What did I do wrong?

[Ginny1956]

This is long, but I really have no idea what I did incorrectly. ** If this is the in-correct thread, please let me know and I will repost.**So, Here goes:
It is a standard coffee cake recipe found in the B, H & G cookbook. It requires sifting the flour, adding baking powder, soured milk, etc. All of that went fine. Now, the recipe doesn’t call for fruit, but a neighbor made this adding about 2 cups of stewed fruit. It was terrific.
However, when I tried , it has the consistency more like Yorkshire pudding or pumpkin pie, rather than a coffee cake. It did not rise at all. Also, instead of putting it in to (2) 8x8 pans, as it calls for, I put it in to one 13 x 7”. I have no idea what I should have done to make it work. More flour, to make up for the liquid from the stewed fruit? * Can baking powder become old*? Did I put too much fruit in? I am at a loss. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks for reading this

 

[jennyema]

The pan was a problem

Did you drain the fruit?

Did you ask your neighbor about how he/she made it with the added fruit?

 

[Ginny1956]

I stewed the fruit, like she did. I had several cups of fresh apricots. I put them in a pan, covered with water and added about 1/4 cup of corn starch.

 

[GotGarlic]

Hi and welcome to Discuss Cooking

Yes, baking powder expires and becomes less effective. Check the expiration date on the container.

You didn't say whether you drained the fruit. Adding a liquidy ingredient will make it more runny. I would ask your neighbor if she made any other changes to the recipe, like reducing other liquid or adding flour.

 

[Sarah BDnO]

Did you use the exact same recipe as your neighbor? Sometimes recipes we find on the Internet are just wrong. Otherwise, as the others suggested, it might come from a combination of the water contained in the fruit, the different size of pan, and the expired baking powder. It might also have something to do with the temperature of the oven and the baking time (sometimes no matter what the recipe says, you have to leave it for a longer - or shorter!- time in the oven...) So I guess that the only solution to figure what went wrong would be to go get fresh baking powder if yours was too old, and try again! First without the fruits to see if they were responsible, and a long string of unsuccessful experiences taught me that when it's the first time you try a recipe (especially with baking), just stick to it and don't improvise too much... Then once you manage to do it well and understand how it works you can play around with the ingredients. Let us know!

 

[bakechef]

Don't forget, baking is chemistry. Baking powder can definitely go bad.

Adding a couple cups of wet, stewed fruit is going to change the batter a lot. Fruit can vary wildly in water content. Too much liquid in batter will make a very stodgy and dense cake.

Ask your neighbor exactly how they did it, that's your best bet!

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

This is long, but I really have no idea what I did incorrectly. ** If this is the in-correct thread, please let me know and I will repost.**So, Here goes:
It is a standard coffee cake recipe found in the B, H & G cookbook. It requires sifting the flour, adding baking powder, soured milk, etc. All of that went fine. Now, the recipe doesn’t call for fruit, but a neighbor made this adding about 2 cups of stewed fruit. It was terrific.
However, when I tried , it has the consistency more like Yorkshire pudding or pumpkin pie, rather than a coffee cake. It did not rise at all. Also, instead of putting it in to (2) 8x8 pans, as it calls for, I put it in to one 13 x 7”. I have no idea what I should have done to make it work. More flour, to make up for the liquid from the stewed fruit? * Can baking powder become old*? Did I put too much fruit in? I am at a loss. Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks for reading this

Show the recipe, and what kind of stewed fruit. I am very familiar with quick breads, muffins, cakes of all kinds, and the chemistry of leavening agents, proteins, fats, etc., and how they interact. I should be able t help.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwinf ofthe North