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Cake, but not as we knew it.

incorporating Recipes and Cooking
88V8
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Cake, but not as we knew it.

#143051

Postby 88V8 » June 2nd, 2018, 12:26 pm

Being a bit of a cake fan, I tend to partake where possible.

Of late, I have noticed a marked deterioration.

Random example, The Wellwalk Tea Room in Cheltenham used to do a jolly good cake. A visit was an essential highlight of that town.
Now, they look as before, but have no crumb structure and are sickly sweet, and regardless of flavour all taste much the same. Enquiries produced no explanation.

At Prescott last weekend, same problem.
A superb salad followed by a mediocre cake. Sickly.
Cake, but not as we knew it.

These are far from the only examples.

The café in Stroud farmers' market continues to produce a decent slab of whatever, so it's not impossible.

The offending items are not GF. They were supposed to be what I would term proper old fashioned cakes.

Any idea what's happening?

V8

DiamondEcho
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Re: Cake, but not as we knew it.

#143121

Postby DiamondEcho » June 2nd, 2018, 8:03 pm

Hard to say without having witnessed it. Plus I think one's palate/sense of taste changes and evolves tolerances; I will happily enjoy a spice-level [chilli] of food when living in Asia which right now after say 3 years ex-Asia would blow me away. A parallel, when living in the UK I found the canned 'M+S Extra Hot chicken curry' pretty full-on, very good. We tried a can recently and it did nothing, didn't even have the spice level of a korma to us [and with 3yrs ex-Asia I was looking forward to it having the power I remembered from before].
In the sphere of baking and cakes in the UK I'd suspect two things, both cost-cutting approaches. The bakers subbing butter for margarine or oil* etc. And/or subbing good sugar, perhaps say real unrefined cane, demerara or muscovado, for either white or gawd forbid corn-syrup.

* For example the super-unctious Pret a Manger iced banana bread cake is made with oil, lots of it - no wonder it's moist, rich etc. A cheap and unhealthy way to create that effect.

midnightcatprowl
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Re: Cake, but not as we knew it.

#143167

Postby midnightcatprowl » June 3rd, 2018, 8:28 am

Definitely due to low grade ingredients (even in cakes offered as 'homemade'). Poor ingredients, plus ingredients added to keep the cake artificially moist i.e. to make it continue to appear fresh long after it isn't. The downgrade in icing tends to be even worse than the downgrade in cake itself. It isn't your taste buds, just occasionally, you come across the real thing even now and the difference in flavour and texture is remarkable.

N.B. As am amusing aside I visited a saleroom recently which is in brand new premises with a brand new cafe. On my first visit I was looking at the cakes and was rather astonished by an object among the others which looked a bit like a crater on the moon after an elephant had walked through it. I asked about it and was told by the staff behind the counter - who were in fits of laughter - that this was a 'fat free' Victoria Sponge, but as they said there is no point as the butter icing inside is actually made well if not with butter then certainly with some form of margarine. I went back last week and they had a proper Victoria Sponge on display and I had a piece of it - very nice - the staff told me a decision had been made that people wanting to eat cake were looking for pleasure not health.

This above note brings me to a final reason for poor cake which is the pursuit of poorly understood health objectives.

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Re: Cake, but not as we knew it.

#143231

Postby Slarti » June 3rd, 2018, 11:56 am

If you're ever within a 2 hour drive of Cafe Winklstuberl, Fischbachau, Bavaria and cake is your thing, go there.

They have a huge selection of absolutely amazing cakes fresh made each day and during the day.

It is so good that people will drive out from Munich for coffee and cake and then drive home again.

Be warned, don't make the mistake of thinking that you'll be healthy and have a salad first as they are enormous and hiding under the lettuce cover will be boiled eggs, cheeses, ham and the rest of the salad stuff.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restauran ... varia.html
https://www.bing.com/maps?where1=Leitza ... 9B190A12FA

Almost worth the trip out there just for the cake.

Slarti

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Re: Cake, but not as we knew it.

#143423

Postby UncleIan » June 4th, 2018, 9:07 am

I blame the internet. And lots of TV channels, filled with imported american cake shows. Mind you, Ace of Cakes was a family favourite, but for me that was as much about the esprit de corps of the staff...anyway...

Never used to get Red Velvet cakes in this country, but now they seem to be replacing the light and fluffy sponge. It's possibly the american recipes all having oil and marg and cup sizes.

I can't remember the last time I had a decent fruit cake.

And don't get me started on buttercream (volume of).


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