r/AskBaking

We’ve tried making this cake from Gramma’s recipe box for it to result in a short, dense (albeit tasty!) cake. I believe we baked it at 350 for 20-25 minutes at the advice of chatGPT (I know, but I couldn’t stop my mom). Chat GPT also said to increase the baking powder by a half-teaspoon, so one and one-half teaspoon baking powder. And I believe we did a tsp almond flavoring.

I’m here to ask actual people. Twice now this cake has been too dense and flat. Suggestions?!

Ok so basically I have 3 thoughts on why it went wrong

1.i blended the strawberries with 2 eggs because I thought that would be faster than dicing them.

2. I used to much Cocoa powder

3. The 83% dark chocolate chips

I don't remember the full recipe ngl but I do remember

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs

Either a cup or a cup and 1/4 or just 3/4 all purpose flour

Half a cup cocoa powder

A whole bin of strawberries like the small one at grocery stores

1/4 cup baking powder

1/2 cup butter

And I just poured the chocolate chips in there

What chiffon tube cake tins are you guys using?
I am using something like this (I think it’s aluminum) and I use a thin knife to run along the edges to release my cake. However I realised that it might be releasing metal shavings into my cake as I spotted tiny silver bits on the surface of my cake. I see that using a knife is pretty common among bakers. What am I doing wrong?

I’m trying to make this baguette-style challah but I can barely find any recipes for it 😭 Found this one and translated it and halved it for my bread machine.

This is what I used:
300 ml water
2 tbsp oil / 27 g
2 tbsp sugar / 25 g
1½ tsp salt / 9 g
500 g white flour
1½ tsp dry yeast / 4.5 g

Added in that order and let the dough cycle finish. Then you’re meant to divide into 3plait it and leave it covered for 30 to 45 mins,
egg wash and bake at 200°C fan for 20–25 mins.

But the dough is soooo sticky I’m confused what to do with it. I can make the strands but whenever I try to plait them they just kind of mush together and flatten, so you can barely see the plait anymore.
Am I meant to add more flour?? Knead it more? I don’t want to keep adding flour and end up with dense challah but it’s literally not holding its shape. Any help would be appreciated!

hi all!

so next weekend i am baking for and attending a wedding where my cakes will need to travel approximately 260 miles, and am seeking some feedback on my plan for how to handle this and the supply list of what i’m planning to take with me day-of for setting up, as well as possibly assisting with cutting/serving.

i’ve attached the inspiration pic for the main cake. i am doing a 2-tier rather than a 3, and the top tier will be a 3-layer 6 inch, and bottom will be a 3-layer 8 inch. the layers are vanilla with a caramel filling in between and it’ll be frosted in a mock swiss meringue buttercream (made using pasteurized liquid egg whites). there will also be 2 half sheet cakes for the guests.

what makes it all a bit tricky is that the wedding venue is 4 hours away and i’ll be driving down the day of, so to keep my cakes stable during the drive i’m planning to freeze both tiers and both sheet cakes overnight the night before and stack the tiers before the drive. i’d rather not stack the tiers at the venue because i like to stack them when they are at least fridge cold so the icing is hard. i’m also considering adding some meringue or milk powder to the buttercream to help stabilize it a bit; i’ve done meringue powder before but it was in american buttercream, so wondering if anyone has tried it with mock swiss and if so what your results were. for reference, my ratios/recipe for my mock swiss is: 1 cup liquid pasteurized egg whites, 2 lbs powdered sugar, 10 sticks butter, 1 tbsp vanilla. if anyone has tried either, could you also recommend how much to add for my recipe?

i am planning to arrive for setup approximately an hour before the reception begins, and will also be adding the decorations at the venue since they are fairly minimal and so the condensation as it thaws won’t affect the edible ribbon. by the time i arrive at the venue, my cakes will have been out of the freezer for approximately 4 1/2 hours, give or take. i estimate they’ll be cut and served maybe another 2 1/2 - 3 hours after that. so all in all, it will be approximately 7-7.5 hours between when the cakes leave the freezer to when they are cut and served. i really just need some feedback/reassurance that they will hold up during this time, provided i have the proper supports and ensure everything is level.

i also am hoping someone can double-check my supply list of what i’m planning to bring with for setup/decoration/potentially assisting with the cutting and serving. my clients are also planning to take home and freeze their top tier. my current list is:

- headband/hair ties for tying my hair back if needed
- hand sanitizer
- gloves
- cake server
- offset spatula(s)
- box/board for top tier
- saran wrap
- cake topper
- cake stand
- edible ribbon
- scissors
- hearts
- edible glue
- extra frosting
- whatever piping tips are needed

whew!! i know this is long and am so thankful to all who offer their feedback 🫶

TLDR: i’m baking for and attending a wedding which is 4 hours away, and need feedback on my supply list for the day of as well as my plan of attack for transporting and setting up my cakes (vanilla with caramel filling), which is to freeze everything the night before as well as maybe add some meringue or milk powder to my mock swiss meringue frosting.

TIA!