I think I'll keep this short, as the other HCB blogs I've looked at seem to have done great write-ups and had better success with the cake. I made another half-size cake using my 6-cup fluted tube pan. Everything was according to the recipe, though I used heavy cream (I assume at 36% fat) and didn't go in search of a source for the special 40% stuff. One other difference which is probably crucial: I baked on one higher rack in the oven than usual, which put the cake closer to the center of the oven than the lower third. 
Despite the smaller pan, my cake took 25 minutes to bake, the lower end of the range for a full-sized cake. However, instead of a lovely browned exterior, I ended up with a pale, sticky surface. It's not that the cake stuck to the pan for the most part--the cake just didn't brown except on top. My only explanation is the position of the cake in the oven, but I've very surprised that it could have made such a difference. This pan has certainly given good results with other cakes.Well, pale and sticky exterior or no, we still enjoyed the cake. It is flavorful and moist, though not as much as my standard pound cake recipe that's made more conventionally with butter and cream cheese, not just using whipped cream for the fat source. The Whipped Cream Cake has a more open texture as well, and that may contribute to the feeling that it is not as moist. The crumb was very tender--in fact, I had problems getting the sticky cake to come out of the pan and lost a few chunks of cake off the bottom (the top as it was baking) in the process.
The tasting consensus was that the cake alone was not a real standout. Served again the next night with the addition of strawberries and cream, it was much more of a success.
Yes, I believe your suspicions about your cake placement are correct.
ReplyDeleteUnless you have an oven that uses an electric coil at the top of the oven cavity, your heat is most likely generated at the base of your oven. If that is indeed the case, placing the cake in the lower third, closer to the heat source, would certainly have helped to bottom brown faster.
Additionally - heat rises, so placing the cake in the center of the oven, closer to the top of the oven cavity, allowed the trapped hot air to bake the surface of your cake faster than if the cake had been placed on a lower rack.
You might find the cake's pale, stick exterior more appetizing if you toast slices of the cake under the broiler for a few moments. Just a thought.
:)
ButterYum
*hugs*
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear. I would definitely recommend trying it again, full recipe, in a regular bundt pan, on the proper rack. This cake was really really good. I'm glad you were still able to enjoy it :o)
ReplyDeleteive never made whipped cream cake, but ill take stawberries and cream any day
ReplyDelete