Hi, I need help!!!

[WSD]

Hi, I am new and have been searching somewhere that might help me. I attended culinary school about 8 years ago. I have tried to make a yellow cake using my old recipe. My recipe calls for fluid flex which I have. But everytime I make the recipe, the top inch or so sponges up like it supposed to, but the rest of the cake becomes dense. If I recall, I do not have to beat it very long (incorporating air). I tried raising and lowering my oven temperature and I continue to get the same result. I wonder if there may be something wrong with the fluid flex?

[Mezzaluna]

HI WSD and welcome to Chef Talk.

I am moving this query to the Pastry and Baking Forum where it'll get the attention it deserves from our avid bakers.

Please come back to the Welcome Forum to introduce yourself because we'd like to get acquainted.

Good luck on getting the information you seek!

Mezzaluna
Welcome Forum moderator

[cape chef]

Two of the major ingredients in cakes is fat and water (including the water in milk and eggs) These items by nature are unmixable, so you need to make them into an emulsion,Maybe the fluid flex can't hold the water?

Make sure your items aren't to cold (70 degree's I think)

You said you recall that you don't need to mix this batter to much but if you don't cream the fat and sugar properly you won't get a good cell structure to hold the water. One more idea is that your adding ingredients to fast? are you alternating wet and dry?

I know we have some pastry chefs here that can give you exact reasons why, but I hope I'm on the right track, Momo?

[thebighat]

whole eggs 3 lb 5 oz
liquid shortening 1 lb 4 oz
milk 1 lb
vanilla 2 oz
sugar 2 lb 8 oz
cake flour 2 lb
baking powder 2.25 oz
salt .75 oz

Put all liquid ingredients in mixer bowl. Sift all dry ingredients. Place dry on wet, mix on low for 30 seconds to moisten. Whip 4 minutes on high, scrape down, mix 3 minutes on medium. Scale 1 lb 7 oz to a 9" pan, 350 till golden brown.

All purpose flour will work, won't be as tender, but don't try it with high gluten. It sounds like you might have mis-scaled the baking powder.

[WSD]

Thanks a lot for your help.

[wizcat3]

thebighat, do you really mean "beat at high speed for 4 minutes" ?? and then an additional 3 minutes. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems a long time to be mixing flour/dry ingredients into the wet batter, even in a 20 qt mixer. Please commet, thanks.

[thebighat]

Nope, that's correct as written. It works. Don't ask why..liquid shortening is strange stuff.

[WSD]

thebighat gave me a recipe for a yellow cake using fluid flex that I live by. Do you have any chocolate cake recipes usuing fluid flex as well?

[cookiejar]

Guys,
What the heck is "fluid flex"? I've been baking forever (my main passion) but this is the first time I've heard of it. I'm assuming it's a liquid shortening...what are the advantages of it over shortening or butter? Where do you get it?

[Kelleybean]

Cookiejar,

I had that same question. I looked it up on ask.com and this is what I gound.


"Fluid Flex is a semi-liquid shortening and can be purchased through a bakery products purveyer. Sexton, Rykoff, D.Rosen are examples. Liquid shortening is the generic name if they carry another brand. It does wonders for uniformity of product. You can substitute 3 parts partially hydrogenated shortening (Hi-Ratio Shortening) to 1 part veg oil."

I'll have to give it a try one of these days.

[cookiejar]

Wow!!! Who knew? Does this make it a health food since it's relacing a partially hydrogenated product? This can get confusing when science and technology get into the kitchen!

[Kelleybean]

I have absolutely no idea. It would make sence though but since I had no clue as to what "fluid flex" was until I looked it up I can't tell you anything about it.

[cookiejar]

Thanks KelleyBean. I'm going to do a little research of my own. My daughter is a vegan who also doesn't eat hydrogenated anything (Yikes!!) and this would be particularly interesting to her.