Bundt Cake Gone Awry

[Syndrla]

Good Morning! My boyfriend's Mom died a few weeks ago. She had a wonderful recipe for a chocolate bundt cake. Everything appeared to be pretty normal as far as ingredients go, and then there was - four cups of boiling water. The batter was thinner than chocolate milk. Her recipe said to bake for 30-35 minutes at 400. The cake came out like a gelatinous mass. The toothpicks were clean at many different spots on the cake. I am an experienced baker and this seemed really out of whack to me to have four cups of water in a regular size bundt pan. Since his Mom is no longer with us and he and his kids want me to perfect this cake, I am at a loss. Does this seem correct that four cups of boiling water be in any small cake like this? Help....

 

[Becky]

Welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear about your boyfriend's mum

I agree that 4 cups of boiling water sounds very odd. What is the consistency like before you add the water? You could try adding just enough to create what you think it the right consistency - but it depends on what it is like beforehand.

 

[Bakers12]

That 4 cup ratio definitely doesn't seem right for a bundt cake. There are a lot of recipes that only call for 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of water for these types of cakes. You may want to go back, and see the notation.