Page 130 - Chocolate Cake Doctor

112 C H O C O L A T E P O U N D C A K E S

If the Cake Sticks to the Pan

elp! What a horrible situation. cakes are even easier to patch back
H You’ve baked this magnificent together, since you’re covering them with
cake, and when you go to invert the cake frosting—if necessary, a lot of frosting!
onto a rack to cool, nothing happens. The The next time you’re about to invert a
cake will not budge. So you shake a little cake, run a knife around the edge of the
harder, getting aggravated by this point, pan first and give the cake quarter-turn
and only a portion of the cake lets go. The shakes to loosen it. Place the rack or
rest hangs onto the pan. Believe me, I’ve serving platter upside down on top of the
been there. cake pan, then invert both with one final
If half the cake is on the rack and the shake so the cake lands right side up.
other half remains glued to the pan, run a You can reduce the chances of sticking
metal spatula underneath the remaining if you prepare the pan the right way first.
cake to help it give way, then piece the For layers, grease the pan with solid
cake back together on the platter. If you vegetable shortening and dust them with
pour enough glaze over the top of a flour. For Bundts and tubes, mist well
patched Bundt or tube cake, you can hide with a vegetable oil spray, making sure
the damage. (I have even done this right the spray gets between all the grooves,
before appearing on television!) Layer and dust well with flour. The same applies

mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable more, scraping the sides down again if
oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out needed. The batter should look thick and
the excess flour. Set the pan aside. well combined. Pour the batter into the
prepared pan, smoothing it out with the
2. Place the cake mix, water, applesauce,
rubber spatula. Place the pan in the
and Egg Beaters in a large mixing bowl.
oven.
Blend with an electric mixer on low
speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine 3. Bake the cake until it springs back
and scrape down the sides of the bowl when lightly pressed with your finger, 37
with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer to 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the
speed to medium and beat 2 minutes oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for