On Aug 25, 4:36*pm, "DavidW" > wrote:
> heyjoe wrote:
> > On Fri, 24 Aug 2012 20:02:27 +1000, DavidW wrote:
>
> >> Hello,
>
> >> I'm about to make a chocolate cake and I have a few questions:
>
> >> 1. Should a chocolate cake typically contain salt? Watching cooking
> >> shows it seems that just about everything should be seasoned,
> >> according to professional chefs, but there's no salt in the
> >> ingredients. It's a boiled chocolate cake (some ingredients, inc.
> >> water, baking soda boiled and cooled before eggs, flour added). The
> >> butter is listed simply as "butter". Commercial butter is normally
> >> salted to an unknown degree. If I use unsalted butter should salt be
> >> added; if so how much for a standard-sized cake?
>
> > no comment
>
> >> 2. If I bake and ice the cake on Monday and keep it in the fridge
> >> will it still be in good shape on Friday? (i.e., no noticeable
> >> degradation).
>
> > I don't think so. *IMO, store the cake at room temperature, make the
> > frosting as fresh as practical. *Keep the finished cake at room
> > temperature and HOPE for the best.
>
> >> 3. I have a vague recollection of asking this before, but there was
> >> no magic solution. The mixture is very wet before the flour is added
> >> and you always get bits of flour that will not mix in. My mother
> >> solved this by using an electric mixer or blender, but I don't think
> >> the cake was as good as when the flour was mixed in gently by hand
> >> (and you put up with a few small flour pockets). Is there another
> >> technique whereby I can mix in the flour evenly by without any
> >> detriment to the cake?
>
> > I don't have a problem with LITTLE bits of unmixed flour ina
> > cake/pancake/muffin/quickbreaad.
>
> > The idea is to minimize the development of gluten by just getting the
> > dry ingredients to combine with the wet. *This is a technique issue!
>
> I was unaware of the gluten problem. Thanks, and thanks to others who mentioned
> it.
>
> > Without a list of ingredients, it's hard to make specific suggestions,
> > but you might replace up to 1/4 cup of the liquid in the cake (ie.
> > water or milk) with vodka. *The idea here is to allow thorough mixing
> > without developing gluten.
>
> > 'nother idea - hold down the gluten devlopment by substituting cake
> > flour for all purpose flour (rough guess, up to 1/3 cake flour, 2/3
> > all purpose flour).
>
> The flour is just ordinary self-raising flour. I don't know about "cake flour".
> There might be terminology differences between locations. I am in Australia.
>
> > But the real clue is . . . *don't overmix your cake batter!
>
> Good. That's what I suspected, but with the pretty watery mixture after the
> cooling that's why I get little spots of unmixed flour. I suppose I could try
> adding the flour before the eggs.

I would just do as the recipe directed, and just give a couple of
extra stirs, gently of course to ensure your flour is incorporated.