How to prevent King Cake from exploding (with pic)

[Mojoman]

Hey all! Ill start off by saying I am not a baker at all. I do cater cajun food and one of the things I like to make for people is the King Cake. Once my dough is rolled out, I fill with a cream cheese filling with sugar and cinnamon. I roll up the dough and try my best to pinch the seams shut. Every time I bake them, the explode open on me like in the pic. I poked vent holes in the top to let steam escape in case that was the problem but it still happens. Anybody have any advice? Thanks!

 

[Schmem]

I've never made a king cske before, but I'd like to. I'm just taking a guess here. But maybe that side was too full or there is too much filling I general? You may need some more vent holes too. It looks delicious, eruption and everything

 

[ChesterV]

Could be many different things.

When you pinch your seams, do you lay the cake down on the seams so they are on the bottom?
You might have too much filling in it, or the dough might be too thin.
Could be it is baking too hot and too fast. Could be it's NOT cooking fast enough, and the dough gets hot and soft for too long, and the filling breaks through before the dough starts to harden up while baking.

I don't know what your recipe or making method is, so it's hard to say.


If this is something you do often, you might look at simplifying it for yourself.
Get a coffee cake bundt pan and bake it in there! See if that helps.

 

[Mojoman]

Could be many different things.

When you pinch your seams, do you lay the cake down on the seams so they are on the bottom?
You might have too much filling in it, or the dough might be too thin.
Could be it is baking too hot and too fast. Could be it's NOT cooking fast enough, and the dough gets hot and soft for too long, and the filling breaks through before the dough starts to harden up while baking.

I don't know what your recipe or making method is, so it's hard to say.


If this is something you do often, you might look at simplifying it for yourself.
Get a coffee cake bundt pan and bake it in there! See if that helps.

 

[Mojoman]

I pinch the seams and put them on the bottom. Its a even not too thick layer of cream cheese in the middle. I roll it somewhat tight but not too tight. Bake at 375 like most recipes say and like i said punch vent holes just in case. Cant figure it out.

 

[Mojoman]

I've never made a king cske before, but I'd like to. I'm just taking a guess here. But maybe that side was too full or there is too much filling I general? You may need some more vent holes too. It looks delicious, eruption and everything

It looked good after decoration!

 

[ChesterV]

I pinch the seams and put them on the bottom. Its a even not too thick layer of cream cheese in the middle. I roll it somewhat tight but not too tight. Bake at 375 like most recipes say and like i said punch vent holes just in case. Cant figure it out.

Does this happen EVERY time, or just sometimes?

 

[Mojoman]

Does this happen EVERY time, or just sometimes?

Every time so far.

 

[ChesterV]

Every time so far.

How far down do you poke the holes? If you are just poking the dough, maybe you should go further down? Maybe poke MORE holes in the top?

The only other things I can think of---

There is a gas build up between the filling mixture and the dough, causing it to burst like that. I know gas build up can occur, but it's rare that I hear of it....even though it has happened to me some years ago.

There is too much filling and not enough dough to contain it when it heats up.

Your dough isn't mixed well enough (or kneaded, if you do that) for the gluten to sufficiently build up in the dough to keep it from getting weak in spots and allowing the filling to break thru like that.



I might suggest, if you don't want the cost of buying the coffee ring pans and try it that way.........
Go to the hardware store and buy a small metal tube, probably a little less in diameter than a drinking straw, but about 2-3 inches long.

Make sure it's bare metal and has no coatings on it. Scrub it clean, and then when ready to bake the cake, poke this into the cake far enough so one end of the tube is about half an inch into the cake. Bake it like that. If it is a gas issue, the tube should work as a vent, letting the gas build up escape and keep the cake from bursting. (Be sure and remove the tube once cooled down!)

If this doesn't work, then the only other thing I can suggest, is thicker dough around the filling.

If every attempt at correcting this fails, then it could be just one of those weird flukes in baking.

Let us know if anything helps or works for you!!!!