Why was my chocolate cake gummy?

[Anonymous]

I added a banana and subbed in sour cream for 1/2 of the oil called for in a box of chocolate King Arthur cake mix. It came out gummy , wet, shiny, and dense, even after baking a bit longer than called for, and toothpick came out clean. Is this because it was chocolate mix? I have done this with non-chocolate mixes and not had this problem. Sad.

[Anonymous]

King Arthur has people who will answer baking questions on call. I would call them next time before subbing.

[Anonymous]

Probably not enough liquid, especially since you added banana which is thick in consistency. Other reasons could be old cake mix or over mixing the batter.

[Anonymous]

The term you are looking for is “claggy”. A word I leaned from the Great British Baking Show.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The term you are looking for is “claggy”. A word I leaned from the Great British Baking Show.

Wow. OP here, thank you, this word will haunt me. Claggy.

[Anonymous]

Uh I think it’s adding banana and sour cream that did it 😂

[Anonymous]

Did the sour cream have thickeners like guar gum, locust bean gum, or carrageenan? If so, it could make the cake slimy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did the sour cream have thickeners like guar gum, locust bean gum, or carrageenan? If so, it could make the cake slimy.

I don't think so, it was gloopy sour cream from Organic Valley

[Anonymous]

Why did you add banana and sub half the oil for sour cream if that isnt what the recipe called for?

[Anonymous]

What is the point of these substitutions? If you’re making a cake, just use the regular ingredients. I assume you’re not planning to eat the whole thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the point of these substitutions? If you’re making a cake, just use the regular ingredients. I assume you’re not planning to eat the whole thing.

Who said that

[Anonymous]

Why did you make the substitutions? And what was the point of adding the banana? When you make substitutions, especially in baking recipes, you always substantially increase the risk of failure.

Oil and sour cream are not the same and will not have the same outcomes. There's a reason we use milk in cakes and rarely cream. You can't just swap one liquid for another or one fat for another and expect the same outcome.

It reminds me of these online reviews that say I changed this and that and replaced X with Z and used a different sized pan, and it was TERRIBLE so I'm giving this recipe NO STARS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did you make the substitutions? And what was the point of adding the banana? When you make substitutions, especially in baking recipes, you always substantially increase the risk of failure.

Oil and sour cream are not the same and will not have the same outcomes. There's a reason we use milk in cakes and rarely cream. You can't just swap one liquid for another or one fat for another and expect the same outcome.

It reminds me of these online reviews that say I changed this and that and replaced X with Z and used a different sized pan, and it was TERRIBLE so I'm giving this recipe NO STARS.

I was trying to add nutrition for my kid. Also I found a reddit/bakeoff thread that clarifies stodgy vs claggy

[Anonymous]

It’s so weird that you ignored the recipe and it turned out different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did you make the substitutions? And what was the point of adding the banana? When you make substitutions, especially in baking recipes, you always substantially increase the risk of failure.

Oil and sour cream are not the same and will not have the same outcomes. There's a reason we use milk in cakes and rarely cream. You can't just swap one liquid for another or one fat for another and expect the same outcome.

It reminds me of these online reviews that say I changed this and that and replaced X with Z and used a different sized pan, and it was TERRIBLE so I'm giving this recipe NO STARS.

I was trying to add nutrition for my kid. Also I found a reddit/bakeoff thread that clarifies stodgy vs claggy

You thought making a cake for your kid was more nutritious than feeding it a banana for breakfast?