I usually underbake things. Bake until a skewer comes out clean and the top is golden brown? Too vague. I try to get my husband to check the doneness of baked goods, but he usually balks. And he will not eat underbaked cakes. Actually, he will rarely even try any cake unless it starts out as powder in a box. And I hate dry cakes and burnt edges. So, as the end time comes for the cake, I usually see the edges starting to dry up and pull the cake too soon, resulting in a soggy, gross, unbaked middle. My poor husband. He buys boxes and boxes of cake mix and I keep trying recipe after recipe for cakes made from scratch. And I have to admit, mine usually come out dry and bland or underbaked, while the “box cake” is light and moist and delicious every time.
I have fixed part of the problem by switching to cake recipes that use oil instead of butter. Joy the Baker’s recipe for Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes (from her cookbook) goes one step further by adding mashed avocado, oil, and water. I was able to bake these to complete doneness and they weren’t dry at all. I hate the use the word moist (because one of my favorite people hates that word). But that’s what these are. Moist, delicious, and gooey in all the right ways. My husband still won’t try them. B+
But I fooled this guy this time! I even put avocado frosting on them, and he still liked them.
