Since my birthday and the wonderful present Husband gave me of new food mixer I have been convinced that my sponge cakes aren't as good as they were before. And I am - at least always have been - proud of my sponge cakes. I am complimented regularly on them.
I put it down to paranoia, that feeling that with the demise of my old mixer had gone my skill too. It was never me; it was my food processor that deserved all the praise. I kept telling myself not to be so stupid but the niggling feeling wouldn't go away.
And today, when making a birthday cake for Woody, I have proved that I was right to be paranoid. I made the worst cake ever. It rose - a bit - but on cooling sank. Not just in the middle because it's not quite cooked enough but all over! So that it ended up as a solid flat mass. So bad I had to make another. And this time I dug out my old food processor. (Of course I hadn't thrown it away. What do you think I am?)
The result:
On the left the second cake made with old mixer; on the right - well, you can see what's on the right.
So is it the mixer? Or is it me? Does my lack of confidence in the new machine transfer itself to the mixture that in turn loses its oomph? Or is it possible to over-mix? It takes much longer with the new mixer especially as I leave it on for longer than suggested on the principle that longer must be better.
My unleavened bread turned out quite well though, the oven-cooked variety turning out better-looking than the griddled one.
