The Great Crust | More Sweets Please

The Great Crust… Bust.

I was so looking forward to the Blueberries & Cream Pound Cake, so much so that I decided to make a massive double batch (à la “more is better” philosophy). This Recipe for Disaster was born in that moment of gluttony, I am certain.

All you need to do is look at the picture of the crust to figure out why this gem is classified as a Disaster. After an hour of baking (filling the house with a glorious blueberry and lemon and sugar smell), this crust went rogue and decided to separate itself from the perfectly-baked cakey glory housed beneath it. (When I say “separate itself”, I mean that the crust was fully committed to its evil act of separation. The entire top of the cake peeled off as it cooled- into an almost-amusing detachable roof.) You typically don’t want to serve a cake that looks like it has been scalped.

Through extensive research (Googling a total of two websites) I figured out where I went wrong this time around- since I have never experienced a pound cake disaster to this proportion before:

* I might have overbeaten the eggs. Since I doubled the recipe (more is better! more is better!), I added in eight eggs… and consequently beat the crap out of them. Beating for a full minute between each egg isn’t a crime in a single batch, but for a double, not such a good idea. I might have created a meringue situation in the batter.

* I might have mixed the flour a bit too much. “They” say that the gluten in the flour does something here if over mixed, and it somehow relates to a detachable crust. I am so not a gluten fan.

In the spirit of making lemonade out of lemons, I salvaged the cake by slathering a cream cheese icing over the top, covering up what wasn’t there… the crust.
Oh, icing- you crime-coverer. I will be forever indebted to you.

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February 18th, 2012 | More Sweets Please | No Comments | Tags: Disasters