What is an easy way to turn a heavy-ish cake?
I don't have a metal cake pan. I bake my normal cakes and cake layers in a pan with a glass bottom and silicone walls, and cakes which can be expected to leak in a porcelain quiche pan.
Sadly, my oven has a hot corner. If I don't turn my cake around during the baking, one corner is going to be overbaked or even burn. So I have to turn it while in the oven. But the bottoms of my pans don't slide easily on the rack. The first doesn't touch the rack with the glass, it touches it with the silicone part, which has a friction comparable to smooth rubber. The porcelain pan has an unglazed bottom, and it is an even bottom, not just a rim like on most porcelain plates, so it is even harder to turn.
I mostly try to grip the rim of the pan above the cake to turn. The silicone rim is high enough for that, but squishy, and it wiggles under my fingers. The porcelain rim is so low, the cake layer reaches it, and even rises above it. So I have to squish part of the cake. It gets worse because of the thick silicone rubber mittens I have, they are not very easy to maneuver with.
Are there any easy tricks to turn the cake? Is there something I am missing here?
Best Answer
Well, the obvious answer is to buy a metal cake pan. Otherwise:
You could try putting a jellyroll or cookie sheet under it. Then grab the cookie sheet to rotate. Beware that depending on what the pan is made of, it may affect browning especially on the bottom of the cake. Adding some insulation (e.g., parchment) may help.
Plain aluminum foil may work too. That'll slide fairly easily on the rack, and again you can grab it easily. Especially if you pull the pan out of the oven, aluminum foil surrounded by air will cool quickly, and you'll be able to grab it without the inflexible mitts.
Similarly, a sheet of parchment paper under the pan. Same principle as the aluminum, except even at oven temperatures you can grab parchment briefly.
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How do you soften a hard cake?
As a general rule, you can soften and moisten a dry cake by brushing a little milk or water over all the hard surfaces of the cake and placing it inside a preheated oven (around 350\xb0 Fahrenheit) for 20 minutes. The moisture will begin to absorb into the dry cake making it softer.What makes a cake heavy?
A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought).Why is my sponge cake dense?
If the butter or spread is too soft, it becomes oily and the resulting cake heavy and dense. If the butter is too cold, it takes too long to incorporate into the sugar and eggs and can cause over-mixing, which in turn means a heavy cake.How long should cake rest before flipping?
When a cake is freshly baked, it needs time to set. Keep the cake in its pan and let it cool on a rack for the time the recipe specifies - usually 15-20 minutes - before attempting to remove it.WHY IS YOUR CAKE HARD ?!! HOW TO FIX HARD CAKE
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Answer 2
Assuming the racks in your oven are removable, simply remove the rack with the cake on it, turn the whole thing around and put it back in the oven.
Answer 3
You can try lifting a corner of the pan with something.
You could use a spatula, for example, or a cake server, or something flat and thin. It just needs to slide under the pan long enough to lift a corner, that will let you get you hand underneath (in the glove or with a towel or potholder) and you can use one hand underneath, one hand braced against the side, to turn - at least halfway, maybe more if you hand off that corner.
This will be easier if you pull the rack out at least halfway or so, by the way.
Alternatively, especially if you don't have a spatula that will slide under easily, you can use the handle of a wooden spoon, or even a butter knife, to lift the edge. Slip it between gaps in the rack usually run front to back, so you can slip the handle down between two wires to get under your pan, and lift up or use the front wire as a lever against the bottom of your cake pan. Again, once you lift a corner, you can get your hand under there, brace with the other hand, and use that to rotate it.
All of drobert's suggestions are also good, putting something under the pan, but this is an alternate method if you want.
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Images: Tim Samuel, Dids, Lucas Pezeta, ArtHouse Studio