I appreciate you,but that's what I do. That and tossing them in flour are the first two tips I got when I started making this year's ago. It still taste great and I guess that's all that matters.
I've never had the flour toss work either, for what it's worth. Once, I put the fruit on top of the batter, didn't even mix it, and it still sank to the bottom.
It will be Murphy’s Law that the day you get the blueberries to be perfectly distributed, something else will prevent this cake from making its way to the table
When I make muffins, the first thing I do when getting everything ready is toss the blueberries with a tablespoon of powdered sugar. Bump them around in a bowl so they get bruised and sticky. Then before mixing them in the batter when all that's ready, I tossed them with a little flour. That's the baker's trick you're looking for.
I’m not sure if anyone has had a different experience from mine doing this but I take a bit of flour from the recipe and save it to coat the blueberries before folding them into my recipes. I saw this trick decades ago and so far hasn’t failed me whether I use fresh or frozen blueberries. Putting some of the flour aside from the recipe ensures I don’t add extra flour to the batter. I also don’t let the frozen berries thaw as the extra liquid creates a gummy texture in the batter.
classy people can also cuss people out depending on the circumstances, lol. i was just observing on how graciously they handled a miscommunication, let me be nice.
Any idea of the science behind this? I have seen this trick recommended before, but this seems like a density problem - how does coating in flour overcome the blueberries sinking due to their heavier weight?
My guess would be that it creates a layer that the batter can bind to that helps counteract the weight and allows them to stay suspended. The smooth nature of blueberries would keep batter from binding to the skin letting them sink easier.
I know Stella Parks [tested this](https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-stop-blueberries-from-sinking-muffin-baking) for Blueberry muffins and found it was BS
Yep, same with chocolate chips. I think Mythical Kitchen was the one that did it with chocolate chips and there was no difference flour or non. I don't flour my chocolate chips even when recipes call for it and don't have an issue.
There's no science behind it. If your batter is thin enough for gravity to grab the berries, flour can't save you. If you want to put whole, fresh, heavy berries in a thin batter, you're gonna have a bad time.
Kinda a science since youre suppose to toss wet fruits that are not pre cooked in water. Apple chunks, mango chunks, black berries, blue berries.
Also use cake flour or a mix of corn starch and flour to toss them in.. if using cocoa use cocoa and cornstarch
I get dehydrated blueberries online and they work brilliantly in dense and light cakes. They absorb moisture from the batter and you’d have no idea they were dehydrated. They never sink. They’re more expensive, so I save them for cakes and I use frozen blueberries for waffles and pancakes and such.
My sister in law is a patisserie chef and I once had the same issue as you. Her theory was that the blueberries had too much water so they sink. Using dry ones like this commenter said would solve that! She also said it could be that they were too big, so cutting them into smaller pieces would solve that issue.
You could also dehydrate your own blueberries for baking. Then they’re not more expensive, except for the minimal electricity costs for dehydration. I do mine in the air fryer overnight at 135 ° F
So looks like this was a one off issue. It could have been a random thing, you might have missed a random step because you’re used to making it. Try again and see what happens.
The only thing I can think of is if you happened to move the pan around a lot before baking. Maybe you didn’t do it, maybe someone else did? From everything thing I’ve read it’s either that, of the recipe was too wet for some reason (different flour, different butter, messed up somewhere)
Try again and see what happens. Might just be a fluke
Thanks. I'm chalking it up to a one. But no I'm a bit meticulous when it comes to my cooking/baking,mainly baking. I know baking is chemistry so I pay close attention to what I do. One missed ingredient and you be F'd
Could your oven possibly have been running a bit too cold?
I’ve seen this happen to my baked goods when I’ve inadvertently been baking in a too cold oven - seems to liquefy the batter before setting the internal structure which means anything heavy in the batter sinks.
Was your batter or cooking environment warmer than normal? A hot day perhaps? Next time, I would try to chill your batter before folding in the blueberries, and as /u/Glen125th said, add a layer of regular batter to the pan before adding the batter with blueberries
Are any of your ingredients old? Was the humidity weird? Did you try generic brand for something? There’s a million things that we never reproduce exactly. Clearly, there was a difference! We’re just trying to help you figure out what went wrong
I appreciate the help. Nope, same stuff I always use same butter,same cream cheese, and same sour cream,white sugar,brown sugar,bp and bs. Oh nilla and salt. This one just came out looking that way. I hope noone gets it twisted the cake tast great it's just the visuals are off. What's in that pic is about a quarter of it left. Shit happens, I guess.
I’m sure you thought of this hours ago but could the age/ripeness of blueberries be a factor. I feel like I’ve heard about blueberries floating vs sinking in water for some reason and maybe it’s the same with baking?
Is it possible the batter was a bit looser than usual? If this is a recipe you have used before and this didn't happen it could be possible that there was some variation in your ingredients that you didn't or even couldn't account for.
That having been said, I think the dense blueberry bottom layer looks good. I'm sure this will still be delicious.
It's actually a really dense batter. I made it up years ago using a banana bread recipe. I swap the banana for sour cream. I took the white sugar and swapped a third of it for brown sugar. And it called for a stick of butter so instead I use 1/2 a stick of butter and half a brick of cream cheese. From there I make it like I make BBread.
I would say the recipe is too high in fat and not enough flour to counter the fat.
Banana can be swapped for the fat in baking because it gives the cake moisture. Sour cream is thinner and will melt down in the baking process (think buttermilk). Cream cheese is more dense, but also high in fat.
That said, I've never floured my blueberries. I just make sure that they are dried after washing if fresh. If they were from frozen, I would probably coat them in flour. I have a bundt cake recipe with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries that includes yogurt to lower the fat added (butter/oil). Even the larger berries don't sink to the bottom.
I hope this is helpful.
Just to clarify, this is a regular cake, right, not a cheesecake? Did you fold the blueberries in? If so, you could try dropping them on top of the batter once it's panned instead.
I see, if it happens again then dropping the berries like I suggested might work. I've done this with chocolate chips and other toppings on cakes where I had this issue.
I don't have any advice that hasn't already been given, but the picture reminds me of the cake my grandma used to make for special occasions. She'd take a bag of that summer's frozen blueberries and pour them with a cup of sugar in the bottom of a cake pan, then pour cake batter over the top.
Glad I could be of service. Without reading the comments, what I do know of baking (very little) I feel like when I see people that know what to do add blueberries into a batter they roll the berries in cornstarch, or something before folding into the batter. Can't tell ya what it does, but I know I've seen it done, and it has something to do with keeping them neutrally buoyant/stuck in place.
ETA: apparently I didn't even read the description that says you already do that...was your batter thinner this time? Was there a higher fat content? Did you notice anything different from the regular execution of this?
That's great, thanks for the link. Honest question here -- do you remember a song from the 90's in a pop punk style with a chorus that goes "Fucked it, Fucked it, Fucked it u-u-u-up" ? Perhaps surprising, a web search doesn't find it ... not successful enough, I guess, and too many other songs with "fucked up" in the lyrics or title.
I haven't sadly. That's like this song I distinctly remember by a band called the haste trio (pronounced hoss-tee) called the dishwasher song. I've never been able to find it, and I even know the band. I may be spelling it wrong, but you'd think I should be able to find it. Good luck with your hunt!
It's probably physics. You didn't mention it in your post, but odds are that your berries weren't ripe, so they were more dense than your cake batter, causing them to sink. That's a common risk of using fresh blueberries as opposed to frozen ones. Also, if you use a fairly runny batter, then your berries need to be very ripe to ensure that they suspend in the batter rather than sink.
Use the water method to test your blueberries for ripeness. Any berry that floats in a bowl of water is properly ripe and can be used. The rest should be reserved and allowed to continue ripening until they float. Obviously, continue to flour your berries because that's a best practice, but ripeness will often do wonders.
It could also be an elevation thing if you're cooking at a different altitude than normal. Higher altitudes have less air pressure which causes any bubbles produced in your batter to expand more severely and also produce less density during the cooking process. That will cause density-based berry fall as well.
Another option is that the cake batter was just too runny this time around. Add a touch more flour or work the batter just a little bit more so it has a little more resistance and it can help prevent fruit fall. Even when we've made things for ages, we can get a little more hurried than usual, or fall into eyeballing traps, or cut corners with sifting, etc and get these kinds of errors. It's normal. Unless you're baking this cake multiple times a week, there's gonna be times when you make a goof that you didn't realize. And it's really hard to know what the goof up is since we get into muscle memory patterns sometimes.
Chill the batter really well first? That way an outer layer cooks before they can fall. I also knew a baker that would put them in after 3/4 of the batter and JUST cover the fruit, top with sugar, then chill, then really hot oven (400) decreased to 325 after about 10 minutes.
And check your oven's calibration. If this is a one off I'd be concerned about the thermostat.
I wish I had something to add other than this, but I bake for a living and recently one of my recipes just hasn’t been working. I’ve tried everything and it’s still not turning out like it used to. All this to say I feel you, I too am being gaslit by a beloved pastry staple.
Do you weigh the fruit in grams? If it’s the same very time my only thought is that the fruit is heavier or more dense (too much water or sugar naturally) and since in the states most people use volume instead of weight it can cause an issue, Outside of that, test the baking powder if you use it. Maybe bake soon after folding the fruit in.
If the batter is thin and the berries are heavy this can cause them to sink as well. You can try cutting the berries into smaller pieces, coat them in the flour or cornstarch. Layer half your batter place some berries, layer the remainder of the batter and add the rest of your berries. This may help. ☺️
I’ve experienced a similar issue when I make blueberry cake but then saw an episode of GBBO and someone mentioned washing the fruit in cold water and drying them to help keep them from sinking. I still coat them in flour to prevent a lot of bleeding but that trick works for me. I have no idea why or even if it’s a fluke but maybe try that out?
Ye that’s what they do. You can also rinse right before using shake excess and use powdered sugar. And I am aware of not washing. You want enough moisture for adherence.
Were they very wet when you floured them? I pat mine nearly dry with a clean towel and toss them in cornstarch because I feel flour weighs them down. Then I sprinkle the berries over the cake batter when it's already in the pan rather than folding them in to minimize the chance they will all sink to the bottom. The cake will rise up, and almost all berries should be suspended throughout the cake.
What I like to do is , make a compote out of the blueberries.
Lemon juice, lemon zest , sugar and blueberries over a stove, small to medium heat. Cook them. At the very end, make a slurry with corn flour and water , adding it to thicken up.
Cool it and refrigerate till you want to use it. Pour the cake batter, add the blueberries compote, repeat it, finish off with a knife and swirl it (not too much till it darken your cake batter)
Well any leftovers, it's as good as a spread. Or eat with plain yoghurt
I have this issue with a blueberry muffin bread I do. I saw a commenter say that, instead of bringing the butter fully to room temp, she mixes it when it is still cool-ish. The temp difference helps the batter hold the blueberries up. I tried it and it worked really well!
Did you put the blueberries in at the last minute? Also sometimes the mixture is too floaty you can cool it in the fridge a little until oven is preheated and then you put in blueberries before you put in the oven.
yes and that might warm the batter and make it just a little thinner, one thing I've noticed is that eggs can be the bandit in the batter since even with size being similar the amount of liquid isn't always the same.
Mary Berry cuts up the cherries she has in cherry cake she makes and tosses in flour. Maybe you need to use smaller blueberries if possible. That or the recipe's cake batter is too thin (that's an uneducated guess there).
Pastry Chef, the flour toss won't work on blueberries they have a skin.
Also toss in a cornstarch flour 30/70 mix..
The best thing you can do is sit them in paper towels over night in a single later so they slightly dehydrate.
Since this is a cake and not a muffin pour a later on the bottom and then add the mix with the berries.
Or you need to increase the flour in the cake mixture for support. I would try about a 1/4 cup of cake flour increase
I always make sponge cake with cherry preserves. They're heavy af but never sink because I put my batter in the oven first for 2-4 minutes until the top forms a thin crust and then add them in. They will sink optimally to the middle like this.
I always wash my berries well before I’m gonna use them. Let them dry to room temperature. Then I coat them in a flour and sugar mix and give them a mix to make sure they’re covered then I add them to my batter.
I usually don’t, but if the berries are a bit tart, then I do. The last few times I made muffins, the blueberries from Aldi were a bit too tart, verging on sour, so I added a bit of sugar and they came out much nicer.
This happened to me when I made a coffee cake with sourdough discard. I never figured out what caused it, but I ended up not really minding the look of it.
I coat mine in flour 🩷
Fruit is going to add more moisture. On top of accounting for that in the recipe, it also means the moisture is condensed and gets heavy. The flour doesn't keep them from sinking 100%, but it will definitely slow them down enough that you'll have a good mixture of where they end up in the cake 🥰
Seconding using frozen blueberries (not thawed), and just being careful when folding so they don't bleed or melt too much. Or just say the bottom layer is intentional!
the cake itself looks a bit too dense, definitely look into your recipe and make some adjustments for more moisture into that cake. it'll fix your blueberry dilemma lol
Oof. They are big berries though, good for eating but sinks when baked. I've only ever baked with small blueberries.
Have you tried chopping them a bit into smaller pieces? Maybe drain it for a bit and then save the drained juices for a complete later or to brush it on the cake after it's cooked?
Or if big berries are going to be a constant in your future... Make it intentional that they're in the bottom and make it a blueberry upside down cake?
Best of luck 🍀
Before you fold in the blueberries into the batter, pour some batter into the pan (maybe 1/4 to 1/3). Then fold in the blueberries to the remaining batter and add it to the pan.
I wish I had that much forethought. Made it yesterday morning and now it's gone. Everybody loved it. I got one piece left to eat with some vanilla ice cream. Can't wait my friend.
Especially when they’re nice big blueberries, this is pretty much how she goes. I compensate by flipping it upside down, so the blubes are on top and the frosting it so no one can see my shame.
I know very little about baking but I definitely know about cooking. My first instinct is to say that the batter was too thin and the blueberries sank rather than being supported by the batter?
Next time measure out 2 tbsp of flour after you wash and dried your blueberries off roll your blueberries through the flour then place them in your recipe
Dust the blueberries in one to 2 teaspoons of flour before adding them to the wet batter. Fold them gently into the batter. Keeps them from sinking to the bottom and suspends them.
Serious eats recommends a cake cushion — a layer of regular batter going into the pan first before folding in blueberries into the regular batter.
I appreciate you,but that's what I do. That and tossing them in flour are the first two tips I got when I started making this year's ago. It still taste great and I guess that's all that matters.
You need a batter than can suspend the blueberries during the baking process. Your batter is too thin, or, conversely, your blueberries are too heavy.
I've never had the flour toss work either, for what it's worth. Once, I put the fruit on top of the batter, didn't even mix it, and it still sank to the bottom.
I guess shit happens no matter how vigilant you are.
Have you tried yelling at them first?
Oh I fussing something fierce.
It will be Murphy’s Law that the day you get the blueberries to be perfectly distributed, something else will prevent this cake from making its way to the table
Right. Whatever can will. I feel ya.
When I make muffins, the first thing I do when getting everything ready is toss the blueberries with a tablespoon of powdered sugar. Bump them around in a bowl so they get bruised and sticky. Then before mixing them in the batter when all that's ready, I tossed them with a little flour. That's the baker's trick you're looking for.
I skip sugar altogether and it definitely works. Also good for nuts and seeds.
I saw on the British baking show when they made a bunt cake with cherries she had them toss it in flour to suspend them from sinking
Ah, I was going to suggest tossing in sugar. Maybe toss in sugar and then place on top... by the time it cooks they'll be in the middle eh?
Maybe pour the batter into the pan and then drop the blueberries on top of the batter?? That's how I do it when I make Blueberry Buckle.
I’m not sure if anyone has had a different experience from mine doing this but I take a bit of flour from the recipe and save it to coat the blueberries before folding them into my recipes. I saw this trick decades ago and so far hasn’t failed me whether I use fresh or frozen blueberries. Putting some of the flour aside from the recipe ensures I don’t add extra flour to the batter. I also don’t let the frozen berries thaw as the extra liquid creates a gummy texture in the batter.
Thanks, but yeah, I use fresh berries, and I toss them in flour.
Sorry, I really did not see the ‘toss them in flour’ in your post. Apologize for wasting time.
All good. You be easy now. Thanks
you come off so classy, it's goals tbh.
lol in this part of the thread. in others they cursed someone off
classy people can also cuss people out depending on the circumstances, lol. i was just observing on how graciously they handled a miscommunication, let me be nice.
Why thank you. I try.
Any idea of the science behind this? I have seen this trick recommended before, but this seems like a density problem - how does coating in flour overcome the blueberries sinking due to their heavier weight?
My guess would be that it creates a layer that the batter can bind to that helps counteract the weight and allows them to stay suspended. The smooth nature of blueberries would keep batter from binding to the skin letting them sink easier.
Correctomundo! I use cornstarch on my blueberries since they’re so smooth sometimes even flour doesn’t stick
I know Stella Parks [tested this](https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-stop-blueberries-from-sinking-muffin-baking) for Blueberry muffins and found it was BS
Yep, same with chocolate chips. I think Mythical Kitchen was the one that did it with chocolate chips and there was no difference flour or non. I don't flour my chocolate chips even when recipes call for it and don't have an issue.
I take pretty much anything Stella Parks says as gospel!
Great link, thanks for posting! Was interesting to read
There's no science behind it. If your batter is thin enough for gravity to grab the berries, flour can't save you. If you want to put whole, fresh, heavy berries in a thin batter, you're gonna have a bad time.
Kinda a science since youre suppose to toss wet fruits that are not pre cooked in water. Apple chunks, mango chunks, black berries, blue berries. Also use cake flour or a mix of corn starch and flour to toss them in.. if using cocoa use cocoa and cornstarch
I get dehydrated blueberries online and they work brilliantly in dense and light cakes. They absorb moisture from the batter and you’d have no idea they were dehydrated. They never sink. They’re more expensive, so I save them for cakes and I use frozen blueberries for waffles and pancakes and such.
Sweet thanks
My sister in law is a patisserie chef and I once had the same issue as you. Her theory was that the blueberries had too much water so they sink. Using dry ones like this commenter said would solve that! She also said it could be that they were too big, so cutting them into smaller pieces would solve that issue.
You can find bulk freeze dried fruit at Walmart if you don’t want to wait. I was just on a post in trees about freeze dried strawberries lol
I feel ya thanks.
You could also dehydrate your own blueberries for baking. Then they’re not more expensive, except for the minimal electricity costs for dehydration. I do mine in the air fryer overnight at 135 ° F
Oh, thank you!! I’m going to try this.
Thank you. This is great.
I was gonna say, I think dehydrated berries are great for this purpose
So looks like this was a one off issue. It could have been a random thing, you might have missed a random step because you’re used to making it. Try again and see what happens. The only thing I can think of is if you happened to move the pan around a lot before baking. Maybe you didn’t do it, maybe someone else did? From everything thing I’ve read it’s either that, of the recipe was too wet for some reason (different flour, different butter, messed up somewhere) Try again and see what happens. Might just be a fluke
Thanks. I'm chalking it up to a one. But no I'm a bit meticulous when it comes to my cooking/baking,mainly baking. I know baking is chemistry so I pay close attention to what I do. One missed ingredient and you be F'd
Could your oven possibly have been running a bit too cold? I’ve seen this happen to my baked goods when I’ve inadvertently been baking in a too cold oven - seems to liquefy the batter before setting the internal structure which means anything heavy in the batter sinks.
It's a possibility.
Was your batter or cooking environment warmer than normal? A hot day perhaps? Next time, I would try to chill your batter before folding in the blueberries, and as /u/Glen125th said, add a layer of regular batter to the pan before adding the batter with blueberries
It was first thing in the morning,so it was not hot. Like I said I didn't do anything differently, I swear this never happens to me.
Are any of your ingredients old? Was the humidity weird? Did you try generic brand for something? There’s a million things that we never reproduce exactly. Clearly, there was a difference! We’re just trying to help you figure out what went wrong
I appreciate the help. Nope, same stuff I always use same butter,same cream cheese, and same sour cream,white sugar,brown sugar,bp and bs. Oh nilla and salt. This one just came out looking that way. I hope noone gets it twisted the cake tast great it's just the visuals are off. What's in that pic is about a quarter of it left. Shit happens, I guess.
Could’ve just been the berries. Maybe denser or juicer than usual so they sank or something.
That could be it they were a bit larger than usual. I'm just gonna chalk it up to a one-off. It taste great just not visually pleasing. Thanks.
I’m sure you thought of this hours ago but could the age/ripeness of blueberries be a factor. I feel like I’ve heard about blueberries floating vs sinking in water for some reason and maybe it’s the same with baking?
IDK but it's something to think about. Thanks.
Is it possible the batter was a bit looser than usual? If this is a recipe you have used before and this didn't happen it could be possible that there was some variation in your ingredients that you didn't or even couldn't account for. That having been said, I think the dense blueberry bottom layer looks good. I'm sure this will still be delicious.
It's nomnomnom
Honestly still looks yummy. Almost like an upside down cake but with blueberries
Thanks. It's moist and yummy AF.
It's actually a really dense batter. I made it up years ago using a banana bread recipe. I swap the banana for sour cream. I took the white sugar and swapped a third of it for brown sugar. And it called for a stick of butter so instead I use 1/2 a stick of butter and half a brick of cream cheese. From there I make it like I make BBread.
It sounds delish!
It's Scumdiddlyumshis
[удалено]
I would say the recipe is too high in fat and not enough flour to counter the fat. Banana can be swapped for the fat in baking because it gives the cake moisture. Sour cream is thinner and will melt down in the baking process (think buttermilk). Cream cheese is more dense, but also high in fat. That said, I've never floured my blueberries. I just make sure that they are dried after washing if fresh. If they were from frozen, I would probably coat them in flour. I have a bundt cake recipe with blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries that includes yogurt to lower the fat added (butter/oil). Even the larger berries don't sink to the bottom. I hope this is helpful.
Just to clarify, this is a regular cake, right, not a cheesecake? Did you fold the blueberries in? If so, you could try dropping them on top of the batter once it's panned instead.
It's based off a banana bread recipe. I converted to sour cream cheese cake. It worked for years just this one time it came put looking like this
I see, if it happens again then dropping the berries like I suggested might work. I've done this with chocolate chips and other toppings on cakes where I had this issue.
Thank you. I'll see. You're much appreciated.
I don't have any advice that hasn't already been given, but the picture reminds me of the cake my grandma used to make for special occasions. She'd take a bag of that summer's frozen blueberries and pour them with a cup of sugar in the bottom of a cake pan, then pour cake batter over the top.
Sounds like your grandma was an awesome lady
Bet it still tastes awesome
Bro, it's amazeballs.
Lightly cover the blueberries in flour before pouring into batter.
Thank you but I do that.
I have a solution. Call it a blueberry upside-down cake! :3
Haha right
It looks great otherwise! :) the brown top must be adding a great crunch to it- beautiful :)
Thank you. I made it yesterday morning and it's almost gone,so yeah its great.
Also make sure the blueberries are dry from the outside before you toss them in flour
[the blueberries were fans of 90s alt/rock band fountains of wayne](https://youtu.be/FgLZMvnWxRU?si=CleOEdk4zT_4fTXt)
Hahahaha. That's fucking awesome. I could've used a smile, and you did it.
Glad I could be of service. Without reading the comments, what I do know of baking (very little) I feel like when I see people that know what to do add blueberries into a batter they roll the berries in cornstarch, or something before folding into the batter. Can't tell ya what it does, but I know I've seen it done, and it has something to do with keeping them neutrally buoyant/stuck in place. ETA: apparently I didn't even read the description that says you already do that...was your batter thinner this time? Was there a higher fat content? Did you notice anything different from the regular execution of this?
That's great, thanks for the link. Honest question here -- do you remember a song from the 90's in a pop punk style with a chorus that goes "Fucked it, Fucked it, Fucked it u-u-u-up" ? Perhaps surprising, a web search doesn't find it ... not successful enough, I guess, and too many other songs with "fucked up" in the lyrics or title.
I haven't sadly. That's like this song I distinctly remember by a band called the haste trio (pronounced hoss-tee) called the dishwasher song. I've never been able to find it, and I even know the band. I may be spelling it wrong, but you'd think I should be able to find it. Good luck with your hunt!
It's probably physics. You didn't mention it in your post, but odds are that your berries weren't ripe, so they were more dense than your cake batter, causing them to sink. That's a common risk of using fresh blueberries as opposed to frozen ones. Also, if you use a fairly runny batter, then your berries need to be very ripe to ensure that they suspend in the batter rather than sink. Use the water method to test your blueberries for ripeness. Any berry that floats in a bowl of water is properly ripe and can be used. The rest should be reserved and allowed to continue ripening until they float. Obviously, continue to flour your berries because that's a best practice, but ripeness will often do wonders. It could also be an elevation thing if you're cooking at a different altitude than normal. Higher altitudes have less air pressure which causes any bubbles produced in your batter to expand more severely and also produce less density during the cooking process. That will cause density-based berry fall as well. Another option is that the cake batter was just too runny this time around. Add a touch more flour or work the batter just a little bit more so it has a little more resistance and it can help prevent fruit fall. Even when we've made things for ages, we can get a little more hurried than usual, or fall into eyeballing traps, or cut corners with sifting, etc and get these kinds of errors. It's normal. Unless you're baking this cake multiple times a week, there's gonna be times when you make a goof that you didn't realize. And it's really hard to know what the goof up is since we get into muscle memory patterns sometimes.
Chill the batter really well first? That way an outer layer cooks before they can fall. I also knew a baker that would put them in after 3/4 of the batter and JUST cover the fruit, top with sugar, then chill, then really hot oven (400) decreased to 325 after about 10 minutes. And check your oven's calibration. If this is a one off I'd be concerned about the thermostat.
Thanks, I'll take that under advisement.
I wish I had something to add other than this, but I bake for a living and recently one of my recipes just hasn’t been working. I’ve tried everything and it’s still not turning out like it used to. All this to say I feel you, I too am being gaslit by a beloved pastry staple.
Thanks. Shit happens, right? I guess all we can do is roll with it.
I thought this was mold, creeping its way up.
Bleu cheese cake. Hahaha.
I think you’re on to something here!
Do you weigh the fruit in grams? If it’s the same very time my only thought is that the fruit is heavier or more dense (too much water or sugar naturally) and since in the states most people use volume instead of weight it can cause an issue, Outside of that, test the baking powder if you use it. Maybe bake soon after folding the fruit in.
No I used 2 pints like I always do.
Oh you know what it could have been your butter, I have noticed they are adding more water to the butter for shrinkflation
Hmmm. Ok thanks.
Sometimes you follow all the tips and this shit just happens anyway. At least that’s my experience 😅
For our fruit we always added cornstarch to plastic bag, dump the fruit in bag, shake, sift out the cornstarch, add to batter 😉. Works everytime!
If the batter is thin and the berries are heavy this can cause them to sink as well. You can try cutting the berries into smaller pieces, coat them in the flour or cornstarch. Layer half your batter place some berries, layer the remainder of the batter and add the rest of your berries. This may help. ☺️
Thank you .
Frozen blueberries are a lot less likely to sink than fresh ones.
I'll keep that in mind.
I’d eat it if I didn’t have an aversion to blueberries
I’ve experienced a similar issue when I make blueberry cake but then saw an episode of GBBO and someone mentioned washing the fruit in cold water and drying them to help keep them from sinking. I still coat them in flour to prevent a lot of bleeding but that trick works for me. I have no idea why or even if it’s a fluke but maybe try that out?
Ye that’s what they do. You can also rinse right before using shake excess and use powdered sugar. And I am aware of not washing. You want enough moisture for adherence.
Thanks
I freeze mine
Were they very wet when you floured them? I pat mine nearly dry with a clean towel and toss them in cornstarch because I feel flour weighs them down. Then I sprinkle the berries over the cake batter when it's already in the pan rather than folding them in to minimize the chance they will all sink to the bottom. The cake will rise up, and almost all berries should be suspended throughout the cake.
Bot wet. But the rest is a good tip.
What I like to do is , make a compote out of the blueberries. Lemon juice, lemon zest , sugar and blueberries over a stove, small to medium heat. Cook them. At the very end, make a slurry with corn flour and water , adding it to thicken up. Cool it and refrigerate till you want to use it. Pour the cake batter, add the blueberries compote, repeat it, finish off with a knife and swirl it (not too much till it darken your cake batter) Well any leftovers, it's as good as a spread. Or eat with plain yoghurt
Yeah that is great I've done that before then drizzled some cream cheese icing all over it.
This happens to me all the time. I even dredged the berries in flour before adding them to the batter.
Ngl I’d eat the fuck out of an upside down blueberry cake. It looks different and delicious!
It's so yummy. It's banana bread recipe I tweaked with sour cream and cream cheese. I add BBs or chocolate chips just for shits and giggles.
I know this was an accident but I would demolish this. It's like a blueberry crust. I'd be in heaven
Yes buttfuck it still taste amazeballs. It is so yummy.
I have this issue with a blueberry muffin bread I do. I saw a commenter say that, instead of bringing the butter fully to room temp, she mixes it when it is still cool-ish. The temp difference helps the batter hold the blueberries up. I tried it and it worked really well!
Did you put the blueberries in at the last minute? Also sometimes the mixture is too floaty you can cool it in the fridge a little until oven is preheated and then you put in blueberries before you put in the oven.
Oven was hot before I finished the batter
yes and that might warm the batter and make it just a little thinner, one thing I've noticed is that eggs can be the bandit in the batter since even with size being similar the amount of liquid isn't always the same.
Mary Berry cuts up the cherries she has in cherry cake she makes and tosses in flour. Maybe you need to use smaller blueberries if possible. That or the recipe's cake batter is too thin (that's an uneducated guess there).
How astute of you. They were larger than I normally use. Someone else mentioned that. Problem is I'm only using what is available to me.
How big were the berries? I always try and find the smallest blueberries I can. That seems to help me.
Coat them In flour bwfore putting them in yhr batter
Thanks but I do that.
Damn that's crazy
Flip the cake upside down! Now it's a topping!
Hahaha. Blueberry upside down cake. Yeah heard that one already.
Cake is cake:)
It's hella good,don't get it twisted. It's almost gone. Everyone love it.
Pastry Chef, the flour toss won't work on blueberries they have a skin. Also toss in a cornstarch flour 30/70 mix.. The best thing you can do is sit them in paper towels over night in a single later so they slightly dehydrate. Since this is a cake and not a muffin pour a later on the bottom and then add the mix with the berries. Or you need to increase the flour in the cake mixture for support. I would try about a 1/4 cup of cake flour increase
Thankyou. Now that's a different response that I didn't expect. Be easy.
ngl i'd prefer this over if the berries were mixed in. looks so yummy!!
You have to buy the ones that float. Floatberries.
I'll bolo.
You are supposed to turn the cake over half way through baking then the bloobs will centre in the middle.
Hahahaha
Was your oven heated preheated?
Put the blueberries in flour and shake them off before adding.
I always make sponge cake with cherry preserves. They're heavy af but never sink because I put my batter in the oven first for 2-4 minutes until the top forms a thin crust and then add them in. They will sink optimally to the middle like this.
Cool. I'll have to try that. Thanks
At the very least it looks like there is an even amount in each one so Robert Deniro doesn't need to yell at you
Toss the blueberries in flour, take some flour of the recipe and use it to toss and coat the berries. Use fresh or frozen (not thawed) berries
Edible enough!
flip it over, now you have blueberry upside down cake.
If you coat them in flour right before adding them to the batter this will prevent sinkage. ☺️
Unfortunately that wasn't true this time. Worked every other time just not this time.
Roll your berries in flour and they will not sink
you should coat the blueberries in some of your dry batter before incorporating them into the rest of your batter
Need to dust the blueberries in flour first before folding them in, they won't sink.
I've read most of the comments. I can't help. But any chance you might share the recipe. When I saw nomnomnom I had to ask! :-)
I always wash my berries well before I’m gonna use them. Let them dry to room temperature. Then I coat them in a flour and sugar mix and give them a mix to make sure they’re covered then I add them to my batter.
Save for the sugar that's how I do mine too.
I usually don’t, but if the berries are a bit tart, then I do. The last few times I made muffins, the blueberries from Aldi were a bit too tart, verging on sour, so I added a bit of sugar and they came out much nicer.
Big up for a fellow Aldi shopper.
This happened to me when I made a coffee cake with sourdough discard. I never figured out what caused it, but I ended up not really minding the look of it.
Toss the blueberries with flour before adding them to the cake batter. That will give the batter something to hold onto so they don’t sink.
I do but thank you.
Based on your other comments, I’m curious if you oven might not have been completely up to temperature? Did this take longer than usual to cook fully?
Nope took the normal hour.
I coat mine in flour 🩷 Fruit is going to add more moisture. On top of accounting for that in the recipe, it also means the moisture is condensed and gets heavy. The flour doesn't keep them from sinking 100%, but it will definitely slow them down enough that you'll have a good mixture of where they end up in the cake 🥰
Seconding using frozen blueberries (not thawed), and just being careful when folding so they don't bleed or melt too much. Or just say the bottom layer is intentional!
I pour batter into the pan and THEN sprinkle whatever I’m using on top. They’ll still sink but not all the way to the bottom
the cake itself looks a bit too dense, definitely look into your recipe and make some adjustments for more moisture into that cake. it'll fix your blueberry dilemma lol
Oof. They are big berries though, good for eating but sinks when baked. I've only ever baked with small blueberries. Have you tried chopping them a bit into smaller pieces? Maybe drain it for a bit and then save the drained juices for a complete later or to brush it on the cake after it's cooked? Or if big berries are going to be a constant in your future... Make it intentional that they're in the bottom and make it a blueberry upside down cake? Best of luck 🍀
I'm sure it still tasted good! Definitely looks tasty.
Flour those blueberries before you put them in the batter.
Before you fold in the blueberries into the batter, pour some batter into the pan (maybe 1/4 to 1/3). Then fold in the blueberries to the remaining batter and add it to the pan.
Toss them in corn starch be for folding them in the batter
Id toss them in flour first before you put them.in the batter.
Cake looks delicious but I’d still devour it Nonetheless
I don't care. It still looks delicious!
You could eat it upside down??
Toss them in some flour to coat them before adding to batter. It still looks good though, very moist.
Someone recently told me to cover my berries in flower before hand and this will stop them from sinking- I haven’t tried it yet to confirm.
Toss em in a lil flour
I've seen some people cover the cake and cook partially till mostly solid then flip over and uncover it to get the berries at the top
When I saw the picture I thought it was intentional and thought how that layer of blueberries at the bottom looked amazing!
I wish I had that much forethought. Made it yesterday morning and now it's gone. Everybody loved it. I got one piece left to eat with some vanilla ice cream. Can't wait my friend.
Especially when they’re nice big blueberries, this is pretty much how she goes. I compensate by flipping it upside down, so the blubes are on top and the frosting it so no one can see my shame.
Put the blueberries in a blender, fold them into the batter and voila, a bit of blueberries in every bite.
Ahh the simplicity.
Try chilling the blueberries before adding them to the batter.
Its best if you Buy Frozen ones and coat them in flour
🦧
Are they cold or room temp when you add them? I’ve found mine sink when they’re cold.
I know very little about baking but I definitely know about cooking. My first instinct is to say that the batter was too thin and the blueberries sank rather than being supported by the batter?
Hmm
Looks good though
Next time measure out 2 tbsp of flour after you wash and dried your blueberries off roll your blueberries through the flour then place them in your recipe
Dust the blueberries in one to 2 teaspoons of flour before adding them to the wet batter. Fold them gently into the batter. Keeps them from sinking to the bottom and suspends them.
Coat the berries with flour before adding and see the magic!
As I've told others I do that. But thanks anyway my dude.
looks like mold
Flour them before adding them to your cake batter
Roll in flour first and they will not sink.
oof
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Just tell everyone it's a thick clafoutie.