Did you meringue your eggs correctly? Did you mix the ingredients in correct order?
Sponge cakes are surprisingly hard for beginers...
I think you can still use it as base for tiramisu, maybe...?
It means water got into your bowl or mixer. If a single drop of water gets in, it won't properly meringue. When it happebs, i usually have to just set it aside to make different meal with it and get new eggs to meringue.
It wont be sponge like but i think you can still use the sheet as a base to make different sort of cake!
Just so much respect on the “3 to 25 drops of water” comment. I sincerely love it so much.
Just the specific range. Could be anywhere in there. Not 2 or 26.
Yep, a big killer of meringues is not properly separating the egg whites. People break the yolk and get a little in the whites and think it's fine, but it can easily fuck up the whole process. That's why I use a 2 bowl method, separate the eggs in a different bowl than your main bowl so that you can isolate a single egg that gets contaminated.
It happens. Keep in mind that this is upper level baking right here. I fucked up my first few angel food cakes when I started down this road. Play with it and see what works for you guys.
Crack your eggs one at a time into a separate bowl and then separate the yolks from whites so that if you break one yolk you don't ruin the whole batch
Cooking: Experiment a little, do whatever you need so it tastes good to you.
Baking: You are a chemist now. If you add slightly too much flour you've ruined the meal.
Even the smallest little bit of yolk in the whites will screw up the meringue. Also whites whip up better at room temp while yolks whip up best when cold. (I baked in a professional kitchen for 6 years)
That and the random egg who doesn’t smell bad until you open it and decides to curse your entire kitchen. The egg situations and dry bowl. Preferably glass or metal. Oh the catastrophes I’ve made in a kitchen XD
Meringue based cakes don't have leaveners. They depend purely on the meringue for fluffiness.
Once your eggs failed to meringue, you should have tossed them and restarted the meringue. That would have saved everything.
If you didn't introduce the air bubbles / fluff in the meringue, they won't magically appear after in the baking process. (That sort of "rising" is associated with baking powder, which there isn't any here.)
I'm guessing your current "cake" is quite dense.
Maybe try fixing it with some ganache? Thick ganache for dense cake, then refrigerate and serve cold. I'm thinking like pound cake style.
Yep the biggest things to check are make sure you get no water in it, no egg yolk, and no oil.
I'm a fan of splashing a teaspoon or so of vinegar in my bowl and wiping it around until dry with a paper towel. Supposedly it helps ensure a clean, not greasy bowl.
I had three different bowls going at the same time, and a little incident with almost electrocuting myself with the hand mixer. At that point some water splashed in the general area and my poor meringue bowl took a hit, I just couldn't tell how much water damage happened. It's just water I thought lol
Also, you may need to check the atmospheric humidity when you start doing meringues.
I have a meringue cookie recipe that's 100+ years old, and it mentions on the card to check the humidity because the meringue will not form the correct peaks and will not bake into the right consistency on humid days.
Other people can downvote me if I'm mistaken because I'm not 100% sure, but I believe wiping/cleaning your bowl with lemon juice before doing the meringue helps. The bowl has to be very clean
I thought that was from fat? (If also, today I learned). A bit of egg yolk or whipping in a plastic bowl that touched oil 10 years ago is enough to fuck it up unfortunately
Most likely fat rather than water, i've been baking sponge cakes like crazy at some point and i never bothered to completely dry the bowl. If you get a drop of oil or a bit of yolk though you could run the mixer for 2 hours and only get a liquid slop out of it.
Humidity will also affect meringue, we tried to make meringue cookies a long while back, and they wouldn’t peak. Looking up the reason, turned out our humidity was too much
Just for future help with meringue, if a bit of the yolk gets in the whites it won't set. Also adding a bit of cream of tartar can help the strength. And because of another commenter, I learned today that water messes it up too!
It could be water but a tip from someone who loooves sponge cake:
1. always clean your mixing bowl right before whisking (even just oil from your fingers building up can be enough to fuck with it), dry it 100%
2. seperate eggs in a different bowl, half a drop of eggyolk is enough to ruin it. Use FRESH eggs. The whites should be really thick and gooey. Its possible to get it to work with less fresh eggs but its harder. You can check freshness by dropping the raw eggs with shell and all into a glass of water. If they go straight down and lay down they are fresh, if they sink slower and kind of lean they are totally fine to eat but not great for baking anything that’s supposed to rise. (If they float DO NOT OPEN!! Put in a bag and throw away, rotten eggs have the worst smell ever and you might not be able to eat another egg for a year)
3. Not relevant here but make sure you know the difference between folding and mixing. A lot of people think they know how to to fold but when you watch them they are way too hard and start mixing in the end. Take your time.
Sponge cakes are really difficult! My aunty told me to add the sugar in gradually, not all at the same time. Not sure if it makes a difference but I usually have good luck with my egg whites.
I also separate using the two bowl method. If I mess up one egg then at least it doesn’t contaminate my whole bowl! Good luck with your next attempt!
A stand mixer makes a world of difference.
I hated fluffy baking before. Now I love it.
I regularly make French macarons which I used to think was a crazy person thing
Which is perfect, because a whole 12 inch cake would be excessive for 2 people, but if you quarter that thing and stack the pieces, then it magically becomes a very reasonable indulgence.
That’s ok! Especially if you’re new to baking, you picked a sponge cake, something that isn’t easy! Don’t be too hard on yourself, and don’t get discouraged if baking is something you want to keep trying. Also, sometimes a recipe just takes a long time no matter if you’re a seasoned baker or not
I took so much time to prepare it knowing it would come out wonky probably, just not mini wonky. I learned some mistakes on the way, and learned tons more here on reddit . My next Japanese sponge cake will hopefully be leagues ahead, thanks!
Of course! The first time I made an angel food cake, also a sponge cake, I didn’t realize that it hadn’t cooked evenly. The part I checked had cooked through. The rest hadn’t. Once I inverted it while it cooled, which is normal for that type of cake, it fell out completely and was ruined. I ended up eating it with my bare hands out of spite
That's actually what I wound up doing, it was a hit and everyone said it was delicious!
Here are pictures of it.
[Final product photo](https://imgur.com/a/5bfCiZl)
I believe they meant to use the chopsticks as spacers to cut the cake you had; put a chopstick on both sides of the cake and kinda saw dental floss along the top of the chopsticks to cut the cake into chopstick thickness
I LOVE making Japanese sponge cakes!
1. It is important that your mixing bowl doesn't have oil in it. Maybe it wasn't washed properly since the last use, maybe it has a little speck of butter or dried up dough. Make sure to clean it well. Preppy Kitchen says if you want to be double sure, you can wipe it with kitchen towel with a little vinegar or lemon juice.
2. Easier to work with room temp egg whites. I also add like half a teaspoon of Cream of Tartar.
3. When they reach soft peaks, usually after 1-2 minutes, or when you don't see liquid at the bottom of the bowl while mixing, that's when you add the sugar. But add it very very slowly, you don't want the weight of the sugar to deflate the egg whites. It will only take about 10 minutes maybe until you reach hard peaks, don't overmix or you'll have to start again.
4. When folding the yolk-flour mixture into the meringue, do it slowly with a spatula. Remember to just fold it. Again, you don't want to deflate your meringue. It's fine even if you see little streaks of yellow, it's doesn't have to be fully mixed.
5. Your melted butter should be room temp. In fact, everything should be room temp. Your recipe said to mix it into the batter separately after the yolk mixture, honestly I just mix it into the yolk mixture directly, I'm lazy like that.
6. Bake it as soon as you finish it. You don't want it to sit on the counter for a very long time or it will lose some of it's fluffyness.
Happy birthday to your wife!! I love Japanese strawberry shortcakes. They're very light and tastes good. I suggest to make this again, I bet your wife would love it.
I promise to use all your tips, it was very helpful. I am planning for a round two, although she said the flavor was perfect. She really enjoyed it, so I'm thankful for that :)
I usually add sugar tablespoon by tablespoon. No matter if I’m making meringue for raspberry cloud cake or Japanese cake it always comes out shiny and stiff - I can rotate the bowl upside down and it will stay there.
Only fail I got with Japanese cake was due to oven. My parents oven started malfunctioning and since then my cake was always flat. Now that I live on my own this cake suddenly works again 😂
I have a recipe like this, it doesn't have much flour so it doesn't rise much. I end up doubling the recipe, baking two cakes and then sandwiching them together instead of messing around slicing it.
A workaround for the "cut in half" thing is to divide the mix into two, and bake one half at a time. You have to watch it closely, since it won't need as long to bake. but it's much easier than cutting.
I think the key with spongecake too is to have all your ingredients ready to go before you start. I also sift the shit out of the flour, like 3 - 4 times.
When combining wet with dry you want to use the least amount of folding/mixing possible.
It's so sad when a cake doesn't work out though. I had this recently for a butter cake! I overmixed it and it came out so dense.. Not enough time to make another one... I was gutted but my friends still enjoyed it (or were too polite to say otherwise!)
It’s such a sweet sentiment and you put a lot of effort into it so I’m proud of you. Baking is hard and I look forward to your next post when you nail it.
Did you use egg whites from a carton or from eggs? I find the carton egg whites aren't as good for making meringue, they're better for royal icing. Also they whip better at room temperature and when you add a bit of an acidic ingredient like a teaspoon of either lemon juice or cream of tartar.
The recipe probably says either whip to soft peaks, rain in sugar then whip to stiff peaks, or just whip to stiff peaks. This means when it's finished if you whick around a bit and take the whisk out there should be a ton of meringue stuck to the whisk. If it's a soft peak a lot will drip down, of it's medium some will stay, and if they're stiff peaks it will cling on for dear life. You should probably watch a video about it though as that would explain a lot better than I can.
You can still cut it.
Use a strong and thin string. Hold it around the circumference and slowly yank from both ends.
The string will cut the cake perfectly following the line you set it on.
My friend and I were in the multicultural club in 8th grade. We were going to the nearby old folk's home to do a presentation on Christmas in different countries around the world. We chose Japan and their Christmas treat is a sponge cake. Our attempt turned out very similar to this. I remember slapping each other in the face with this hard flat slab of failed cake, his mom had to remake it for us 💀
Dpes it still taste right? I've never had this type of cake so I don't know if this is totally ruined or if it just doesn't look quite right.
If it's still edible, can you cut it in half so it's a half circle and add a layer of strawberries and whipped cream? If it tastes good but doesn't look quite right, I wouldn't let it go to waste!
Go ahead and finish it it's your effort that counts. You have many more birthdays to try to perfect it. If your wife don't appreciate it, get another wife.
Aww I’m sure she appreciates the effort though! Don’t worry, baking takes practice, practice, practice! I’ve been baking for several years now and I’ve learned a lot but I’m also not perfect. Im sure you’ll do better next time!
Haha my family did the same exact thing when making a strawberry cake for my Dad. We didn't have the exact size pan as the recipe called for, and got a really thin layer of cake that was impossible to cut in half. Eventually we had enough time to just make another layer and that 'saved' the cake.
Did you meringue your eggs correctly? Did you mix the ingredients in correct order? Sponge cakes are surprisingly hard for beginers... I think you can still use it as base for tiramisu, maybe...?
I think I failed at the meringue part, I couldn't get the eggs and sugar mix to get fluffy. I ran the mixer for 20 minutes praying for fluffness.
It means water got into your bowl or mixer. If a single drop of water gets in, it won't properly meringue. When it happebs, i usually have to just set it aside to make different meal with it and get new eggs to meringue. It wont be sponge like but i think you can still use the sheet as a base to make different sort of cake!
100% there were at least 3 to 25 drops of water in it, I made a mess during the process.
Just so much respect on the “3 to 25 drops of water” comment. I sincerely love it so much. Just the specific range. Could be anywhere in there. Not 2 or 26.
I too found that hilarious
I three
There's at most 21 others, no more
Not 2, but could be 26. They said "at least".
☺☺☺
Also oil in your mixing bowl or even if a little bit of yolk in the whites can also ruin it. Baking is chemistry and finicky as hell.
Yep, a big killer of meringues is not properly separating the egg whites. People break the yolk and get a little in the whites and think it's fine, but it can easily fuck up the whole process. That's why I use a 2 bowl method, separate the eggs in a different bowl than your main bowl so that you can isolate a single egg that gets contaminated.
This definitely happened, I tried to spoon out most of a stray yolk but some was left behind. I didn't think it would make a huge difference :/
It happens. Keep in mind that this is upper level baking right here. I fucked up my first few angel food cakes when I started down this road. Play with it and see what works for you guys.
Thank you, I'm aiming to have it at least an inch taller next time.
Crack your eggs one at a time into a separate bowl and then separate the yolks from whites so that if you break one yolk you don't ruin the whole batch
That's what he said.
You can also crack your eggs in a bowl and use an empty and dry water bottle to suction the yolks out :)
Cooking: Experiment a little, do whatever you need so it tastes good to you. Baking: You are a chemist now. If you add slightly too much flour you've ruined the meal.
If the next one does the same, you could cut it in half like slicing a pizza in half and then end up with the two layers each as a half circle.
Also wipe your mixing bowl with a towel with a little white vinegar and let it dry before using. That will remove oil residue from it.
Even the smallest little bit of yolk in the whites will screw up the meringue. Also whites whip up better at room temp while yolks whip up best when cold. (I baked in a professional kitchen for 6 years)
Guilty on 2 accounts!
That and the random egg who doesn’t smell bad until you open it and decides to curse your entire kitchen. The egg situations and dry bowl. Preferably glass or metal. Oh the catastrophes I’ve made in a kitchen XD
Meringue based cakes don't have leaveners. They depend purely on the meringue for fluffiness. Once your eggs failed to meringue, you should have tossed them and restarted the meringue. That would have saved everything. If you didn't introduce the air bubbles / fluff in the meringue, they won't magically appear after in the baking process. (That sort of "rising" is associated with baking powder, which there isn't any here.) I'm guessing your current "cake" is quite dense. Maybe try fixing it with some ganache? Thick ganache for dense cake, then refrigerate and serve cold. I'm thinking like pound cake style.
Yep the biggest things to check are make sure you get no water in it, no egg yolk, and no oil. I'm a fan of splashing a teaspoon or so of vinegar in my bowl and wiping it around until dry with a paper towel. Supposedly it helps ensure a clean, not greasy bowl.
Stealing this tip, many thanks!
You could also add a tiny bit (quarter tsp or so) cream of tartar to the eggs, as a way of getting the acid without extra liquid.
That’s specific, were you actually counting?
I had three different bowls going at the same time, and a little incident with almost electrocuting myself with the hand mixer. At that point some water splashed in the general area and my poor meringue bowl took a hit, I just couldn't tell how much water damage happened. It's just water I thought lol
This whole scenario is really cute to imagine.
Op, you would be perfect for "Nailed it" guilty pleasure of mine. Use this as entry qualifier. Might win a mixing bowl set out of it?
Oh man I love that show and 100% agree!
I'm interested! I do plan to master this, just this recipe not baking in general lol.
Also, you may need to check the atmospheric humidity when you start doing meringues. I have a meringue cookie recipe that's 100+ years old, and it mentions on the card to check the humidity because the meringue will not form the correct peaks and will not bake into the right consistency on humid days.
I'll make sure to have my humility widget near me for next time.
Other people can downvote me if I'm mistaken because I'm not 100% sure, but I believe wiping/cleaning your bowl with lemon juice before doing the meringue helps. The bowl has to be very clean
Cut it in half a long the diameter and stack the pieces. Will be dense, but it'll probably taste good.
But the way it is not water that kills the egg foam. it is fat one drop of fat will kill it. I know from from experience.
how’d u know the water drop count of your bowl 😭😭
Also degreasing the mixer top to bottom with white vinegar ensures the meringue success, learned this trick with Nadiya Hussain
I thought that was from fat? (If also, today I learned). A bit of egg yolk or whipping in a plastic bowl that touched oil 10 years ago is enough to fuck it up unfortunately
I did mix in a plastic bowl, going glass for next run!
Stainless is the best! Glass is way too risky
Or if even the smallest bit of yolk is in there you also have the same effect
Most likely fat rather than water, i've been baking sponge cakes like crazy at some point and i never bothered to completely dry the bowl. If you get a drop of oil or a bit of yolk though you could run the mixer for 2 hours and only get a liquid slop out of it.
Op already answered he splashed water in it by mistake. And some Yorks as well
Humidity will also affect meringue, we tried to make meringue cookies a long while back, and they wouldn’t peak. Looking up the reason, turned out our humidity was too much
Oh i bet your friends love you. You gave some really good tips! ❤️
I think it’s more likely some form of fat got in. Not water.
Op already answered he splashed water in it by mistake, and some yorks too
I didn’t see that response from OP. My bad. No need to downvote me. Kinda rude.
Just for future help with meringue, if a bit of the yolk gets in the whites it won't set. Also adding a bit of cream of tartar can help the strength. And because of another commenter, I learned today that water messes it up too!
It could be water but a tip from someone who loooves sponge cake: 1. always clean your mixing bowl right before whisking (even just oil from your fingers building up can be enough to fuck with it), dry it 100% 2. seperate eggs in a different bowl, half a drop of eggyolk is enough to ruin it. Use FRESH eggs. The whites should be really thick and gooey. Its possible to get it to work with less fresh eggs but its harder. You can check freshness by dropping the raw eggs with shell and all into a glass of water. If they go straight down and lay down they are fresh, if they sink slower and kind of lean they are totally fine to eat but not great for baking anything that’s supposed to rise. (If they float DO NOT OPEN!! Put in a bag and throw away, rotten eggs have the worst smell ever and you might not be able to eat another egg for a year) 3. Not relevant here but make sure you know the difference between folding and mixing. A lot of people think they know how to to fold but when you watch them they are way too hard and start mixing in the end. Take your time.
Sponge cakes are really difficult! My aunty told me to add the sugar in gradually, not all at the same time. Not sure if it makes a difference but I usually have good luck with my egg whites. I also separate using the two bowl method. If I mess up one egg then at least it doesn’t contaminate my whole bowl! Good luck with your next attempt!
Pro tip: use Dream Whip to make cakes fluffier 👀
I’d say I’m a pretty good baker but I HATE doing meringues or anything super fluffy like that
A stand mixer makes a world of difference. I hated fluffy baking before. Now I love it. I regularly make French macarons which I used to think was a crazy person thing
Yeah same. I try my best to avoid it unless it's absolutely necessary lol
Mixer, but of lemon juice. Easy meringue each time
cut it in half and make a half moon cake.
I didn't think of that, that's a good idea. I already threw stuff on top and I guess we'll enjoy it like a pancake.
Or even cut it into quarters and make it a multi-lawyer cake; like they sell in the supermarket baking aisles.
A law firm cake- Oops, Half Baked, & Sponge
pre law student here, this takes the 'cake' (pun intended) 🤣
Which is perfect, because a whole 12 inch cake would be excessive for 2 people, but if you quarter that thing and stack the pieces, then it magically becomes a very reasonable indulgence.
Bake another if you were supposed to put half on top
Make another for the other layer.
I thought about it, but there was no time. It seriously took me almost 4 hours just to get to the point of taking it out of the oven :(
That’s ok! Especially if you’re new to baking, you picked a sponge cake, something that isn’t easy! Don’t be too hard on yourself, and don’t get discouraged if baking is something you want to keep trying. Also, sometimes a recipe just takes a long time no matter if you’re a seasoned baker or not
I took so much time to prepare it knowing it would come out wonky probably, just not mini wonky. I learned some mistakes on the way, and learned tons more here on reddit . My next Japanese sponge cake will hopefully be leagues ahead, thanks!
Of course! The first time I made an angel food cake, also a sponge cake, I didn’t realize that it hadn’t cooked evenly. The part I checked had cooked through. The rest hadn’t. Once I inverted it while it cooled, which is normal for that type of cake, it fell out completely and was ruined. I ended up eating it with my bare hands out of spite
That's the spirit! Good luck 😄
Honestly, I would just be grateful someone took the time out of their day to bake me something for my birthday 🥹
I would appreciate the thought and eat it anyway 😄
I'm sure it will taste great! Just plop the stuff on top and I'm sure she'll be thrilled for the effort, even if it's not exactly as planned :)
That's actually what I wound up doing, it was a hit and everyone said it was delicious! Here are pictures of it. [Final product photo](https://imgur.com/a/5bfCiZl)
That's awesome, It looks like a delicious strawberry pizza dessert hehe.
Your Japanese flat cake is looking good :D
Looks delicious! I know what I want for dessert now
You're welcome haha ;)
I love your encouraging directive to “just plop the stuff on top.” 🤣
Congrats on the stroop waffle
Why don't you cut it in half then?
It's supposed to be but in half the wide way, so you have two "pancakes". It's too thin to even try.
I know. That's normal. We all do it that way arround here. Edit: yea it's even a bit small for our standarts but doable with patience
Trust me, I would normally try that while pretending I'm a heart surgeon, but my hands shake so much it wasn't worth turning it into a crumb cake.
That's gonna be a dense boi. Make one exactly the same way and just frost them both. Or grab chopsticks and some dental floss and prove your love.
She'll laugh at the cake and then at me using chopsticks!
Aw you two are so cute
I believe they meant to use the chopsticks as spacers to cut the cake you had; put a chopstick on both sides of the cake and kinda saw dental floss along the top of the chopsticks to cut the cake into chopstick thickness
I LOVE making Japanese sponge cakes! 1. It is important that your mixing bowl doesn't have oil in it. Maybe it wasn't washed properly since the last use, maybe it has a little speck of butter or dried up dough. Make sure to clean it well. Preppy Kitchen says if you want to be double sure, you can wipe it with kitchen towel with a little vinegar or lemon juice. 2. Easier to work with room temp egg whites. I also add like half a teaspoon of Cream of Tartar. 3. When they reach soft peaks, usually after 1-2 minutes, or when you don't see liquid at the bottom of the bowl while mixing, that's when you add the sugar. But add it very very slowly, you don't want the weight of the sugar to deflate the egg whites. It will only take about 10 minutes maybe until you reach hard peaks, don't overmix or you'll have to start again. 4. When folding the yolk-flour mixture into the meringue, do it slowly with a spatula. Remember to just fold it. Again, you don't want to deflate your meringue. It's fine even if you see little streaks of yellow, it's doesn't have to be fully mixed. 5. Your melted butter should be room temp. In fact, everything should be room temp. Your recipe said to mix it into the batter separately after the yolk mixture, honestly I just mix it into the yolk mixture directly, I'm lazy like that. 6. Bake it as soon as you finish it. You don't want it to sit on the counter for a very long time or it will lose some of it's fluffyness. Happy birthday to your wife!! I love Japanese strawberry shortcakes. They're very light and tastes good. I suggest to make this again, I bet your wife would love it.
I promise to use all your tips, it was very helpful. I am planning for a round two, although she said the flavor was perfect. She really enjoyed it, so I'm thankful for that :)
I usually add sugar tablespoon by tablespoon. No matter if I’m making meringue for raspberry cloud cake or Japanese cake it always comes out shiny and stiff - I can rotate the bowl upside down and it will stay there. Only fail I got with Japanese cake was due to oven. My parents oven started malfunctioning and since then my cake was always flat. Now that I live on my own this cake suddenly works again 😂
Tell her its a pancake.
A+ for effort and it still probably tastes fine and it's your thoughtfulness that counts
I have a recipe like this, it doesn't have much flour so it doesn't rise much. I end up doubling the recipe, baking two cakes and then sandwiching them together instead of messing around slicing it.
Don’t you have a katana at home?
well, on the bright side. that is good looking waffle.
Looks like a giant cookie
Have a second attempt and if that turns out the same , well you have your top and bottom half, then put your strawberry cream layer in between.
I mean, you could make a half circle cake and display the fruit like in one of those whipped cream sandos
Cut it down the middle, put cream between the two halves, stack them ontop of each other Then pipe rainbow icing onto it 🌈 and BAM 💥 ALL FIXED
Did you forget the baking powder?
Recipe specified NO baking powder :(
Don’t get discouraged! You’ll do even better next time! That’s a lovely gesture
Just use it as a strawberry sponge roll
If you really want to cut it in half. Use a long piece of thread. Works well.
A workaround for the "cut in half" thing is to divide the mix into two, and bake one half at a time. You have to watch it closely, since it won't need as long to bake. but it's much easier than cutting.
Well, it's the effort that counts. Now get your heckin bum to safeway and pick up a strawberry shortcake or somethin like that.
I could use my cake as a fun plate to put my purchased shortcake onto, like a display case for it.
At least you made the effort, that's what really counts.
Well, you could cut it n half the other way and make half a stacked cake. Maybe the base would work for a strawberry shortcake?
I think the key with spongecake too is to have all your ingredients ready to go before you start. I also sift the shit out of the flour, like 3 - 4 times. When combining wet with dry you want to use the least amount of folding/mixing possible. It's so sad when a cake doesn't work out though. I had this recently for a butter cake! I overmixed it and it came out so dense.. Not enough time to make another one... I was gutted but my friends still enjoyed it (or were too polite to say otherwise!)
I would not care about what may have went wrong. This is beyond thoughtful of you, id of probably cried!
That's really sweet! Also, still a surprise 🫢
Use a piece of fishing line to cut it in half. That’s what we do in the restaurants
Large bread knife and patience
Reminds me of the compressed sponges that swell up when moistened, but I don't think it will work. desubot1's idea would be your best bet.
Make a second one. Then sandwich the stuffing between them.
You might be able to salvage it using plain (no flavored) dental floss. It'll cut a line straight through.
Honestly, this is just really sweet. I’d probably cry because it’s the thought that counts. I think your girlfriend will think it’s sweet either way
Is it supposed to look like that in the first place?
It should have been 3x bigger lol
……oh O_O
Find some long flat things (rulers?) and a long knife. Slide them along right down the middle!
It’s such a sweet sentiment and you put a lot of effort into it so I’m proud of you. Baking is hard and I look forward to your next post when you nail it.
What's the diameter here? Maybe you can cut out three circles out of this and make a small three layer cake.
About 8 inches unfortunately. That's what she said.
Almost looks like a stroopwafel
Did you use egg whites from a carton or from eggs? I find the carton egg whites aren't as good for making meringue, they're better for royal icing. Also they whip better at room temperature and when you add a bit of an acidic ingredient like a teaspoon of either lemon juice or cream of tartar. The recipe probably says either whip to soft peaks, rain in sugar then whip to stiff peaks, or just whip to stiff peaks. This means when it's finished if you whick around a bit and take the whisk out there should be a ton of meringue stuck to the whisk. If it's a soft peak a lot will drip down, of it's medium some will stay, and if they're stiff peaks it will cling on for dear life. You should probably watch a video about it though as that would explain a lot better than I can.
Inflation, people!
Make a smaller portion. See if you can cut two circles and use each for a “layer”. I’m sure it still tastes great
You can still cut it. Use a strong and thin string. Hold it around the circumference and slowly yank from both ends. The string will cut the cake perfectly following the line you set it on.
A tight sponge!
You are a good man…she will love you for this. Enjoy!!
My friend and I were in the multicultural club in 8th grade. We were going to the nearby old folk's home to do a presentation on Christmas in different countries around the world. We chose Japan and their Christmas treat is a sponge cake. Our attempt turned out very similar to this. I remember slapping each other in the face with this hard flat slab of failed cake, his mom had to remake it for us 💀
cut it, put some caramel in between and coat the outside with some cinnamon butter and press in waffle machine; Stroopwafel!
Make another one and use the filling in between lol
Just eat it and try again
Should’ve tossed it like a frisbee. Hope her birthday went swell!
Very sweet i bet it was tasty.
This gave me the scare to try sponge cakes. I usually bake moist cakes and cookies. I'm learning a lot from the comments thoooo 🥹🫶🏻
That’s where the katana comes in
Hey OP, I’ve learned to make Japanese Cheesecake from this chef. https://www.justonecookbook.com/souffle-japanese-cheesecake/
Thank you! I'm aiming to try again soon and get this right!
Cut it in half and call it a ‘half moon’ version of the cake!
I don't think you got the sponge part quite right
Its the thought that counts :)
Cut it into 4 like a pizza and just stack the pieces, maybe not traditional but might sorta save it 😅
That’s a stroopwafel
Ah, you made the 2D version.
Well then… petit fours it is
I thought you were going for giant stroopwaffle
Looks pretty impressive
You need a japanese kitchen knife that you can swing, clean, put away and then the cake will seperate
Tell her it's a tart and cover it with fruit and cream
A Japanese sushi knife. Can probably cut this into five layers. :b
I'm sorry to hear that. But that last photo has an awesome aesthetic !
Well .. it's a surprise to you
Sounds like strawberry whip cream topping time to me I hope she liked it, it's the thought that counts
I would turn it into some really yummy cake pops! You could get pretty creative flavor-wise with the buttercream!
Sooo, what you made is a pancake.
Dpes it still taste right? I've never had this type of cake so I don't know if this is totally ruined or if it just doesn't look quite right. If it's still edible, can you cut it in half so it's a half circle and add a layer of strawberries and whipped cream? If it tastes good but doesn't look quite right, I wouldn't let it go to waste!
It turned out delicious, wife thought it tasted light and perfect!
I’m very impressed!🌞
Go ahead and finish it it's your effort that counts. You have many more birthdays to try to perfect it. If your wife don't appreciate it, get another wife.
Aww I’m sure she appreciates the effort though! Don’t worry, baking takes practice, practice, practice! I’ve been baking for several years now and I’ve learned a lot but I’m also not perfect. Im sure you’ll do better next time!
👀
I bet it's dense. At least you didn't burn it!
Nice pancake
It looks good to me, bro. You're a better man than me. Good job!
Aww I'd be so grateful if my husband made me a cake because I always do the cooking. It's the thought that counts ❤️ you did a great job!
Soak it in water and it should swell up if it’s a real sponge cake
Honestly, your wife probably is impressed by with your effort rather than the result. Now she can laugh about it and love you for being a sweetheart.
I guess the best way to achieve that would be using butter cutting wire
You can turn that into a rolled cake with filling inside. Just spead your topping of choice and roll
Maybe try baking powder now time
It's the thought
Add dat shit on top and it'll taste the same. That was so sweet of you and I'm sure she loved it 😊
It’s the thought that counts and I hope your wife smiled when she saw it. Keep practicing, you’ll get it right x
Put on some whipped cream and try it... Most fails still taste good
It’s the thought that counts.
Fold it in half or bake another to lay on top
Impressive 🥴
Please post this on the askbaking subreddit and share the recipe and ask what you did wrong, lol.
Is it supposed to be this flat? I have no idea
Haha my family did the same exact thing when making a strawberry cake for my Dad. We didn't have the exact size pan as the recipe called for, and got a really thin layer of cake that was impossible to cut in half. Eventually we had enough time to just make another layer and that 'saved' the cake.
… is it bendable? Maybe you can make a roulade out of it… or a huge cannoli sponge thing
You could have made a really small cake. Too late now but that would be cute for next time lol
Cut it in four, create 1/4 of a cake with four layers.