Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The Sourdough Cake that Wouldn't

As I mentioned in my last post, I gave up cake for Lent which was a bit inconvenient considering that this month's Sourdough Surprises challenge is cake. I decided to make mini bundts so as not to add to the growing collection of cakes that I can't eat in my freezer.

I really wanted to experiment but decided to keep it simple and make a chocolate beer cake. I used this chocolate cake recipe from King Arthur but since I only made a quarter of the recipe, I didn't use eggs but added a little vinegar and a extra liquid. I also swapped half of the milk for Red Stripe beer.



The recipe called for making somewhat of a poolish and this is where I made a huge mistake. As I mentioned, I was using half milk and half beer. The polish called for mixing the milk, starter and flour together. I wanted to add the beer later so I didn't add it. Apparently I forgot that I was making cake and not bread. With less liquid, this was perfect kneading consistency and I got a little mix-happy. And that meant GLUTEN!

There was really no way to "dissolve" all those gluten strands and there were specks of gluten strands in my cake. I could have tossed the batter and started over but really, that's a waste. I knew it wouldn't taste bad. It would just have a lump or two in it. Yeah.. that didn't sound appealing to me either but hey. I baked it anyway.

It smelled great. I could smell the beer. And since the batter tasted good, I assume the cake itself might be good too. Who knows? On March 31 I will be able to tell you. The recipe used a really yummy look frosting that I really wanted to make. But since this was only heading into my freezer and not to a friend as I had originally planned, I decided to just skip it. Yeah, the pics would have been really great with the frosting but I can't be too concerned about it.



After Lent, I will try this again. I'm sure there are great cakes elsewhere for you to drool over so hop on over to the other blogs and have a look.








19 comments:

  1. Well I give you credit for not eating the cakes!! Something about mini cakes....I am much better off making a large cake and freezing it...I would have eaten the mini cakes, for sure!!! Can't wait to find out how they tasted:) Where in the world did you get the cute mini bundt pans?? Lynn @ Turnips 2 Tangerines

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    1. I never knew I had so much willpower. Several times I tried to bite into one of these and stopped myself. I found 4 of these on eBay a few years ago.

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  2. Extra credit for the willpower - I know how tough it is. Nice job on both counts :-).

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  3. Oh my! You really tested your willpower didn't you. They look yummy.

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    1. If you ever knew how many cakes and cupcakes were in my freezer right now...

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  4. chocolate beer cake? would love to taste it! ciao, Barbara

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  5. One time I made banana bread while I was fasting. It was pure torture smelling it bake. I think it takes more willpower than I have to bake a chocolate cake and not eat it. ;)

    Oh, but when I did finally eat the banana bread the next morning? Best. Banana. Bread. EVER.

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    1. I think my overall sugar intake has increased while I find substitutes for cake. But I can't wait until I can dig in!

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  6. Oh my gosh, I am so sorry for the timing - I so would have cheated (with some silly rationale), but I truly commend you for joining in, even with your cake-restriction. The cakes are adorable and sound delicious. Great job!!

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    1. Thanks! Oh, I tried to justify it. "I need to check if there really are lumps." "How can I post it without really knowing what it tastes like?" But I'm trying to be strong. It shouldn't be that hard to give something up for 46 days. It's not oxygen. Or is it?

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  7. I've used the recipe before and the cake tastes so much better a few days later, so I have no doubt yours will be fantastic on Easter Sunday!

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  8. Aaaahhhh, way to leave us hanging! You're much stronger than I am - I wouldn't have been able to stop myself from sneaking a taste ;)

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  9. It looks great! Can't wait to hear how it tastes :)

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  10. You are awesome for baking a cake you couldn't eat. That is too bad about gluten development, but I am sure chocolate bread was delicious, too! :) Thanks for baking with us!!!

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    1. Thanks! I'm sure it will be good. 9 days until I find out.

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  11. At least cake freezes well. I bet your freezer is full of fantastic goodies!

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