Carrot Cake Recipe Question

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 that it needs to be baked right after it is prepared and in the pan, but I need to find out why. My husband hopes to save on electricity costs and heating 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.

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.  That said, carrot cakes are generally extremely moist, and many folks like them dense.  So, I guess I'd better amend my "tough" to your husband.

If you like light, well-risen cakes, you'll need to mix and bake in the evening (and mixing should take little time, especially if you have all your ingredients ready) or live with a dense cake. Let's 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 Jenni, if you spend time on my blog or website, you will hear me talk about Chef Jenni Field. She is an excellent writer with a comprehensive knowledge of pastry and baking.