Poundcake 911 !!

[Deelady]

I have made a pistacio pound cake for more years than I can recall and for years they always came out flawless!
But for the last couple of years more often than not after I take it out of the oven it often collapses and deflates mostly in the center but many times altogether! I have used the same recipe this whole time as well as it was the recipe my mom used so I know I have done nothing different. So I can't understand what it going on!!
I thought it might be the heat from the loaf pan so I started taking it out and onto a rack to cool more quickly....then I tried cooling it for about 5 mins in the pan on the rack then taking it out....ect ect. Nothing helps. it still tastes the same and has great moisture but its not as pretty as I use to get it and definately not as firm.....what can I be doing wrong??

Please help!

[rickismom]

Are you using a different brand of flour or leavener?

[Deelady]

It actuall doesn't even need that it is ones of those fool proof ones using cake mix in a box.....guess that makes me a fool huh?:blush::yum:

Here is the recipe:

Pudding Poundcake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 pkg instant pudding mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
4 eggs
1 tsp butter flavoring
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. grease and flour loaf pan.
In a large bowl combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil and water. Beat until moistened. Add eggs and beat well. Add flavorings, beat 6-8 minutes on med high speed. Batter will be very thick.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 mins or till tester comes out clean.

[Fisher's Mom]

Maybe it's the humidity or the moisture in the air. Try cutting back on the liquids and see if that helps.

[ChowderMan]

DeeLady -

although 'nothing' has overtly changed, there is the whole "thou shalt not transfat" issue.

big issue with baking fats.

mebets the "mixes" have changed - even if they are the same brand name.

[QSis]

DeeLady -


mebets the "mixes" have changed - even if they are the same brand name.

Yep. What else can it be?

I've made that cake, too and I'm about due for another. Christmas is as good a time as St. Patrick's Day to make a green cake, isn't it?

:wink:

Lee

[PieSusan]

Or your oven may have changed from when you first started making it. Even the same oven may need to be recalibrated. Easy check, place an oven thermometer (not instant read) in your oven and preheat--check to see if the oven is heating as it should. Or, after the time is up, do the toothpick test, if it is too moist, you need to bake the cake a little longer.

[Deelady]

DeeLady -

although 'nothing' has overtly changed, there is the whole "thou shalt not transfat" issue.

big issue with baking fats.

mebets the "mixes" have changed - even if they are the same brand name.


That makes sense, so if they slightly changed the fats in their cake mix it would possibly cause the cake to deflate after it comes out of the oven?

as far as the issue maybe being the oven, I have made this recipe in about 5 ovens many times in each one (Ive been making this cake for about 20 yrs now) so not with each oven I got varied results but with each time....does that make sense? One time it will come out fine, the next time flatten.....next time fine ect. But the last couple of years it seems to deflate more often.

And Qsis Christmas works for me with green pound cake :)
Thanksgiving I was asked to make a lemon version with a glaze on top :)

FM would you suggest less water or oil to cut back on?

Thanks for the input guys :chef:

[Sherman]

Same thing happened to me with a 7-Up (pound) cake.

Mistakingly used the wrong flour though. It had collapsed and was heavy as a brick after running over in the oven!

Was supposed to use all-purpose flour, but had mistakingly grabbed the self-rising flour instead. The next day, I used the right flour and it came out perfect. Ii uses no leaving agents and rises on egg power alone.

[SilverSage]

Hmmm.. I tried to edit the post and it made a whole new one.

[VeraBlue]

Maybe the oven needs to be calibrated??? Have you noticed it takes longer to cook roasts, etc??

Have you changed the size of the eggs you use?

[SilverSage]

FM would you suggest less water or oil to cut back on?



Oil isn't considered a liquid in the recipe. The oil and the egg yolk are fats. The water and the egg white are liquids. To reduce the liquids, either cut back the water or eliminate one egg white.

Sugar is also considered a liquid in baking (sounds silly but true). It's possible that the mixes have changed their composition and added more sugar. Many companies, in response to the push for lower fat/no transfat products have changed their recipes. Usually they increase sugars to compensate for the loss of flavor from using less fat. It's become a real problem. Food manufacturers put banners on the package saying 'lower fat' or 'no transfats' but they don't put one up that says 'now with more added sugar'.

That said, too much liquid, underbaking, or baking at too high a heat are the most common causes of the kind of collapse you describe.

[QSis]

It actuall doesn't even need that it is ones of those fool proof ones using cake mix in a box.....guess that makes me a fool huh?:blush::yum:

Here is the recipe:

Pudding Poundcake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 pkg instant pudding mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup water
4 eggs
1 tsp butter flavoring
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. grease and flour loaf pan.
In a large bowl combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil and water. Beat until moistened. Add eggs and beat well. Add flavorings, beat 6-8 minutes on med high speed. Batter will be very thick.
Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 mins or till tester comes out clean.


Wait a second - now that I'm reading this again, you make this in a LOAF pan, Dee?!

I've made it in a tube pan and a bundt pan and it's a pretty big cake! I can't find my recipe - I wonder if mine is double yours?

Lee

[joec]

Now I don't bake at all but if it isn't the oven being off which was my first guess. After that I looked at your ingredients and two jumped out at me as both are basically processed the yellow cake mix and the instant pudding mix. I've noticed over the years that pudding for example has change even when made by the same company under the same packaging. I'm sure the same can be said about the cake mix also. They are all trying to cut corners so they might of changed a couple of the ingredients to a different type or brand. Also the packaging size might of change a couple of ounces and that would also effect it I'm sure.

[Deelady]

Thank you everyone, your advice will come in very useful! I now have many more ideas on how to twiddle with it to try to fix the problem. Normally I would have looked for a more stable recipe i.e. making it from scratch, but since I have been eating/making this recipe since I basically began to cook, I'm a bit sentimentally attatched to it :) Plus everytime I make it, it's gone in seconds (even when it flattens lol) so why give up on a good thing ;)

Qsis, it probably still is the same recipe because I always have left over batter that I make into a small side cake (of course I would NEVER think of eating that one all myself when no one is around....:whistle::whistle:)

[Deelady]

Oil isn't considered a liquid in the recipe. The oil and the egg yolk are fats. The water and the egg white are liquids. To reduce the liquids, either cut back the water or eliminate one egg white.

Sugar is also considered a liquid in baking (sounds silly but true). It's possible that the mixes have changed their composition and added more sugar. Many companies, in response to the push for lower fat/no transfat products have changed their recipes. Usually they increase sugars to compensate for the loss of flavor from using less fat. It's become a real problem. Food manufacturers put banners on the package saying 'lower fat' or 'no transfats' but they don't put one up that says 'now with more added sugar'.

That said, too much liquid, underbaking, or baking at too high a heat are the most common causes of the kind of collapse you describe.



Very interesting facts there Silversage! Thank you! Learn something new everyday,and with your post I learned a handful of them! LOL ;)

[Mama]

Dee, I just checked on Allrecipes to see if there was a recipe similar to yours and I found the exact recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmothers-Pound-Cake-I/Detail.aspx?prop31=1). I checked the reviews and it seems that the same thing has happened to others which means it's probably not your oven. I'd eliminate one of the egg whites and see how that does.

[Deelady]

Dee, I just checked on Allrecipes to see if there was a recipe similar to yours and I found the exact recipe (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grandmothers-Pound-Cake-I/Detail.aspx?prop31=1). I checked the reviews and it seems that the same thing has happened to others which means it's probably not your oven. I'd eliminate one of the egg whites and see how that does.


I'm not surprised Mama I always assumed it was probably one of those recipes found on the back of a package once upon a time ago :)

I'll try the one less egg white when I make it this week :) Thanks.

[PieSusan]

The other option Dee is to find a similar recipe that you know will work and not try to make that one anymore. It is probably what I would do. ;-)

[PieSusan]

This one is similar and was published in April in the Sun Sentinel--so I am sure that it will work with the current mixes on the market. here is the link (it is a slightly different recipe but the picture looks lovely--note: one can make it from scratch you know)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/food/sfl-fd02askr1sbapr02,0,1939859.story

[Deelady]

This one is similar and was published in April in the Sun Sentinel--so I am sure that it will work with the current mixes on the market. here is the link (it is a slightly different recipe but the picture looks lovely--note: one can make it from scratch you know)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/features/food/sfl-fd02askr1sbapr02,0,1939859.story



Thats funny Susan...thats actually what my poundcake looks like AFTER it deflates!! its still very much edible but it starts out So much higher!

[Deelady]

I just took my poundcake out of the oven and is cooling on a rack....and it hasn't deflated so far!!!:clap::clap: I will post pics after I glaze it.

[Deelady]

I think it didn't fall because I cooked it much longer than usual.....so its not as moist as usual :(


The small piece on the plate was from a small one I made my daughter from the left over batter.


Lemon Glazed Pudding Poundcake:

[Cooksie]

I think it didn't fall because I cooked it much longer than usual.....so its not as moist as usual :(


The small piece on the plate was from a small one I made my daughter from the left over batter.

Cool Whip to the rescue????? It looks good to me!

[Deelady]

Cool Whip to the rescue????? It looks good to me!



:D its not DRy dry....just not as moist as I like it. the moisture is like regular store bought kind. So acceptable...just not decadent ;)

[Deelady]

oh and thank you!!! lol

[rickismom]

Looks beautiful! now is this the scratch recipe or the boxed one?

[Deelady]

Thank you RM....its the recipe at the beginning of this thread :)

[homecook]

Looks good to me Dee........I'll have a piece, please!!

[Fisher's Mom]

Your cake looks scrumptious, Dee! (I really wish I had a piece right now.)

[Deelady]

Thanks guys :) I really wish I could have done a prettier presentation but I had to wrap it practically for tomorrow to take with me.

[Sass Muffin]

Thanks guys :) I really wish I could have done a prettier presentation but I had to wrap it practically for tomorrow to take with me.
What's not to love about that presentation?
It's gorgeous.