Help with Tartine Carrot Cake Recipe!

Wondering if anyone can help me solve this baking issue. I have tried the Tartine Teff Carrot Cake recipe multiple times (following it exactly) and have the same troublesome result; cake batter is very liquidy - foamy on top, bakes okay but is super crumbly and is impossible to slice layers horizontally.
Any insight as to what could be going wrong?
Thank you!

LinseyW
  • Posted by: LinseyW
  • August 21, 2021
  • 3975 views
  • 8 Comments

8 Comments

drbabs
drbabs August 21, 2021
I was able to look at the recipe on the Times cooking site and I read the reviews. There are several mentions of the cake being crumbly, and I suspect that’s a consequence of having lots of loose ingredients and no gluten in the flour. The applesauce/lemon combination mixes with baking soda to create lift and probably makes the batter foamy, but that’s a lot of liquid and “juice of one lemon” is not very specific. Maybe try equal amounts of lemon juice and baking soda? Just a guess. By all accounts, the cake is delicious. I’d probably just bake it as a sheet cake and serve it in chunks if it crumbles, but that’s just me.
 
LinseyW
LinseyW August 21, 2021
Thank you for the help. Not sure about the recipe on the Times cute, but including the recipe in my question would’ve helped! The recipe in the book mentions no applesauce in the ingredients list or the recipe directions but does mention it in the description of the cake in its introduction: odd. The only lemon juice is in the icing.
You are correct, it’s a delicious cake. I’ll keep at it.
 
drbabs
drbabs August 22, 2021
Here are screen shots of the NYT version.
 
drbabs
drbabs August 22, 2021
Page 2
 
aargersi
aargersi August 21, 2021
Found it … NYT cooking right? The only thing I can think of just looking at it is that the consistency of the sugar mixture when you first mix sounds important to the structure of the cake, as well as the mix in of the flour. I don’t have a subscription so it kicked me off pretty quickly … hopefully someone else here subscribes!
 
LinseyW
LinseyW August 21, 2021
Thank you. I noted that too, and it was falling in ribbons as noted, although it sounds like the recipe on the times site may be different than the one in the book.
 
LinseyW
LinseyW August 21, 2021
Instructions before this picture just ask to preheat oven to 350, butter cake pans and let raisins soak in warm water to plump.
Drbabs Made a good point regarding the lack of gluten…wondering if this could be a heat issue, maybe my oven needs to be calibrated? I’m new to baking so this one is really stumping me. Thank you for the help!
 
aargersi
aargersi August 21, 2021
I don’t see the recipe is it on this site?
 
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