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Thursday, August 23, 2018

The cake dilemma.

I have finally found a good, moist, tasty, fairly long-lasting gluten free cake.  An added plus is that it contains zucchini...


However.
A very technical drawing*
The first time I made this gluten free zucchini breakfast cake (sweetened not by sugar, but maple syrup - the pluses are adding up), it was a rather convoluted affair.  I wanted to make it, but didn't have enough of a consecutive chunk of time to go from A to Baked in one go.  So I divided the process up thusly:  measure out dry ingredients into a bowl.  Three days later, add wet ingredients and put in prepared baking pan.  Realize almost immediately that I had left out the melted coconut oil, pull the pan out of the oven, dump the batter back into the mixing bowl, furiously stir in the melted oil, wash and reline baking pan, put back in oven.  I was greatly relieved to find it nice and risen and moist and delish.  (Exhibit B)


HoHA!  Sez I.  I'm going to make it again and THIS time I'm going to make sure I have a nice, uninterrupted (hahahahaha) chunk of time so that there is no forgetting nuthin.  And, thusly, I did so.
However, upon removing the baked cake from the oven, I discovered Exhibit A.


The leavening agent is baking powder with a catalyst of baking soda.  I have been baking for a fair amount of time and although I am not of a scientific nature, I do know that, if you add your carefully measured ingredients (all in-date, nothing expired or close to being so), you should get similar if not identical results.  Same oven.  Same weather conditions, same Moon moving into the path of Saturn.  I also know that, leaving baking powder/soda to sit within a batter can sometimes enhance the rise - but the trick is BATTER, not a pile of dry ingredients.


So, my dears, you of the high baking skills, what happened?  I am hoping to make many more of these cakes because they freeze well and, you know, zucchini.  But I would much rather freeze the cake kind of cake as opposed to the pancake kind of cake.  Thoughts?  xoxoxo




(Both exhibits were equally tasty.  Ergo the technical drawing.)

18 comments:

Toni said...

I have no idea what could have happened but I'm glad they both tasted yummy.

When I had a garden full of zucchini, I would chop up and blend zucchini, making milk. I would freeze it in 1 cup increments. All winter long you can use the milk for pancakes, cakes, breads, or even soup. Was healthy and yummy.

Susan said...

I have no idea unless it was the extra beating when you added the oil. Your first baking routine is pretty close to mine, including forgetting ingredients. I'm now working my way through Jamie Oliver's "Five Ingredient Meals", just about the number I can handle.

Elaine said...

Exhibit A is my norm, I didn't realise there was such a wondrous thing as Exhibit B. Well done you!

More seriously, I really don't know what the answer is, sorry. My courgettes are slowing down, almost stopped production, otherwise I would be asking for the recipe and posting the result so that you could have a laugh.

Mama Pea said...

Yup, my only comment would be like Susan's above, the extra beating when you added the oil increased the volume of the cake.

My daughter and I can take the exact same recipe, and the product comes out differently. Both in appearance and taste. It's happened more than once. So go figure that one out!

Susan said...

That sounds good! Did you leave the skin on and just puree it into liquid?

Theresa said...

Cake, flat or not always sounds good. My vet has to go gluten free so if you get that cake perfected...share the recipe please. I know she is struggling with GF baking.

Susan said...

Let me know when there's a "Three Ingredient Meals". That is just about the number I can handle. Hmm. That's true. I did have it rest a bit and then beat in the oil. I may try and reenact it.

Susan said...

Misery loves company, Elaine! As long as it tastes good, I am not too picky about its physical attributes.

Susan said...

It's sort of like those lovely old family recipes - you can never make it like Great Aunt Edie, no matter that you follow it to a 't'.

Susan said...

I will - I can suggest a great blog: gluten free goddess. I have found almost all of my good GF recipes there, including this cake - GF Zucchini Breakfast Cake.

Toni said...

I did leave skin on, pureed into liquid.

Theresa said...

I will turn her on to it! Thank you!

Ed said...

If time is so tight you have to add dry ingredients and then three days later add the wet ingredients, you need to make more time for you in your life!

Susan said...

Very true, Ed. Very true.

ellen abbott said...

not a cake person, zucchini or otherwise so I have no advice for you.

Buttons alias Grace said...

Good luck is all I can say. My baking skills have been on hold and dwindling since the heat wave that has not left and I my refusal to turn on the oven and cook us. Store bought is not as good for sure. Hugs B

Rain said...

I have no clue Susan! I follow recipes to a T because I find baking is such a volatile thing...actually I've been having oven issues. Suddenly my bread was never rising or baking properly. Sometimes it was, other times it was flat like a pancake as well. I finally bought a cheap little oven thermometer and realized the oven fluctuates terribly, so now I have to adjust baking times, it kind of sucks. I cleaned up the oven and the sensor, but nothin' doin'. When we move next year, we are hoping to leave these old appliances behind...so it just has to chug along for less than a year, I hope it holds up!!

Love your technical drawing! ;)

Casa Mariposa said...

I bake a lot and I wonder if you actually forgot to add the leavening ingredients to the pancake because letting the dry ingreds sit for a while doesn't change anything. Baking is pure chemistry and without the wet ingredients to act as a catalyst for a chemical reaction, nothing would change.