Brief descriptions of cake

[Norcalbaker59]

Hi NorCal thanks for the update

I can confirm they're definitely magic line Parrish pans. I'm in California and I went to their actual store in Gardena and it's the same looking pans there. I think they got rid of their smooth outside edges...but they seem sharp enough?

These ones I purchased weren't from Amazon. Direct from cake supply store online. But I forgot a pan and went to the store while I was near LA.

Wow, I’m surprised their square pans are now so rough on the seams. Maybe the change in quality is due to the pandemic chain supply.

TBH, with that seam, I don't know how clean and sharp the corners will turn out. The batter may stick to the nooks and crannies between the weld beads.

 

[TheFrenchPatissier]

Wow, I’m surprised their square pans are now so rough on the seams. Maybe the change in quality is due to the pandemic chain supply.

TBH, with that seam, I don't know how clean and sharp the corners will turn out. The batter may stick to the nooks and crannies between the weld beads.

The inside of them is pretty smooth but obviously not perfect. It's sad for sure but I think they should be okay. I'd be more annoyed if my all in cost was higher on these.

Yeah they probably changed things up but I saw a video from 4 and another (linked below) from 11 years ago on YouTube where the lady had the same seams on hers.

 

[Carnivore Baker]

I read through this conversation with great interest. I took your suggestion about USA Pan/Fat Daddio, Norcalbaker, and purchased Parrish Magic Line pans, having been frustrated with the results I got with those brands (I'm a new baker and they were my first pans). It was like you said -- my cakes usually domed and I had a heck of a time getting the middle properly baked while preventing the edges from over-baking, even with cake strips.

They just arrived and tonight I baked one of my favorite chocolate cake recipes. The great news is that the cakes were perfectly level, the edges were lovely, and the bake was uniform. Hooray! I was thrilled!

However, two of the three pans I used developed an odd discoloration in a couple of spots which yielded a matching divot in the bottom of the cakes. Was that the pan reacting to the acid in the batter?? And why would such discoloration actually indent the cake?? I'm flummoxed. Can you please ring in? Thank you so much!

Lastly, TheFrenchPatissier, how are YOU liking your pans?

 

[Millie27]

This is a great post, and I feel a bit awkward posting here since I’m new and have mostly lurked, but the part about Savoy cake being made with potato flour is not correct. It is starch. In Europe it is common for potato starch to be called “potato flour” (for example Fuchsia Dunlop being a UK author calls for potato flour in her Chinese recipes when she’s calling for starch), but potato flour as it is known in the USA is ground, dehydrated potatoes and is not used much outside the USA where it’s mainly used for the softness and moisture retention it provides in breads (or cakes like Stella Parks’ yellow cake). Potato flour is lightly yellow in color where potato starch is white. Pierre Herme’s Savoy is made with potato starch if you see the French recipe.

Le Biscuit de Savoie selon Pierre Hermé

Un gâteau qui a ébloui l'empereur lui même ! J'ai découvert cette recette dans le fabuleux livre de Pierre Hermé : "Rêves de pâtissier" où...

pandadanslacuisine.blogspot.com

The Washington Post is wrong here likely due to a mistranslation (common for Pierre Hermé books):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/savoy-sponge-cake/

Another recipe for this cake:

Biscuit de Savoie de ma Grand-Mère

Depuis tout petit, ma grand-mère me prépare ce superbe biscuit de Savoie ultra moelleux et si délicieux! Je le trempais dans une crème au chocolat ou à la vanille...

www.cuisineaz.com

It’s often made with cornstarch as well.


Potato flour as used in the USA is essentially an unheard of product outside the USA.

 

[retired baker]

This is a great post, and I feel a bit awkward posting here since I’m new and have mostly lurked, but the part about Savoy cake being made with potato flour is not correct. It is starch. In Europe it is common for potato starch to be called “potato flour” (for example Fuchsia Dunlop being a UK author calls for potato flour in her Chinese recipes when she’s calling for starch), but potato flour as it is known in the USA is ground, dehydrated potatoes and is not used much outside the USA where it’s mainly used for the softness and moisture retention it provides in breads (or cakes like Stella Parks’ yellow cake). Potato flour is lightly yellow in color where potato starch is white. Pierre Herme’s Savoy is made with potato starch if you see the French recipe.

Le Biscuit de Savoie selon Pierre Hermé

Un gâteau qui a ébloui l'empereur lui même ! J'ai découvert cette recette dans le fabuleux livre de Pierre Hermé : "Rêves de pâtissier" où...

pandadanslacuisine.blogspot.com

The Washington Post is wrong here likely due to a mistranslation (common for Pierre Hermé books):

https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/savoy-sponge-cake/

Another recipe for this cake:

Biscuit de Savoie de ma Grand-Mère

Depuis tout petit, ma grand-mère me prépare ce superbe biscuit de Savoie ultra moelleux et si délicieux! Je le trempais dans une crème au chocolat ou à la vanille...

www.cuisineaz.com

It’s often made with cornstarch as well.


Potato flour as used in the USA is essentially an unheard of product outside the USA.

the recipe I have is at least 75 yrs old and uses cake flour.

 

[Millie27]

the recipe I have is at least 75 yrs old and uses cake flour.

Yes, to be clear I don’t mean it’s only made with starch, but that recipes that call for something other than flour are calling for starch. I just wanted to clear up the potato flour confusion because it’s extremely common for European recipes to translate potato starch as potato flour because the potato flour used in the USA is not used in Europe. Just the other day I was looking at an Ottolenghi recipe and it called for potato flour for something that was definitely made with potato starch.

It’s very similar to how corn starch is called “cornflour” in the UK while in the USA corn flour is a very different thing from cornstarch.