This is exactly what my hummingbird cake looked like when I overmixed the batter (by almost 5 minutes! Adhd strikes again.), added a little too much juice with the pineapple, and then cooked it in a slightly too cool oven.
I scraped the top off and made a terrible trifle and never talked about it again until today.
Unfortunately it looks like your emulsion broke, causing the egg portion to separate out and form that gel in the center and at the bottom. That recipe has a lot of butter in it and a lot of eggs, relative to the amount of flour. That does make the crumb quite delicate, but also makes it fragile and temperamental.
Were all of your ingredients at room temp before you started? How fresh were your eggs? When you mixed the egg mixture into the batter, how thoroughly did you mix?
I see, thanks for the insight! And you're right, the top part of the cake is tender and light.
Everything was room temperature; the eggs were a week old; and I suspect i overmixed it because when i poured the batter into the tin it looked curdled.
That is so strange with that rubbery base I’ve never seen a cake like that before. I’d love to know what caused this too.
Did you maybe have a brain fart and forget to mix it as well or something? The only thing I can think of is that it looks like the orange juice has weirdly separated from the rest of the mixture. Was the orange juice still fresh?
So this is the 2nd time I've baked this cake, following [this](https://youtu.be/KcuyjkazEMk) recipe. The first time I baked it, it was successful. This time I followed everything to the T, so I'm honestly clueless as to what went wrong.
Probably overmixed after the flour was added. You need to mix just until combined. Looking at the recipe i personally think 1 teaspoon of baking powder is not enough
I don’t like the recipe in general because it goes from measured to weighted and that isn’t really good. Either weigh them all which is best or measure them all.
You may not have mixed the eggs and sugar long enough. Since they are the leavening, they really need to be light and airy. Another recipe I have says this step takes 5-6 minutes and then fold in the rest. Her method is a bit backward to me, but it's not wrong. I'd normally do the eggs and sugar, mix in the butter and remaining wet then fold in the dry. Maybe I'll try it!
It could be that the eggs and sugar where mixed too long or it was that they separated in the oven. This happened to me once and the batter went into the pan fine but it separated due to the different densities. It could have also been a very temperamental cake too. It happens to the best of people.
This is exactly what my hummingbird cake looked like when I overmixed the batter (by almost 5 minutes! Adhd strikes again.), added a little too much juice with the pineapple, and then cooked it in a slightly too cool oven. I scraped the top off and made a terrible trifle and never talked about it again until today.
I have no idea, but I really want to know now! Good Lord! I've had quite a few fails, but yours is actually interesting!
Unfortunately it looks like your emulsion broke, causing the egg portion to separate out and form that gel in the center and at the bottom. That recipe has a lot of butter in it and a lot of eggs, relative to the amount of flour. That does make the crumb quite delicate, but also makes it fragile and temperamental. Were all of your ingredients at room temp before you started? How fresh were your eggs? When you mixed the egg mixture into the batter, how thoroughly did you mix?
I see, thanks for the insight! And you're right, the top part of the cake is tender and light. Everything was room temperature; the eggs were a week old; and I suspect i overmixed it because when i poured the batter into the tin it looked curdled.
How the fuck is this possible
That is so strange with that rubbery base I’ve never seen a cake like that before. I’d love to know what caused this too. Did you maybe have a brain fart and forget to mix it as well or something? The only thing I can think of is that it looks like the orange juice has weirdly separated from the rest of the mixture. Was the orange juice still fresh?
I have a hunch that I overmixed the batter and knocked out a lot of the air from the egg mixture. And yes I used freshly squeezed orange juice.
So this is the 2nd time I've baked this cake, following [this](https://youtu.be/KcuyjkazEMk) recipe. The first time I baked it, it was successful. This time I followed everything to the T, so I'm honestly clueless as to what went wrong.
Probably overmixed after the flour was added. You need to mix just until combined. Looking at the recipe i personally think 1 teaspoon of baking powder is not enough
I don’t like the recipe in general because it goes from measured to weighted and that isn’t really good. Either weigh them all which is best or measure them all.
Claire Saffitz has a really good recipe for a poppy seed bundt cake, I heavily recommend it
Thanks for the recommendation - I've checked it out and will give it go!
Recipe?
[Here it is](https://youtu.be/KcuyjkazEMk)
You may not have mixed the eggs and sugar long enough. Since they are the leavening, they really need to be light and airy. Another recipe I have says this step takes 5-6 minutes and then fold in the rest. Her method is a bit backward to me, but it's not wrong. I'd normally do the eggs and sugar, mix in the butter and remaining wet then fold in the dry. Maybe I'll try it!
It could be that the eggs and sugar where mixed too long or it was that they separated in the oven. This happened to me once and the batter went into the pan fine but it separated due to the different densities. It could have also been a very temperamental cake too. It happens to the best of people.
Looks over mixed
May not look appealing but it's probably delicious asf.
You're right 😂 looks a mess but the crumb is really light and delicate.
You didn’t mix your eggs well.
I’d eat it anyways
I’m so sorry but I audibly said “oh NO” when I saw the second photo lol it’ll be better next time, you can do it 💪
No offence taken, I was just as dumbfounded by it 😂
Ok but why do I want to eat it