Expert: Elyse Grau - 12/7/2009

Question
My Stepmother has recently had some difficulty baking cakes. When they come out of the oven the crust appears to be covered in sugar crystals. This has happened four times recently. It even happened on a boiled fruit cake! One recipe she repeated 3 times and had someone do it with her to see if she was doing something wrong, all to no avail. Is it an oven temperature issue?

Answer
Jonathan:
It sounds like the eggs or the batter itself was overbeaten. The butter and sugar need to cream for 2 or 3 minutes, but after that everything should just be blended and mixed no longer than necessary. The is something that happens once the eggs have been added that causes that kind of crust on baked goods.

The only other possibility I can think of is that the sugar/butter mixture wasn't beaten enough and the sugar crystals did not completely dissolve. This should especially be considered if she has recently changed brands, as some brands have larger crystals than others.

Elyse