Carrot cake that did not make....the grade

[Winterybella]

I made a carrot cake from scratch a few days ago and if I am being completely honest it did not make the passing grade. The texture did not seem right as it was too stiff and still it had that dreaded line that made me stay away from baking many, many years ago.

I reflect on it and I wonder if I should have used my mixer and really don't know what I really did wrong. Any carrot cake experts out there? Any suggestions for perfection, if I try again.

 

[Trellum]

By line you mean a crack formed on top of the cake or something like that? So sorry to hear about your cake, where you got that recipe from??? Did you follow the instructions perfectly? I really think the problem is that you didn't use enough oil/butter. That is why the cake was a bit dry/hard and not soft and moist. Maybe you should have added an extra egg. Remember the more eggs a cake has, the richer it turns out (not exaggerating, of course).

 

[Winterybella]

It was sort of an uncooked line. It's a line I had seen decades ago when I tried to bake, that had turned me off from baking. I was trying to find the exact recipe but I can't right now and I apparently pinned the wrong one or one I intend to use another time. I made a lot of mistakes. It was at the moment I wished I had done a box carrot cake. The first time I tried a boxed carrot cake it was heavenly.

 

[Trellum]

Oh I see, I have never seen one of those uncooked lines, but are you sure everything is ok with your oven? I guess you didn't let it sit in the oven long enough. I rarely let them sit for as long as the recipe specifies, because every oven is different. What I do to make sure a cake, even a boxed cake is completely done is using the old toothpick trick. That one never fails. Did you use it?

 

[ReadmeByAmy]

Carrot cake is one cake that I really want to try to bake. But I know that it is not that easy. That is why I am still looking for the right recipe and source of successful baking based on the experience of those who had tried it already. Maybe if I am ready already I will not hesitate myself to give this a try.

 

[Winterybella]

Oh I see, I have never seen one of those uncooked lines, but are you sure everything is ok with your oven? I guess you didn't let it sit in the oven long enough. I rarely let them sit for as long as the recipe specifies, because every oven is different. What I do to make sure a cake, even a boxed cake is completely done is using the old toothpick trick. That one never fails. Did you use it?

You are not going to believe me. I usually stick a knife in the middle or wherever. I find the toothpick too short or maybe to far away in a cupboard. You know I am "miss quick fix" so I use whatever is right at hand. The thing is I did not take this one out too quickly which is why the line surprised me. I feel it's a combination of mistakes. I am going to go for it again. I was thinking to stay away, but I have decided to dive in again soon.

 

[Trellum]

Lol Anne, I could have never guessed you had murderous tendencies towards cakes Lol, just kidding! If that works for you, then fine, no one ever noticed anyway, right? Good for you! If you need help let me know, I have prepared carrot cake many times, so I can check the ingredient list if you want?

 

[Winterybella]

I like the murder joke, but right now that's a tricky subject. One of customers and a friend of the store has been charged with murder. Quite sad. In my little island that's big news and because I know the parties it's close to home. Quite sad

Back on subject, I would be happy to get some tips. I want to "attack" it again. At first I was so disappointed I was thinking to stay away completely but I bounce back quickly most times.
Plus I have lots of carrots hanging around.

 

[Trellum]

@Winterybella So sorry to hear that! Was she a woman who killed her husband or something like that? It's terrible, been seeing a lot murder cases lately and it seems most of the time it's wives against husbands and visceversa. I'd not be suprised if you tell me it was the wife who killed the husband or the husband's lover. Very sad case really, everyone loses.

Sure, let me check the recipe if you got it online! By the way, what kind of baking pans do you use?

 

[Winterybella]

No, it's a youngster who is close to my son's age. They all went to the same secondary school a few years apart. It's a messy story but we have to see how it turns out but they liked the street life and everything is as a result of that culture. That's a long story for another thread but to so many of them I am 'moms'.

I used a glass pan. I ended up leaving it in the oven much longer than the recipe called for but still it had that uncooked line. Here is the recipe that I chopped in half. Now I am also wondering if I did that correctly.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/carrot-cake-iii/

 

[Trellum]

Yeah, it looks fine to me. But have you ever used a metal pan for that kind of cakes? I have noticed I always get a better result with the round metal pans. Something about the heat distribution. Do you have a metallic cake pan? The size to ingredients ratio matters too. Are you sure the pan wasn't too small for the quantity of ingredients you used?