i need help. last night i did a test run of a blueberry cake that i’m making for a christmas party tonight and for some reason the middle collapsed. why would it do that? any ideas?
update #1: the second cake came out perfectly. the trick – smack the cockles out of the cake mixture once it is poured into the pan, causing all the bubbles to rise up to the surface. i don’t know much about baking, but it seemed to work. next task for today…biscotti…
update #2: per yum’s request, the recipe is below. it comes from rocco’s italian-american (a cookbook infested with typos).
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– 1/2 cup canola oil
– 1 1/2 cups sugar
– 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
– 1 tablespoon almond extract
– 4 eggs
– 2 cups flour
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 2 tablespoons baking powder
– 1 1/2 cups blueberries
– confectioners’ sugar
* 2 tablespoons of slivered almonds (my addition to this recipe)
preheat the oven to 350 degrees. lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan.
with an electric mixer beat the canola oil and sugar together until you have a light, grainy paste. add the vanilla and almond extract and mix to combine. then add the eggs one at a time, allowing each to be fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next. turn off the mixer as soon as the last egg has been mixed in.
in a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together. turn the electric mixer on a low setting and add the dry ingredient mix gradually to the batter. stop mixing as soon as the dry ingredients are fully incorporated and you have smooth, thick golden batter. pour the batter into your cake pan and shake to even the top. drop the pan with the batter onto the counter a few times to allow the bubbles to rise to the top. really, i’m serious. pound it a few times on the counter. smack it up really well otherwise your cake will collapse in the middle (see picture above). place the berries on the surface of the batter, close together, pushing them in very slightly, covering the entire surface. sprinkle the slivered almonds on top as well.
bake for 45 minutes and test by inserting a cake tester or sharp knife into the center. it will come out clean when the cake is done. the top of the cake should be golden brown. it may take up to an hour. if after 45 minutes the top is brown but the inside is still uncooked, lower the heat to 325 degrees and test every ten minutes. remove the cake and let it cool for about ten minutes. sprinkle generously with confectioners’ sugar and serve hot or at room temperature.
File: food + recipes
ok here goes! i am making it tomorrow morning. i will let you know how the splenda version turns out. thanks again! yum | 1:48pm on 12/24 hi kristin! this is tinyblossom from paperpreneurs. i love your site...lots of great cooking inspiration. i'm going to have to try this recipe! the cake looks deelish! tinyblossom | 10:46am on 12/24 jaime - stop it! you're making me so hungry right now! kristin | 9:54am on 12/19 hopefully this week (in between all the other christmas baking i am doing) i am going to try a blueberry biscotti of some sort. maybe with hazelnuts and chocolate chunks. boy that sounds good.. jaime | 9:49am on 12/19 i just made pistachio, raspberry, white chunk biscotti (dipped in white chocolate). yum. it is officially one of my favorite biscotti recipes. i'm also going to make an orange-ginger biscotti. i don't care for it (i am not a fan of ginger anything) but everyone else seems to love it. :) jaime | 9:45am on 12/19 jaime - i made giada's chocolate anise biscotti last year as christmas presents for everyone and it was a major hit. tommy's stepgrandfather who is italian begged to have the recipe. he has since changed it to make it his own. i too actually changed the recipe up a bit. i add toasted hazelnuts or toasted walnuts to mine. sometimes i leave out the anise when i know a particular crowd doesn't care for it. i actually made the walnut sans anise version for tommy's company christmas party and everyone seemed like it. there are a couple pieces sitting on the counter this very minute...yummm for anyone who wants the recipe, i posted it on my 'work' page. kristin | 11:53am on 12/18 hey kristin! i've actually made giada's chocolate anise biscotti (though she calls them cookies and that is one more thing i find irritating about her). they are one of my favorite biscotti to make. it's nice too because they make smaller than normal biscotti (maybe that is why she calls them cookies), so they are great for large parties and gifts. though, i must say that they are great because of the anise. you really should give it a try. you won't be sorry. jaime | 10:13am on 12/18 a - my husband and i are cracking up at your story! hilarious! how the heck did that conversation end? did you just walk away? i hear that he works for anthropologie in the design department. not sure if that's a myth or not, but if it's true then she's one lucky gal. by the way, thanks for the heads-up on the biscotti recipe. i'm wondering why it would break apart so easily. i'll have to give it a try too and see what happens. if it happens to me then we can definitely say it's a bust. that recipe aired again today and it looked so delicious. i'm craving it bad! yum! - i have to apologize as i didn't have time today to type up the blueberry cake recipe. i'll try and post it tomorrow :) kristin | 1:24am on 12/18 cranberry & pistachio biscotti.......um. just finished making them. they taste really good but i don't think i will be giving them as gifts. they certainly did not come out looking very pretty. i doubled the recipe so i am not sure if that was part of the problem or what...when i went to slice them, totally crumbled. when i went to dip them, broke in half and crumbled some more. ah well. i am no giada. although i secretetly think she's my friend :) i saw her hubby at the grocery store the other night and before i could even think i said "are you giada's husband?" and he said "yeah, are you a friend of hers" and then, well.......i wanted to die. a | 7:40pm on 12/17 thanks girl! yum! | 12:58pm on 12/17 yum! - i'll definitely post the recipe today. not a problem :) kristin | 11:32am on 12/17 i am sooo making that this week! my husband loves blueberry pie! can you give the directions or is it a secret?? yum! | 10:12am on 12/17 a - i'm making her chocolate anise biscotti (without the anise and with walnuts). let me know how the pistachio and cranberry biscotti turns out. i saw her make it the other day and it looks mighty tasty! kristin | 5:26pm on 12/16 are you making giada's pistachio and cranberry biscotti?? i am! a | 5:11pm on 12/16 maybe the blueberries were tired of you staring at them and sank down to take a nap??? maria la del barrio | 4:46pm on 12/16 stop sitting on it kate | 12:16pm on 12/16 not cooked long enough? looks like there's lots of good cake on the edges, but not in the middle. could have to do with the pan making all the blueberries (heavy stuff) go to the center???? just guesses. sarah | 11:18am on 12/16
September 16, 2009 at 12:24 pm