Carrot Cake - A Question of Timing
I received this question from Laurie Koch asking,
Can I prepare a carrot cake at 8 in the morning, put it in a 9x13 pan, put it in the fridge, and then take it out and bake it at 8 p.m. at night? If not, why not?
The consensus is it needs to be baked right after it is prepared and in the pan, but no one can tell me why?? My husband hopes to save on electricity costs and heating up the house. My response, "tough!!
So I sent this question to contributing writer Jenni Field, a professional baker. Here is what she had to say,
Dear Laurie,
While I applaud your husband's wanting to save electricity, I join you in saying, "Tough!" to him.
The issue with holding batter over is about the leavening. I'm not sure what your recipe calls for, but if it's like many carrot cakes, it is leavened with baking soda. Baking soda has a rather boisterous chemical reaction when it gets wet.
That means that the closer to mixing that you bake, the lighter your cake will be since all those bubbles will still be present to leaven the cake. The longer you let the batter sit, the fewer the remaining bubbles.
If your recipe calls for baking powder, at least in part, you'll be better off using double-acting baking powder. As its name implies, it has double the chemical reaction.
Or rather, it's comprised of components that release gases under different conditions. Some release gas once they get wet or are mixed into the batter. Others release their gases as they get hot or in the oven. This buys you some time since you'll still get some of the leavening effects from the gases emitted in the oven.
The bottom line is that, with either type of leavening, if you wait a substantial amount of time between mixing and baking, your cake will not rise as high and will be somewhat dense. Having said that, carrot cakes are generally extremely moist, and lots of folks like them kind of dense. So, I guess I'd better amend my "tough" to your husband.
If you are a fan of light, well-risen cakes, you'll need to mix and bake in the evening (and mixing shouldn't take too long, especially if you have all your ingredients ready), or live with a kind of dense cake. Actually, I'd suggest you measure/prep your ingredients in the morning and then mix and bake in the evening to get the best of both worlds. Compromise is a beautiful thing!
Chef JenniIf you spend any time here on my blog or website, you will hear me talk about Chef Jenni Field. She is a wonderful writer with an encyclopedic knowledge of all things pastry and baking.
Chef Chuck
Wow, that carrot cake looks delicious... like I can almost taste it. Your photographs are so nice, do you take them yourself?
The Reluctant Gourmet
Hi Chuck, thanks for the comments. Most of the photographs I take myself but they are just ok. I’m looking to find a food photographer that can give me and my readers some tips for better shots. I also use a few stock photo sites where I buy photos like this one when I don’t have a great graphic.
JEANNE subotnick
can I have the recipe for that carrot cake? I just made one and I don't think it has enough flavor, the layers sit un-frosted, can you think of anything I could turn it into, I hate to toss it.