You’ve probably heard that we eat with our eyes first. This is certainly true for cakes. Whether you’re baking for a family member’s birthday or planning a royal wedding all eyes are on the cake. Ideally it should be an eye-catcher but there’s one fatal mistake that can ruin the entire presentation: a sunken cake.
| Channel | Publish Date | Thumbnail & View Count | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
 The Station Bakery | 2023-07-20 13:15:05 |  66,690 Views |
Retain moisture and freshness in cakes
There are a few reasons why such an accident can happen. Improper baking can cause your cake to sink and so can a mistake in the ingredients but there’s another problem that many people overlook. You may think that your cake’s fate is sealed the moment you bake it but there’s another trick you can use after your cake comes out of the oven to save you from the dreaded sunken center. It involves making your freshly baked cake fall.
Dropping a cake may sound like a technique straight out of The Three Stooges kitchen but if done carefully and in a controlled manner it should be just fine. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven drop the pan from a short height (about 12 inches or one foot in the air) onto a hard countertop or the floor. The reason this technique can help you prevent a sunken cake is down to some simple science. Let us explain.
The cake-dropping technique is described in detail by Peter Barham a physics professor at the University of Bristol in his 2001 book "The Science of Cooking." As Barham explains collapsed cakes have to do with the arrangement of air bubbles within the cake. Cake batter contains a leavening agent (usually bicarbonate of soda or baking powder) that produces tiny bubbles as it bakes causing the cake to rise. It wouldn't be entirely accurate to call these "bubbles" because they are full of water vapor produced by the heat of the oven. As the cake cools the vapor condenses back into water causing the bubbles to collapse. The edges of the cake remain firm because they are supported by the sides of the pan but the center collapses. To prevent the bubbles in your cake from collapsing you need to introduce air from outside to replace the condensed water vapor. By gently dropping the cake you can pop some of the bubbles allowing air to enter the cake and keeping it light and fluffy. Once you’ve done this you can leave the cake to cool without the bubbles in the cake deflating. Barham’s technique has been endorsed by other publications but it has also been met with skepticism. Let’s take a look at why some are suspicious of this method and whether a little tweaking is exactly what you need.
