Frying a cake?

[W.DeBord]

So yesterday was my first day baking their cakes at the little bakery that I'm working at....well I always have sprayed my pans for release. I do it even when I'm putting a liner (either foil or paper) so they stick in place well and don't wrinkle or move while I place batter in pan.

Well yesterday I sprayed the a full sheet pan then lined it (didn't spray over the paper) and they totally freaked out on me. Both owners came running looking at my pan "that is like frying the cake". Their reaction left me speachless and embarassed I just didn't get it......sorry their reaction still eludes me...what am I missing here?

How is that any different then spraying your pan that isn't lined? And how is that now "frying" their cake?


Sorry, I know this sounds dumb, but am I missing somthing?

[mudbug]

W.DeBord,

That's very interesting rationalization on their part! LOL!

It would be fascinating to call the 1-800 number of the company for product you used and ask them the same question to see what they would say.

I suppose technically, this could be interpreted as such but usually the oil is hot first before adding the ingredient to be fried, whether it's a deep fry or sautŽing. But you aren't submerging the entire cake in a pot of hot oil either. It will be interesting to hear other responses.

[chrose]

It seems to me that if that's the case, then virtually every cake recipe in the world is fried! Offhand I can't think of a recipe that doesn't use some sort of oilf for pan release. Most of the commercial pan release sprays contain flour in them also. Simply flouring a pan will not be enough unless you're using a teflon pan!
What method do they recommend? My only thought may be that they sound kind of "old school" in so far as I'm guessing they prefer rubbing shortening/butter in the pans and then flouring. You and I both know it's the same thing. Maybe they just look at it as putting oil in a pan and in their mind it frys.
Who the **** knows, but I would ask what they prefer, and "when in Rome......"
Good luck

[m brown]

What a great story.
I would suggest you sit down with the folks in charge and ask them for directions as to their methods. Then you could suggest different ways of doing things that would not adversly affect the end product and would allow you to be comfortable.

[momoreg]

Wendy, how COULD you??

All that fat and calories!!

[panini]

I'm thinking maybe(Wait! have you changed jobs????) they were refering to spraying under the paper. The frying thing might come from a cleaning angle like cleaning a frying pan. Whatever it is, I'm sure the owners know what they are talking about,no?
PS why do you spray under the paper and not just around the edges?

[W.DeBord]

Jeff I spray under the liner so it adhears nicely and doesn't shift at all. For instance the lady who usually bakes their cakes doesn't spray. But when you go to frost her cakes if there's a wrinkle under the paper (which happens fairly often) the weight of the cake starts to crack along the indent/that the crease made...this happens predominately on the full sheet cakes (which are very heavy cakes). I find it rather troublesome, even though we "patch" it, if it got bounced around enough by the client they'd loose a percent of the cake.

When you line a pan with foil it's such a breeze with a little spray on the pan. The foil stays nicely in the corners.... and clean-up is a breeze. I've never seen the sprayed oil effect the pan yet in these situations (unlike over spray that's exposed and baked on) under a liner.


P.S. Jeff, I quit the country club last August. I've been at a little bakery near my house since May of this year. I took a NICE vacation .

[angrychef]

I usually spray an "X" on full sheet pans before lining with parchment for the same exact reason. The parchment has the tendency to slide around a bit if your spreading batter to make thin sheets and such. For cakes 10" and smaller I don't bother.
Sounds to me the owners just want to keep methods the way they've always done them. The frying part I don't get.

[Anna W.]

Wendy-

So they just put parchment paper and nothing else in the cake pan? Is it the oil they are opposed to (vs. butter)? I have always done it your way and almost everything I have ever read they use some sort of fat. Besides- can that little bit actually constitute frying? I would never consider that frying but would be very interested in knowing WHY they feel that way.

[RichardL]

"You are frying the cake!" may be simply implies you are putting too much releasing oil on the tray?