing wrong? Is this recipe not really meant for volume baking? Is my equipment overmixing the batter (30 qt)? Not enough flour? Wrong size pan? I have also been doubling the recipe, would this make a difference? The list goes on. Because I have successfully done this at home in a conventional oven with my KitchenAid mixer, I know it can be done. What at work is turning this cake into a sinkhole?

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find out if your ovens at work have been calibrated lately. could be a temperature/time thing related to the oven.

also, make sure your leavening isn't a hundred years old. even though you work in a restaurant, some things just don't get rotated correctly or used as often as others.

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Okay, I happen to be the (self-proclaimed) expert on the Elvis Poundcake. Stand back, take notes! Just kidding, but I love that recipe. Here's what I do: Get mise en placed, completely. When the recipe says "room temperature," it means it. You can double it, quadruple it, eight times it, doesn't matter. And you must sift your flour! Are you using White Lily? 'Cause you need to. I suppose you could use ordinary cake flour, but this is a southern thing, y'know. And you definitely have to sift the flour before you measure it, then sift it again with the salt. Cream the be-jesus out of the butter and sugar, until it's so white, it almost looks gray. Then add your eggs, one fourth at a time, beating for at least a minute between additions, scraping the bowl completely between each addition. Then, add the flour and salt in three parts, with the heavy cream. Beat for a minute between each addition, scraping the bowl down completely between each addition. After the last of the flour and cream are added, you must beat the batter for five minutes, just as the recipe says. There is no leavening in this cake, so the beating is what's creating your structure.

I have a suspicion that the reason your cake is falling at work and not at home is the amount you're beating it. The size you're making at home is small enough for the kitchen aid to get the batter strong enough, but the 30 qt. isn't, especially when you're multiplying the recipe. How many times are you multiplying the recipe? I tend to multiply in 2's, because I once read that you should, something about the odd numbers throwing things out of whack. It doesn't make sense, but I do it, just in case!

We make this every week, for two different things, and it never falls. We make it in the 7qt Viking and in the 30 qt. Hobart, depending on the quantitiy. We use loaf pans and half sheet pans, depending on the use. We add vanilla bean scrapings at the beginning with the sugar and butter, or lemon zest or just vanilla extract, but always at the beginning. We also add 1/2 cup of cornmeal to the one we use for lunch buffets, without adding anything to counteract the dry ingredient, because this cake is so moist.

Good luck! Let us know how it works!

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Thanks for your feedback, here's a little more information. I do use White Lily and I am in the South. I am creaming to a pale shade of grey. I have followed this recipe to the letter, our oven temps are fine and my leavening is fresh. Yet, I sink cake after cake after cake. I have doubled and tripled the recipe with the same results. As for the mixing and the structure, I suspected that perhaps the large mixer wasn't doing enough, so I mixed it longer. The result of this was the worst sinking of all. I did convert my sifted flour to weight measurement and just triple sift that amount (after triple sifting and weighing a number of times to get a consistent amount). I don't want to give up but I fear my boss will give me the stinkeye if I turn out another funky cake.

I do appreciate your help and I'll take any other suggestions.

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Are you guys sure you have the same recipe? Maggie says there is no leavening in the cake and greenbean says there is. If they are the same, the usual cause of pound cake sinkage is underbaking.

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Elvis recipes that I have, have no leavening and I made a double recipe last night using Peter Pan cake flour - sifted once then measured - scoop method and sifted twice more, bar grade super fine sugar, large eggs, Keller butter, heavy whipping cream - all at room temp - beat sugar and butter for 8 minutets - added eggs one at a time and beat at end 5 minutes - used Kenwood mixer - used 8-3 pans and the real small individual loaf pans - COLD oven to start - convection oven- to 325 degrees - middle racks - every one came out with raised dome - slight crack in middle - nice crust - no sinking - baking times varied with pan size - used long toothpick to test center after 45 minutes....hope this helps.

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No, there is no leavening in this cake, just air, and somehow I think that may be my problem.

I'm beginning to think that there may be too much air. Since the air expands as it gets warmer, perhaps it all escapes before the structure is able to set. It's not that my cakes do not get height, they just don't maintain it.

I thought that I might have been putting too much batter in the pan. This would not allow it to reach the temperature in time to maintain the structure. However, this does not seem likely since I followed the recipe for pan size and amount. There is some kind of problem with temperature and structure that I just can't solve.

Also, if I am multiplying the recipe and mixing in a 30qt mixer, do I need to adjust any mixing times?

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